Complex Conflicts
No matter what form the dragon may take, it is of this mysterious passage past him, or into his jaws, that stories of any depth will always be concerned to tell.
Flannery O'Connor
Despite Dwayne Wilson's sometimes brusque style and Virginia Wilson's high-octane zeal, Pastor Tyler Campbell considered the fifty-six-year-old church treasurer and his wife among the congregation's greatest assets.
Tyler discovered Dwayne's direct, no-nonsense approach right away. After his first service as pastor of Fair Glen Community Church, Tyler and his wife, Claudia, were standing at the rear door greeting worshipers. As Dwayne and Virginia Wilson came out, he took Tyler's hand firmly and said, "Our previous pastor was a good man, and he said you were a fine fellow—the best we could possibly hope for in our situation." Then he paused, looked Tyler in the eye, and concluded, "I hope he's right."
Tyler tried not to dwell on the comment.
Fair Glen Community Church, just outside Cleveland, was Tyler's second pastorate, and he and Claudia, both in their early thirties, knew the value of the older, committed saints. Only their faithfulness had enabled the church to survive the lean years when attendance had dropped to fewer than eighty.
Both Dwayne and Virginia were deeply involved in the church. Dwayne, a former elder, handled the church books and taught an adult Sunday school class. Virginia led a morning home Bible study for women and enjoyed evangelism, or "soul-winning" as she preferred to call it. She seemed to have a knack for turning conversations toward spiritual topics, even if she did come on a little strong for some members' tastes.
The Wilsons were not conspicuously wealthy—as a general contractor, Dwayne had been affected by the economy ...
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