What Young Clergy Want You to Know (Methodist Revised)

A former seminary colleague of mine posted on facebook a blog from a young, Lutheran pastor about what young clergy want you to know. It is from a Lutheran perspective (involving serveral polity issues particular to the ELCA), but it got me to thinking about what I, as a young clergyman in the Methodist tradition, want people to know. You can read the original blog post at this link:

http://pastorkeithanderson.net/item/what-young-clergy-want-you-to-know

Otherwise, here are my points as a United Methodist Pastor in Oklahoma. Some I share with the above, others are my own devising.

If you happened to show up at a gathering of young United Methodist clergy (let's say at the Hideaway), they would perhaps tell you (if you asked)...

1. They love Jesus, and most certainly love Christ's Church.
2. They are willing to do what it takes for the sake of God's mission in the world.
3. They understand that they are pastoring in a time of American Christianity's slow (but quickening) death.
4. They don't waste their time lamenting that (there's too much to do).
5. They want the church (people in the pews) and its leaders (the heirarchy) to be honest about where we are.
6. The sooner we can come to terms with our dyings (we are not the church we once were), the sooner we can live into the new life that is emerging from it. Despite their concerns, young clergy are remarkably hopeful.
7. They are native to a culture that the church, on the whole, does not fully - or hardly - understand or engage. That doesn’t just go for parishioners. It goes for clergy, too.
8. They are never going to act or sound like previous generations of clergy.
9. That is not a criticism of previous generations of clergy, only a new reality that does happen from time to time.
10. They feel the expectations placed on younger clergy are not enforced among older clergy.
11.  They are no less theologically committed than their predecessors.
12. But their work looks different, and their language sounds different.
13. This does not mean that they are unbiblical in their approach to ministry, only that they have learned to translate biblical truth for a new culture.
14. Many of their initiatives do not fit into existing church structures.
15. This does not make them less equipped or less effective at being pastors.
16. They are drowning in student debt.
17. They are not sure it is possible to have a full career at ministry, let alone service their student debt, cover expenses, and have a life and a family.
18. But money is not an obsession to them. No one goes into ministry for the money.
19. They understand the difference between Institutions (which are necessary for the furtherance of our mission) and Institutionalism (the self-perpetuation of structures as an end unto itself).
20. The paradigms of Old vs. New, Traditonal vs. Contemporary, Sacramental vs. Evangelical do not resonate with them. They see ministry more as Both/And rather than Either/Or.
21. They realize that this is the cultural context we are all in (whether others realize it or not).
22. They are not against the Itinerancy.
23. They are against cronyism.
24. They do not love business meetings.
25. They do love mission and will share their faith.
26. They understand that accounability, submission to authority, and selfless service are part of the covenant of ordination.
27. They do not believe, however, that all clergy live into this understanding.
28. They are frustrated by the inability or unwillingness - or both - of congregations and denominations who are not honest about why they can’t, won’t, or don’t change.


Ok. These are my points. I don't mean to cause a stir or to enrage any of my colleagues. There is nothing sacred about these points, and I am sure some young clergy would agree and disagree, add or change many of these. But, I hope it will be a good conversation piece.

From Last Sunday...

We Have Been Given This Treasure

A Sermon

Wesley United Methodist Church

Sunday, July 1, 2012

2 Corinthians 4:5-13

In the past few weeks, we have been looking together at the possibility that God may just have something remarkable in store for us. Paramount in this hope is the assumption that God is the one who is going to be leading us. We already have everything we need. If you were in church last week, you know that we have a boat; we have good friends; we have Jesus. We are, then, on the way. But what do we do on the journey? Perhaps that is the great question for anyone who is about to embark on some great adventure. What will we do along the way? We have been entrusted with a great labor that takes the work of Christ into the streets and outward to the world. We have been given a treasure. It is the treasure of God’s Truth – God’s mighty acts of salvation in Jesus Christ. Let us pray.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, for you are our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

               Central to our work in the world is our proclamation about Jesus. Paul tells us today, that we do not proclaim ourselves, but we proclaim, instead, Christ. That is harder to do than what we might initially think. It’s a matter of getting out of the way so that people can see God, rather than us. Wesley United Methodist Church is about proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord, and we are servants to that Christ. We know something here. We proclaim it every week. Jesus – God in the flesh – who came to dwell among us… We have been given this treasure – this Truth – to proclaim.

What we say about Jesus will have a direct correlation to our fruitfulness as a Church.  I want to emphasize, firstly, that what we have to proclaim is, indeed, about God. Jesus came to proclaim the Gospel – the Good News. Have you ever stopped to think just for a moment about why this message we proclaim is “good” news. How is this message that Jesus brings so different from all other news that it is categorized as being “good” over and against all other news?

I remember lots of news that I have received over the years. I’m sure you do too. I remember getting the news that I was accepted to Oklahoma State University and again to Duke Divinity School; the news that I was being appointed to El Reno; the news that my dog had escaped the yard and was wandering the aisles of the grocery store. I remember the day the news came that the Murrah building in Oklahoma City had been destroyed. I remember watching live CNN news coverage of the towers falling in New York. I remember the news of the genocide in Rawanda; the genocide in Serbia; the genocide in Sudan; starvations in Somalia. I remember the news of humanity at its worst and our inability to make sense of any of it.

The Good News: Jesus came bringing the Good News of God. Jesus came into a world so lost, so broken, so in need of saving. His first act was to stare down temptation – sin, sorrow, and separation from God – to stare it down and emerge from that contest with Good News. God…is…here. Humanity at its worst and most vile is still no match for the God who broke into this world to face down sin and refuse to be lost in that abyss.  Jesus brought to us the Good News about God. God is here; God is with us; God is journeying alongside us and providing the power of his own Spirit to conquer the fear and the darkness – to lift us up from the evil powers of this world. The Good News is that temptation, fear, sin, and even death are not the final verdict. God is greater than the sum of all of that. This is a treasure we have been given.

It is a unique message, for we proclaim a Christ who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited. Rather, he made himself as nothing, taking on the form of a servant. Being made in human likeness, found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. We proclaim a Christ who humbled himself, suffered, and was crucified for us and for our salvation. This God who is here, full of grace and truth, is trying to show us a new world where all the brokenness of humanity is being pieced back together. It’s one of the great turnarounds in our faith. We triumph, not because we are mighty; not because we are wealthy; not because we are powerful or influential. We triumph – as Jesus did – through submission and humility. Any journey with Jesus begins in humility, recognizing that alone, we have nothing. But with God, all things are possible. We proclaim this Christ, who humbly suffered for us. We have been given this treasure.

We proclaim a Christ who overcame death. It’s all for not, if Jesus did not rise from the dead. Crucifixion without resurrection is a fine idea but it doesn’t amount to much. Crucifixion WITH resurrection means that God can overcome all things, even death. We have nothing to fear. If Jesus can come out of the grave, then all things really are possible, are they not? The darkness is not truly darkness; the night is as bright as the day, for death has lost its victory; death has lost its sting. We proclaim a Christ risen from the dead. And that is the most surprising thing of all – that we don’t worship a dead God. Do you know the difference between a dead God and Living God? Will Willimon has put it this way: the difference between a dead God and a Living God is that a Living God will still surprise you. We proclaim Christ is risen. We have been given this treasure.

We proclaim a Christ who established the Church as the first fruits of a final harvest – a body of people bound together in love, grace, and peace reaching out to show the world a new way of living. The Church was not established so that we could have one more social club to go to. It is the Body of Christ – wherein God has chosen to deposit his Holy Spirit for the work of mission in the world. Perhaps it was foolish of Jesus to choose this means for bringing his grace to the world. You and me? Why us? It’s not as if we’ve got it all figured out or do a perfect job. And yet, God’s foolishness is greater than any human wisdom. The Church is the means through which God’s grace is sent outward into the world. The Church exists for the glorification of God and for God’s mission in the world. We have been given this treasure. 

A Christ who died; a Christ who rose; a Christ who established the Church – these are the things of our proclamation. These are the points of our common affirmation about a God who is present, active, alive, and moving amongst us. This God moves amongst us, friends, and if you come to realize that movement, you just might find yourself moving along with this God. The presence of God changes everything. The journey becomes possible. There is no obstacle that can stand in the way of a people who endeavor to journey emboldened by Almighty God.

In our lives, we endure many things. Broken relationships, one to another; broken relationships between us and God; but also the suffering that comes with the regularities of human life. Our journey with Jesus is not so much about sufferings and dwelling on the bad things. There must me a recognition of it all, but the journey with Jesus is more about affirming God’s provision in all circumstances of life. God will attend to our needs, and the things we need should not be rooted in what we eat, what we wear, where we sleep, or who we know. Our needs are firstly rooted in the reality that God is with us. Again, that presence changes everything; it changes our priorities; it changes our desires. At least it should, if you truly are engaging God in the same manner as Christ: humbly, submissively, joyfully. Your priorities will change.  

So, today, I ask you, sisters and brothers, do you know what treasure you have? Do you know – not just with your head, but also with your heart – that God is in this place? Do you know that God came to dwell among us, to move us to a better day? Do you know that?

There’s a story from the Gospel of John, the 14^th chapter. Jesus is giving one final speech to his disciples before his impending betrayal and arrest. In the midst of this pep talk about God’s comforting presence, one of the disciples – Philip – says to Jesus, “Jesus, just show us God and we’ll be happy with that.” Jesus, after years of being with these young leaders, says, almost exasperated, “I and the Father are one. If I’m with you, then God is with you. And if you believe that,” Jesus says, “You will do even greater things that I have done.”

The treasure we have been given is Jesus, which means we have the Creator God with us to show us the way and to deliver us from our sin-sick lives. And, yes, to deliver the world through us because we will do even greater things. We have this treasure – not to horde, but to share. Sisters and brothers, this is the Good News. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.