This is not my Bishop...though I believe she would be on the same page. Thanks Bishop Schnase for this thoughtful post.
Do you feel the "skew" toward older adults in congregations that Bishop Schnase talks about?
Monday, December 10, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
YYYYEEESSSS!!!!!
Okay, you get my emphasis. The Bishop's article brings up some real questions - especially the skewing of church toward the older adult mindset. And as one who is rapidly approaching 40, I am still considered a "young-adult" clergy. AND, if fewer and fewer clergy are younger than I, then I'll always be the young clergy - even when I'm 65... I am blessed to be in a situation where the congregation is skewed younger - average age 35 - but I recognize that is rare. AND I had to go to Germany to find them.
To say that young adult UMC clergy is, as the bishops suggests, an endangered species is a bit too simplistic. Only 14% of Gen-X attends church nationally, as opposed to 32% of the Boomer population and 35% of the Builders. It's really a matter of doing the math. Proportionately, in the UMC, the ratio of clergy to church-goers is the same for Gen-X as it is for Boomers and Builders. It is not us, but our entire generation, that is on the Church's endangered list. The issue is not as much about recruiting young clergy as it is growing the body of Christ among Xers. We do not necessarily need more paid young clergy to do that -- after all, the institution hasn't figured out where to put them anyway. The missionary landscape has changed; so, too, must the concept of the missionary. So let's train those of our generation to be missionaries, for which ordination is not necessary, and which does not guarantee a salary. Why? Because the only question worth asking is: can those of us leaders under forty sing the Lord's song in a foreign land in such a way that even the trees will clap their hands?
Interesting to hear this coming from a guy on the Board of Ordained Ministry!
I do think there's a problem and it points to the lack of leadership to reach younger generations. Young clergy is a sign of fruitfulness. We're withering on the end of the vines.
With the process as cumbersome as it is, with salaries becoming an issue for congregations (especially those that can't seem to pay their pastors--our conference is one of the lowest base salary-wise), we're certainly going to have to look at other ways of communicating the gospel...
but I hope that a guy who sits on the Board would long to see some younger faces, with fresh perspectives and hope, sit across from you in interviews. I long for those voices and faces, people of the margins in the church, to have a chance...
This may be off the mark, but I tend to think that portions of our polity rather than worship style, ordination process (I know that's a polity issue, too), or other tip of the ice issues that keep young people out of church - whether they are clergy or laity. We structure and run the church in a time intensive way that relies upon a process that is often belabored. The committee structure of the local church is redundant and slow to effect change. I know young adults who want to be active in church; they may even want to coordinate the efforts of a work group, but they don't also want to sit on the church council - adding yet another meeting to their already packed schedule. This seems off point, I know, but we won't have young adult clergy if we don't have young adult laity. We clergy were once lay persons, you know. There is so much here that requires a long, deep, and intentional dialogue - thanks for the post!
Post a Comment