What's in a Name?

Shakespeare wrote in "Romeo and Juliet" that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Yet, we care a great deal about our own names, and we want folks to call us by the right name, and spell and pronounce it correctly. As for me, since coming to my first appointment on July 1, I have recently acquired a new name--"Pastor Mandy."

My appointment is as Associate Pastor to a cooperative parish in Waldorf, MD that is made up of two United Methodist churches, one mostly Caucasian, one mostly African-American. In the white church tradition, many pastors would drop the title when dealing with parishioners. To call someone "John" instead of "Rev. Smith" or even "Pastor John" would not be a mark of disrespect; indeed it would be a sign of intimacy or trust. In the African-American church, however, to call a pastor by a first name alone would be a sign of disrespect, and a rejection of their authority and position. When I prepared to enter this first appointment, Pastor Tony (my amazing Senior Pastor) clued me in to this discrepancy. "I will always call you Pastor Mandy, as a reminder to me and to our parishioners of who you are." I always call him Pastor Tony or Pastor Love, for similar reasons.

At first, this was hard to get used to. I think many first-time pastors take a second to respond that first time to the word "pastor." There is a looking-over-the-shoulder impulse to see who the pastor is that has just walked in, because it cannot be me. But now, six months in, I am used to it. It makes me stand up a little straighter when people call me "pastor," not because I feel I'm better than others, but because it is a reminder of my calling. If I lose sight of why I am in the room or what our relationship is based on, when someone calls me "Pastor Mandy" I remember that it is Jesus Christ that we have in common, and that I am called to relate to people, always and everywhere, as a disciple of his. To be called "Pastor" is to feel the tug of the faithful pulling out the best of who I am and what I have to give. At the same time, it is a blessed reminder that the Church has more to lean on than just me, my gifts, or my ideas. It has the Holy Spirit, the holy Scriptures, Church tradition and the communion of the saints. We're working together on a plot of land that we don't own; we are all working in the Lord's vineyard.

I'm not saying that pastors are better Christians than laity, but I am saying that being a pastor here has made me a better follower of Jesus Christ. Whenever someone calls me "Pastor Mandy" I am reminded of why I am here and to whom I belong. I am reminded of being called out from the faithful to be in ministry to the faithful. It is the finest job in the world, and one I give thanks for every day. Pastor Mandy? Yeah, that's my name. And it's a holy and wondrous and wonderful thing.