Desire to take the thing to church (4)
I believe the answer is:
itch
'desire' is the definition.
(itch is a kind of desire)
'the thing to church' is the wordplay.
'the thing' becomes 'it'.
'to church' becomes 'ch' (common abbreviation).
'it'+'ch'='ITCH'
'to take' is the link.
(Other definitions for itch that I've seen before include "Uncomfortable feeling" , "Nagging wish" , "It must be scratched" , "Prickle" , "Hunger, longing" .)