The Gospel Page #3

Yeah, he's been that way

ever since I was a kid.

I know he's proud of you.

Hey, it was nice to meet you, man.

Look, my client acted

on good faith

assuming things

would be negotiable

which is why he refused

to sign the contract.

Look, Sandstone.

You agreed to the deal, and you

can't just change the terms now

because the song's a hit.

- It was a bad deal from the jump.

With the cash that song made,

I'm supposed to get more.

"It was a bad deal."

You know what, I took the risk.

If the song was a bust,

I'd be left holding the bag.

My client should also be guaranteed

that two of his tracks

appear on the next

David Taylor album.

Hold on. You know what?

You can have my answer right now.

You get nothing.

No track, no money.

Wanna take me to court? Go ahead.

It'll be a cold day in hell

before I let a chump like you

extort money from me.

So that went well.

- Hey. Hey, Reverend.

- Bishop.

- How you doing?

- Man, how you doing?

- I'm doing great.

- Good to see you.

Look, I'm glad you're a little early.

There are a few things

I wanna talk to you about.

No problem. What's going on?

You know, minister, I don't know

how much time I've got left.

And I think it's about time

I choose a successor.

I agree. I agree totally.

That's why I'm gonna choose Frank

when I step down.

- Frank?

- Yeah.

Look, with all due respect, sir

I just always thought,

when the time came

that you'd pass the baton to me.

You know, minister, you've been

a great administrator for this church

and you've been a good friend.

And I expect you

to do the same for Frank.

We're just gonna leave this

in God's hands.

Come on, now.

It's gonna be all right.

We're living in a brave new world.

We're competing against tabloids

rappers, music videos,

basketball players, Internet.

People are seeking guidance

from everywhere outside the church.

Now, if we don't step up our game,

we're gonna get left behind.

We can't preach prosperity

and blessing

when we ain't looking the part.

That's not gonna fly.

I'm sorry, I didn't know

you were meeting.

- Come in, have a seat.

- I'll come back.

- No, no, no.

- You sure?

We all like family here.

You were saying, Frank?

We done made our repairs.

The roof, plumbing, the transformer.

You know, I believe in maintenance,

but this here is ridiculous.

Now, we need a new church.

A new church.

- But we've been here for years.

- A new facility would be nice.

- Yeah.

- The board of churches

has already denied us funds

to do repairs in this church.

What makes you think

they gonna give us money

to build a new church, Frank?

Besides, this church right here

has been a historical pillar

of strength in this community

for as long as I can remember.

I'm sorry, Bishop Taylor, but you see.

It's like the Lord himself saying:

"If y'all won't erect

a brand-new church

l'm gonna take this one down."

So, what do you propose, Frank?

Minister Hunter here could get us

a great low-interest loan, right?

But we gonna need

the down payment...

- And how much?

... in a few weeks.

About 150,000.

Assuming that

this thing is feasible

how soon can we come up

with a down payment?

- The repairs have depleted all of our...

- I got an idea. Sorry.

Why don't we just ask David

to cover the shortfall.

Then we'll pay him back.

- David?

- Right?

Wow, that's a great idea, yeah.

I mean...

I got a better idea, though.

What if I just call in some favors

with my artist friends and we'll have

a concert and raise the funds?

- Like a revival.

- Exactly. Yeah.

I mean, it's great for them because

most of them are spiritual anyways.

Right? And then the publicity will help

bring new members to the church.

Yeah, we could also make it part of

Bishop Taylor's retirement celebration.

Use it as a way

to salute in a new legacy.

- I like it.

- I like it.

Now, assuming, David, you could

help me out with the choir.

Oh, but, Dad, my quota's

one great idea a day.

I think David has exhausted

himself a little bit.

Hold it up, y'all. Hold it up. Everybody,

I'm sure you know David "D.T." Taylor.

This is Bishop's son.

But what you don't know, he got

his start right here in this choir.

- Yep.

- He stopped by to give us a few words.

- Oh, no, no.

- Come on, man. Let's give it up.

Stop, stop, stop.

Watching you guys sing

is really something.

I have one suggestion, though.

- Just an idea.

- Sure, by all means.

Opposed to starting with the solo,

go with the alto section first.

And then the tenors and the bass

and then maybe

the solo or something.

- Let's do it your way.

- I don't know.

All right. Oh, okay, cool.

All right, ready?

We ran late, but I'm on my way.

- Hey. So how did you like the new...?

- I have a phone to my ear.

What do you think that means?

Give me 30 minutes? Okay.

You were saying?

Only that I hope you like

the changes that we made.

They were good changes.

I was kind of impressed

Mr. "Undress You" Man by night

and servant to the Lord by day.

Servant...?

Okay, okay. Hold on, hold on.

So is that how you operate?

A few snide comments and you just

vanish without a trace or a name?

It's Rain.

- Rain. Well, that's cute.

- Cute?

You headed somewhere specific?

Wanna grab a bite?

- That is, if your man is cool with it.

- Excuse me?

- Well, I see you've met my niece.

- Oh, Minister Hunter, yes.

Hey, Uncle.

We've gotta go pick up Alexis.

- Right. Catch you later, David.

- Okay, take it easy. Good to see you.

All right.

I heard Brother Gordon invited you

to sing with the choir.

Yeah, we talked about it.

Hey, Frank.

How long did you know

about my father?

Well

he told me shortly after

he was diagnosed.

How come you didn't call me?

I didn't feel it was

my responsibility

to tell you about your own father.

You know...

No.

Wait till Sunday.

You're gonna love my performance.

All right, now.

I'm a little concerned

about David, sir.

- Why so?

- Don't get me wrong.

I'm thrilled to have him back

at the church

but I was a little surprised at his

involvement in the board meeting.

You know, I remember

when y'all used to be so close.

And how hard you took it

when he left the church.

We all love David, you know

but I just wonder if his presence

is not gonna send out

the wrong message

to the other members.

- I understand.

- Yeah, now he's singing

with the choir on Sunday.

Well, you know, I encouraged him

to get involved with the choir.

Well, now, I don't know. I mean,

I'm just worried that, you know

him singing with the choir will

send the wrong impression.

He's a secular artist with a hit song

called "Let Me Undress You."

I mean, you see

what I'm getting at?

- Doesn't look good, huh?

- No, sir.

- No, sir.

- Well, you know, I'm of the mindset

that we should spend

a little less time looking good

and a little more time

actually being good.

Now, I know David's involvement

may ruffle a few feathers.

But I'm gonna encourage his growth

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