Still Thinking About Young People

As sort of a follow up to my pastor's column below, here is a piece from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership on the issue of young clergy in the United Methodist Church. It is worth reading.

Research: United Methodist Clergy Age Trends

peace,

will

Pastor's Column Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek at my column for this week's newsletter:

I had the privilege last week of traveling to Mount Sequoyah, our United Methodist retreat center in Fayetteville, Arkansas for a conference on reaching younger generations. I had the opportunity to attend programs and workshops with Bishop William Willimon, author and Bishop of North Alabama Conference; Gregory Jones, Dean of Duke Divinity School and other United Methodist clergy leaders. Most of the conversation revolved around reaching and ministering to young adults. By young adults, we are referring to college-aged people and individuals under 35.

We may not think about it, but this is a critical topic. Think for a moment, according to the latest census, 21% of the population in our area is between the ages of 18 and 35. This past Sunday, of 312 people who worshipped with us, approximately 13 were in that age group. That is around 4%. While Grace has an amazing youth program which attracts and nurtures our teenagers, we do not seem to be reaching young adults. For those of you who serve on committees and ministry teams in the church, how many people under thirty-five do you serve with?

This is not just in our church and it is not just about members. Of all the Ordained Elders in the Southwest Texas Conference 2.8% are under 35. This represents a dramatic drop from previous generations. If young adults are not present in our churches, they are not in a place to hear a call to ministry and to have it affirmed and nurtured.

Is this important? Yes, for at least two reasons. The first is the future of our church. We have to reach another generation if we have any hope of continuing the ministry of the church and continuing to build on the foundation of faith that has been constructed. Second, our mission as a church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. That means reaching out to all and it is clear that there is a group we are missing. Young adults need to hear the Gospel, perhaps more than anyone. Bishop Willimon reminded us that most major decisions in life are made between the ages of 21 and 35. When did you decide on a career, choose a spouse, make plans to start a family? The young people surrounding us are facing these decisions without the guidance, hope and claim of the Gospel. They are left to make their decisions solely on the values of the world.

Of course most of us would say, “We should try to reach out to more young adults.” However, making something truly a priority means allowing something else to be less of a priority. Are we willing to make reaching young adults a priority even if that means we have to give up something? What if it meant worship had to be different or if the pastors and staff were less available because their focus were turned outward? What if it meant that we had to begin completely rethinking everything about how we worship, minister, learn, share and grow to create a church that could truly reach younger generations.

This is certainly something to think and pray about. If you feel God calling you to be in ministry in this area or you have thoughts, questions or ideas, make an appointment to come talk with me about it.

peace,

will

p.s. Our retreat center in Arkansas is beautiful. It was certainly refreshing to have a couple of days under the tall trees and in the fellowship of my colleagues.

This week's sermon

Here is this Sunday's sermon for your enjoyment, critique, entertainment, etc.

Sermon #42 - Unleasing the Unnerving Power of God

peace,

will

Back at My Desk

I am finally back at a full-size keyboard in the comfort of my office. I am going to try and find some time this week to blog about the conference I attended in Arkansas. It was about the need we have, as a church, to share the gospel with younger adults and how we are not doing very well in that area. I look forward to sharing some of what I learned.

peace,

will

Greetings from Tulsa

Will the wonders of technolgy never cease? I am posting while waiting in line for my Southwest flight from Tulsa back to Corpus, via Houston.

I am not yet sure how useful this all is, but it is pretty cool.

For all my Corpus readers, I hope to see you tomorrow.

peace,

will

greetings from Arkansas

I am posting from my pda from our United Methodist Retreat center in Fayatteville, Arkansas. I am here for Bishop's Weekend where I am learning about how to make our churches more inviting to a younger generation.

I will be back on Sunday preaching 'Unleashing the Unnerving Power of God'

peace,

will

Turtles Will Be Turtles

I really wanted to post a picture with this but the photos may be a little disturbing for some. People sometimes expect pastors to be discreet. Anyway, in case you haven't been reading the blog for long, Alisha and I have two box turtles (they are actually box tortoises, but turtle is just more fun to say) Simon and Simone. You can read more about them in the posts Turtles in our Midst and Simon Squared. They live in walled in area outside our bathroom window so we get to watch them quite a bit. This week I learned that despite my careful reading on the subject, I was wrong. We had named the first one Simon. Then we got the second, and thinking it was male, I decided we had misnamed the first one. So we renamed the first one Simone and the new one Simon. Now after watching them, I realize that the turtle originally named Simon really is Simon and the other one is really Simone. Are you following?

This is all a long way of getting at the fact that our turtles are doing what young turtles do in the springtime. I am kind of pessimistic about their chances of conception, but I will let you know if we should schedule a baby turtle shower. I am not really sure what one would bring to such a thing anyway.

peace,

will

Happy Father's Day!

peace,

will

So What Have You Given Away?

I gave everyone an assignment this past Sunday and was wondering how you were doing. If you missed the service, there is a link to a copy of my sermon in the previous post. The assignment was to give something away: something you need or something you love.

I have decided what I am giving away, but I haven't done it yet. It is something that I really like having and I am procrastinating. I hope to have it off my desk by the weekend.

Let me know how you are doing.

peace,

will

This Week's Sermon

Sermon #41 is available here:

"Empty Jars"

peace,

will

Another Annual Conference in the History Books

I am back from this year's meeting of the Southwest Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Not that I really left town, though I might as well have. I was pretty much a full time resident of the American Bank Center from Wednesday at noon to Saturday at noon. This year involved more than the usual amount of sitting. Every four years we elect delegates for the General Conference, the national meeting of the United Methodist Church. This was that year. The balloting process is long and painful and it took us until around 10 o'clock Friday night to finish. That's a lot of time sitting in a folding chair.

peace,

will

I'm Back

Not that I really ever left, but allergies have kept me functioning on half a brain for the last week. I feel OK during the day, but coughing keeps me up and night and I don't function well on reduced sleep. It has been a busy few days and it is made all the more hectic by the fact that Annual Conference is this week and I will be hung up in town for most of the week.

I can usually find some time to blog from the conference floor since I get bored easily.

peace,

will