"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me." (1 Cor. 13.11, NRSV)
When I was a child, I grew up in a church where it was a little difficult to know where you stood. At least, this was true for me and the other young people at the church. We were teenagers and weren't sure exactly what we were supposed to do or how we were supposed to act.
In our denomination, one could become a voting member of the church at 15. Some of us had done that, but when one of us would chime in at a congregational meeting, there was a murmur of discontent around the room because "a child" saw fit to weigh in on the situation.
How were we supposed to know when we would be seen as adults? I mean, the youth of the church did a lot of the grunt work in church programs. We comprised at least half of the musicians that were used for corporate worship. We were the clean-up crew, the Vacation Bible School (VBS) teachers, the camp counselors and a lot of other things that the "adults" of the church didn't want to be or simply couldn't do.
This wasn't a bad thing. How many churches are out there that wish their youth played more of a role in the daily goings-on of the church? Probably a lot. We just were frustrated with how we were expected to do much and were not treated as responsible individuals.
Nowadays, young people, especially Millennials, are leaving the church very rapidly, and many are asking why. I personally don't think this has as much to do with this generation's intellectual differences, but rather an environment being created in which young people aren't allowed to share their differing opinions.
Most churches have what is called the Rite of Confirmation, but my church did not. This rite is offered to young people after a course of study to give the individual the opportunity to affirm his or her baptism and to give the church an opportunity to affirm the individual's coming-of-age as a member of the church.
The absence of this rite probably relates to the fact that my church didn't practice infant baptism and instead encouraged members to seek baptism at an age of accountability. So we would be baptized when we were a little bit older, but there was not the same level of instruction given, nor was there much of an element of affirmation from the congregation.
This past Sunday, at my current church, we had a group of confirmands receive the Rite of Confirmation. It was a beautiful thing to hear about their journey of learning about the faith, to hear the scripture that they had chosen and to get to pray with these young people as they take some of their first steps into adulthood.
They are young, but they are valid. We, as a congregation, had the chance to tell them, "The time is now."
Perhaps to some Christians this rite seems a little bit archaic or unnecessary, but for young people, it can be a crucial indicator of where they stand. There isn't a magic number at which they become adults. They follow a course; they learn; they grow and eventually they join the ranks of the rest of us who are following the course, preferably learning and hopefully growing.
Let's not ask what is wrong with young people who are leaving the church in droves. Let's ask ourselves if we're doing everything we can to give young people a place at our table.
