Hazel and Homer
Thursday, September 21, 2017
5:33 AM
Parking space reserved for Clergy
Homer and Hazel Morris moved to Irving to be closer to their daughter, Margaret Greenfield.  Hazel had dementia and Homer reached the point where he needed help being her caregiver.  Margaret had served as chair of the search committee that brought me to First Christian Irving.  So, I became Hazel and Homer's pastor through a sort of reverse inheritance.  Not long after they arrived, Homer entered the hospital.  As is often the case, dementia is harder on the caregiver than on the patient.  Homer had come to a place where he knew that he had entrusted his wife's care to someone who loved her as much as he did.  He could release.  I got the call late one evening.  I went to the hospital and we joined hands around the bed.  Homer died as we were in prayer with him.
On the day of the funeral, I went out to Margret's house.  I don't remember now why.  But, I remember that Hazel was sitting on the couch, ready to go to the church, and she was waiting for her family to take her.  When I walked in, Margaret said, "Mom, the pastor is here."  Hazel looked at me with a peace and recognition that I knew  did not come from me.  I had simply not spent enough time with Hazel for that recognition to come from me--Andy.  She had a space in her life reserved for "pastor."  It was a space that dementia could not erase.  It was a spaced I stepped into in that moment.  
When I reflected on that later, I decided that  the pastor-space had been forged through years of being a part of church.  Since that time, I have come to believe that all Christians have, we all need, that space in our own spiritual lives.  I need a pastor, you need a pastor, I think even the Pope has a pastor and if he doesn't, he needs one.  Christians may not necessarily label that space "pastor."  We may call it elder or priest or mentor, but I believe that God has designed our spirit's in such a way that we need to be in relationship with those we trust whose primary role in our lives is to move us toward God's grace, Christ-likeness, and Spirit-guided discipleship. 
I believe that space exist not just within each Christian, but it exists within each congregation.  Even in congregations that do not have formal leadership structures, I believe that there are those who are given the spiritual gift of serving as their community's pastors.  
I believe that this space exists within our cultures.  Right now American culture increasingly resists pastors.  I think Americans have seen too many warped versions of pastor and so they rightly recoil at the thought of a pastor being essential.  Even so, I believe that God has created the world in such a way that pastors fill a necessary space within the lives of culture.  
Disposition/Attitude toward the Pastor-Space
The pastor space is Holy Ground
The pastor space has a sign on the door saying "by invitation only."
The pastor space is too big for your qualifications
Things that Defile the Space
I/they language rather than we language.
Self-consciousness (arrogance or self-loathing/pity)
Aggression
Sloth
Impatience