Education & Formation: Fourth Case Study
Statement of the Case
The elder board meeting at Valley Community Church (VCC) has gone into extra innings because of an increasingly heated debate on the proper place for teenagers during Sunday morning worship. Pastor Robyn was compelled to accept the position as lead pastor at VCC just two years ago because of its reputation in the community as a church of both theological diversity and incredible unity. Apparently, somebody forgot to bring the “unity” tonight. Here’s why:
For years Jim, the longtime youth pastor, has been teaching a popular and growing Sunday School class for high school youth. With so many other churches in the area struggling to even get youth ministry off the ground, VCC has celebrated Jim’s program that attracts dozens of teenagers on both Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. “Jim does wonders with these kids. Just getting them here is a feat, and after all, if kids are coming then what could the problem be?” argues Mike (one of the elders) in the meeting. Several others nod in agreement.
The problem, in Pastor Robyn’s mind, is that Jim’s Sunday School class meets in the basement during Sunday morning worship. Families show up to church and parents go to the sanctuary while teenagers shuffle downstairs for a time of games, donuts, and apparently a bit of Scripture. Although she’s uncertain of the exact ratio of donuts to Bible, Robyn has a suspicion that it’s a pretty jelly-filled excuse for Christian education. Since taking the helm of VCC she’s been trying to get youth Sunday School moved to another time — maybe Sunday evenings — so that teens can participate in the Sunday morning services. She especially thinks it’s important that youth participate in the Communion services that happen on the first and third Sunday of every month. Frequent Communion has been one of the distinctives of VCC since it was founded as a community church in the 1970s from the odd remnants of three dying congregations from varying theological heritages. But these days the youth are never present to participate.
“That class is the reason my kids come to this church,” shouted Roger in a tone that startles most everyone in the meeting. With a twinge of both parental fear and sheer outrage Roger explains that his teenagers hate the worship service and would stop coming if they were forced into the morning service. “Making kids sit through worship and a sermon is ludicrous. They don’t have the attention span for that — especially with the length of the sermons lately. These kids are down there in that class, learning the Bible, getting the meat of Scripture, and learning how to apply it to their lives. That’s exactly what they need, and you want to take them out of that class so they can have Communion? A move like that will send our youth ministry into a tailspin, and send our youth elsewhere.” Despite the harsh tone, Roger’s thoughts on the subject are echoed by many in the room.
“Look, maybe we can compromise on this,” said Jan, one of the matriarchs of the congregation and the longest serving elder. “Instead of moving Sunday School to another time, or cancelling it twice a month, why doesn’t Jim simply bring the children up from the basement at the end of the service twice a month so they can take their Communion before they go home? He can just end his lesson early on those days.”
“Jan, that simply won’t work,” Jim replies. “We need every moment we can get down there, and the last 15 or 20 minutes of class time is the most important, it’s when we finally get to the point of the Scripture that morning. It’s when our teaching really kicks into high gear, and we apply the Scripture to kids lives, and they come away changed. If we cut that last bit, the whole morning is a loss. But I’ll tell you what, why don’t you send the Communion elements downstairs, and we’ll give them to the students when we pray at the end? That way, they get Communion.”
Finally, there’s a moment of silence in the room as people ponder Jim’s impassioned plea. And then slowly eyes turn toward you. You may be new on the job as Associate of Education and Formation at VCC, but they all know you’re seminary educated. “You’ve been awfully quiet,” calls the chairperson from the other end of the table with a smile and a wink. “So, come on now — put that Princeton degree to some use, and give us some wisdom here.” Everyone chuckles, but then it grows quiet again as they await your words.
Criteria
Form a response that considers the theological, developmental, educational, and pragmatic issues at hand. Be sure to consider the relationship between Eucharist and education/formation. Based on your response, suggest a possible course of action for resolving the dilemma.
Initial Response
Jan's desire to have the youth participate in Eucharist along with the greater church community is certainly admirable. But from a practical standpoint, she is a relatively new pastor in conflict with a veteran youth director who is successful (in the eyes of the community, at least) and unwilling to negotiate very much. Two elders have already expressed their resistance to her viewpoint, and the rest of the board (through nods and murmurs) has pretty clearly expressed their agreement with Jim. In short, if she pushes the issue to a vote, she'll most likely lose. And if she somehow succeeds in forcing a change, she runs the risk of losing her position. If I side with her, it's also possible that my Princeton Seminary education won't be worth much on the way out the door.
Educating the youth, the congregation, and even the elders about the purpose and nature of communion is a good long-term goal. But any short speech I could give in this meeting could not possibly accomplish that in time to effect an immediate change. I also have to operate on the assumption that as someone who has been in ministry for several years, Jim has at the very least a basic understanding of communion, and its place in the life of the church--and yet he still believes strongly that what he does is more important for the youth.
To be honest, I have to consider the possibility that he may be right. The mere fact that communion is offered in the worship service does not in any way necessitate that it is a meaningful experience. In this case study, we know nothing about how it is administered, explained, or connected to the context of the worship service and the life of the congregation. We also don't know much about the content or quality of Jim's teaching, but we know at the very least that it engages the youth. From at least one parent's perspective, it would seem that the worship service fails to do this. Is a poorly administered communion service still better than a well-administered Sunday School class?
