Member of the clergy, American patriot, approaching North Dakota (8)
I believe the answer is:
reverend
'member of the clergy' is the definition.
(reverends are members of the clergy)
'american patriot approaching north dakota' is the wordplay.
'american patriot' becomes 'revere' (Paul Revere, patriot and US founding father).
'approaching' says to put letters next to each other.
'north dakota' becomes 'ND' (abbreviation for the US state).
'revere'+'nd'='REVEREND'
(Other definitions for reverend that I've seen before include "Title of respect for a clergyman" , "Vicar's title" , "Priest's title" , "like Father Brown" , "(Form of address to) clergyman" .)