The Present of the Church
This week thousands of youth will gather in Minneapolis for the LCMS National Youth Gathering.
And also this week, dozens, maybe hundreds of well-meaning people will make some comment on how these youth are the future of the church.
It's a common sentiment, but such sentiment misunderstands what the church is. Such a comment about the future insinuates (even if unintentionally) that these youth are not the church now. It insinuates that the church is those in charge, those with power, the adults in the room. And that's not what the church is about nor what the church is.
The church is the congregation of the saints. Age has nothing to do with it. Size of gathering has nothing to do with it. The three-week old that was baptized last Sunday is the present of the church. She is a saint. She has been forgiven by Jesus. She has heard the Gospel. The 90-year old widows I share communion with are the present of the church. And the future of the church too. I'll see them next week. We'll gather as saints and hear the Gospel and receive the sacrament. We will be church.
I'm not the first one to say this, and it's not the first time I've said it. But it bears repeating. Youth, children, young adults are not merely the future of the church. They are the present of the church. They are the now of the church. And if you care about the church's future, I suggest you stop referring to them in the future tense. Maybe they have some ideas. Maybe they know more than you do about some of the problems the church is facing. Relegating them to the future means excluding them from the church now. Don't do that. Jesus didn't.
