600 Wing

Clouds covered low overhead and snow reached wide, covering acres of oak studded farmland. The road I followed tracked like an Etch-a-Sketch, drawing straight black lines in a series of right angles as I made my way southeast.

At the center of a sprawling black parking lot loomed a colossal edifice with high walls and dark hard edges, boxed and sealed with glass and cement, shrink-wrapped and watertight. Like a dormant robotic dog, it sprawled over the asphalt. I circled slowly, unsure which lettered portico was the main entrance.  I swung open the high metal and glass door to a long, carpeted walkway. Coat hangers hung to my left and more doors, drinking fountains, and numbered signposts, letting me know I was one long hallway away from the four hundred wing. The lights were off and the ceilings were unreachable and unnoticeable except for the way they blocked the sunlight. A silent figure caught my eye and vanished behind a distant doorway, above which quietly
hung shadowed celebratory banners. A large map on an aluminum stand stood in the middle of a triangular lobby area. The offices were upstairs and behind me in what was labeled "600". I turned and through the upper windows glimpsed a square turret. I crept in its direction through a darkened side hallway and emerged to a lady at wide desk. 

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm looking for Craig."

"Which Craig?"

"Huh. I don't remember his last name."

"Pastor Craig?" 

"Yes," I guessed, not sure now how many pastors worked here. My hesitation grew with every step. She opened a door and led me up a cavernous stairwell, and the sound of our footsteps reverberated from coldly painted cement walls.
This is a mistake, I thought. I'm going to ask him about ministry and he's going to tell me about their programs, their plans, their numbers, and all the things they're doing for their community. Compelling and vivacious, he'll show off this gargantuan building with all of its rooms and tell me of all the lives changed inside. Is this a waste of my time?

We reached the upper level and another desk with a pleasant lady who told me he'd be there soon and I could just wait in his office. I smiled politely and let myself into the empty room. Large windows framed acres of wet parking lot, and beyond, scattered homes, byways, tiny churches and snowy cornfields. I scanned the bookshelf and whiteboard for clues of his character.

[TO BE CONTINUED...]