By Rev. Glenn Hink
July 17, 2008 06:22 pm
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Though usually not easy, change is a part of life. As we wrestle with, complain about, engage in, and adapt to ... change, the following thoughts come to mind:
• Some folks say “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” and others say, “Let’s build a better mouse trap.” Life is usually both.
• An occasional joke among local Presbyterians is, “How many Presbyterians does it take to change a light bulb?” “Change?”
• I was channel surfing not long ago and came upon a show discussing the expanding nature of the universe. Stars, planets, clouds of gas, galaxies and solar systems ... they’re all changing. Though measured in millions and billions of years, the fundamental nature of the universe is change.
• I had lunch with my 23- year-old daughter a few months ago. We talked about the deep stuff of faith, life and God. She’s thinking about deep things. I’m proud of her. And I realized the little girl I used to jump with on the trampoline, and throw the football to, has changed and grown (and maybe her dad too).
Change — it takes courage and hope to embrace this part of life.
I was recently out in San Jose, Calif., at the Presbyterian Church (USA) biennial conference called General Assembly. I was one of 753 delegates who discussed, thought about, prayed about and voted on various policies and statements. Over 100 young adults (18-25 years old) were also there who participated as advisors. They are active in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and express a somewhat different view of life, faith and church. Consistently these young adults emphasized the importance of peace more than purity, experience more than rational truth, mystery more than absolutes, community more than separation, and welcome more than barriers. They believe the message of Jesus Christ is shown more in hospitality than fear, compromise more than rigid positions, self-sacrifice more than self-righteousness, and inclusion more than judgment. These young adults reflect the results of a recent George Barna survey of Americans under 25, of whom 90 percent viewed the Christian church as mean-spirited, self-righteous and homophobic. The 100 young adults gathered in San Jose wanted their church to be different.
Are these young adults simply a “peculiar blip on the Presbyterian and Christian Church radar?” I don’t think so. Rather they reflect a major change in a cultural point of view. Experts of such things say this happens about every 500 years. In the 16th century the view changed from pre-modern to modern. Today it is changing from modern to postmodern. In 2 to 3 generations the post-modern view of life described above may well be the dominant view. This is a big change.
Though this change may be difficult for many people, I believe it is important for churches, and good news. Post-modernism expands the occasionally narrow message of the Christian faith as “believe in Jesus and go to heaven” to much more. In a troubled community and world post-modernism invites us to recover the fullness of God’s grace and power in Jesus Christ, so that the blind see, the hungry are fed, the self-righteous are humbled, the prodigals are welcomed home, the oppressed are given justice, and sinners of all shapes and sizes are forgiven, invited to new life, and given hope through the shadow of death. Christian faith in a post-modern world crosses racial boundaries, welcomes outcasts with tattoos and reputations, and is out of church buildings and into the community sharing in God’s mission. And so I see friends in the Shenango Valley Clergy Association out on the streets of Sharon and Farrell so to be agents of peace. I see congregations creating after-school programs, sharing in housing ministries, and providing for food programs. And I see more churches asking “How can we make a difference?, rather than “How can we be successful and comfortable?”
It’s a difficult time. It’s a time of change. But I know one Presbyterian pastor who’s becoming more comfortable with “changing light bulbs.”
The Rev. Dr. Glenn Hink is pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Sharon.
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