Page 13 of A Surefire Love
“I want you in a role where you’ll flourish, Blaze. You’re possibly the best salesperson to work here since I opened the place thirty years ago, but after this long in business, I’ve learned to employ people where they’re gifted. As a salesperson, you did a fraction of the paperwork and spent most of your time interacting with clients. Reports and meetings aren’t for everyone.”
“They are for me.” She heard the confidence in her tone even as desperation needled her. As a salesperson, her paychecks had varied with commissions. The managerial role meant bigger, more dependable checks that had already made life easier for her and Mercy. “I will do better.”
“Finding a rhythm can take a few months, so I’ll leave you to it. Butdofind a rhythm. Reports need to be in on time, and sales numbers need to come up. A mini-seminar soundspromising. If you want to brainstorm other ways to accomplish the department’s goals, you know where to find me.”
“Yes, sir.”
His mustache shifted as he tightened his lips. “You don’t need to resort tosir-ing me. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, Blaze. You can make this work. I’m counting on you to do that.”
She nodded, barely suppressing another “Yes, sir.”
He strolled back out, and Blaze tipped her head down, fingers pressed against her temples. She needed to stop sabotaging herself and start performing. If only willing herself to perform had ever worked.
6
Anson found Greg’s office door open. Papers littered his desk, ignored as he typed on his laptop.
Anson stepped in. “You got a minute?”
Greg typed a few more words, then shut the laptop. “Sure. I had a feeling you’d stop by.”
Disappointment stretched in Anson’s chest as he took a seat across from the senior pastor. If Eric had exaggerated the board’s new initiative, Greg ought to be surprised by Anson’s visit. Then again, the meeting notes spelled out the ultimatum.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Pastors here get a vote on everything but questions about their own employment.”
“Well, sure, when they’re present.”
“I would’ve been, if I’d known someone put youth group attendance on the agenda.”
Greg’s salt-and-pepper beard framed a sympathetic smile. “It was a last-minute addition. I suggested we wait forthis week’s meeting to make any decisions, but Eric made a compelling case. I was overruled.”
“What was his case?”
“That sometimes an outside perspective can see what someone closer to a problem cannot.” His pause seemed weighty. “For the record, I also voted for a less ambitious goal.”
A throb picked up at the base of Anson’s skull. “The board didn’t think they needed to hear both sides?”
“No one was thinking in terms of sides. Some of the board members are parents, so they have a pulse on the youth group. Attendance is down. That’s not up for debate.”
“The debate is what our response ought to be.”
Greg leaned into an armrest, skewing the cream-and-brown lines on his button-down. “What would you have suggested?”
“Continuing faithfully and trusting God with the numbers.”
“I don’t know that ignoring the problem is the answer. Goals give us something to aim for.”
The throb intensified to constant pain. “Is the answer less teaching and more games? Because that’s what Eric asked me to do when he described this plan on Monday.”
“You do tend to be on the disciplined side. It might not hurt to lighten up more.” Greg sat back and crossed his legs. “This shouldn’t require a major change. Doubling only requires each student to bring one friend. The board thought that was reasonable.”
“When was the last time every board member brought a guest to church?” Anger crackled in his voice, and he clenched his teeth, trying to get his emotions in check. “They’re not practicing what they’re putting on me and thestudents. And what are you going to do when Eric sets his sights on you, saying you need to water down your sermons to increase Sunday morning attendance?”
Greg lifted a hand. “No one is asking you to water down the gospel.”
No—Eric wanted him to skip it almost entirely. “It doesn’t seem at all divisive that he addressed his concerns about the youth groups the one time the man responsible for the students was absent?”
