TGIF, my Christmas friends!
Our meeting at church started out very confrontational, to the point that a couple of the men (one of them being the district superinendant) stood up quickly and got loud, but it eventually calmed down. The new DS is very full of himself, mentioning several times that he used to be a "manager of industry" and an engineer, and that his experience and position gave him the authority to move pastors as he saw fit. I heard that about three time, then I told him that I am currently a manager in an industrial business, and the mayor of a city. I told him that my experience has taught me that, although you may have the authority to make decisions for people, it's always best to include them in the decision so they can feel some ownership and consideration.
Anyway, after 3 hours of talking and arguing, he finally told us that our pastor had also agreed that he need to make the move. It will benefit his new family financially, and who can argue with that? I told the DS that could have opened with that information, and it might have saved us a couple hours of disagreements, geez. There were a few folks in our congregation that complained to the DS about the pastor (with some of the stupidest complaints EVER), starting this whole mess, and I plan to let them know what I think about that. In any event, our pastor is moving and we are getting a new pastor who, by all accounts, is a very good man. I hope it all works out.
And I hope y'all have a great day! cheesy