Etta Mae Story had a hard time accepting Leona Harper when she first met her. She could tell the moment Leona stepped out of the U-haul that this new preacher's wife didn't know a cumcumber from a zucchini. Myrtle Mahorn, the last pastor's wife, was an accomplished gardner and a very good friend of the Story sisters. The Story Sisters had a choice to make. Whether or not they could shift their loyalty from Myrtle to Leona.
I've learned that it is just as hard for the congregation to accept a new pastor as it is for the new pastor to adjust to his new congregation. This is especially true if the last pastor had been there a while. Relationships run deep in the church. It takes time for new roots to take hold.
This video is a characters study in those tricky relationships: http://vimeo.com/29075368