Alumnotes
LEAVE COMMENTS FOR THIS POST AT BOTTOM OF PAGE
August 13, 2010
American Demographics and Ministry or Real Ministry in Real Time
As the demographics of American cities change, the work of leaders in congregations is becoming more complex. The American Community Survey released results that reveal demographics with implications for congregations and their leaders.
Finding: “What the report refers to as ‘non-family households’—mostly people living alone—grew at a rapid rate to account for more than one in three households in 2008.”
Remember when research showed that young adults are absent from the church between college and having children? Maybe a great children’s program is only one aspect of great evangelism. Another aspect would be making church a place welcoming for and important to 1/3 of all American households. This dramatic shift, taking place in suburban areas as well as the inner city, has the capacity to change the way churches live into their ministries.
Finding: “There is a ‘cultural generation gap’ characterized by the juxtaposition of a racially and ethnically diverse young population and a largely white older population.”
This “juxtaposition of a racially and ethnically diverse young population and a largely white older population” will inevitably change the face of the nation, and the composition and skill set of church leadership will require a similar shift.
In the past weeks, American discourse around the diversity brought by immigration to the U.S. has taken an ugly turn, with the disproportionate impact falling largely on people of color, many of whom are people of faith. With some moving beyond a valid call for immigration reform to an insistence on revisiting the Fourteenth Amendment, I perceive an economic and political motivation among some to demonize immigrants and their children. As I watch the alarming resurgence of this form of racism, I believe now is the time for the church to take a stand with the marginalized, just as Jesus did, and engage with people across traditional divisions of race, class, citizenship, and theological tradition to bring communities together instead of fostering mutual hatred and misunderstanding.
A sustained commitment by church bodies to diversity and excellence in ministry could create a cohort of effective educators, ministers and lay leaders who may be a part of making churches a place where the large, mainly white, older population lives out a call to turn towards relationship with this racially diverse young population in a spirit of openness, not theological paternalism. Each church has the opportunity to turn away from hate-fueled rhetoric and toward engaging in real, tangible ministry. Each church community may choose to be a moral voice standing up for access to healthy food, affordable housing, and quality education for all children, and for access to well-paying, humane jobs for their parents.
An emphasis on diversity and effective leadership is desperately needed in a time when leaders in the church, academy, and society are called to be bridge-builders and advocates of cross-racial and intergenerational coalitions. I needed seminary professors who could shape me to be an effective leader in an age when just my family alone includes straight and gay; married, divorced and single; white, multiracial, Asian American, Latin@, African American, Native American, and Arab American people; working class and professionals; atheists, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims; old, middle-aged and young. I want my colleagues to be able to navigate these waters, too. As this survey shows us, this is real life and real ministry in real time.
Blog comments powered by Disqus
