twenty-four
KELLI WOKE UP TUESDAY MORNING EXCITED ABOUT her new job, but now that she’d been at it for two hours, she was even more enthused. She’d spent the first part of the morning settling into her cubicle, touring the three buildings on the church’s property, and familiarizing herself with the various ministries, including their printed brochures and web presence. She had no idea Living Word had so much going on—Bible studies and accompanying DVDs on almost every book of the Bible that shipped to people around the world, tons of active outreaches in the community in addition to ministries within the church, not to mention a music ministry that was gaining more and more outside recognition. All of this meant that the internal and external communications connected with these efforts— web, publications, media, and video—needed to be consistent with Living Word’s vision and commitment to biblical integrity.
Now she was digging into her first project, thrilled that it was the newest ministry being birthed at Living Word. She’d been reading through the stories that had come in since Sunday’s announcement, amazed at not only the sheer volume, but at the transparency of the men. She flagged particularly poignant ones or those that showcased different walks of life.
The one in front of her was especially moving, a young man who’d started dealing drugs at fourteen after his father died and his mother was herself strung out on drugs. Reminded her somewhat of Brian, whose mother also struggled with addiction. If it weren’t for Grandma Howard, who knows? He might’ve ended up like this guy, living a life of robbing and stealing and violent assault. Someone eventually told this man about Jesus, and he was forever changed. At twenty-nine he now worked in the inner city, sharing the Gospel with guys who were like him. That was definitely one to feature on the website, if not the video.
Kelli sat back a moment, thinking about that video. Doug told her this morning she had a green light to script it. She wondered if a portion should be an interview format, maybe of Cedric, since Scott didn’t want to tell his story that way. She could write a list of questions for him to answer on camera, which would then be edited for seamless effect. But she knew she wanted a dramatization as well, and as she read through these stories, she was looking for one to feature. So many possibilities. So much potential impact.
A shadow fell across her desk, and she looked up. “Brian? What are you doing here?”
He got a chair from another seating area and placed it in the cubicle. “I’m here every Tuesday, meeting with the pastor.”
“I didn’t know that.”
His gaze was solemn. “Got a minute?”
Kelli nodded. “I do.”
He leaned over, elbows on his thighs. “I talked to Dr. Lyles about something and thought I’d run it by you too, since it involves you.”
Kelli turned more toward him.
“The love letter to our baby . . .” He looked down a moment. “I’d come to the conclusion that I would release the album, the song would be on there, and people could piece together on their own that it’s about our love for a baby. But I wouldn’t directly address it, and they’d never really know the story.” He paused again. “But I feel like God is moving me to do more with the song . . . to make it the first release on the album and tell the story behind it in some form or fashion.”
Kelli took a breath, eyes widening. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“Yeah, that was my first thought. If I have to be honest, I know what I’m struggling with. I’m not the Christian rapper who came out of a really hard street life. I’m the one with the ‘good boy’ image. What’ll happen if people see this other side of me?” He sighed. “I thought about how people treat Heather, knowing her past. I might lose a lot of support.”
“What did Pastor Lyles say?”
“Same thing I knew in my heart but needed to hear—that I can’t operate out of fear. I have to do what I feel God’s leading me to do. But he said something else—that he thought God would use this in ways I couldn’t imagine.”
Kelli’s heart was beating fast, trying to catch up with what Brian was saying and what it might mean. “So . . . how much would you tell? About the baby only? About us?” Her mind flashed to Miles. He didn’t know about her past.
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to get your thoughts on it, but I also wanted your help. You’re the communications person. I wondered if you’d work with me on how to frame the story and through what format.”
“Don’t you have a management team and PR people to guide you with stuff like this?”
Brian shook his head. “I let my manager go. I have a booking agent and a road manager, and the label does some marketing stuff but a professional publicity team? No. Nothing like that.”
“But I’m not a professional either, Brian. I’m just getting started. You need someone with experience to help you with something like this.”
“But the story involves you, too, and even though you wouldn’t be named publicly, I trust how you’d handle it.”
“Won’t people guess I’m involved, since I’m singing on the song?”
“Not at all. You’ll be on every song. They’ll just think you’re on the album because I love your voice”—he smiled for the first time since he arrived—“which I do.”
Kelli sighed and stared vaguely at the stack of stories on her desk. Stories about choices, some of which caused a great deal of pain, yet God somehow brought beauty from the ash heap. She tapped her pen on the desk as a realization beckoned. This really wasn’t about Brian or her. It was about God using them to convey a message. And wasn’t that the business she was in?
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay what?”
“I think you should do it, and I’ll help you—though I have no idea what to do.”
“Thanks, Kel. I already feel a lot better about it.” He got up. “You’re coming this afternoon?”
“I’ll be there. Looking forward to working some more on background vocals for the song with Heather and me.” They’d started it last evening.
“The part you already did blew me away. I got kind of misty listening.”
“So did I, when I heard it back. Made me think of all God’s done in just the last month.” She held Brian’s gaze. “I’m seeing God in a whole new way by working on this album. Thank you, Brian.”
“I’m along for the ride, just like you.” He got up, lifting the chair. “And we’ve got awhile to go yet.”
Kelli watched him leave, his last words lingering.