The Millennial Pastors are Coming!

(link to fuller version of this article)

by Andrew Brubacher Kaethler and Janeen Bertsche Johnson

The Millennial generation has begun attending seminary! They were different in college, they are different in seminary, and they will be different as pastors and church leaders. As Ed Janzen, chaplain at Conrad Grebel University College, notes, “We can celebrate that there are more of these young leaders to come!”

How are Millennials different from previous generations? In Millennials Rising (2000), authors Howe and Strauss observe young people born between 1982 and 2001 are positively shaped by both pluralism and strict standards of conduct. Millennials are realistically optimistic, they appreciate rules and institutions in general, they value relationships with adults, they work collaboratively and long for community.

How might Millennial pastors think and behave differently?

Call and Pastoral Identity
Many young adults entering seminary have experienced an “outer call” from people who have affirmed their gifts for ministry but may be searching for an “inner call” and confidence in this vocation toward which God is leading. Until both the outer and inner calls are in place, the pastor may feel that he or she is just “playing” the role. Additionally, since the process of identity formation is protracted for Millennials, forming pastoral identity is interwoven with forming personal identity.

Mentoring and Collaboration
Millennials have been tended closely by adults in their early lives and into their university years. Because vocational discernment now often extends into their late twenties and thirties, these mentoring relationships remain significant over a longer period of time. What sometimes appears as the need for “hand holding” is the request for mentoring.

Authority
Millennials are less likely than their predecessors to challenge authority, unless it is misused. They value the office of pastor and want it to have integrity. They are also more willing to embrace their own authority, but they hold it humbly and tentatively, not assuming theirs is the only perspective. Younger pastors will attempt to draw in the voices and gifts of many.

Truth and Scripture
The stereotype that young people scorn truth and ignore Scripture is also inaccurate; they do, however, redefine them. “Truth” is not an abstract principle, but rather something that is lived humbly and consistently. Scripture is authoritative not as a collection of principles and promises but as a compelling and integrative alternative vision for living in relation to Creator, creation, and other humans.

Intimacy, Singleness and Sexuality
Intimacy, singleness and sexuality are important issues for Millennials. Young pastors are more likely to be single. Finding a place in family-oriented church life can be awkward, as can be finding a spouse when wed to the church. Millennials have a robust understanding of intimacy which can not be reduced to sexuality. They value intimate relationships marked by genuine caring, honesty and openness with both genders.

Inclusion and Accountability
Today’s young adults value and expect diversity. Inclusion of marginalized people is a justice issue for them. Yet, Millennials value accountability within the community and want to talk about lifestyle choices from a faith perspective. They seek conversation, not condemnation.

What does this mean for churches?
God is blessing us with a “Samuel generation” of young leaders who desire to follow God’s voice. They seek guidance from elders and value the tradition of the church, but are not afraid to challenge those parts of the tradition which no longer promote faithfulness and justice.

How might the church help Millennial pastors flourish?

• affirm both the specific gifts and personal qualities they bring to effective ministry
• ensure the presence of mentoring-minded older pastors and spiritual directors to help clarify the pastor’s call
• develop collaborative team ministries not centered around the lead pastor
• listen humbly when Millennials question tradition; understand that they want to strengthen the tradition
• promote mutual encouragement and mutual accountability
• read the Bible in community and live God’s justice and mercy in everyday life
• engage in authentic dialogue where the hope of convincing others of our perspectives is matched by the possibility of being won over by theirs
• empower single young adult pastors to protect personal social time
• expand the understanding of intimacy to include spiritual, emotional and intellectual communion
• remember that young adults are still forming their viewpoints and testing them through conversation
• recall that Eli allowed for the possibility that Samuel would hear an uncomfortable word from God.

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A longer version of this article is available at http://www.ambs.edu/files/documents/news-and-publications/The_Millennial_pastors_are_coming.pdf

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Janeen Bertsche Johnson is in her 14th year as campus pastor at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and before that served six years in congregational ministry in Kansas. She enjoys teaching and mentoring young adult students entering the MDiv program. She is a member of the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA.

Andrew Brubacher Kaethler teaches youth ministry and directs a youth program, !Explore, at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana. Previously he was Conference Youth Minister for Mennonite Church Eastern Canada and Associate Pastor at Bethany Mennonite Church in Virgil, ON.

April 2009