I posted around a month ago about how the 'State of the Church' survey asked what age group the survey taker fell into, and how there wasn't even a category for those members of the Church who are under the age of 18. (Fortunately, after my post, the good Connectional Table folks updated and corrected their survey. )
Well, the first phase of the survey has been completed and the data is being analyzed. . .
One of the major findings that the Connectional Table has published from the survey is this: "All those polled agreed it is important to make the church relevant to young people, and many said young people relate better to young pastors."
May I just say, that I have to wonder how many young people actually participated in the survey, considering it is young people who are being discussed? I wonder how many young people said they can relate better to young pastors? And I wonder of those young people who can 'relate better to young pastors', how much of that is really true and how much of that is what the church has taught them to assume?
Personally, I don't think age has all too much to do with being a good pastor, any good pastor is relateable.
I think that many times we get caught up in the "youth pastors must be 20-something year old men, who sport goatees, wear rock t-shirts, and walk around with guitars strapped to their backs " idea of a youth pastor. Older pastors -- and may I just include elderly pastors -- can just as effectively minister and relate to young people as the 20-something year-old can. Sometimes, the search for the "right" person to relate to young people leads us right past the perfect older person who has been there all along.
Though, don't get me wrong, I am not at all saying that we don't need young pastors. Quite the contrary! In the United Methodist Church, young (under the age of 35) Elders as a percentage of all Elders dropped from 15.05% in 1985 to only 4.69% in 2005. And that's scary.
And since I'm on the subject of statistics, may I also just say that it is terribly depressing/shocking/scary/sad that only 4.6% of the United Methodist Church's members are under the age of 18? And may I just say that I knew that our Church was an old one -- with an average age of 57 -- but I didn't realize that the situations was this dire?
Often times I get caught up in statistics, and things of the sort; things that are not concrete, if you will. And so, I have to bring myself back from an almost indignant ( I apologize) state of mind. With that return to "reality", I find myself asking these questions :
1) What can we do about a statistically -- and literally -- dying Church?
2) What can I do to be a faithful agent of change for the Church?
3) What can we do about assumptions regarding ministry with young people that may not be true?
4) What is there to do?
5) How can I get past merely writing words and feeling emotion and step into grace-full action?
I would love to hear some of you reader's thoughts. . .
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