We're in the midst of some major renovation at SoHills and, as a result, our parking lots reflect a great deal of excavated pavement and parked heavy equipment. Parking spaces convenient to church building entrances are at a premium... and we're trying to reserve many of these for our guests.As I pulled into our parking lot yesterday I recalled a church I had visited several years ago. They appeared to have parking issues, as I had to park some distance from their building. After hiking from the far reaches of their parking lot, I noticed that the premium parking spaces near their main entrance were reserved for the senior pastor, associate senior pastor, and administrative secretary.
At the risk of sounding petty, let me say that this status parking seemed crazy on several levels. First, I don't know when this ministerial staff was making their appearance... but I can tell you that when I arrive at the SoHills building (usually about 45 minutes before things get started) I can have my pick of almost any parking space on our entire campus. I'm not seeing why a reserved parking space near the front door would be necessary for most ministerial staff.
And even if this was a last arriving ministerial team, what kind of signal (first shall be last and last shall be first) are you sending to the rest of the church by placing a hold on the premium parking slots near the front door?
Now, lest you think the above sounds very judgmental, I will confess that the entire ministerial of that church may have had mobility issues... I really can't recall. So, I'm more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The whole point of this brief foray into the realm of church parking is to smack me (and maybe you) upside the head with a reminder that servant-leadership means just that... reflecting a servant's spirit in my leadership, even if that means sacrificing parking privileges. Because if servant leadership isn't reflected in the parking lot... it might not get a second look anyplace else.
