Rebecca shifted indignantly. Stephen crossed one arm across his chest and rested his elbow in his palm, then his chin in his free hand. Skyler watched his fingers attempt hide a grin. It was all he needed to press on.
“I can keep going,” Skyler said, anger seething from his lips. “Does the whole town really have to be together to stone the neighbors for planting different vegetables side by side in their garden? And what about you, Rebecca? Do we really have to burn you at a family barbecue for wearing clothes made from different materials? Do we need to invite the extended family, or will the five of us be enough to watch you burn? One day the Church told everyone to burn witches, but it never followed one of its greatest teachings ever, Matthew 7:5—You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”
“Enough, both of you,” Stephen said sharply. “That’s very clever, Skyler. Have you been watching the West Wing or did you really pay attention at Bible class?”
Skyler smiled at his small victory. “Definitely the West Wing. It’s a great clip on YouTube. And I definitely learned all the Bible verses you and Pastor Bob don’t want me to know about.”
“I cannot believe this,” Rebecca said, shaking her head.
“You know what I can’t believe? How you all completely miss the point of the gospel. You claim to be Christians but you focus on these obscure and obsolete rules that are supposedly, as you said, for the Jews of the time and not us today—except for the ones you want to enforce—when none of them make sense in the first place. You’re so consumed by keeping up appearances and maintaining your reputation in front of the other church people that you miss the most important message of the gospel—Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:39 or Mark 12:31. Take your pick. I know it all now, thanks to you.”
“All right, again, that’s enough, both of you,” Stephen snapped. “We’re done with this for tonight. Skyler, please head up to your room.”
“Oh no, we are not done,” Rebecca countered. “This has to be resolved!”
Skyler saw his opportunity and smirked. “Colossians 3:18, Wives be submissive to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.”
Both Rebecca and Stephen stared at Skyler, shocked.
He walked toward the door and folded his arms across his chest. “I’m gay, so get over it.”
“You’re not gay,” Rebecca hollered. “You’re going through some kind of phase. You’re confused. Jesus is your rock and you are blessed, Skyler. The Lord’s guidance and unfaltering faithfulness will see us through this setback. Tomorrow you will go see Pastor Bob for counseling after school. I scheduled an appointment with him for you at 3:00. I will pick you up from school and you will meet with him for as long as it takes.”
“As long as it takes for what?” Skyler asked. What are you getting at?
“For you to see the errant ways of your heart. God does not forgive an abomination that stands before him.”
“Seriously? My heart is not broken and I am not an abomination.”
“Homosexuality is an abomination before the Lord, Skyler.”
“Rebecca,” Stephen cut in, “What do you think that will accomplish?”
Rebecca glared at her husband. “He will receive counseling and prayer therapy. Pastor Bob has assured me he can help Skyler see God’s truth for his life.”
“Rebecca,” Stephen said, and then rubbed his temples again. “I’m not sure that…”
“This happens,” she snarled, silencing her husband, “or it’s over.”
Skyler fumed and barked at them. “You don’t get it, do you? I took care of my dying mother when I was ten years old. There’s nothing you could do to me that’s worse than that. I have nothing to lose. Ground me forever, I don’t care, it will never be as bad as changing my mom’s piss-soaked bedding or washing her shit-stained clothing.”
Assholes!
He stormed out of the kitchen and headed upstairs to his room. He slammed the door shut and fell onto his bed. He buried his face in a pillow and started sobbing. The muffled sounds of Rebecca and Stephen fighting again echoed through the floorboards.
Just like Patti and Sean…
* * *
“Skyler, I know you understand the gravity of the situation. Homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of God.” Pastor Bob said. He sat in a large blue plaid armchair in his mahogany-finished office. Next to him, Levi—the junior pastor—shifted in his matching arm chair. Skyler glared at them from a third chair on the other side of the office. A coffee table with some flowers and a Bible occupied the space between them. Rebecca sat outside in the waiting room. As promised, she had picked him up after school and dropped him off at the church for counseling.
Forty minutes had passed. Pastor Bob and Levi had grilled Skyler on the intimate details of his relationship and actions with Cameron, which Skyler reluctantly shared. Now they were beginning to plan the next steps of his counseling therapy.
“I am not broken. I am gay. Why can’t you accept me? Do you think I’m the only gay person in this church?” Skyler asked.
“You’re being stubborn,” the pastor continued. “You need to let Jesus into your heart and accept his forgiveness for your sinfulness. Touching another man in a sexual way is not something that unlocks the Gates of Heaven for you. Your soul is in real danger, Skyler, real and present danger. The Lord frowns upon those who seek perverseness in their lives.”
Again, with the pervert thing?
“You know,” Skyler said, rebuffing the pastor, “for the longest time, whenever you yelled about gays and lesbians from the pulpit, you called them perverts. Pervert is the word you use whenever you refer to gays, so I thought pervert meant gay. Then I got a dictionary and looked it up. Guess what I discovered? Pervert doesn’t mean gay. So I’m not a pervert. I’m gay. There’s a big, big difference, Pastor Bob. You should look it up and learn its true meaning, so you don’t sound like a fool when you speak your first language. It’s too bad people don’t take a moment to look things up for themselves, maybe then they’d see through your hateful lies and fear mongering.”
Wow, that felt good.
Skyler took a deep breath and squeezed the arm rests of the chair he sat in. Pastor Bob’s eyes grew wide with surprise as anger flashed through them.
“You’re a smart boy, Skyler, which tells me you can change who you are if you want to,” Levi said, staving off an angry response from Pastor Bob. “I understand how, uh, what you must be going through. I made a handful of mistakes in my youth that I regret now, so I know exactly where you’re coming from…”
Wait a minute. What’s going on here? You know exactly where I’m coming from? Holy shit, you’re gay too! I thought my gaydar went off when you arrived last year.
“But I accepted Jesus into my heart, and I understand the power of his forgiveness. You need to seek out reconciliation with our Lord, Skyler. And you need solid, healthy interaction with God-fearing men in your life who can provide Christ-bearing support for you through this difficult time.”
Difficult time? “It wouldn’t be difficult if you people backed off and made your way into the twenty-first century.”
Levi ignored his comment. “There are many things we can do to help. I recommend healthy interaction with men. You need healthy, life-affirming hugs from boys your age. I know that would be strange to ask for at school, so we will make sure the guys in the youth group know that you need hugs.”
Are you kidding me?
“Not all of them,” Pastor Bob said, looking at Levi. “They don’t need to know why either. I don’t want to bring this sinful scandal to the faithful. We don’t need to provoke rumors and gossip.”
“Fair enough,” Levi said, nodding his assent. “We’ll select a few of the role models, the ones who have accepted Jesus in their hearts and understand the power of Jesus Christ in their lives. I think we need to talk to Rebecca about prayer ministry, too. He needs the
power of prayer in his life in a big way. The demons of homosexuality have a strong hold in his heart. It must be from not having his natural father.”
You assholes! Did you forget I’m sitting right here?
“What a splendid idea. You will lead this ministry with Skyler. We can assemble a small team of our trusted prayer warriors. Again, we want to reduce the opportunity for scandal. Why don’t you bring Rebecca in? I think it is time we chat with her.” Levi nodded and stepped out of the room to get Rebecca.
“You know I’m sitting right here, right?”
“Yes, of course,” Pastor Bob said, barely glancing in his direction.
“Why talk about me like I’m not sitting…right…here?” He tapped the armrest to make his point.
“I sense so much anger in you,” the pastor said, sighing.
Levi walked back into the office with Rebecca in tow. He invited her to sit near the pastor and he sat in the empty armchair next to Skyler. She sat down and folded her hands in her lap.
“Hello, Rebecca,” Pastor Bob said. He crossed his legs.
“Hello, Pastor. How are we doing today?”
“It’s been an interesting hour, Rebecca. Skyler told us about the sexual acts he committed, such as mutual masturbation, oral sex, cuddling, and kissing that transpired between himself and Cameron. I believe he shared with us honestly. I have to give him credit for being brave with his sinful admissions. It shows me the Lord is already working in his heart and I know God wants to heal him of his demonic influences. Right now, Skyler is hurting a lot. He misses Cameron, which I can understand…”
Wait, my demonic influences?
“Cam was my boyfriend, not a possessed freak,” Skyler interjected.
“You’re right, Skyler. He was your boyfriend, but not anymore, praise Jesus.” Levi said.
Skyler tightly gripped the armrests of his chair with his fingers.
Pastor Bob continued. “That friendship, as you know, has been tainted by the Devil and must not be rekindled for a long time.”
“Yes, of course,” Rebecca said emphatically. “The good Lord has already been working. Cameron’s family is moving away. His father requested a transfer to an office branch in a different state.”
“Praise God,” Pastor Bob said, clapping his hands together. He looked toward the heavens for a moment before contending. “See? When one door closes, God opens another. The path to righteousness and holiness is before you now, Skyler. All you have to do is accept the calling of the Lord in your heart…”
Oh, for Christ’s sake. Skyler rolled his eyes.
“While it is sad they must disrupt their lives over their son’s sinfulness, we must not lose sight that Skyler is not in a good place as well. Right now he doesn’t understand what’s going on…”
You asshat! You’re the one who has no clue.
“Skyler thinks it is okay for him to be a homosexual, but in fact, we know this is not God’s plan for his life.”
“I’m right here,” Skyler said, glaring at Pastor Bob.
“Yes, I know,” Pastor Bob said. He turned back to Rebecca. “To be a healthy heterosexual male is and always was God’s plan for his life. As a next step, we believe Skyler should be prayed over so the power of our Lord can turn him into a healthy heterosexual male. I will entrust Pastor Levi with this responsibility, and don’t worry, we will keep all of this confidential.”
“Yeah, right.” Skyler muttered.
Levi spoke up. “Tomorrow is Wednesday. I can schedule a prayer session at three o’clock. I’ll have the team ready to go. Rebecca, all you need to do is bring Skyler. We’ll invite you to spend the hour praying for Skyler in the church so he is not distracted.”
“I understand. Tomorrow works. We’ll be here.”
Skyler sighed. God help me. Wait…
* * *
The next day after school, Levi led Skyler into a small chapel in the parsonage. As Levi stepped aside so he could shut the door behind them, Skyler saw two men and a lady already inside, praying.
“Good afternoon again, everyone. Skyler, this is David, Jim, and Gayle. They are the prayer team I’ve assembled for you.”
Skyler recognized them from church services. David stepped forward and extended his arms to Skyler. Normally, on Sunday, Skyler would have accepted the hug from him, but not today. He put his hand up in front of him. “No, I don’t want to hug any of you.”
David dropped his arms and nodded. “I understand Skyler. It’s okay.”
Levi grabbed a chair from the side and pulled it toward the center of the chapel. He looked at Skyler and tapped the chair back. Skyler sighed and sat in the chair. Levi took another chair and faced Skyler. David, Jim, and Gayle approached and stood behind and to the left and right of Skyler.
“May we put our hands on you?” Gayle asked sweetly.
“What? Why do you want to do that?” Skyler asked.
“It helps convey the power of the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to, but it’s something we are accustomed to doing.”
Skyler shrugged. “Whatever.”
Gayle moved and stood behind him, placing her hands on his head. Then she started praying softly. David and Jim each placed a hand on his shoulders and started praying out loud as well. Levi added his prayers and Skyler heard four people praying out loud around him, blessing God and asking for his Divine Wisdom and Power to fill the chapel and bless them so they could impart healing into Skyler’s heart and soul.
“I sense a deep lack of faith,” Gayle said first.
“I confirm,” Jim said.
“Skyler, do you believe in God?” Levi asked, not missing a beat.
“Yes, I believe in God,” Skyler said. And he did. He just wasn’t sure if they were talking about the same God. The God of the New Testament seemed a lot more normal than the God of the Old Testament. The former taught a message of love, the latter was the most teasing, taunting, and vengeful son-of-a-bitch Skyler had ever seen.
“Do you believe in the power of God in your life?” Levi asked.
“Depends.
“On?”
“Which God you’re talking about? Nahum 1:2, The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. Or, 1 John 4:16, We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
“You know the scriptures, but you don’t know the Lord,” Jim said. “You need to believe in order to let God work in your life. Maybe if you had been baptized, things would be different. But we’ll work with what the Lord gives us.”
Wow.
They continued for almost an hour, praying for freedom in Christ, deliverance from the Devil, the purging of his sinfulness, and the expulsion of demons. They made Skyler rebuke the various sinful demons they felt had possessed different aspects of his life and challenged him to grow more deeply in the Lord.
Eventually, Levi figured out Skyler wasn’t consumed in the glory and majesty of the Savior. At the end of their session, he walked Skyler over to the church in silence, where they met up with Rebecca who had been fervently praying on her own.
“Tomorrow, same time, please.” Levi said.
No, not again!
Rebecca sighed and nodded.
I don’t believe this. Skyler crossed his arms and glared at Levi’s back as he walked out of the chapel. He clenched his teeth in anger.
That night, after the younger children were in bed, another fight ensued in the Tinsdale home. Once again, Skyler stormed away to his room. After he finished getting ready for bed, he buried his face in a pillow as emotions overcame him. The muffled sounds of Rebecca and Stephen fighting echoed through the floorboards and he started sobbing.
* * *
The next day, Rebecca picked Skyler up after school and brought him straight to the parsonage. Levi was waiting for him on the porch.
“Afternoon, everyone,” Levi said.
“Afternoon, pastor,” Rebec
ca said. Skyler remained silent.
“Today’s going to be especially challenging for Skyler. We’re going to do some serious deliverance. The team has been in prayer for the past hour.”
Rebecca clutched her heart with her hands in awe. “Oh, they are such good and holy people to give up so much time for us.”
“They are definitely a blessing to this church, Rebecca. We’ll see you in a bit.”
“God Bless!” she said. She turned and walked toward the church.
Once again, Levi led Skyler into the parsonage chapel. Skyler saw Gayle, Jim, and David inside, already engrossed at prayer. They paused to welcome him and then surrounded him as they had done the day before. For the next hour, they prayed over Skyler and tried their best—despite Skyler’s lack of faith and belief in the power of God, which they reminded him of incessantly—to expel all sorts of homosexual and sodomitic demons from his body, mind, heart, soul, penis, and anus. Levi droned on and on about the good and holy use of God’s gift of testosterone and how the power in the testicles of Jesus Christ enabled him to hang on the cross so he could bring salvation to mankind through the holy testosterone that made him a man. He explained in bizarre detail that God expects all men to use their testicles for the Kingdom and not for the sinful things that have no place in the Kingdom.
That’s when Skyler finally snapped.
“Come on, Levi, this is ridiculous. Why do I have to go through this bullshit and you don’t? You’re gay, just like me! Did you go through this prayer stuff, too? Or are you next after you guys straighten me out?” Skyler made air quotes to emphasize the silliness of what they were doing.
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