The congregation waited expectantly.
“God already took His faithful,” Delroy said. “And He took His children. So I expect a lot of you are sitting around feeling mighty sorry for yourselves.” He looked around at the congregation. “It’s mighty scary sitting here knowing that the book of Revelation tells us that awful things are going to happen to all of us who have been left behind.”
“Amen,” a few people said.
“Some of you might even be thinking that God has thrown you away, that He just flat doesn’t care anymore. You know the problems you have. You know the mistakes you’ve made in your life. But you know what?”
No one spoke.
“God knows too. He knows all about them. But I’ll tell you something else.” Delroy paused. “God loves you.”
No one said anything.
Delroy struck the pulpit again. “Are you awake, brothers and sisters? I just told you that God loves you and there you sit like a bunch of knots on a log!” He felt the anger of his daddy upon him then. So much was now so clear to him. How could it not be clear to the people sitting out there? “Do you know who provided this church?”
“God did,” someone said in a timid voice.
“Yes, God did,” Delroy said. “But did you see how God put this church here? Through you.” He pointed at various people. “You and you and you and you, and all of you. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t pulled together and done what God wanted you to do.”
“Amen.”
“God brought us all together here in fellowship,” Delroy said. “And He brought us together so we would learn. So learn!”
“Amen.”
“God took all of His faithful from this world and moved them right on up into the next. Do you know what you’re supposed to do now?”
They all looked at him.
“I don’t want you to think of this place as a world anymore,” Delroy said. “In seven years, this place won’t even be here anymore. Not in the shape it’s in. It’s going to be something better. Something beautiful. And it’s going to be that way for a thousand years. Can I get an amen on that?”
“Amen!”
Delroy walked through the church the way his daddy had, making some of the congregation cringe in their pews. “I want you to think of this place by another name.” He turned his back and started back up to the front of the church. “Somebody ask me, ‘What name, Chaplain Delroy?’”
“What name, Chaplain Delroy?” Reynard Culpepper asked as he sat on the front pew.
Delroy turned and faced them again. He saw Glenda standing in the doorway. She wore her Sunday best and looked like a dream. His heart ached and he almost faltered.
But she smiled at him, and there was some of the old promise in that smile that touched him deeply.
“I want you to think of this place as Halfway,” Delroy said, growing stronger. He kept his eyes on Glenda, wondering if she was going to stay or leave. “Can you say that with me? Halfway.”
“Halfway,” the congregation responded.
“You know something about Halfway?” Delroy asked. “It’s a whole lot better than No Way. Can I get an amen?”
“Amen.”
Before he could stop himself, Delroy began to walk the length of the center aisle, and—God help him—it seemed longer than the Wasp’s flight deck. And as he walked, Glenda did too. He met her halfway, took her by the hand, and looked into her eyes.
“Chaplain Delroy?”
Turning, Delroy saw Phyllis on the front row next to Walter and Clarice Purcell. “You bring your missus right on up here where she belongs,” Phyllis said as she scooted one of her boys out of the pew and had him sit on the floor in front of her.
Holding Glenda’s hand, Delroy gently guided her to the front row. She sat by Phyllis, who patted her on the arm.
“And why do we call this place Halfway?” Delroy asked.
No one answered.
“Because God has met you halfway,” Delroy answered. “He has given us a second chance at redemption. For all of you who were doubters, you’ve now got proof that there is a God and He is alive and working in this place.”
“Amen.”
“All you have to do is look at the wonders God has wrought.” Delroy looked around, aware of Glenda sitting so close. “But Halfway means something else too, brothers and sisters. You have to take stock and figure where you’re halfway to.”
“Amen,” Reynard Culpepper bawled.
“You’re on a trip now, brothers and sisters,” Delroy said in a quieter, more intense voice. “You’re on a trip and you’re halfway. But my question to you is this: Are you halfway to heaven? Or are you halfway to hell?”
“Amen.”
“That’s the message God has put on my heart today, brothers and sisters,” Delroy said. “Are you halfway to heaven or are you halfway to hell? And if you’re halfway to hell, do you know that you can turn around and get back on the path to righteousness? Do you know what it takes, brothers and sisters? Do you know what it takes to get right with God?”
“Your daddy knew the answer to that one, Chaplain,” Reynard Culpepper called out. “He done taught it to me all them years ago. You want to get right with the Lord, why you just up an’ take one step. Just one step in the right direction.”
Delroy smiled broadly. “That’s right, Brother Reynard. You take just one step in God’s direction. Not only will He help you with all the rest of the steps, He’ll help you with that first one.”
“Amen!” Reynard yelled, throwing his hands high into the air.
A shadow darkened the church’s doorway, causing a silence to fall over the congregation.
The man standing there was old and white haired. His back was bowed from years of hard living. Scars mixed with the hard lines on his face and the map of alcohol veins. He wore jeans, a pearl-snap cowboy shirt, and
