New Pastor at the Church I Attend

After 19 months without a senior pastor at the church I attend, our new pastor began his ministry with us this past weekend. He and his wife have spent the past 12 years in Illinois, and prior to that, they were in California for 12 years. He started his sermon by telling us he was happy to be in Minnesota and has every intention of rooting for the Vikings, the Twins, the Timberwolves, the Wild, and the Gophers. He went on to say he had been to the Mall of America with some of his family and went to the Minnesota store to buy a t-shirt. He chose one with the Minnesota version (Norwegian) of the ten commandments. Then he proceeded to unroll the shirt, lay it on the pulpit and read it to the congregation. It went like this:

1. Der's only one God, ya know.

2. Don't make dat fish on yer mantle an idol.

3. Cussing ain't Minnesota nice.

4. Go to church -- even when yer up nort.

5. Honor yer folks.

6. Don't kill. Catch and release.

7. Der's only one Lena fer every Ole. No cheatin!

8. If it ain't yer Lutefisk, don't take it.

9. Don't be braggin' about how much snow ya shoveled.

10. Keep yer mind off yer neighbor's hotdish.

I don't want anyone reading this to get the impression that this new pastor is a comedian or not very deep. On the contrary, he is deep, and well educated, very spiritual, and has a real heart for the Lord and for sharing the Good News. Everyone I have talked to is very excited to be under his ministry.