The Limits of Clergy Privilege
When I was a new minister serving a small Unitarian congregation in Danbury, Connecticut, I took some dry cleaning in to the local cleaners. When I took my checkbook out, the lady behind the counter saw that my checks said “Rev.” on them, and she promptly offered me a 10% discount.
I was stunned. A 10% discount on dry cleaning– for clergy? It never would have occurred to me. Similarly, my dentist offers a “professional” discount. Which is nice.
When I moved to take the pulpit in Kirkwood, we had to get new parking signs. And because I am at church a lot (and not just on Sundays for a couple hours as the old story goes), I asked for a marked clergy parking space. It’s particularly useful when I have a lot of stuff to haul in to church.
Now, however, If I had it to do all over again, I would have requested the furthest possible space from the doors to the church.
Early on, some of the Eliot Chapel Nursery School parents began to occasionally park in >MY< parking space, because they were in a hurry. And I caught myself getting huffy because someone was taking >MY< parking space. Apparently, I was under the assumption that a certain piece of asphalt actually belonged to me. And so, I was somehow injured when it was “taken” from me.
I hate to admit it, but it took me a while to get over that. But when I did, I was able to laugh. And nowadays, when I see a car in “my” parking space, I say a little prayer. Something along the lines of– Thank you God for teaching me patience. And most of the time– I say that in a cheerful voice.
I think we grant clergy privilege– whether a 10% discount at a dry cleaners, or a special parking space– because we understand they are making sacrifices for a greater good; because they invariably earn less money than in another non-profit or for-profit situation; and because– like it or not (and mostly I don’t), they are setting themselves up as role models for the rest of us.
Clergy publicly dedicate their life to something transcendent. And they are also declaring, in no uncertain terms, that their livelihood is to serve others.
This is one of the things I struggle with most as a pastor: to be a role model. Mind you, I have no problem telling my people how I think they ought to live. And as a preacher at a decent sized church (500+ adults, 200+ children & youth), I love getting up on Sunday morning and– as Ralph Waldo Emerson put it– share experience forged through the fire of thought.
But I’m not so keen on being a role model. I find it easy to talk the talk; harder to walk the talk– probably just like everybody else.
Which brings us to the story of a pastor impersonating a police officer.
It seems the pastor of a large church with campuses in Atlanta and Jonesboro, Georgia, specifically the Mt. Nebo Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA was a political supporter of the local sheriff who handed out police badges to friends.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports the pastor tried to show the badge to a police officer when he got pulled over for speeding. He was subsequently arrested for impersonating a police officer.
These kinds of stories are somewhat laughable. Consider that a pastor was lying– to get out of a speeding ticket! What kind of role model is that? And by the way, impersonating a police officer is a felony– which usually means more than a year in prison. To get out of a traffic ticket?!?
Often, we only catch glimpses of people, and we infer their other behavior– and their character– from those glimpses. If a preacher gets indignant over a parking space; if a preacher pretends to be a police officer to avoid a speeding ticket– what else are they hiding?
Of course, sometimes clergy commit much more serious and devastating acts– crimes against children, for example– while at the same time, their superiors cover it up or downplay the damage. You can read more about this in Tim Townsend’s blog about Roman Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York protesting criticism of his clergy.
People who hold positions of privilege– particularly in regards to children– need to be held accountable to a higher standard than the ordinary citizen (the backbone of America). I talked a little bit about this in a recent post about how clergy should or should not be held accountable for fomenting hate crimes.
The problems begin when people in a position of authority seem to think that the rules that apply to others do not apply to themselves.
It is the breakdown of the golden rule, and the beginning of tyranny. That’s why even the smallest trespasses against this principle are important.
Speaking of privilege, think about pastors who earn $100,000 a year and get a tax-exempt housing allowance of $35,000 on top of that along with other financial perks. It is time the government brought to an end this privileged tax-exemption for the rich–yes, rich in a world of mostly have nots. This is the opinion of a conservative Christian whose tithe should not go to making someone rich. Such a tax exemption should go to the poor and low middle class.
Lots to think about. I wonder if clergy privilege is dying out in our culture or has that not been your experience? As I have prepared for ordination, I’ve been warned over and over again that being a pastor is a “high stress, low status” job. Not without its rewards, of course, but not something that a person should go into hoping that s/he will be given lots of automatic respect. And maybe that will make us all better servants–people who learn to lead from a place of authentic personal authority rather than relying on the power of our positions. Or so I hope!
The Catholic priest at our church, around 10 years ago, had his drivers license picture taken with his roman collar on. This priest, known for his habitual speeding and stop sign running, would just show the police his drivers license if he was out and about, not wearing his “blacks”. He laughed about it and believed that it was basically, “no harm, no foul”. I did not have any respect for him, and went to a different parish after that.
Privilege. Think about pastors who earn $100,000 a year and receive $35,000 tax-exempt(focus on those two words)housing allowance along with other financial perks. Can anyone image any of the apostles accepting such money to serve Christ? The government should do away with the tax-exempt status of housing for preachers. Many are comparably rich in a have-not world.
By the way, why did the previous posting citing this issue disappear?
Respect should be mutual between the employer and the employee. In this society there seems to be less respect for those who pay the bills - like laity, students and taxpayers. The employee always seems to get the best parking spaces and get out of the way when the President comes to town.
privilege - a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most.
authority - the power to determine, adjudicate, or otherwise settle issues or disputes; jurisdiction; the right to control, command, or determine.
servant - a person in the service of another.
Jesus washed our feet and served our food, and in return provided a view of the world free of privilege and authority.
To the example of the parking space, it is not a privilege. It is something that works for the purposes of the church. Perceiving it as a privilege justifies the indignation at the afront of someone choosing to use it for their own purposes.
Why do we respond with indignation when someone steps in line in front of us? Indignation is an automatic response to the view that we have been wronged. This is judgment.
I do not believe that our view of life’s little troubles are examples of God’s personal attention, and use of other’s to teach us lessons. I do not believe God uses people in this way, and we are better off not doing it either.
Here is a suggestion, next time there is an experience of indignation, consider only that it is judgment and you have generated it to justify your righteousness. Give it up. Thank God for the anger (irratibility/annoyance) that warns you when you are judging. This puts you and your relationship with God as the source of your growth. No one else.
Patience is much like tolerance. It affords the judgment (bears it), it does not disappear it. Acceptance is the access to love, not patience or tolerance. Both hold the judgment in place to serve us in a more subtle way.
I see gifts given to the clergy as acknowledgment for the commitment to serve. This is distinct from recognition of privilege, authority, or compensation.
I see clergy privilege as an oxymoron.
Maybe it is more authentic to have the sign say,”Reserved for Deliveries.”
Our church has the same policy with a whole list of spaces near the door reserved for the staff. I suspect it is a form of compensation, that in my view, is counter to the mission of the church.
I remember my first lesson on the first day of my first job. I was told to go back outside and repark my car at the back of the lot, that the best parking places are for the customers. I then put on my uniform, and went to work serving our customers.
“Early on, some of the Eliot Chapel Nursery School parents began to occasionally park in >MYMY< parking space. Apparently, I was under the assumption that a certain piece of asphalt actually belonged to me. And so, I was somehow injured when it was “taken” from me.”
You think that’s bad? My Mom would get so upset if someone would sit in what she had claimed to be HER seating spot in church on Sundays or Wednesdays. It was just ridiculous how she would rush me whenever we rode together so that she could get to church early enough in hopes that someone had not sat in HER spot and Lord behold if someone had.
If someone was in HER seating she would have pretty harsh feelings of anger towards them to the point that it was all that she could concentrate on during service. One day she was griping about someone seating in HER seat at church and I just had to burst out laughing at her, I could not help it because it was too irrational to the point of being very funny.
She even had to laugh and was finally brought into repentance over her feelings. All other times there was nothing you could say to change her feelings.
I believe that we all have something or more like many things that are this flawed or blockages within our soul that block the spirit of Christ within us that we must overcome.
It is beautiful and such freedom when God brings us to the point of recognizing our flawed thinking.
D Walker, I have to laugh at your comment about “assigned seats” in church. That is soooo funny. And sooooo real. I wonder how many visitors never went back to a church because someone gave them the evil eye (or worse told them they were in the wrong seat) for being in the wrong seat?
When I think of “clerical privileges”, I recall the excoriating words of Jesus to and about the pharisees. You know the ones, about wanting the best seats in the synagogue and the places of honor at banquets, to be greeted with honor in the marketplace, and so on.
It is, however, really about attitude and respect. Do clergy still get reserved parking at hospitals? Is it because they are “special” in some way, or is it in recognition that they are meeting a real need, and that sometimes time is of the essence for them? What is the attitude that the privilege is granted….and with what attitude is it received?
Some hospitals still reserve convenient parking for clergy. A visitor is a visitor in my view, both are a contribution to the health of a patient.
Is the efficiency for the “business” of service? I suspect that the hospital’s that provide this convenience are faith based, and it is self promoting.
It is possible to design parking in such a way that it serves both. corporations do this by providing visitor and customer parking at the front door, and staff parking at the back door. Each is designed to serve its purpose, not privilege.
It occurs for me as a public display in most cases, and as such, is self conscious.