The Retreat

By Lawrence Cherry

The men of the Commencement series are back for another episode in their journey of spiritual growth. Allen, Tim, Jim, Davis and Chris are each facing their own individual dilemmas, and have decided that the best way to deal with the issues that life is confronting them with is to...retreat.

The Retreat is the story of five different men from different walks of life finding refuge and regeneration in faith, which helps them to examine and reconceptualize their roles as men in a world of damaging, conflicting, and oftentimes confusing images, pressures and stereotypes. It’s about finding identity and affirmation that comes from fellowship with and trust in our Creator and Savior.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shawn James
• Release date: Apr 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215508879

Lawrence Cherry

Lawrence Cherry is a pen name that is used by the author who is a born again believer whose purpose in writing this work is to give glory and praise to God and his son Jesus Christ. It is the author’s fervent desire that God will use this work to inspire others to come to the knowledge of Christ and be saved, and to encourage the faith of those who already believe.

Book preview

Prologue

Allen was hurrying to his family’s car to escape the humidity that had engulfed him as he stepped out of the church vestibule and onto the sidewalk. He was doing his best to try to avoid sweating out his good navy suit and favorite shirt as he was expected at the Bynum’s for dinner which would start in the next hour. His parents had left earlier with the Bynums, and were already there. I have to remember not to park so far from the church, he reminded himself as he traversed the third block of his four-block trek. Soon, Allen could see his family’s car in the distance. He took out a paper towel he had folded up in his inside pocket so that he could wipe away the perspiration that had accumulated on his forehead. As he approached his vehicle, he was suddenly intercepted by a friendly greeting.

Hey, Allen! Can I grab your ear for a minute?

Allen looked over to see his friend and Brotherhood Bible Study leader Daniel Joyner jogging toward him waving a sheet of paper. His navy and red window-pane plaid suit was wrinkled from the humidity, his red bowtie was crooked and his backpack jostled up and down from his movement. As Daniel got closer, Allen could see dots of perspiration dropping down from under the former’s low-cut flat-top fade. Not again, thought Allen. Then he let go of an exasperated sigh. If only I’d left five minutes earlier, he thought to himself.

Only a minute, though. I’m running a little late.

Feel you, man, said Daniel a little out of breath as he loosened his bowtie, Look, I know you’re still thinking about it, but I just wanted to give you the form for the retreat just in case. Just make sure you have it in by Monday the latest.

Daniel held out the paper toward Allen, however, the latter didn’t take it.

Thanks, Dan, but like I said earlier, I have a lot going on right now.

I feel like that’s all the more reason to go, Al. With everything that you’re handling, you need some time to get refreshed. Think about it, we spend so much time in this world letting it beat us up. It’s important to take some time to get some spiritual healing for those bruises before they turn into something worse.

Daniel was still holding the paper toward Allen.

I thought that’s what church was for, said Allen.

Allen took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his car with his key fob, hoping that Daniel would take the hint.

Church is for worship, which can refresh you, but this retreat is really going to rebuild you – you know, put you in remembrance of your role and keep you grounded.

Daniel stood fast, giving Allen his homeboy smile. He would not put the paper away.

Aren’t you guys going to be talking about the same things we talk about in the bible study?

Nah, this is going to be on a whole ‘nother level. Pastor is leading it.

Yet another reason to discourage Allen from going. It was one thing to share things with Daniel – a guy from his own generation who understood things from a similar perspective. He did not know if he could be as candid with the Pastor. Not that the Pastor wasn’t a nice guy, but he didn’t know if he wanted him to be in his personal spiritual business.

C’mon, man, you’re the only hold-out. All your boys are committed – got their forms and everything – even Tim.

Tim?

Now this was an unexpected twist.

Yes, sir.

Tim was the last person he’d expect to want to go. He was going through so much right now: he had no job, and his dad just passed. Allen thought that, if anything, the brother would want to spend time by himself – not with a bunch of guys soul searching.

He never mentioned it to me.

Maybe he thought you’d be going and he wouldn’t have to.

There was a short pause between the two men as Allen pondered the matter. Daniel continued to hold the form in front of him.

I can sense the FOMO rising in you, bruh. C’mon, Al, don’t be that guy. Don’t hear about it, be a part of it.

Fine, said Allen with a bit of resignation. If you got a pen, I’ll fill it out for you right now.

Always, said Daniel as he produced a pen he’d taken from the inside pocket of his jacket.

Allen took the form and the pen, the former of the two he was very familiar with since Daniel had attached several copies to the assignment sheets he’d given out in class for the past 3 weeks. All of those had somehow found their way into the garbage. He quickly checked off the necessary boxes and scrawled his signature at the bottom, leaning on the hood of the car. Then he took out his wallet and retrieved two tens and a twenty for the attendance fee. Finally, he folded the money into the form and handed it to Daniel.

Thanks, man - no, you just did yourself a favor. I promise, you won’t regret it,

Daniel took the backpack he was wearing off his back and stuffed what Allen had given him into one of the middle sections.

You’re in the wrong business, Daniel. You should’ve gone into sales instead of tech.

Oh, it’s all good. I’d rather use my pitch skills for the Lord.

Daniel zipped his backpack closed and put it back on his back.

See you Thursday night, man, said Allen as he opened the car door and got inside.

Until then, my brotha. Peace.

Peace.

Allen put on his seatbelt and started the ignition. As he pulled out into traffic, he couldn’t help to think about all of the changes he’d have to make to his schedule to accommodate this retreat. It was not that he was opposed to the idea of going on a retreat, but he only wished it could have come at a more convenient time. Allen had just made another commitment among a long list that he didn’t know if he had the time to make. He just hoped it would be worth it.

One

It was now evening, but the light from the sun had only slightly dimmed, from the intensity of its afternoon glare. There was barely any breeze around and tree limbs hung languidly from the trees, whose shade wasn’t worth much in the stifling heat. This in no way deterred the denizens of Harlem, who had gathered in crowds along the street, as they traveled here and there. Allen was making his way amongst them as he headed toward the meeting spot for the bus that would take him to the Greater Apostolic Church of Christ’s Annual Men’s Retreat.

They were meeting at the corner of 145th Street outside the uptown D train station. Allen lived close enough to walk to the spot and was now almost across the street from station. He was dressed in a black knit polo shirt, green chino shorts and his trademark basketball sneakers, and walked slowly as he dragged his rollaway carry-on with his sleeping bag rolled up and attached to the top. As he approached the spot, he didn’t see anyone he knew. He checked his watch. It was only 7:30 and they weren’t supposed to board until 8:00pm. The bus wasn’t even there yet. Allen had left home fairly early thinking that the walk would’ve taken more time given how long the blocks were going cross-town and didn’t want to miss boarding, but now he was early. There was no way he was waiting on the sidewalk in the heat, so he decided to retreat into a local franchise donut shop that was nearby.

Soon after entering the shop, he noticed two of his friends conversing while standing in line in front of the counter. Davis was wearing a simple black crewneck t-shirt, olive colored cargo shorts, and black and white basketball sneakers. Chris was wearing a short-sleeved red and blue plaid madras shirt over a black sleeveless t-shirt, blue pull-on jogger shorts and sport sandals. They both had duffel bags and sleeping bags which they had rested on the floor by their feet.

Looks like we have a case of great minds think alike, said Allen as he approached them.

Hey, Al! Glad to see you made it, smiled Davis as he gave him a dap.

I guess Dan finally cornered you, hunh, laughed Chris as he gave a similar greeting.

That would be an accurate assessment. I’m still not sure about this. I’ve never done the ‘retreat’ thing before, said Allen.

Neither have we, but we was talkin’ about it, and Iike I was tellin’ Chris, it couldn’t hurt to do something different, ya know? Especially if it’s going to help you get closer to the Lord, said Davis.

When you put it like that, I guess it may not be so bad after all, said Allen

After two teens were given their order of donuts, and a young woman received her coffee and croissant sandwich, the three men decided to place their order together. Allen ordered an iced-coffee with a blueberry muffin while Davis requested a sweet tea and a bacon egg and cheese on an English muffin. Chris opted for a veggie egg-white English muffin and regular iced tea. Once their orders were ready, Chris suggested they sit in a booth near the window, so they would be able to keep an eye out for their bus. Chris carried the tray with their food while Davis and Allen brought the bags over. Once they sat down, Davis led them in blessing the food before they began to eat.

Any word on how many guys are going? asked Allen. Then he took the top off of his blueberry muffin and bit into it.

Prob’ly not a lot, said Davis as he took the top most muffin off of his sandwich and added some ketchup from a packet. When I signed up, Dan had like two other forms in the envelope and that was after last week’s bible study. Personally, I don’t mind if it’s not a lot of people.

But then you only have a few people to hide behind and the pastor sitting right there in the middle, listening to everything we say, said Allen before taking a sip of his coffee.

I don’t mind, myself. He’s cool – very understanding and relatable. Most of all, he’s been blessed with a lot of wisdom. I’ve been to his office hours a couple of times, and I’m just grateful for the ways he has allowed himself to be used to help me. Anyways, I’m hoping this will help me to continue to grow in my walk, said Chris between bites of his sandwich.

You’ve grown so much already. It blows me away when I think about how far you’ve come, man,

It had been almost two years, but it seemed like just yesterday. Allen would never forget the day he welcomed Chris into their church. Chris was caught up in the throes of a harrowing heroin addiction and most folks thought he was hopeless. He was quite a different picture in the present.

Word, said Davis before biting into his egg and cheese.

’Preciate y’all, but after everything that I done come through, I don’t want to stop growing.

I hear that. For me, sometimes, I get so caught up with the day to day that it’s hard for me to just make that space to get alone with God and hear what He’s saying. So, I felt like I prob’ly should take advantage of the opportunity, said Davis.

Then he took a sip of his sweet tea.

Yeah, I heard you startin’ to blow up, said Allen as he started breaking up the bottom of his muffin.

No joke. I’m working 6 days a week now, and sometimes 16-hour days because I have side jobs I gotta go to after work. I have to fight to keep Sunday free for church.

You think you might be ready to leave the Sheridan and start your own office?

I’ve been fasting and prayin’ about it. I was kinda waitin’ for Him to give me a sign or somethin.’

Maybe all the new business is the sign you’ve been waiting for, said Chris.

It is starting to look like it ‘cause it’s getting to the point where sooner rather than later, I’m gonna have to make a choice. Mr. Hardy deserves someone who can give 100 percent and I don’t want to put him in an awkward position of having to scramble to find help ‘cause I gotta take days off ‘cause of my business. But at the same time, if I’m doin’ freelance, I have to be ready to put 100 percent to that. Lately, I’ve just been exhausted all the time and that’s no way to operate. That’s when the devil likes to mess wit’ you. I been needin’ some time to just think and talk to the Lord, and I’m just glad that our church is able and willing to do stuff like this,

True that. That’s why I’m so grateful to be a part of our church community. It’s not a ‘dance and go home church’ or a social status club. It’s a real community where you know there are people that care about you and your soul. I’ve heard folks braggin’ that they belong to an Acts 2:17 church, but our church is an Acts 2:44-45 church on top of that, said Chris.

Amen, said Allen.

Allen was humbled after hearing his friend’s expressions of gratitude. Here he was thinking about how inconvenient this retreat would be for him. They were right – they were all lucky to have a church that was willing to invest in their spiritual growth.

I think our bus is here, said Davis nodding his head toward the window.

Allen looked over and saw a large silver charter bus as it was passing by to park up the block.

And right on time, said Chris.

Allen checked his watch again. Chris was right. It was about five minutes to eight.

The men finished their meals and disposed of their garbage before gathering their belongings and heading outside. As the trio walked up the block to where the bus had stopped, they could see a small gathering of men waiting on the sidewalk.

Allen expected a larger draw given the fact that there were over 300 people in the general congregation, of which, 30 percent were men. In fact, there was a very strange phenomena that occurred any time there was a church event, conference, bible study or charity work to be done. It was always the same people that showed up. Most of them were present now. There was his childhood friend Jim who sported a dark-green, short-sleeved henley, black shorts and slip-on sport sandals, and Robert, a friendly, heavy-set brown-skinned brother that sported a Caesar haircut, who was one of the church musicians. Then there was Daniel, and Brother Jerry, a young head whose mom made him attend most events, and Big Brother Darryl a tall, bald, chocolate brother of a more serious type, who also attended the Brotherhood Bible Study Group. There were two older men there that Allen knew of but didn’t know as well; Brother Gary and Minister Terrell. Yet, there was one person missing. As the groups combined, the men greeted each other and engaged in small talk. Then Daniel boarded the bus to have a brief conversation with the driver and when he re-appeared he began to direct the group.

Okay, guys, you can start to board. Try to put your bags in the overhead, if they can fit. If not, then you’ll have to put them in the luggage compartment down below.

Dibs on a window seat, joked Davis as he prepared to board.

I just hope there’s a bathroom back there or I’m going to regret that tea I had, said Chris.

Wait, what about…

As Allen was speaking, the men’s attention was drawn to the sight of a luxury sports car that had just pulled up about a car’s span behind the bus. Allen recognized it immediately and it had answered the question he was about to ask.

Whoa, get a load of that ride, yo! said Jerry.

Don’t tell me Jay and Beyonce just rolled up, remarked Brother Gary.

After a few moments, Allen could see Allyson and Tim emerge from the parked car. Allyson was wearing a deep-yellow sleeveless sequined tank with a long hot-pink chiffon maxi-skirt and sandals. She had her curly blond-streaked hair pulled back in a bun. Tim was in a simple dark heather-grey, V-neck t-shirt, simple plain front navy chino shorts and black skater sneakers. Allen walked toward them as the others continued to board. By the time he got to them, Tim was taking his luggage out of the trunk, while Allyson leaned against the hood as she waited.

This is new – baby sis is giving the big bro a ride? How much did he have to pay you?

Very funny – and hello to you, too, smiled Allyson.

Hey, Al, said Tim as he did his best to smile.

Allen could see he was still not back to his normal self. He was clean and he appeared to have shaved, but his clothes weren’t as coordinated as they usually were, and he still hadn’t taken the time to get a haircut. He was starting to look like a slightly tanned version of Justin Timberlake from his early N’Sync days –but with glasses. It had been several weeks since the funeral, but Allen knew Tim was still in the process of healing.

Hey, man. You had me worried for a minute.

Sorry - my fault. I got caught up with some last-minute packing. I tend to forget that on summer evenings, there are way more cars on the road. Then you couple that with Ally’s driving… he said pointing in her direction.

Hey!

No, how do you drive a sports car and never go past 30?

You’re not supposed to go higher than 25 on city streets, doofus. Besides, you’re here in one piece and on time. The bus is still here, isn’t it? she said pointing in the bus’s direction.

Yeah, but it won’t be for long. Everyone’s boarding now so, we’d better get going, said Allen.

They all exchanged goodbyes and headed toward the bus. Allen noticed that Tim seemed to have twice as much luggage as everyone else, but upon closer examination, he realized one of bags he was carrying wasn’t technically luggage.

You brought your guitar?

Yeah. It’s the acoustic one. Sometimes I play when I want to de-stress and clear my head,

Try not to let pastor see it. He may try to use you to start a sing-a-long,

It’s a retreat, not sleep away camp, Al. However, if he wants me to help send up some praise, I’m all for it. After all, that’s what we’re here for, and He’s worthy, right?

Right, said Allen feeling a little embarrassed by his previous remark.

By the time the two men reached the entrance of the bus, all the other men had boarded. Allen and Tim got on and found seats in the middle behind Chris and Davis who were sitting together and right across from Jim who was sitting next to a pile of Daniel’s belongings which were in the seat next to the window. Daniel took a final headcount from the front of the bus and then there was another conversation with the driver. Tim and Allen had barely gotten settled into their seats when the bus began to pull away.

Allen was surprised by the amenities he found on the bus. The reclining seats were actually comfortable and there was air conditioning. Not only was it complete with wi-fi and USB ports for charging his phone, but there were monitors attached to the seats so one could watch movies as well. He noticed Jerry was taking advantage of this feature to watch some show on a streaming service. There was indeed a bathroom that several of them had use of during the beginning of the trip. Not bad for only forty dollars, thought Allen to himself. He was about to make a comment about the surroundings to his seat mate when he noticed him staring solemnly out of the window. There was an astounding view of the sun setting as they passed over the Hudson on the George Washington Bridge. The sky was dotted with fluffy clouds that looked as if they were woven with threads of red, orange, pink and purple light that colored the background. Allen wondered if Tim was lost in thought as he admired the beauty of God’s work or if something else was on his mind.

Everything okay, man?

Hunh? said Tim. He straightened himself in his seat. Allen’s question seemed to take him off guard.

You’re kind of quiet tonight. Just wanted to know how you’re doing?

I’m okay. A little tired, is all.

Busy day?

Not physically, just mentally. There’s still so many different things I need to take care of and it’s all starting to feel a bit overwhelming.

Maybe you just need an ear to bounce some ideas off of.

Maybe later, he sighed heavily. You wouldn’t mind if I just did some reading for a bit, would you?

Not at all, man

Allen knew that was his cue to give Tim some space. There was definitely something bothering his friend. Whatever it was, it was clear that Tim didn’t want to talk about it right now. Instead, he reached into the pocket of his pants and took out a small paper back copy of the New Testament and then turned on the light by the window, adjusted his glasses and started to read from the book of Luke. The print was really tiny and Allen wondered how Tim could read it, even with his glasses. In any event, it was definitely a good thing to do. Allen decided to close his eyes and say a silent prayer for his friend. When he was done, he put on his wireless earbuds and relaxed to some spiritual music that he had saved on his phone.

He was getting lost in the beautiful praise melodies of Just to Know Him by Pastor