Across the Pastor’s Desk

By the Rev. James Petersen, Crossroads Church

I started my new calling in Albert Lea in mid-June and for the first six weeks I lived in an apartment waiting for my family to arrive and our home to be ready. Toward the end of those six weeks it became apparent to me how much I needed my wife.

One morning, after a 6:30 a.m. meeting with the elder board and several team meetings throughout the morning, I dropped in for an impromptu meeting with the children’s ministry staff before going to lunch. A few sentences into the conversation the director of children’s ministry leaned towards me and whispered, “Is your shirt on inside out?” “No.” “Are you sure? There’s a tag under your right arm.” “Just think of it as hip,” I said, trying to remember if I actually looked at myself in the mirror prior to leaving my temporary home. When I put the shirt on at 5:45 a.m. I recalled wondering why the buttons snapped from the opposite side but never pursued the answer. Two female staff members who were probably thinking, “This guy needs his wife,” were now scrutinizing the situation more closely. Finally, I took a serious look down at my shirt and discovered, with no little embarrassment, that I had spent the first six hours of my day with my shirt on inside out. Fortunately, I was able to laugh about it, what choice did I have?

After lunch I stopped by the apartment to pick up a sports jacket to wear at a funeral I was attending that afternoon. I arrived at the church and was greeted at the door by an 80-year-old woman who smiled and welcomed me. As I moved toward the stairway she said softly, “Honey, come over here.” “Me?” She nodded and motioned me back to where she stood at her greeters post. I whispered, “What can I do for you?” wanting whatever her need was to be kept discrete. Pastors know how to do that kind of thing. She whispered, “You need a wife.” And as I was pondering this thought that was not completely new to me, she was removing from the under side of my jacket’s left sleeve the price tag. “Thank you,” I said. I couldn’t even laugh, I was at a funeral.

Occasionally, everyone makes mistakes with their clothing. But the fashion faux pas no followers of Christ should ever make is to forget that by our faith, expressed in baptism, we are clothed with Christ. (Galatians 3:26-27)