Whenever a new pastor comes to town it’s probably just as unsettling for them as it is for the congregation. People immediately start wondering if the new minister will keep things as they are (as the people like them) or, are they going to want their office painted ecclesiastical purple? Will they change the bulletin, the order of service and the choir? Will they be casual or wear a suit?

The new minister has got to be a bit nervous as well. Will they like me? Gee, there are a lot of farmers in the congregation, I hope they don’t throw rotten tomatoes if I step on their toes. Should I be casual or wear a suit?

We just got a new pastor at our church. He’s from Alabama, but his wife is from Cuba. He speaks southern and we haven’t quite figured out what she speaks yet. He seems to understand southern English pretty well, throwing in a ‘fixin’ and a ‘y’all’ every now and then but again, we aren’t sure about the wife.

My dear husband, Teddy went to help the newcomers trim their hedges around the parsonage. He brought his own electric hedger and when Mrs. Preacher asked him if she could use it, he said, “Sure, just be careful not to cut the cord as you go along.” Mrs. Preacher nodded, smiled in understanding (?), revved up the hedger and proceeded to trim, promptly cutting the cord as she went.

Sometimes, it takes a while to get used to a new pastor. However, most people feel like it’s a good sermon if he doesn’t directly refer to them. So far, he doesn’t know all of our names yet.

Yes, our congregation is getting smaller and smaller. This seems to be happening a lot these days as people are opting for less denominational worship and more spiritual contact with God. We just hope the new guy won’t go in for installing a popcorn machine to make sure we all stay for his sermons.

The ladies of the church took Mrs. Preacher out to lunch. She is said to have fallen asleep in the car on the way home. We couldn’t decide if we overwhelmed her or bored her to death. However, the new pastor did ask the ladies what we had done to his wife. Seems she got home, went to bed and slept for 10 hours.

I personally hope the new pastor doesn’t ever preach on how a fool and his money are soon parted, right before we pass the collection plate. People have already thought up enough reasons not to tithe.

When I was doing collections in church years ago, I had a man put a twenty dollar bill in the plate and ask for change. With a smile, I quickly told him we didn’t do change, but he was all paid up for 3 more Sundays.

Well, our new pastor held his first Sunday service recently and sure enough the church pews were filled with people wanting to check him out. He gave an excellent message and was even a bit humorous. That had me thinking it may help open the wallets and purses of the congregation. As treasurer, I’m always reminding people that God loves a cheerful giver and they had laughed at all of the right places.

But I am sure everything will be fine with the new pastor as long as he doesn’t ask us to learn new hymns, decide to start the service early each Sunday, be so enthralled with his own voice that his sermons go 25 minutes overtime and he asks to attend a continuing education seminar in the Bahamas. Other than that, we may just keep this one!

By the way, he wore a nice suit and no fruit or vegetables were launched from the congregation.
So, far I think he was a success!