A small congregation in a small, rural community had just taken on a new minister. To the shock and bewilderment of its more conservative members, the minister was a woman.
Two of the men in the congregation had made it a tradition to take every new minister out fishing during the first month of the minister's tenure. They decided that despite the circumstances, they would not break that tradition.
The men took the minister out in a boat to the middle of a lake to fish. After a few hours of not even a nibble on their lines, the men decided to move to another area where the fishing might be better. The boat's motor, unfortunately, would not start. When the men's best attempts at getting the motor running failed, they realized that the boat had no paddle and they were stuck in the middle of the lake.
The minister, however, said that she would take care of things and to wait in the boat until she returned with help. The minister then jumped out of the boat and started running across the water back to shore.
The two men watched her go in stunned silence. Then one turned to the other and said, "Did you see that? I can't believe it!"
The other responded, "Me neither. Now, not only do we have a girl minister, we got one who can't even swim."
