GA223 Post 1 Becoming a Both/And Church

Standing in front of the church gathered in St. Louis, six people with vision for a bright future in the PC(USA) shared their ideas, answered commissioner questions, and made the case for why they should serve as Moderator or Co-Moderator of the PC(USA) and ambassador for its nearly 2 million members.  Each candidate exhibited what is best in the leadership of the church; a desire to serve, a passion for the future of the church, and above all a love of Christ. 

Commissioners were able to ask questions about the candidates' vision and perspectives on what it means to be Presbyterian and why the PC(USA) matters in the world.  They also shared their motivations for serving and their faith journeys.

Midway in the conversation, the candidates were asked about reaching the unchurched in general and young adults in particular.  This was one of the few times I heard a discordant note in the presentations. To be fair, candidates are not professional office-seekers and standing before the GA is not an easy task.  Nonetheless, when asked how the church might reach unchurched young adults one candidate suggested that the answer was getting away from someone “pontificating from the pulpit” and instead getting out in the world and doing good works for our neighbors in need.  Listening to her answer and pondering the implications of it, a question arises.

Is it really a choice of one or the other?

Is the way to reach young adults really abandoning the traditional experience of gathering together in worship and proclamation for “going out in the world?”

Although I agree with her underlying sentiment, I take issue with the idea that the church is faced with such a choice if we want to attract young adults.  The young adults I know (through teaching, ministry, and in general) tend to be both passionate about making a difference in the world AND intellectually curious.  They want BOTH service in the world AND spiritual growth and engagement in the church. 

In the 1990’s many churches reacted out of fear of losing young members by jettisoning theology from worship and their public statements of faith.  For a while, it worked like a charm.  “Seeker” services and flashy productions on a stage did the trick and brought in young adults.  After a while, however, the flash wore off and for many of those attracted to the bright shining lights, there was no there there in the end.  And they left.

My fear is that the same fate awaits us if we seek to turn the church into a generically faith-based service organization.

Unlike other service organizations that do good works in the world, the motivation for the church is unique and indispensable.  Unlike the Rotary Club, Junior League, 100 Black Men, PEO, or any number of other service oriented civic organizations, the church serves the world because Christ has charged us to do so.  We are uniquely sent as Christians to be the very body of Christ in the world.  To remove that motivation (and its explicit proclamation) would mean reducing the church to just another club. 

What would happen, I wonder, if we both learned from the voices of our young adults who are calling us beyond the walls of the building and out into the world AND from the lessons of the past warning us of the dangers that await when we surgically remove all the churchiness from church?

What would happen if when we gather for worship we kept on “pontificating” about the need to serve God and neighbor, the importance of the life of faith, what it means to live a Christian life and then let all that hot air fill our sails and send us out into the world? 

Perhaps the answer is not either/or but both/and. 

Let’s be a both/and church embracing BOTH the lessons of the past AND the prophetic voice of the present.  I wonder if that might get us one step closer to being the going and doing church Jesus calls us to be.