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Movie from 1941 Shows What Pastors Go Through

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It only took about 30 years and a movie from 1941 called One Foot In Heaven starring Fredric March (Pastor/Dr. Spence) to help me understand the phrase,

“The more things change, the more they remain the same.”

The story is about the life and trials of a Methodist preacher and his family through 3-4 churches.

Now, I am not methodist but I certainly can relate to the movie having been in a pastor for 35 years. And these are the key things that stood out to me as having not changed in the church or with pastors over 84 years since this movie was released.

Churches still favor tradition over change

I was excited too when I took on my role as an associate pastor. I was eager to do, to work and to preach. There is a scene in the movie where the pastors wife, played by Martha Scott, is changing things in the parsonage so she can put her own thing up. The women in the congregation were helping her and frowned at her removing these things. One woman said, “My father put that trophy there and hasn’t been move moved in 40 years.

Later in the movie, it’s the pastors children who pitch the idea of a social hall, apart from the church, where the youth could have recreational activities. I have attempted many things from skate boarding club to off site youth buildings each of them met with a side eye and a “get those kids out of here!”

Churches are still favor tradition

Innovation is sill hard to implement

Pastor Spence has the idea to build a new sanctuary. When he meets with his committee he discovers that some of them oppose him because he wants the choir moved. Of course, the man on the board whose wife, and other family and friends sing in the choir, wasn’t going to have it.

So, what does the Pastor do? On Sunday morning he decides to “give the choir a break” for the summer and invites the kids/teens in the church to sing instead.

From the pulpit, Spence makes the declaration, and my favorite quote in the film,

“He who speaks to only one generation is already dead. And he who listens to only one generation is deaf.”

It was a slick move but all it did was aggravate the situation further with people threatening to leave.

Churches are still slow to innovate.

Church people are still political and mean

Following the kids choir incident, the choir mafia decides to strike back at the pastors family, spreading rumors that a family had to move their daughter to San Francisco because the pastor’s son got her pregnant. This caused the pastor’s son to be expelled from school.

This rumor was not true. The pastor found out that the family had to move due to work. The pastor became made and gave the choir mafia a verbal thrashing that I even found shocking but it was most deserved.

Church people are still political and mean because they were political and mean when they joined the church. This is still the same. When people leave the church because there are too many hypocrites, they’re right. It could also be that those hypocrites don’t know Jesus and act like fools.

The Bible offers some advice about appearances. Paul instructs Timothy,

“having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

The church still has, and will always have, political and mean people.

Pastor’s wives get the brunt of everything

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Pastor Spence’s wife Hope. It seems every time they get settled, Pastor or the Bishop, feel it’s time to move. This hit’s home as I thought of my my wife and kids. I can remember trying to climb some kind of ladder or feeling like I was the man for some church that needed a youth pastor, thinking I was some kind of change agent.

Thankfully, my wife has her own job is is no long in the cross hairs of gossiping women and or my delusions of grandeur. The character of hope Hope was written as the obedient wife. She even quotes Ruth 1:16

 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 

Faithful Pastor’s wives are sill getting the short end of the stick, pray for them.

A Timeless Movie

In listening to the movies dialogue and church situations, 2025 is not much different from 1941. The same problems the church had then, we have now but amplified through social media and other mediums.

There is another great quote in the film where Pastor Spence tries to enlighten his son about ministry and being a pastor’s kid,

[to his son, Hartzell] A pastor’s family are in a special category. We are uh… Well, It’s as if we walked a sort of tightrope. Balancing with one foot on earth and one foot already in heaven.

Pastors still walk the tightrope today. Pray for us.

You can watch the movie for free here

If you’re struggling in ministry and think coaching might help, check out my Catalyst Coaching program.

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