The Church of the Future

IT’S SUMMERTIME!!! Okay, so summer technically is not here until June 21st, it already feels in full swing with camp sessions, beach trips, and warmer temperatures. In the life of our church, this season always deceives me. I continue to think that as the rhythm of the school year slows down, I can take a deep breath and float through the summer months. Surprisingly though, the life of St. John’s Church does not go into hibernation during these hot months, but instead not only do we continue our normal pattern of worship, we also catch a glimpse of the Church of the future at work.

Have you ever noticed that people in the Church love to worry about the future of the Church? I have yet to go to a clergy gathering without someone mentioning how to get younger people in the pews. When I scour trendy priest-blogs—yes, these exist—so many of them point to dire Pew Research Center results about how many members the Church has lost recently, and then mention how we might avoid our doomed fate to disintegrate into nonexistence. Even in our own parish hall, sacristy, and library we worry over what will become of the Church of the future. And yet, if we only focus upon the future, attracting a certain subset of people, and keeping our numbers up, we are being the Church (the Living Body of Christ) all wrong.

During my first clergy conference—when the clergy people of the Diocese of Alabama gather for renewal, fun, and a little bit of worrying—I was participating in some serious fellowship exercises playing poker with Bishop Kee and some wise clergy. In the midst of this light-hearted moment, Kee subtly used this opportunity to teach those gathered a lesson, and not just one about playing cards. He asked me how I was enjoying being a young priest. I gave him a polished response fit for a seminary textbook. Instead of telling me that I did not need to put on airs for him, the Bishop while dealing out the cards told me a story.

When Kee was a young priest in the Diocese of Mississippi he loved and revered his bishop, and the more-experienced clergy of that era. The Episcopal Church in Mississippi and its diocesan camp had been the place where Kee was loved into that person who was called to serve as a priest in the Church. And while he respected the stalwarts of the Faith that had guided him, he also knew that they were human beings. They made mistakes, just like the generation before them. They struggled with change, just like the generations before them. They had great triumphs, just like the generation before them.

At the end of saying all this Kee leaned over to me and said, “I am getting to a time when I am part of that older generation, and when I was your age, I always wished that my elders had invited me into building the Church that was to come. This is your invitation to keep building the Church. And, if I ever get in the way of God’s work being done just pull on my arm and tell me to get out of the way.” I was speechless. I don’t remember saying anything else the rest of the night, even when I was the big winner taking $12 off the old priests and the bishop—a considerable amount of money given the buy-in. What I learned in that moment is that if the bishop is willing to be told to get out of the way, I must be willing to do that too.

Last week, I spent time with our youth on the EYC Work Week. Next week, St. John’s will be transformed into the land of Egypt as we put on our Vacation Bible School. In addition to these local moments of the Church of the future already being here, young people from all over our diocese will be a part of Camp McDowell, Foothills Day Camp, Sawyerville Day Camp, Special Session, Young People Paint Birmingham, and so much more this summer. I do not anticipate a time when I will need to pull the Bishop aside to tell him that he is in the way of God’s work being done; however, I do think we would all be wise to see that the Church of the future is actually the Church of right now!

Our other bishop, Bishop Santosh, when he visited with us on Sunday morning, described the beauty of the Church in how we take care of one another. We constantly reach across generations in this Church. Each cohort has something to contribute, but to be the fullest, richest, and healthiest Body we can be we must make room for all generations right now, not just down the line when they have proven themselves. There is no Church of the future, it will always be the Church right now, so how will we right now welcome all generations to God’s Table in God’s Church?