We be jammin'. . . We be jammin'. . .
Nobody said the jokes were good.
But the conversation has been great! Carol Howard Merritt addressed the participants of YAM JAM yesterday morning, calling attention to the needs of young adults in our church and in our culture. Carol is pastor of
Westminster Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. She is also the author of
Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation. She co-hosts
God Complex Radio along with Bruce Reys-Chow, and she is a well known blogger at
www.tribalchurch.org. YAM JAM participants were enriched by her words and challenged by her understanding of what young adults need from our congregations.
She began by recounting a story from her first days as a campus minister. She attended a Presbytery meeting with other campus ministers and was stunned to discover a lack of energy and vision. Unfortunately, most of her fellow ministers were wrapped up in the challenges of fundraising. Their economic difficulties were at the forefront of their minds, and person-to-person ministry toward students was suffering as a result. That meeting helped Carol to think more intentionally about what young adult ministry is. What are the needs, and what can we not afford to lose?
Carol cited studies to inform the participants that six million young people are wandering from the church entirely in our context. She believes that the trajectory of our denomination depends on the work we do now. The size of the millennial generation is huge, and young adults are looking for experiences that can be found in our churches if we would only reach out to them.
Carol described the cultural landscape that young people inhabit in our contexts. She believes that young people are looking for an experience of tribal church. She borrows the tribe metaphor from
Ethan Watters, who has written about urban tribes in our culture. Young people have been raised with unhelpful understandings of the value of autonomy need communities. Young adults today often form their own tribal "families" in the locations where they find themselves.
To discuss the landscape of our culture today, Carol addressed three realities. Young adults are profoundly affected by employment realities, economic realities, and realities of commitments.
In contexts of employment, young adults typically stay in their jobs for an average of 2.5 years. This reality can easily build a culture of instability. Americans work longer hours than other industrialized nations, but benefits for young adults are often lacking. Carol informed the YAM JAM participants that 30% of young adults have no health insurance or benefits in their jobs.
Structures of employment fit into broader economic realities for young adults. Young adults have been taught to work toward financial independence, and for many in our culture, adulthood is solidified with a mortgage, a marriage license, and a child. But Carol informed participants that college expenses have significantly increased over the years while wages have not. Currently, 50% of young adults from the ages of 18-24 live with their parents. Carol stated that some sociologists refer to this trend as a period of extended adolescence, but she believes it is simply an expression of the truth that we are not building systems to take care of this age population.
Commitments are affected as well. Carol lamented that young people often delay their desires for marriage and children simply because they cannot get medical insurance. Young people have been taught to value autonomy, and the message has been that people must have financial stability before getting married. This sets up a great paradox. The emphasis on autonomy is in tension with the reality that our nation gives many economic benefits to married couples.
Carol stated that there is really no such thing as a "young family anymore." Often single young adults attend a church for a couple of years, but tragically, they are greeted with a sad reality. Church members often assume that young adulthood is about people with children. When the more typical single adult walks into a congregation, she realizes that the focus is on children. She is no longer a child herself, but she is often not recognized as the adult she is because she is not a mother. For this reason, Carol stated that churches often give a "What's the matter with you?" kind of vibe. "Where's your husband? Where are your children?"
Because of this, young adults are missing from many congregations. Churches often confirm their youth in a way that mirrors graduation. Some of these youth come back to the church when they have children themselves, but now this reality is often additionally lost.
Carol argues that young adults need a place to connect with God, the world, and one another. Borrowing the terminology of
Diana Butler Bass, Carol laments that churches are often more known for their customs than their traditions. They often uphold peripheral customs at the cost of long standing Christian traditions, particularly spiritual disciplines. Incarnational, "in the flesh" practices, like meditation, contemplative prayer, and labyrinths are important these days because they uphold mind, body, and spirit.
In addition to spirituality, young adults need to connect with the world. There has been a political shift in the minds of young adults. Too often, young adults associate the church with the religious right, and for many, 'Christian' is synonymous with with 'Republican.' Carol stated that the solution is not for the pendulum to swing in a way that identifies 'Christian' with 'Democrat,' but instead, we should emphasize actions to address poverty, climate change, hunger, and social justice - issues that are important to young adults.
Finally, young adults need connections with one another. In Campus Ministry, students are away from their families, and the need for community is great. Often today, friends are the new family. Congregations can provide this sense of belonging to young adults who often feel isolated in their contexts.
The participants at YAM JAM were grateful for Carol's words and her sense of challenge for young adult ministry in our contexts. We are energized by her vision, and we hope to live into that larger sense of mission!
Celebration of Communion
We broke bread and shared the cup yesterday before lunch. Scripture says that they will come from North, South, East, and West to feast at table together in the Kingdom of God. In our case, how literally true!
Communion Table Extended
Well. . .nothing says Presbyterian quite like a picnic! We continued our communion together last evening with a barbecue. And barbecue. . . is very Texan.
We are so grateful to experience the fellowship of communion during shared meals with one another. We have truly benefited from the experiences, wisdom, and presence of those who are asking important questions and exploring what it means to be in ministry to young adults in particular contexts.
Hearing From Our Participants:How are young adults a gift to older adults in our church?
"Energy, creativity, technology, gifts (music, leadership) worldview, hunger for relationships (mentoring)."
-Al Masters, Interim Chaplain at Presbyterian College (Clinton, SC)
"Young adults have the potential of bringing to older adults their visions for the future. They also bring opportunities for older adults to share their life stories: their hopes, successes, and failures. This sharing enables the younger adults to carry on the legacies of the older, and perpetuating dreams of immortality through story. Young adults can also provide assurance that Christ's kingdom continues in strength and hope and love."
-Suzanne Malloy, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Santa Barbara, CA)
"One of the ways young adults are a gift to older adults is in letting us remember what it's like to be young; to reconnect with our own youthfulness -- that is, if we are willing to receive that gift.
But another way young adults are a gift is in offering a fresh perspective on all the things we have grown so accustomed to we don't even see anymore. By really listening to young adults, we can see how the culture around us has changed and then consider how we should respond to that."
-Maggie Gillespie, Protestant Campus Ministry (Bloomsburg, PA)
How are older adults a gift to younger adults in our church?
"In the church, older adults are a gift because they provide a history of what has happened. Not so much in a way that it details what worked but in a way that they lived and struggled to create a benchmark for ministry.
Older adults that are involved in the church's ministry know the history and what has created the now, and more importantly, they know how to build up from programs that have proven successful. They provide guidance and leadership."
-Josh Sayre, First Presbyterian Church (Farmington, NM)
"I forget things. Well, actually there are a lot of things I don't know yet. In my ignorance I forget collective memory. Many days I wish I could ask my Grandma Bell how to do tatting or get gardening tips from Grandpa Bell or ask yet more life-questions from Grandma Pohlman who knew how to laugh and live a life of joy. All of them had faith that I daily hope someday I may attain.
But since they are not around and my wonderful parents live two thousand miles away, I want to be adopted. I need to be adopted. I need to learn my history and community of faith. In these times of economic difficulty, I need to be listening to those who lived through the Depression. I need to listen to those who have come to terms with the problems of the world and gotten through. And I need to be with people whose faith is more weathered and gnarled and beautiful than mine. I can read the scriptures and learn about the passed-on Communion of Saints. My life is richer, though, when I recognize and receive the gifts of the living Community of Saints."
-Rev. Kathryn Dianna Bell, Covenant Presbyterian Church (Marshal, MO)
"I grew up in a small rural community in the mountains, so there is potential for a huge disconnect between the electronic youth and the cattle ranching, butter churning, and quilt making older generations. However, I love hearing about the good ol' days!
My generation has unfortunately taken the opinion that the past doesn't' matter, but the charismatic old folks in my church help me to appreciate the path that has brought my community to where it is today. The older adults of my congregation feed a hunger of mine that many young people ignorantly overlook. The old rhetoric, the outdated language, the stories about growing up in a radically different society. . .this all builds my wisdom and opens a channel by which knowledge and understanding of the past can permeate my generation."
-Jeff Kiser, Presbyterian Campus Ministry at the University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ)
"I very much appreciated the opportunities to gather with others in similar and dissimilar situations to talk, discuss, explore, and dream."
"It is a rude awakening of the future of our church, but if we are open and embrace the needs of our young adults, we don't have to worry."
"YAM JAM provided a great opportunity to connect and network with others in campus ministry. I hope the conversations that began will continue. It was a great experience."
"I was challenged and blessed to connect with colleagues. For me, the highlight was a conversation with the students I brought with me from Arizona. I was inspired by how they are already wrestling with those big questions and how they are already beginning to make their faith - and their church - their own. We're jammin' in the name of the Lord!"
"This was a great opportunity to learn from each other about ministry to younger adults. I feel hopeful and inspired by the stories and the care for younger adults shown by participants."
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