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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781524673123 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 02/25/2017 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 108 |
| File size: | 800 KB |
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CHAPTER 1
First Lady Brown
Anita sighed heavily as the deacons came out from the back. She dreaded that it was about to be another day of singing, clapping, praising, praying, preaching, but no changing. Deacon Hiller would open with the prayer, and one of the church Mothers would sing an old Negro spiritual that would arouse somebody to start crying because they remembered the fact that they lost a family member. She shook her and tried to smile as everybody walked pass her speaking kindly "good morning, First Lady." She politely replied, "good morning, how are you?" It was so scripted that anybody could do it if he or she did it long enough. However, truthfully she had become tired of the game of charades. When would the madness end? Didn't the people believe that God could do what they prayed for every Sunday? Moreover, yet, a third of their church was still of government assistance, worked minimum wages jobs, and had no savings or 401k plan for retirement. However, how could she have talked about them without talking about herself? She prayed the same prayers and song the same songs every Sunday, but it did not bring change into their marriage. It did not explain the massive amounts of debts that she and Stan had in their personal lives. Therefore, "the pot had no right to call the kettle black," so she continued with her pretenses every Sunday. As the church went on through service, it was almost time for the Pastor Stan Brown Sr. to come from the back. Anita thought to herself: "how did this happen? How did I become a First Lady?"
Yelp, she had married the most infamous Preacher in Trey County. The St. Peter's Baptist Church was a beautiful church that sat two hundred people without counting the extra chairs in the back. It was started by Stan's Senior's father Pastor Ray Larry Brown. Pastor Ray Larry Brown had died from a heart attack about eleven years ago. Stan was the youth pastor and associate Pastor, and the church mainly fell to him. Stan was an amazing preacher! He had his father's wisdom of the Word and the modern knowledge of the new age technology that allow him to be interactive with today's generation. Stan had been preaching in his father's footsteps since the age of fifteen. He had won many speaking engagement awards and always had a booked yearly calendar to be the keynote speaker at a program. Stan had a small associate degree in Human Resources and political science. Anita always asked him why he did not pursue his degree in what he knew best which was the bible. Stan always replied, "I do not need a degree to know how to live right, just the right heart." Therefore, Stan always wanted to pursue a dream of attaining something that he could use tactfully in the world. Despite Stan's reasoning for not pursuing a Biblical Studies major, he felt that he never had time for school anymore due to all the traveling and pastoral duties that he had now been left with. Stan's pastoral and preaching ministry did not start to thrive until he was invited to the National Baptist Convention with a friend of His father. The invite was to help better prepare him to pastor the church since his father had passed. Reverend Charles Bowles, who asked Stan, was one of the keynote speakers that year. The morning of the day two of the convention Reverend Bowles became terminally ill in his hotel room. After being rushed to the emergency room, everyone looked to Stan to deliver the morning message in His place. Stan was elated but scared out of his mind at the same time. This message would be televised and broadcasted around the world. The elders and of ministers felt that because Reverend Bowles had chosen Stan as his special invite and was bragging on him so much, he had to be as good as they thought. With much prayer and a quick laying of the hands, Stan preached and changed the National Baptist Convention forever. Never had such a young Pastor had shaken the foundation of the room by being asked to speak with only an hour and half of preparation. Stan got endorsements and invites for almost everyone there. He took them gladly knowing that it was the beginning of a new career. He shortly quit his old daytime job and went full-time ministry. Stan began pastoring and traveling the country to preach the Gospel. Stan's fame grew very quickly, and it caused a significant number of new believers to join their Church. Pastor Stan Brown Sr., he knew how to elevate the people; he knew how to motivate them, and edify them to make them feel like God was real. However, Stan was not perfect, Stan's biggest struggle was he could not find a way to do this with His lovely wife, Anita.
So, as Pastor Stan Brown Sr. came from the back and made his way to the pulpit, every clergyman stood to their feet and gave reverence to him. The choir started to sing even harder, and the congregation went wild as if they were at a concert. Anita Smiled and nodded her headed to show her respect to him as he walked by. She said to herself, "he is such a handsome man." As Pastor Brown took his seat, Anita thought to herself "I wondered what message will he preach today?" As a preacher's wife, Anita had to learn early on the ins and outs of the ministry. She was raised in a friendly household, but it was not like the brown family. Everybody that was raised in the Brown's family had to go to church and had to have a position in the church. The children started out in the choir, and the adults worked their way to deacons, trustees and board members or something important. The Brown family ran the St. Peter's Baptist Church. If Stan were to die today, he would have two nephews and Uncle that would be ready to fill the position just because. Now, everybody had titles and positions, but these people were so far from God's heart that it was shameful to mention it. When Stan hit his big break and became infamous among a few, he nearly left the church to be run by his two nephews and womanizing uncle Phil. Rev. Phil Brown was the youngest of Stan's uncle and only had started to preach after he is gotten out of jail for the third time. Phil proclaimed that the Lord sent him back home to rebuild the family and restore the church. Everybody knew that Phil still had a drinking problem and slept with any woman that would lay with him. His preaching was not great at all but consisted of a lot about tithing and offering so he could get an excellent offering afterward. Anita thought Stan's uncle Phil was a sad and pitiful excuse for a man. As the choir finished their last song, it was almost time for the great Pastor Stan Brown Sr. to approach the podium. As the crowd gazed into his bright brown eyes and waited for the command to stand and turn to the scripture, Anita though why couldn't he have command and control over their marriage like that.
For fifteen years Anita, had given her all to this man, and now she seems as If she did not even matter to him anymore. Between the weekly engagements and programs of Sundays they rarely seen each other. When they did, it was always to be greeted by an argument or a grimy discussion about bills and infidelity. Anita had received numerous notifications that Stan was cheating and had been doing it for a long time. There had been incidents where individual women came and left the church all because of Stan. Now, this was not due to his preaching, but because he would always promise to leave Anita to be with them but never did. Therefore, when it came to the membership of women, it was always fluctuating. At first, Anita was heartbroken when she found out, but over the years it became a norm for preachers of Stan's caliber to live this way. She did not like it, but she learned to live with it. They tried counseling for a short time at first, but it only worked shortly during the slow seasonings of the church. However, once the booking engagements and programs would kick back off Stan was always back on the run again. Anita, always asked herself was all first ladies going through this or just her? Whatever the answer was she knew she was tired, and the road was coming to an end. She was in desperate need of a way out.
CHAPTER 2
Small Beginnings
As Anita sat on the large patio and sipped on her glass of Morgan David, she thought back to the days when she only had sparkle water to drink on. She and Stan had started from small beginnings. When she and Stan got married, they did not have anything to offer each other but love. She was a young twenty-two-year-old that had come to their church through an invite of a friend. Stan was preaching a youth day program. She had heard that he was a great speaker even better than his father, Ray. It was said that he was to be the next big preacher in their generation, but she never bought into the hype. However, after hearing him, she did not know whether she fell in love with his preaching or his pleasant smile. He could wow the congregation and put the Word of God in a perspective that everybody could relate too. Stan was everything a woman looked for in a man; he was good looking, had schooling, had his own place and car, no kids, a great personality, great sense of humor, and he had connections with everyone. It was surprising to know that he was still single. Rumors had it that he had a few relationships, but it was nothing too serious, due to the fact no one qualified to be the First Lady of his life. Early on Stan's focus was always on ministry and he believed that God would send him the right woman that he could settle down with and live a life of harmony. Stan's father had always remained him not to rush anything with anyone because the ministry was the most important calling he would even have the privilege of endeavoring. Anita didn't think she had a chance of meeting him and being asked out on a date the very same day. She remembered it like it was yesterday. After the service, Stan and his father Pastor Ray were greeting all the congregates in the foyer. When Anita and her friend approached them, Stan's eyes lit up with excitement. Anita noticed that Stan had a certain look on his face when he preached. A looked that said he knew that God was guiding him, and it was an assurance that he knew the mission would be accomplished. That day Stan had that look in his eyes when Anita stepped to him to shake his hand and tell him that he did a marvelous job. As she made her comments, Stan stood frozen and speechless. Stan had never experienced this before. He never found himself in a situation where he did not have an answer. His mouth became dry as cotton and his eyes watered. He tried to smile but couldn't move because Anita had captivated his heart. Pastor immediately realized that his son was struggling was about to be lost in a sea of emotion, so he clearly his throat and spoke in Stan's place. "God, bless you, Ladies, said, Pastor Ray." Anita and her friend greeted Pastor Ray and Stan. Anita wanted to say more, but she was so perplexed by the fact that Stan stood frozen and unaware of the situation. Anita knew then that she had something to offer that nobody else had been able to provide. So, Anita said to Stan "I will be coming back again; I have never heard such a ripe word from a seasoned minister." Stan was still lost in his thoughts of how could God make such a beautiful woman. He thought, "could this be what Eve looked like to Adam?" Anita had the smile that could change anybody's emotional state. The way she carried herself was so professional and fascinating. The fact that she did not have a ring on her finger was the most satisfying thing that Stan noticed. He had never felt like this and didn't know why, but he was genuinely happy to be in her presence. As the other congregates approached Stan and his father Anita and her friend filtered through the line. Stan asked the others to excuse him, and he pursued Anita immediately. His heart was racing, and he was more nervous than when he spoke his first sermon. He knew his father would have something to say for being so unprofessional, but that was something that he was willing to deal with later. Time was of the essence, and he did not have any of it to waste. As he ran up to Anita and all out of breath, he said: "Excuse me, Miss." I do not mean to impose or be rude but may I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" Anita was ecstatic on the inside, but she tried to remain humble and professional as she replied "Anita Felton." Stan did not know what to say after that, so there was a moment of silence, and then he finally responded, "that is a beautiful name, I am sure it is destined for greatness." Anita laughed and knew consciously that he had won her at that moment. She asked, "and Rev. what makes you say that?" Stan smiled heavily and said, "because I believe God has something in your life, I would like to explain in detail if it is all right with your husband." "Wow," thought Anita, this guy had some moves, and it was all the good ones. He knew exactly what to say and how to say. She thought that he had prepared a sermon on her or something. Anita said, "that is so kind of you to say, but I am not married or in a relationship." Stan knew it was game time. The weight that was on his shoulders started to leave, and he became more confident, and he leaned close to Anita and said: "well, that is a shame because somebody is missing the luxury of knowing a lovely woman of God." Anita at this point did not know if she was to be afraid of what he was going to say next or just to roll with the flow in the church parking lot. Anita smiled, and said, "so what makes you so confident that I am a beautiful woman of God, I could be crazy." Stan laughed and replied, "well I do have the gift of discernment, and it tell me that you one of the good ones." They both laughed and as Anita's friend became more invisible she only hoped someone would notice that she still existed. Shortly after the conversation they exchanged numbers and begin to date.
Pastor Ray was not too fond of Anita at first because she was not as richly embedding in the Word of God as he thought a soon to be preacher's wife should be. Therefore, Stan and Anita dated for quite some time before following through with the marriage. Anita's families were nothing like the Brown family. They went to church, but nobody had titles or positions and had a strong relationship with the Lord. This concerned Pastor Ray for his son, because he believed that a man does not just marry the woman but the family as well. Stan's mother was always in church and when Pastor Ray had finished running the streets it was her that helped lead him to Christ. Pastor Ray did not want his son to struggle in marriage because one-half was too worldly or weak to the flesh. He believed that a good strong church upbringing was an essential foundation in a person's life when it came to marriage. After five years of rigorous dating and counseling sessions with Pastor Ray, he finally gave Anita and Stan his blessings to marry. Pastor Ray even blessed the two with their first home. It was a single wide trailer and two acres of land.
Anita and Stand were so happy during those years. They were unbreakable. It had been said, that you could not place a dime between them because they were so close. This really helped push Stan's ministry when his father gave him the youth ministry and ordained him to be the Associate Pastor. Stan's uncle Phil was highly upset because he thought Stan was undeveloped and too young to be next in line to get the church. However, he did not have much say in the matter because he did not have much time in the ministry and had only preached a few times. The church started to grow very quickly with the new power couple. Stan and Anita wasted no time to have children. Within the first six months of their marriage, they became pregnant with Stan Junior. The church and the community supported them so much. Everybody saw great things from the addition of the great Brown family. Things were looking up for Anita and Stan. Anita had found an excellent job at being a secretary for a new car dealership that was growing rapid. She even got a discount off her monthly car payment for every referral that came in to purchase a car. While Anita kept busy, this gave Stan a chance to back to school and finish his associate degree. Stan loved ministry, but he did not want to get stuck in tradition like his father so he sought after something he could use outside the church. The new Brown family on the block was doing greats things in the community, and with a new baby on the way the blessing of the Lord was sure to them.
After Stan Junior was born Anita and Stan agreed they wanted to wait for a little before trying again. This was their first child, and they did not want to put too much stress on themselves while trying to uphold the ministry and working and going to school. Five years after that conversation little Amira was added to the Brown family. She had everything that Anita had: her smile, laugh, love kindness, and the grace of God in her life. Everyone could tell that she was going to be great at signing too. Amira loved to sing anywhere at any time. Despite Anita and Stan's efforts to remain at two children especially since they had a boy and a girl, God blessed them three years later with baby boy Stephen. Now, Stephen was full of energy, sometimes too much energy. He was the splitting image of Stan Senior; he even looked more like his dad than Stan Junior. The family had finally become complete. They had everything that most people had only dreamed of. They did not have many luxuries at first, but with the time God blessed them accordingly. Anita continued to get raises on her job and went from Secretary to administration manager, with Pastor Ray getting older Stan got a lot more opportunities to preach which only improved his skill set. He was teaching no less than three times a month whether at St. Peter's or other youth day engagements. Anita and the kids were always right there to support him. The children were so happy and proud of their father. They idolized him, especially Stephen. Stephen had said that he wanted to be a preacher just like his daddy. He was always preaching in the mirror mimicking his father, Stan Senior. It was so cute to see a young child that early in life already determine his destiny. He and Amira would play church all the time, and it was a lovely sight to see. They knew how to do everything without missing a beat. Everyone wanted to be the Brown family.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Looking for a Way Out"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Keeyon Jones.
Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Introduction, vii,
First Lady Brown, 1,
Small Beginnings, 11,
Trouble in my Way, 25,
Mr. John Davis, 35,
If the Walls could Talk, 45,
Everybody has a little dirt, 57,
Melody, 67,
Something Old and Something New, 75,
Dedication, 87,