Passing the Torch

Hello Emmanuel,

Keep your spiritual fervor…..

I talked a bit about it yesterday, but I want to focus on one specific ministry that helps me keep mine:  Confirmation Class.  One of the specific roles of the pastor is to lead a Confirmation Class every year.  It is a class that is offered to youth who are ready to explore the more committed prospect of being a church member and also to be baptized (or confirm the vows made at their baptism if they were baptized previously).

Every time I lead Confirmation I am reminded of my own confirmation.  As a youth, Pastor Mark would attempt to teach me all about the church and why it is a blessing to be a part of a community of faith.  To be honest, most of it was either over my head or seemed insignificant to me.  However, over time, I recognized that Pastor Mark was helping lay the foundation for deeper questions and answers as I grew into adulthood. 

For my part, my hope is to give the youth a chance to retain some of the very basic components of church life and theology.  We’ve gone over the 6 basic beliefs of United Methodism; the 5 vows of church membership; and of course we went over the Discipleship Pathway of Emmanuel (i.e. Circle Chart) over and over again.  If I can get 12 and 13 year olds to retain those components then I will take it.

But it’s more than that.  I am able to watch the very beginnings of independent theological thinking.  As youth begin to think independently of their parents (something that is both a blessing and a curse for parents), I am able to observe the innocence of asking impossible questions and yet the most obvious of questions.  How do we know God is real?  Why is the Bible the Word of God?  What is the Trinity?  What is a Sacrament?  Is the Holy Spirit a ‘He’?  Or an ‘it’? 

Will the 2 months of classes be remembered by the students?  Will they retain all of what I’ve taught as the vital components of being church members?  Maybe…. And maybe not.  (I wonder how many adult members would pass a test).  However, what is just as valuable in my eyes with the knowledge of being the church, is the realization that there is a community of people willing to walk with them in their journey of faith….. starting from the very beginning and going to the very end.  I pray the youth recognize this to some degree and will realize it more as they mature in the faith.

If so, then that is partly of what helps me keep my spiritual fervor.  Passing on the Church to the next generation is among the greatest Calls that we can fill.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe