What was going on?

Then in a voice that would have won Reverend Robinson dozens of Stellar Awards if he’d chosen that path, he boomed, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned!”

A collective gasp rose through the three-thousand seat sanctuary.

"I have brought shame to my wife, my children and my church family.” Reverend Robinson’s voice quaked as he spoke.

There were more gasps, but everyone’s eyes stayed laser-focused on the Robinsons. My eyes were on our First Lady more than our Reverend. Lady Robinson, as she preferred to be called, stood stoic in her navy St. John’s suit, the gold buttons gleaming as if they had just been shined. She looked taller than her normal five feet, five inches. It was the way her shoulders were squared, the way her chin jutted forward. And the four inch stilettos she had on helped, too.

I had to give it to her; while the congregation wore stunned expressions, Lady Robinson’s face was a blank slate, the best poker face I’d ever seen. Her glance was straight, focused on the front door of the church, to escape, perhaps? Her lips were pressed into a tight line that to me, made her look like she was holding back a thousand curses.

But those were just small nuances that I saw because I knew her so well. To everyone else, she was a woman who was holding her head high even though she’d just been dealt a low blow.

She was standing in a place where I, as a woman, would never be.

“I have violated my vows to my wife, to this church and to God. I have broken my fellowship with the Lord.”

Oh my goodness! I scooted to the edge of the pew as if getting an inch closer would help me to understand this better. What was Reverend Robinson saying? What had he done?

“I will spend the rest of my life atoning for my sins.”

What sins?

“And with that said, I am sad to announce that I am stepping down.”

Now, mumbles accompanied the gasps and for the third time I asked myself what was going on? I couldn’t stop asking that question because with every word Reverend Robinson spoke, he gave us a new revelation...and made me ask more questions.

“I don’t know how long it will take me to get myself right again, but you, the faithful members of Pilgrim’s Rest Missionary Baptist Church deserve better. Thank you and God bless you all.”

God bless you all?! God bless you all? Really? My mouth opened wide as Reverend Robinson took his wife’s hand, but before he could turn to exit stage right, Mr. Cowell, one of the oldest members of the church, pushed himself up from his seat and held up his hand.

"Reverend Robinson, no disrespect," Mr. Cowell belted out in a volume that belied his eighty (or was it ninety) years. “But you've led us for the last twenty-two years. I think we deserve more of an explanation. We need to know why you're stepping down.”