Fred Kramer entered the dinner wherer the parson had settled himself down for lunch. Fred had been appointed to one of the churches in the area at the last conference. His church was relatively new, having been established in the early 1980s. It had enjoyed some initial growth but the membership had leveled off around 200 and had remained there for over a decade.
“Hello, Parson,” he said, as he approached the table. “You eat here often?”
“Not often enough,” said the parson. “The food here is great. Sit down and join me.”
Jenny, the server, came over and talked with Fred about the menu as the parson continued to delight in his Ruben sandwich. Within two well chewed bites she'd left with Fred's order.
“How's Wanda?” the parson asked.
“She's just fine, Parson. Just fine. She just started a new job with a non-profit working on domestic violence. She loves it.”
“That great, Fred. Please give her my regards. I never will understand how you could attract such an attractive woman.”
“I'll tell her, and I don't understand it either.”
“So how are things at the church?”
“Tell you the truth, Parson, things are just stagnant there. I'm a little frustrated. But maybe we can grow a bit if the folks will commit to some changes.”
The parson had finished his Ruben and was scraping the remaining shreds of the coldslaw together for one last bite. “What kind of changes are you talking about?” he asked.
“What we need,” said Fred, “is a new approach to the Sunday morning worship. We need some really solid music each morning. We need a professional group that can be an attractive compliment to the theme of the morning. Of course, to have such a group we need to have a stronger financial commitment to put forth on the worship. And we're going to need a much more sophisticated multi-media system to move in that direction. Basically, Parson, we just need to be more lively, more directed, more in tune with the times. And we need these modern approaches to accomplish that. Do you see what I mean?”
The parson pushed his plate away. He took a sip of his decaf, wiped his lips with the napkin, folded it, and then said, “Fred, Ms. Parson used to insist that one of the things that got in the way of most people was their inability to separate their wants from their needs. You say you need these things. My suggestion is to be sure you're not confusing your need with your want.”
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