Have ambitions for a high place in the church (6)
I believe the answer is:
aspire
'have ambitions' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'a high place in the church?' is the wordplay.
'high place in the church?' becomes 'spire' (church spire).
'a'+'spire'='ASPIRE'
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for aspire that I've seen before include "Hope (to achieve)" , "Long" , "Aim at high things" , "Yearn, dream (towards)" , "Have an ambitious plan or a lofty goal" .)