I recent ran across an advertisement for a church’s
job opening. It started like this:
“Job Description:
If you are married, younger than 40ish, have a degree from an
accredited Bible College or Seminary with at least 3 years’ experience of full
time ministry in a church, you may be the person we are praying God will bring
as our first Associate Pastor.”
At first, I was pleased this
church had the guts to state it right up front, “younger than 40ish”.
Finally, honesty in advertising!
Many culturally relevant churches would not be so bold as to state it in
writing, but none the less hold this truth to be self-evident. The fear of a lawsuit keeps it off the paper
but not out of the heart.
Under “40ish” has become the barrier for cultural relevancy. If you are in your forties, you have entered the
twilight zone. There might be a glimmer
of light that you can still connect to people younger than yourself. But all hope is erased as soon as you cross
the border line of 50 into the land of no longer relevant. 50-somethings are immediately relegated to ministering
to congregations whose nursery’s last human occupant was in 1960’s.
Not all 50-somethings are
bound by tradition and hymnody.
Shockingly, they own iPods and smartphones, not as status symbols but
tools. They listen to worship which rocks
out with the best of heavy metal icons. Many
50-somethings are on Facebook, have Twitter accounts, Snapchat and blog; all of
which are not merely “retirement recreation”.
My mother has all that access as a 70-something. Not all 50-somethings have been societally
brainwashed into thinking if I can just get to 65, I’m done. More and more retirement age people in
ministerial as well as secular job markets are working well into their 70’s.
A bunch of 50-somethings
are career-change ministers who got the call later than usual. When I say usual, you know what I mean… got
saved as a teen at a Christian camp, went to Bible College, married a music
major who can play the piano. These career-change men and women had the
audacity to think God could use them to minister His love and grace to “this”
generation, not just “their” generation!
Any 50-something with kids and grand-kids is learning to relate to these
generations every day. What is really
sad for the career-change ministers, they may just be getting into the flow of
the converging streams of ministry, theology, and the scriptures. Only to find
themselves relegated to retirement congregations whose main purpose is easing
their way across the finish line.
While everyone knows it is
good marketing to tout “multi-generational” congregations, the reality is the
staff better be younger than 40. Doesn't this reinforce the stereotype that “older” people have nothing left to teach
because they can’t relate? Matthew,
Mark, Luke, John, and Paul could not possibly relate to those in this day and
age under 40, right? No, they seem to be
communicating quite well, all of them well over 50 at this point.
When someone hits 50, are they
touched by the magic wand of inflexibility?
Do they instantly lose their ability to think outside the box? Inflexibility is built-in from an early age
and strengthens over time. Creativity doesn't age out.
I guess what really
bothers me is that God is going to have to do something miraculous to get this
search committee to look at someone over 40.
Make no mistake; God is well able to deliver the person that fits the
criteria listed. But the bigger question
is, if God brings a 50-something that fits the bill, will the search committee
be able to see beyond its’ own socially induced blindness? This may be the bigger miracle – changing
people’s minds. What’s really ironic,
this search team touts flexibility as a valued attribute for the successful
candidate, while holding to its own rigidity regarding age.
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