Operation Rome – 5

In the last episode, we saw that chief had made a final blueprint of his plan of action on how to successfully kick X out of TPM, without a penny. He had no care on how X would survive outside. Rather he made a search of the room of X, to abolish his plans of survival outside TPM. Chief kept gun on shoulder of Mellissa, the centre Mother of Riverdale faith home and taught her lessons on ex-communication of a centre pastor. He taught her art of provoking believers, by asking her to tell them that devil has caught hold of thinking faculties of Pastor X. This is a usual trick employed to defame someone by naming him as a terrorist, backslider, the agent of the devil, Pakistani etc by many successful leaders around the world. She probably knew this trick from her years of experience in TPM ministry. But this is the first time she was witnessing that it is equally effective against a powerful man like centre pastor also. She calls this trick as nostrum of all diplomatic moves. She now has learned that this trick of false branding our opponent as public enemy is effective against all; be it man or woman, young or adult, greek or jew, Pentecostal or non-Pentecostal, Indian or Pakistani, congressman or BJP – just brand someone as public enemy, like backslider,  satan, Pakistani, traitor and people will believe your words. Any youth aspiring to join TPM ministry must equip himself with this art of demonizing others. He will need this skill if he wants to survive in societies like TPM.

We also saw in the last episode that as the sun began to set, the chief had hurried to IBR. He had received an urgent call from headquarters that D-chief is counting his last breaths. While he was on the way to look for the health of D-chief, Assistant Deputy chief had secretly visited X and warned him to not to commit the mistake of exiting from TPM. Let us see what happens next.

Scene 1

We see the chief pastor on the back seat of a car. The white car is speeding its way to the nucleus of the black-hole of TPM, where the D-chief is counting his last breaths. We see the chief’s mobile begins to ring. We recognize that it is TPM tune as a ringtone. We are not surprised because we all know how awkward it will be for the chief pastor’s mobile to play mission impossible ringtone. Usually, techno-savvy believers in all faith homes ensure that pastors mobile plays TPM tunes instead of filmy tunes which sometimes comes as default ringtone for many mobiles.

Chief takes out his white mobile and picks us the call. He is informed that the D-chief has entered glory at IBR.

Scene 2

We see the computer room in the headquarters. Emails are being drafted to all centre faith homes. Sisters are busy dialling numbers, broadcasting the news like news reporters. It is an unspoken understanding among saints, that centre pastors are not to come alone to attend the grand funeral of D-chief. All centre pastors, centre mothers, elder in-charges and few junior workers who act as assistants (servants) to centre pastors/centre mothers, are expected to attend the mega-event. Many believers will also gather at the funeral place. Perhaps there will be a big procession. D-chief’s post in TPM demands respect in life and death. It would be a shame if the international deputy chief dies and only a few people gather for his funeral. Hence a great crowd is needed in order to make the funeral as a mega event. It is a question of honour of a man. What will people say if the crowd attending the funeral of TPM chief is less compared to the funeral of IPC chief or funeral of Assemblies of God chief? Had it been the death of normal believer of a local faith home, then there would have been no need for such pomp and glory. In that case, even his own children serving in TPM, would not have attended their funeral.

We see the chief talking to a believer named George for funeral arrangements. George specializes in faith home works, especially funeral work. He has been doing this duty for many years at IBR. There is an expert believer for every kind of work in IBR. George is the funeral expert. He knows where to get a coffin box. He knows it has to be covered with good quality fabric. He knows the addresses of the right people to contact to get the work done smoothly. He will also contact local media channel to broadcast the news on TV, that D-chief of ‘The Pentecostal Mission’ has entered glory. They will pay the charges for broadcasting the news on a media channel, even though TPM believers don’t watch TV. TPM believers will proudly propagate it on Whatsapp that even the TV channels are reporting the death of TPM D-chief.

George will also arrange for video recording of D-chief’s funeral. George is well aware that photographs and video recordings of worship meetings are forbidden in TPM. He had not even allowed for video recording of his own daughter’s marriage. His daughter had then, (back in those days) reasoned with the saints that she needs video recording of her marriage. She gave the reason that she needs video recording to help her remember the precious moments of her life. But deeper truths were revealed and she was told that we should not emulate the ways of worldly people. She was told that we believe in simplicity.

Video recording is the latest addition to the funeral procedures of the D-chief in TPM. In former days, it wasn’t so! D-chief’s last rites were never video recorded nor distributed in CD/DVD format. What was recorded was the life of D-chief in written biographical format. This does not mean that this time his name will be not be remembered through biographical format. It is impossible! Biographies of chiefs are mandatory. Many workers of TPM have slept in past decades. All their names are forgotten with time. But D-chief and chiefs are immortalized for decades and centuries. Although not so quickly, but few decades down the line, D-chief will be canonized as one of the few great men born upon the earth, through his biography. Cock and bull stories about D-chief will appear on pages of TPM magazines and publications. An image of him will be fabricated as a man who walked ‘hand and glove’ with God.

The method for drawing biographical sketch of the life of TPM chief (and D-chiefs) is quite opposite to the method used in scriptures for writing biographies. Bible sincerely recorded both the good works and also the flaws of its heroes. TPM historians, however, will record only cock and bull stories depicting the heroism of the D-chief. Unlike bible which honestly recorded sexual misadventure of David, Abraham, Solomon; TPM historian will erase all sexual misadventures of D-chief, which he had committed in various faith homes all over the world, while he was young. Who knows how many affairs he had in past, and how many were quietened and limited to the place of occurrence? 

D-chief will be made to appear as a man who was very holy in thoughts and words. All the political moves played by D–chief inside TPM, to rise to the top position of TPM, will be forgotten. People who were aware of the sinister life of D-chief will pass away with time. No one who knew D-chief personally will be alive in a few decades from now. It is then his biography will be erected like a great statue made up of words and letters. Unlike bible, which recorded biographies of its saints, in order to glorify Christ and use them for preaching the gospel, (as we are seeing in Gospel in Old Testament series), TPM historians will rewrite the life of D-chiefs to establish TPM as a great institution whose highways reach the throne of God.

Chief: Thambi! Be fast.. take shortcuts. 

Driver (senior brother):  Yes appachen…

Scene 3

We see the driver manoeuvering the four-wheeled machine through small lanes of Madras! There is a turn and as the car moves along the deadly turn. Suddenly a van is seen approaching from the front. The driver hurriedly applies his brake, but unfortunately, it’s too late! The van bumps into the chief’s car, dragging it to the nearby building. Smoke is coming out of the bonnet and it seems the car is badly damaged. Chief and driver are dead on spot. This is sad. Two chiefs of TPM are dead. The chief dies in an accident and the D-chief died in sickness! All in a span of a few hours of their plan of excommunicating pastor X! We do not know why has this happened! Assistant deputy chief will now become the new chief and he will have to choose the new D-chief! We don’t know if the assistant D-chief will now choose Pastor X as the new chief of TPM or not! Perhaps he will, as he said to him a few hours earlier, that if you become chief then you can try for amendments you want. It will not be easy for Pastor X to bring changes in TPM that he desires. Most TPM centre pastors will oppose it tooth and nail. But ours is a work of mere speculative fiction. Rotten organizations have never changed in the history of mankind. Devil has never died. Then How can TPM?