I just read Bishop Schnase's daily post, called The Most Significant Arena. He ends, "Imagine how God could use our churches all the more to change lives, foster communities in Christ, and relieve suffering if we really behaved as if local churches provide the most significant arena through which we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Imagine!"
I am imagining. I'd love to see it. I have seen glimpses. I've even helped make a few happen. I remember Grace Church in Saint Louis hosting visiting youth work teams to rehab homes of elderly neighbors. I worked side-by-side leading that project with African graduate students whose loans members of the congregation sponsored. I remember New Hope UMC in rural Randolph County hosting annual chili dinners with bazaars. People came from far and near. Many of the neighbors were Amish. They contributed quilts and other items in honor of their neighbors who through the year transported them to town and allowed use of a telephone. Yes, I've seen congregations do vital ministry.
But Bishop Schnase walks through the history of Methodism back to Wesley, showing how every 'method' had a purpose, for creating and sustaining accountability. Frankly, I've not experienced a lot of that in 'congregations.' I've tried to make it happen. But I've not found the dynamic system of a 'congregation' very conducive to that purpose. It is a voluntary association, with at least one staff-person who is held accountable by a paycheck and supervision, or maybe a few other staff. But volunteerism does not lend itself well to accountability, in my experience, which is extensive.
Early Methodism focused NOT on congregations, but through small groups. In fact, the development of Methodist congregations was discouraged. People were already in a congregation, a state-sponsored Episcopal parish church. Then in America, the circuit riders built class meetings, NOT congregations. When they left the circuiting life they might be 'located' to a congregation. But that was not where the mission was happening.
How is it that we Methodists became congregationalists? Very early we left that to the Presbyterians, then to the Baptists. Meeting houses, maybe. But congregations? The congregation simply was NOT the revolutionary structure for being Methodist.
Maybe it still isn't. There's a house church movement gaining steam: of people who are disenchanted with congregations as they know them, who want a freer and smaller expression or form of the Church. This includes younger people, secular people, who are not likely to show up or be interested in involvement in a traditional congregation.
Frankly, I have found 'Christian' collegiality and accountability more in and through secular organizations than through congregations. I've been active with Jobs With Justice, Health Care for All, Faith Based Community Organizing. I find these to be people who are DOING the gospel instead of mostly talking about it or wanting someone else to do it FOR them.
I'm a pastor. I am paid by a congregation. I make my living seeking to raise up and equip folks for ministry, including accountability. But honestly, I don't think it is going very well. Maybe "vital congregations" is just not the best way to DO Christian faith. Maybe we are sustaining the form to keep ourselves employed, more than to DO the function. I will keep trying and consider it faithful. But sometimes I wonder.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
On 'Coming of Age'
I'm just feeling the trend personally now, but it's been there a long time. Ageism. I applied for a denominational position for which my entire career has prepared me. It went to a less trained, less experienced and younger lay hire. I don't know him. I will graciously trust he will do the job well and give him all the support I can.
I'm going to turn 59 this week. In another six months I hit that advantageous but dangerous 59 1/2 when the IRA funds can be drawn without penalty. During the past year we bought a future retirement home. For the down payment I smartly drew a loan on pensions funds which I pay back to myself at 6%. Surely there is no safer investment paying more. I have enough pension in place to get me through if my body crashes, even now. I got the wake-up call this past week, with two stents put in my right coronary artery. I start cardiac rehab next week.
But I'm still working. Going strong, in my opinion. I think I can go stronger with more blood flowing to my heart muscle and cardiac rehab exercise and healthier eating. A blip, to be sure. But what happened to veneration of people for having all this wisdom of life experience? Two Masters degrees. Thirty-six years spanning three professions. Lots to share. But who gets hired? Who gets placed in those 'leadership' roles we thought we were working toward? It used to be wise folks in their fifties and early sixties. Now it's rising stars in their 30's and even 20's.
I have no need to belittle the trend. I understand it. I am a pastor in The United Methodist Church. The average age of our pastors is- you guessed it- 59. I've been an "average" aged pastor most of my career. We have more coming into the profession from other careers (as did I) than right out of fast-track education. I think that broader life experience has served us well. But the average age of our parishioners is also- you guessed it- 59. That's nearly twice the population median age. I am now pastoring a church with a much higher average age. Wonderful people. It's just that most of them are old. They give sacrificially. But they don't recruit well. Their grandchildren or even children have left the church in droves, or shown up in newer, tech-ier, trendier megachurches instead. So, understandably, we are emphasizing recruitment and deployment of younger clergy to what have always been our most prestigious roles. It remains to be seen whether this will 'work.' The measurable outcome will be, as one of my parishioners once parsimoniously defined it, "bucks in the plate and butts in the pews." We Methodists more judiciously call it "Making Disciples for Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World."
I like that last part best. But that's been part of our problem. We've had too many like me: justice crusaders putting less emphasis on bringing new people along. My hope and strategy has always been that if we ARE the church people think a church should be, then people will come. We do have to invite them. I always have. But in truth, the numbers of justice crusaders have always been few. The church has always been populated with other types in greater number. It's been true of every congregation I have pastored. Not BAD people. Just not JUSTICE people.
I just helped two aging churches merge. One of the leaders (who, by the way, left us for a 'younger' church though he is older than I) said in the process, "Just because you merge two dying churches doesn't mean you get a live one." I agree. We are doing all we can to attract younger people, by focusing on children's, youth and family ministry. But there are not so many 'young' people with us to do the work. We've failed too long to attract them. So, it is harder now.
I don't know if assigning 'younger' pastors to theses churches is going to make the situation any better. I suppose it is a worthwhile experiment. What we've decided, is we will seek to muster the leaders in every church to demonstrate they want to live. If they do, we will assign a 'younger' pastor. If they by inertia 'decide' to die, we'll give them an older one.
Which brings it back to me. Which am I? I always thought I was one of those creative, energetic, expansive, successful, 'above-average' pastors who could help a church turn around. I've had reasonable success in a few places, less in others. I plan to keep trying. But maybe I'm not. Or not anymore. Maybe I'm now one of those pastors who will be assigned to help a church gracefully die. Or churches: the deader they are the more of them they give us. This is self-prophesying to some extent, but economically inevitable.
Somebody wrote a book called something like I Refuse to Preside Over a Dying Church. The author sees this as a call to lead a turn-around. Some of my colleagues have seen it as an invitation to exit. Of course, there is more ageism out there in the secular world than in the church. Our denomination is considering whether to eliminate tenure for pastors. We'll know in late April what they decide. Since half or more of the voting delegates are 59 or older or close to it, I expect it will get tabled. But maybe not. Not sure where I am on this one. At 59, I'm at that point where I will do my best to do my duty to Make Disciples for Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World, and let the chips fall where they may.
I've decided not to sue The United Methodist Church over ageism, though I think I'd have a pretty good case, with wide class action opportunity. But when I signed on, it was to go where they send me. I'll still trust God is in that somewhere. Regardless, we get up every morning, pray, then do what we can do.
I'm going to turn 59 this week. In another six months I hit that advantageous but dangerous 59 1/2 when the IRA funds can be drawn without penalty. During the past year we bought a future retirement home. For the down payment I smartly drew a loan on pensions funds which I pay back to myself at 6%. Surely there is no safer investment paying more. I have enough pension in place to get me through if my body crashes, even now. I got the wake-up call this past week, with two stents put in my right coronary artery. I start cardiac rehab next week.
But I'm still working. Going strong, in my opinion. I think I can go stronger with more blood flowing to my heart muscle and cardiac rehab exercise and healthier eating. A blip, to be sure. But what happened to veneration of people for having all this wisdom of life experience? Two Masters degrees. Thirty-six years spanning three professions. Lots to share. But who gets hired? Who gets placed in those 'leadership' roles we thought we were working toward? It used to be wise folks in their fifties and early sixties. Now it's rising stars in their 30's and even 20's.
I have no need to belittle the trend. I understand it. I am a pastor in The United Methodist Church. The average age of our pastors is- you guessed it- 59. I've been an "average" aged pastor most of my career. We have more coming into the profession from other careers (as did I) than right out of fast-track education. I think that broader life experience has served us well. But the average age of our parishioners is also- you guessed it- 59. That's nearly twice the population median age. I am now pastoring a church with a much higher average age. Wonderful people. It's just that most of them are old. They give sacrificially. But they don't recruit well. Their grandchildren or even children have left the church in droves, or shown up in newer, tech-ier, trendier megachurches instead. So, understandably, we are emphasizing recruitment and deployment of younger clergy to what have always been our most prestigious roles. It remains to be seen whether this will 'work.' The measurable outcome will be, as one of my parishioners once parsimoniously defined it, "bucks in the plate and butts in the pews." We Methodists more judiciously call it "Making Disciples for Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World."
I like that last part best. But that's been part of our problem. We've had too many like me: justice crusaders putting less emphasis on bringing new people along. My hope and strategy has always been that if we ARE the church people think a church should be, then people will come. We do have to invite them. I always have. But in truth, the numbers of justice crusaders have always been few. The church has always been populated with other types in greater number. It's been true of every congregation I have pastored. Not BAD people. Just not JUSTICE people.
I just helped two aging churches merge. One of the leaders (who, by the way, left us for a 'younger' church though he is older than I) said in the process, "Just because you merge two dying churches doesn't mean you get a live one." I agree. We are doing all we can to attract younger people, by focusing on children's, youth and family ministry. But there are not so many 'young' people with us to do the work. We've failed too long to attract them. So, it is harder now.
I don't know if assigning 'younger' pastors to theses churches is going to make the situation any better. I suppose it is a worthwhile experiment. What we've decided, is we will seek to muster the leaders in every church to demonstrate they want to live. If they do, we will assign a 'younger' pastor. If they by inertia 'decide' to die, we'll give them an older one.
Which brings it back to me. Which am I? I always thought I was one of those creative, energetic, expansive, successful, 'above-average' pastors who could help a church turn around. I've had reasonable success in a few places, less in others. I plan to keep trying. But maybe I'm not. Or not anymore. Maybe I'm now one of those pastors who will be assigned to help a church gracefully die. Or churches: the deader they are the more of them they give us. This is self-prophesying to some extent, but economically inevitable.
Somebody wrote a book called something like I Refuse to Preside Over a Dying Church. The author sees this as a call to lead a turn-around. Some of my colleagues have seen it as an invitation to exit. Of course, there is more ageism out there in the secular world than in the church. Our denomination is considering whether to eliminate tenure for pastors. We'll know in late April what they decide. Since half or more of the voting delegates are 59 or older or close to it, I expect it will get tabled. But maybe not. Not sure where I am on this one. At 59, I'm at that point where I will do my best to do my duty to Make Disciples for Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World, and let the chips fall where they may.
I've decided not to sue The United Methodist Church over ageism, though I think I'd have a pretty good case, with wide class action opportunity. But when I signed on, it was to go where they send me. I'll still trust God is in that somewhere. Regardless, we get up every morning, pray, then do what we can do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)