I suspect that many of you, like me, are regular readers of the blog Tribal Church by Carol Howard Merritt. (If you are not, I highly recommend it if you want an honest look at where the church is among young adults today.) And if you have not carefully read today’s entry I encourage you to have a look.
Carol uses the change in the presidential administration as a vehicle to touch on two important themes — one in the general religious landscape and one in the PC(USA).
The first point Carol mentions is that your typical young “evangelical” probably does not fit the stereotype from a few years ago. While “social evangelicals” have been around for a while, with organizations such as Evangelicals for Social Action, Carol says that today:
Well, there is a new passion for social justice, for living out the
words of Jesus. And I cannot help but notice the Joshua Generation—the
young Evangelicals who cannot swear allegiance to Christian Right, who
are finding their own way.
and
There are a swarm of young Evangelicals who are wandering right now.
Twenty-six percent of young Evangelicals support same-sex marriage.
They no longer have a spiritual home in the congregations of their
youth.
There is a group that is between the traditional descriptions of the evangelicals and the progressives. She asks “Can these young evangelicals call the PC(USA) their home?” That is my paraphrase of her question. What Carol says is:
Often, when I’m around denominational types, things are said that
make our denominations inhospitable for people who grew up Evangelical.
I guess I should just spell it out. Because I love my church, I need
to let you know that if we want to reach out to a new generation, we
will need to learn to accept Evangelicals or ex-Evangelicals. You may
not agree with me, you may not have had the same experience, but still,
personally people communicate to me regularly, “You’re not one of us,
and you never will be.”
Carol points out three places where the younger generation is challenged
- “Well, they obviously don’t know what it means to be Presbyterian.”
- “Christianity has not been a force in our society since the sixties.”
- “Evangelicals are dumb.”
Check out the article for her discussion of each of these.
On the one hand, questions and comments like these are nothing new — American Presbyterians have been debating, and dividing, over what it means to be Presbyterian from pretty much the beginning. On the other hand, times have changed. Mainline denominations are now sidelined and American Christians are losing denominational identity and loyalty. What does that mean for the institution of the PC(USA)? Clearly these young evangelicals are having trouble seeing themselves in it. For established conservative churches withholding per capita they are having trouble seeing themselves in it as well. How big a tent can we be, or to put it another way, can we be all things to all people? How we, not as an institution but as a community, answer these questions will decide what the PC(USA) will look like in the future.
A response to you and Carol
http://oregonmountaineer.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-am-elitist-presbyterian.html
Thanks, Steve. I’m not sure if I fit the definition of the term “young evangelical” any longer, unless you count in dog years. I’ve been living and worshiping in the Presbyterian world for the last twelve years, having come to Christ at 21 and having been involved in everything from the Bible church movement to the AoG to the C&MA to the SBC to the Willow Creek world. I’m happy to bear the label “evangelical” and even the label “fundamentalist” when understood as being a person who believes in the historic fundamentals of the Christian faith. When I entered the Presbyterian world, I found at least three things. First, a condescending attitude towards evangelicals, something like “They’re not very smart and easily led”. Second, an ignorance of what happens in the evangelical world. I have heard a huge amount of critique of the Willow Creek Community Church ministry, for example as being “Christianity Lite” without a social conscience. The reality is that the Willow Creek church probably does more in social ministry than the entire Presbytery that surrounds it. I was there the Sunday after their college ministry had given 1200+ pairs of shoes to the homeless in downtown Chicago. I’ve heard their pastor, Bill Hybels gave a 40-minute message on the substitionary atonement that could have been preached by Calvin, though Calvin didn’t have the advantage of twenty-foot tall video screens. Third, I find that Presbyterians seem to have little vision and little interest in strategic planning that would help them stop their decline, to grow and to remain relevant. We seem much more devoted to structures than we are to doing anything new that might really bring about change. Generally when I see interesting things happening in the PCUSA they’re being done outside the structures, and strictures, of the church. We are too easily sidetracked from doing what’s important. That’s perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the church–this continual struggle over homosexual ordination, when our time would be better spent doing Christ’s work.
Thanks Howard,
Excellent points. Not much more for me to add except that Carol, I think, did correctly point out that there is a stronger social concern and activism among her generation than evangelicals of our generation. And this concern does include the more inclusive view regarding ordination standards.
As someone who works amongst young evangelicals all day, I would agree that they definitely have a higher level of concern for social activism, which is great. However, I don’t find that their support of same-sex relationships is really based on this concern, but rather because they have become somewhat anesthetized to the issue by the media culture in which they are immersed.
Very interesting observation. Thanks for the insight