The Newbie

I felt a little like a student in a new class yesterday as I sat in the back of the church waiting to meet our new pastor. For the last year and a half I have been attending church again after a college and post-college hiatus. I joined my current church partly due to the dynamic leadership that I witnessed in Pastor Rachel. I subscribed to most of her beliefs on religion, I enjoyed her personality and approach to the church, and I actually listened to her Message during the church sermon. So, when she announced she would be leaving, I was a little nervous.

I felt sympathy yesterday for the new pastor, because coming into the church and taking over is akin to how Jay Leno must have felt when replacing Johnny Carson. (Maybe not that extreme, but...) People are judging you based off of what they know and have grown accustomed to. This is exactly what I did.

When we sat down yesterday, I glanced through the bulletin as I normally do. The format of the bulletin was all different. Agenda items were in new places, the font was different, even the size of the bulletin was different. Then, the pastor started the service with announcements. WHAT? Announcements have always gone last! She was totally throwing me for a loop. I softened a little during the kids' message as she had a great first delivery, but I wasn't giving her too many allowances. Maybe she was just lucky-

The big moment came for her first sermon. She opened with "Call Me Ishmael." And "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." Ok- As an English teacher, she totally had my attention. She was speaking about the importance of a first impression as those lines opened classic pieces of literature. She actually spoke for a moment about writing an essay and the importance of the opening. I looked at Chris and smiled broadly; this is my comfort zone. He just groaned a little at my delight. The rest of the message was well-crafted and thoughtful. Despite myself, I was interested.

By the end of the service, I determined that I think I'm going to like her. I once heard a statement that "change is hard. Change takes time." I agree with that. Pastor Rachel was an excellent pastor who brought me back to attending church. Maybe this change will be a positive change and the new pastor will bring an element to church that I hadn't anticipated. Only time will tell. Until then, I will be like a new student, waiting to see what the new teacher will offer.