We all had to surrender our IDs, access cards, keys and pagers, so I was taking pictures of everyone's on our last day. It feels like just yesterday that I was getting everything and - just like that - they're gone!
It's strange. When I walked around Emory, no one knew that I was a theology student. You could easily tell the medical students and the nursing students because they were in white coats, scrubs, etc. But it's not as though the theology students walked around with clerical collars on - we could blend right in!
In the hospital - there was no blending in. It was right there on my badge. People knew I was the chaplain. Eventually doctors, nurses, social workers and unit clerks started to recognize me. I guarantee I will never again be granted that much pastoral authority by such a small piece of plastic!
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That's it! You solved our pastoral authority dilemma; let's all of us get a plastic card about the size of a credit card and carry it with us everywhere we go. When something doesn't go God's way, we can whip out our Pastoral Authority card and make everything right. I even have a name for it along with an ad tag:
ReplyDelete"The Pastoral Authority Express Card- Don't leave church without it!"
Other than my bad attempt at humor, what you wrote is so true about pastoral authority-- I have always been amazed how much priest/clergy wearing clerical collars seemed to get more respect than those us who choose not to wear the collar. Then again, I wonder how much authentic people treat me by me not wearing the collar...