Rev. Smith was appointed to a new church. When he arrived, he noticed that the piano was in a very awkward place in the sanctuary. Being a go-getter, no-nonsense kind of guy, Rev. Smith moved the piano to the other side of the chancel. On Sunday morning, there was great wailing and gnashing of teeth over the piano move. After the service, Rev. Smith returned the piano to the original location. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. The congregation asked the Bishop for a new pastor and Rev. Smith had a new appointment
Several years later, Rev. Smith returned to the church for a conference and noticed the piano was not where he had left it. In fact, it was in the position he tried to place the piano years earlier! Perplexed, he found his replacement, Rev. Jones and asked her to explain. “Well,” she began, “I learned from your mistake. I knew that the piano needed to move, so each week, I came in and moved the piano one inch. Before the congregation realized it, I had moved it across the sanctuary.”
The moral of the story is that sometimes dramatic moves need to happen in tiny steps.
Kathy–
May I use this parable in one of our church publications?
–Dad
Yes. I’m not sure where I heard it from originally, but I’ve adapted to a UM understanding.