My primary antagonist runs a mega-church in Los Angeles. It's an almost total scam, prosperity gospel (the doctrine that what you give to the holy man comes back to you seven-fold later, somehow), maybe some sexual abuse of the membership, what have you, but all wrapped up in a glitzy package. I'm thinking of having my MC refer to it as "Scientology for Christians" and implying that the preacher may have indeed once been a member of Hubbard's faith. But just as airlines need different levels of loyalty memberships and Scientologists have their grades of Clear, Operating Thetan, etc, my "pay to pray" church needs different levels of membership, which is where I'm looking for help. The more you contribute, the higher your status in the congregation is, the more perks (better seating, skyboxes, the opportunity to go on "prayer retreats" with leadership, etc) you get. It's not affiliated with any recognized denomination, so anything is fair game, but it is in the Christian tradition. I'm thinking about things like: Disciples/Apostles: the highest level of membership? Maybe there can only be twelve at a time. These people are in on the deal and taking more benefit out of the church (money, connections, contracts) than they are putting in. Saints. Angels? Broken down, Cherubim level members have access to the close parking spots, Seraphim get valet parking... Deacons? That's a real lay leadership position at least in the Presbyterian church, might be confusing. The more you contribute, the higher your status in the congregation is, the more perks (better seating, skyboxes, the opportunity to go on "prayer retreats" with leadership, etc. Any other good suggestions? And to be clear, this is not intended to reflect on any existing church or denomination. Within the story it's an outright fraud. I could name some organizations that claim to be Christian that are inspiring it, but I wouldn't want to offend any members or get into a debate about their leaders' relative sincerity. Thanks for your help!
The Faithful - meet some minimum level of giving The Shepherds - bring in new members The Biblical Magi (or Maga if they're wise women) - (as in Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar) - make donations in kind
Just to throw this out there, there was a Texas author back in the 80's who had an underground organization called the "Sons of the Alamo", and the leaders were fixed in number and name/title. So there was "The Travis", "The Crockett", etc. So you could have Appellants, Shepherds, Disciples, Apostles, and then the Angels. The latter would be named like "The Michael", "The Gabriel", etc. The Apostles are the "legislature" while the Angels are the "executives and judges".
You'll probably also need the group of women devoted to cleaning and scrubbing, called Marthas, and the ladies of the eccelsiastical evening called Magdaleines.
Thanks for the suggestions, but I think we went a little off track. I'm not looking for roles within the organization, I'm looking for membership levels. Like I'm a Sapphire or Sakura or Planetary member or something on my airline credit card because we did a fuck-ton of travel last year. George W. Bush (and I'm sure the Democrats have had similar programs, just none that came to the same level of attention) had "Bush Pioneers," "Bush Rangers," and "Super Rangers" status for individuals who had gathered over $100,000, $200,000, and $300,000 in support of the former president's 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns. As with Scientology and the pastor's possible past ties to it, one of the first major "spiritual" (read: significant donation) accomplishments will be when one of the faithful goes "Pure." It even almost rhymes with going "Clear."
I'd consider something like Revelation 21:19-21 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.[f] 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl Not going to name any names but there are even some MLMs with similar levels!
Going off the rails, taking side trips, and generally losing track of the conversation is what I do best.
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The Faithful - those setting out on the path to enlightenment The Enlightened - those who are enlightened (and have donated at least $100,000) The Beloved (of G*d) - those who have gained G*d's appreciation for a donation of at least $1 million) The Messengers - those who are tasked with collecting donations
The NXIVM cult had the highest level (reserved for highly intelligent, impressionable and attractive women) branded/tattoo'd (forget which) with the founder's initials. Of course, they told themselves it stood for something else, a motto maybe. The job of the highest level isn't to pay in, but to bring in the big spenders. I'm not sure what that would be described as but some play on 'the elect' with a reference to being branded might work. The Marked. Everyone inside says its about being marked out for salvation by the Lord (praise be), but everyone outside would see the title for what it is.
The Heretics The Unwashed The Starved The Huddled . . . The Beloved The Blessed The Archangels - those with Gohd's license to kill.
