The Gospel According to Luke Read Online Free PDF Page B

Belinda Swan had spent sixteen of her twenty-three years touring with her travelling evangelist family, and had not only gained considerable evangelistic experience, but been educated by herparents, and therefore, she knew her Bible better than anyone.
    Kenny Driscoll was chosen because he was a champion long-distance runner who had turned down a place at the Australian Institute of Sport to instead go to Bible college. He would head up the
Fit for Him
program. Leticia Stewart had graduated from the Conservatorium of Music with first class honours before earning the same distinction at Bible college. She could play seven instruments, compose for three, and she sang so beautifully it was hard to believe that the angels up in Heaven could do better. Leticia’s skills were such that kids would be drawn to her sessions for the music alone; God willing, they would stay for the message.
    Greg Delaney was the last member of the team to be approved, and the only one whom Luke had to battle the Elders over. At thirty-two, Greg was older than the others, but that wasn’t exactly the problem. The problem with Greg was that he had what the Elders termed a
history
. He’d spent the years from sixteen to twenty-eight drinking, drugging and fornicating. He was a self-confessed sex addict who, at a rough guess, had been sexually involved with over two hundred people. Not women.
People
.
    But from the day Luke had found Greg collapsed in a heap on the steps of the CR Church in Darlinghurst, he knew that God had big plans for the man. Luke had been with Greg every step of the way, supervising his rehab, praying for his salvation, assisting his entryinto Bible college and helping him prepare for examinations. Greg had done his field work under Luke’s supervision, and Luke was convinced there was no better Junior Pastor in the nation. Greg had life experience. He had walked in the valley of the shadow of death and the Lord had led him out. And while there was a lot to be said for the Belindas and Kennys of the world who had dedicated their entire lives to the Lord, there was more still to be said for the Gregs of the world who knew on a visceral level what sin and temptation were all about. The Elders eventually gave in, but not before warning Luke that
one hint of impropriety
and Greg would be back to handing song books to elderly city parishioners on Sunday nights.
    Greg had behaved himself perfectly so far, as Luke had known he would. And Kenny and Leticia had set up ten programs between them which brought well over a hundred new kids to the centre. And Belinda worked like a Trojan, recruiting, programming and costing. She typed correspondence, met with parents, sweet-talked the Board of Elders and solved ninetynine per cent of problems before Luke had a chance to worry about them. She made breakfast for the team every morning, took care of ordering all the kitchen supplies and coordinated the volunteer team responsible for laundry and cleaning. And she wore short shorts, low-cut shirts, clingy dresses and shiny lipstick. She knocked on Luke’s door a hundred times a day, never waited for a response before charging in,perching her bottom on his desk, touching, questioning,
bothering
.
    And again, now, barely a minute since she’d left the room, her voice was assaulting him again as she knockopened his door. ‘Excuse me, Luke?’
    â€˜Problem?’
    â€˜That woman’s here to see you. The one from yesterday?’
    Luke was out of his chair before she’d finished speaking.
    That morning, after Luke Butler had left her office, Aggie had tried to contact her mother. After digging through the chaos of her desk drawers for twenty minutes, she found the scrap of paper containing the ten-digit number her mother had yelled down the phone at her when she last called five or six months ago. Aggie dialled it, then spent several frustrating minutes trying to communicate with the woman on the other end whose