Monday, July 8, 2013

First Impressions

I finally made it to these two little churches yesterday.  Last week was the pastor's first Sunday, but our youngest spent the night before throwing up, so I stayed home with him and his big brother while our daughter tagged along with the preacher.  We think it was something he ate, because no one else got sick, thankfully.  I had to take the oldest boy off to summer camp that afternoon anyway - a three hour one-way drive.  It made for a long day, and I was kind of relieved to miss the fanfare of being the pastor's family on parade.  Not that I really mind it - it's part of the gig.

Anyhow, I did make it yesterday, and it was a great day.  I still felt like I was on display a bit, but that's ok.  The parishioners were exceedingly kind and friendly and didn't seem to mind the sweat rolling off my head during the passing of the peace on a warm and humid July morning in NC.  One interesting bit of logistics - these two churches are about 20-25 minutes apart.  The earlier service starts at 9:30, while the later one starts at 11:00.  That's a really small margin of error.  Fortunately, my wife has a foot of lead when necessary.  We pulled out of one parking lot at 10:36 and into the second one at 10:55.  The second church is the one with only about a dozen regulars.

My wife was not all that thrilled about her sermon for the day.  Last week's was better in my opinion, but for some reason, many folks complimented her on this week's.  I don't think they were trying to make her feel better, either.  Preaching/teaching is one of her greatest strengths, so even when it's not her best, I always think it's pretty good, and I'm not the only one who feels that way.  You just never know what people will respond to - it's fascinating, really.  Or frustrating, depending on your mood, I suppose.

After worship at the smaller church, we went back to the first one for a covered dish lunch.  They do that every week.   Wow.  Every week.  I will need to either ramp up my exercise or buy bigger clothes if I end up doing that every week.  We shall see.

Of course, we are now in a honeymoon period, which I am well aware could come to an abrupt end.  And it will sooner or later.  That's ok - it's part of the process.  With a new pastor comes new ways of looking at things and doing things.  The past will be honored for sure, but not worshiped.  Sometimes change is difficult, and we will have to move slowly.  Our pastor is not always patient about moving forward, but she is loving and kind and extremely, almost painfully, honest.  Hopefully, trust will build quickly.  For now, I am feeling good about a fresh start.

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