Young Clergy is defined in my conference as those clergy 35
years old or younger. Depending on who is talking, some people like to move the
line to those under 40. Now that I am in
the middle of those two lines (will be officially 37.5 years old in a few weeks)
I thought I had enough experience to weigh in on this idea. As a 37 year old let me say this…stop calling
me a young clergy.
I am honored that many fellow clergy and laity alike, look
upon my head of dark hair (now speckled with flashes of white here and there)
and you see a young whippersnapper. I
will take it because part of me really wants to be young. I know I look at people 10-15 years younger
than me and they still look REALLY young.
So I get it.
As I wrote I started to go into a rant about how Young
Clergy can seem very condescending because it denotes inexperience, lack of
knowledge and cheek-pinching. However, I
don’t want this post to turn into that.
Here is why I think it is important to make sure that those
we call Young Clergy stays at 35 years old and younger. According to the US Census, middle age starts
at 35 and ends at 54. I know the most
painful birthday for me was 35 when I had to start checking the box marked
35-44 years old. Something switched in
my brain because I realized I really wasn’t young any more.
As I switched boxes in my age I also switched in years of
experience. 25 years old is the age someone graduates who went straight through
from high school to a Bachelor’s degree to Seminary. 25 years old is when you start full time
ministry. Starting ministry at 25 gives
a person 40+ years of a ministry ahead of them.
By the time they are 35 they have been doing full time ministry for a
decade.
10 years of experience in any field doesn’t equal a newbie,
rookie, beginner or greenhorn. After 10
years, this minister has a vast knowledge and experience. S/he is probably on a second or third
appointment and ministry isn’t new anymore.
It makes sense that after a decade of ministerial experience we stop
calling them “young clergy.” Continuing
to do so, shifts the term from one of applause to condescending.
The larger issue is that if we redefine “young clergy” as
those under 40 we are doing so to boost the numbers and make ourselves feel and
look better. We have a leadership gap
when it comes to those who make ministry their first and hopefully lifelong
vocation. According to the Lewis Center Report on ClergyAge Trends in the United Methodist Church Report (2014), in my conference
[Western North Carolina] 37.48% of the clergy (Elders, Deacons and Local
Pastors) are between 55-72 years old.
5.51% are under 35 years old. 59
is the most represented, or Mode age, in our conference.
This is telling and painful therefore the tendency is to try
and shift the data to make ourselves feel better. The numbers will jump if you shift ‘young
clergy’ from 35 to 40, although not very drastically. Yet, you are not accomplishing anything in
shifting that line. All you are doing is
ignoring the current reality.
Baby Boomers are listed as people who are born between
1946-1964. Generation Xers are those
born between 1965-1980 and the Millennials between 1981-2000. In a little more than a year the Millennial Generation
will have its first 35 year old and they will have to check that new box. That is a hard pill to swallow but to adjust
the age of whom we call “young clergy”, once again ignores our current reality.
Let’s keep the ages firm, 35 years old and younger are
“young clergy.” Not in experience nor
ability but simply because they haven’t reached middle age yet.
3 comments:
I disagree, for a couple of reasons. First, as retirement age moves up, I think it's reasonable to consider raising the age of young clergy. But second, and more important, the idea that young clergy start at 25 is becoming less and less common. A growing number of seminary graduates are not coming straight from undergrad while also not being second career students. Plus I think we will see fewer students head straight into undergrad from high school as tuition continues to increase. If 10 years of ministry service is our benchmark for experience, then I think we are more likely to see that hit between ages 38-40 than 35.
young or old rethink Church HAVE A GOAL to have 3 style or ways to preach Keep changing to reach all
John, I understand where you are coming from and you are correct. 25 is not necessarily the age when people start ministry nor is 65 the age when people retire. I am not saying that 10 years of experience is a benchmark because for second career ministers we do not call them young clergy even if they start at 55.
My main point is that we need to keep the age 35 because to move it gives a false impression of 'young clergy'. Young to me dictates age and at 36 a person is in middle age. Even if a person is starting out at 36, they have been an adult for half their life at this point...they aren't 'young' anymore.
When we move it to 40 I don't see us gaining anything besides better numbers. Our current reality is we do not do a good job nurturing young people who feel called into ministry. We need to do better. Changing the age simply is a way to ignore that problem.
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