Chaos In The House of The Lord

By now, you have probably seen the video of a pregnant Yolanda Beavers crashing services at East St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church in Abbeville, MS, in an attempt to confront her lover, Pastor Ricky Scott, and his wife. When I watched the initial video of this ruckus that someone sent me, my mouth fell open. I might be a “lapsed” Baptist at this point in my life, but having been raised in the church, I could not believe Ms. Beavers would step in the house of the Lord with that mess. And that is not to excuse her alleged lover—if Pastor Scott did indulge in a relationship with Ms. Beavers, he paved the way for drama to unfold in the place that he, perhaps more than others, should recognize as sacred.

My shock quickly abated, however, when I realized this story was not particularly unfamiliar. In the world of fiction that I frequently inhabit, authors have commonly told stories like this. Pastor Ricky Scott just might be the charismatic, womanizing Reverend Curtis Black (popularly penned by novelist Kimberla Lawson Roby) come to life. And the ever-popular Carl Weber wrote about the sometimes-seedy nature of relationships and interpersonal dynamics in black churches. Urban fiction stories are full of money-grubbing, exploitative pastors with voracious sexual appetites, scheming First Ladies, Godless PKs (preachers’ kids), and church drama.

Those stories are rooted in the fact that the church is (was?) so deeply entrenched in black communities, particularly African American communities, that many of us attended services. I had to go Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and to Bible study, youth meeting, youth choir rehearsal, and any events my mother heard of. But with that kind of rigid attendance came the knowledge that the exterior pureness was often underscored by an interior putridness. As a young adult, I watched my pastor stand in the pulpit as he was accused by an angry grandmother of having an inappropriate relationship with her underage granddaughter. He “left” his position not long after. The irony of the fact that it is the all-male deacon board who must decide whether or not to unseat “misbehaving” pastors when they often engage in similar trials and trysts is not lost on me. Neither is the fact that the male pastor is often portrayed as a sympathetic, redeemable figure deserving of forgiveness because he was tempted by a plotting, home wrecking Jezebel. The “side” woman, on the other hand, is shamed and shunned.

If you’re wondering about the outcome of the Mississippi case, it seems Mrs. Scott has decided to stay. This begs the questions why? Why would she stay with a man who embarrassed not only her but also her marriage? I mean unless he truly is innocent, but even still I don’t know. Once something like that is out in the air it does not just disappear even if it is found out to be false. Now let’s say the pastor did indulge in a relationship with Ms. Beavers and his wife did stay because we have seen this happen, what could be the reason for this? The first thing that comes to mind for me is the money, we can’t pretend that some of these pastors are not balling out off the backs of the congregation. You know what let me stop before I say too much, but as usual let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below and 

Blissful Reading!