playing inside oneâs body, but heâd dismissed it as quaint. Such a practice might bring temporary relief, but then he would be resigning himself to a life of always surrendering to other people.
Kinley continued, âLama Dorji means well. He wants the best for our young monks, just as I do, but he and I have had different life experiences: his life has been shaped by the insular monastic environment, while mine has been influenced by my travels and education. I realized that I was not going to change his opinion today. Further debating my position would only inflate my own ego and bring suffering to us both.â
Kinley stopped walking when they reached the tree in the center of the courtyard. He glanced at its bare branches. A smile passed across his lips and his eyes crinkled in the corners. âAnyway, I had already made my decision. This conversation merely solidified it. We can no longer give in to the isolationism that religion often fosters. It is time that the story of Issa becomes public. Tomorrow morning we shall go to the library.â
âYouâre serious?â Grant asked.
âAnd, Ms. Misaki, please join us, if you can. Your camera will be useful. We wonât have much time.â
CHAPTER 10
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
R EVEREND BRIAN BRADY PORED over the construction plans spread out on the cherry table that could seat twelve comfortably. At the opposite end of the dining room that Bradyâs wife had decorated in a sea green Venetian plaster, William Jennings, director of operations of New Hope, and Carla Healy, the churchâs new controller, huddled over a stack of financial spreadsheets. Brady admired the brilliance of his design. The New Hope Community would be his crowning glory, his testament to the power of Godâs will to accomplish the difficult. The project had brought him the spotlight of recognition from his evangelical brethren. Brady was now one of the leading candidates in the upcoming election for the presidency of the NAE, the National Association of Evangelicals.
Brady had known since the day he had given his first sermon in a small church on the outskirts of Mobile that he was meant for something greater than Alabama. Most men would have been content with the success heâd already experienced as the pastor of Birminghamâs largest megachurch, but as the head of the NAE, Brady would rise to national prominence. He could become the next Billy Graham, ministering to presidents and tending to the faith of millions. Eighteen months ago such a goal seemed a distant fantasy, but then he had announced the ambitious plans for the New Hope Community, and now his book, Why Is God So Angry? , was the number one best seller in the country.
The current NAE president, Jimmy Jeffries, had not had an auspicious term. The country had further declined under his leadership, and the power
that the evangelical movement used to wield in politics had waned to its weakest point in thirty years. Brady would change all that. Rarely was an incumbent president challenged, much less defeated, but Brady knew that his momentum in the organization was building, and Jennings was working to ensure that it would peak right before the April election.
Brady admired the architectural drawings on the large sheet before him: the New Hope Community. What began three years ago as a search for land to build a larger and more modern church had morphed into a six-hundredacre mixed-use development. The current master plan included not only the new church, which had grown from its current 100,000 square feet to over 250,000, but also a community center, athletic facilities, a new seminary for 650 students, an eighteen-hole golf course, over 200 single-family residences, 350 apartments, and 300 town homes. A retail center with a grocery store, shops, and restaurants completed the development.
For years Brady had dreamed of building a community of the faithful. A community that would literally be
Kinley continued, âLama Dorji means well. He wants the best for our young monks, just as I do, but he and I have had different life experiences: his life has been shaped by the insular monastic environment, while mine has been influenced by my travels and education. I realized that I was not going to change his opinion today. Further debating my position would only inflate my own ego and bring suffering to us both.â
Kinley stopped walking when they reached the tree in the center of the courtyard. He glanced at its bare branches. A smile passed across his lips and his eyes crinkled in the corners. âAnyway, I had already made my decision. This conversation merely solidified it. We can no longer give in to the isolationism that religion often fosters. It is time that the story of Issa becomes public. Tomorrow morning we shall go to the library.â
âYouâre serious?â Grant asked.
âAnd, Ms. Misaki, please join us, if you can. Your camera will be useful. We wonât have much time.â
CHAPTER 10
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
R EVEREND BRIAN BRADY PORED over the construction plans spread out on the cherry table that could seat twelve comfortably. At the opposite end of the dining room that Bradyâs wife had decorated in a sea green Venetian plaster, William Jennings, director of operations of New Hope, and Carla Healy, the churchâs new controller, huddled over a stack of financial spreadsheets. Brady admired the brilliance of his design. The New Hope Community would be his crowning glory, his testament to the power of Godâs will to accomplish the difficult. The project had brought him the spotlight of recognition from his evangelical brethren. Brady was now one of the leading candidates in the upcoming election for the presidency of the NAE, the National Association of Evangelicals.
Brady had known since the day he had given his first sermon in a small church on the outskirts of Mobile that he was meant for something greater than Alabama. Most men would have been content with the success heâd already experienced as the pastor of Birminghamâs largest megachurch, but as the head of the NAE, Brady would rise to national prominence. He could become the next Billy Graham, ministering to presidents and tending to the faith of millions. Eighteen months ago such a goal seemed a distant fantasy, but then he had announced the ambitious plans for the New Hope Community, and now his book, Why Is God So Angry? , was the number one best seller in the country.
The current NAE president, Jimmy Jeffries, had not had an auspicious term. The country had further declined under his leadership, and the power
that the evangelical movement used to wield in politics had waned to its weakest point in thirty years. Brady would change all that. Rarely was an incumbent president challenged, much less defeated, but Brady knew that his momentum in the organization was building, and Jennings was working to ensure that it would peak right before the April election.
Brady admired the architectural drawings on the large sheet before him: the New Hope Community. What began three years ago as a search for land to build a larger and more modern church had morphed into a six-hundredacre mixed-use development. The current master plan included not only the new church, which had grown from its current 100,000 square feet to over 250,000, but also a community center, athletic facilities, a new seminary for 650 students, an eighteen-hole golf course, over 200 single-family residences, 350 apartments, and 300 town homes. A retail center with a grocery store, shops, and restaurants completed the development.
For years Brady had dreamed of building a community of the faithful. A community that would literally be
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