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Commentary
COMMENTARY: The crisis of cynical younger clergy Kevin Watson, Jan 7, 2010
Kevin Watson
By Kevin M. Watson Special Contributor
A recent conversation has continued to resurface in my mind: Someone described a younger clergy person as kind of cynical after meeting for the first time. The person who made this comment is someone I find to be charitable and not quick to find fault with others, so the comment stuck with me.
Since this very brief conversation, I have found myself wondering if that criticism is often true of younger clergy. As a younger clergy person, I know it has been true of myself at times.
I am not sure why this is the case, but many of us seminary students and pastors in our 20s and early 30s tend to be quicker to find problems than to look for solutions. And we tend to be contemptuous or scornful of those with whom we disagree.
Sometimes the conversations that leave me feeling the most drained and hopeless for the future of the church take place within groups of younger clergy. This is something that I have found to be true across the theological spectrum (I am referring here primarily to the younger United Methodist clergy with whom I have interacted).
Sometimes it seems that what we have in common is our age and our ability to see the negative in nearly any situation.
In some ways, this should not be all that surprising. We are the generation whose preferred news sources are The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Both of these shows are satirical, even dripping with sarcasm, and they often appeal to their audience with the attitude of sharing an “inside joke.” In other words, you “get” these jokes and understand the hypocrisy because you are smarter than the people Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are talking about.
However, my experience is also that younger clergy are not all cynical all the time. (Of course, I am painting with broad brushstrokes. There are many clergy who are younger and do not fit the stereotype I am developing here.)
Cynicism seems to come out most clearly when groups of younger clergy come together. Though we can be very cynical in groups, every individual younger clergy person I have talked to is quite passionate about the church and even has ideas for how to strengthen and improve it.
Ultimately, I don’t know why cynicism seems particularly pronounced when younger clergy come together (and I may be wrong about this generalization). I wonder if part of it is a collective expression of frustration: The church seems to be so desperate to have younger clergy but is not always a good steward of the younger clergy it does have.
In other words, there may be some reason for cynicism. It can be difficult to hear people talk about the crisis of younger clergy and at the same time feel like nobody is listening to the younger clergy who are in the church.
My point is not to justify cynicism among younger clergy, however. I am writing to challenge myself and other younger clergy to consider whether cynicism—our default mode of thinking—is really a virtue, or whether we might want to try looking at things in more positive and productive ways.
I think one of the reasons my friend’s comment has stayed with me is because I suspect that cynicism among younger clergy is more a hindrance than an asset. I believe that the church absolutely needs us to provide leadership. But I also believe the church needs us to be hopeful about what God wants to do in the places that we are called to serve.
There are certainly reasons to be dissatisfied, and I am not arguing that we should ignore or overlook the problems. Instead, I am arguing that noticing the problems should prompt us above all else to look for solutions.
The gift that God has given this generation of younger clergy is not to be able to point out problems with the church. Rather, I believe that our gift is to boldly look for solutions, with faith that God will provide.
I have seen signs of younger clergy making positive contributions to the life of the church, and I know that we are just getting started. I hope and pray we will not be distracted by the reality that the church we are serving is not perfect.
Instead of diagnosing what is wrong with the last step that the church has taken or is taking, perhaps we can begin to discern what the next step should be.
The Rev. Watson is a doctoral student in the History of Christianity and Methodist Studies at SMU and authorof A Blueprint for Discipleship: Wesley’s General Rules As a Guide for Christian Living (Discipleship Resources, 2009). Reprinted from his blog at deeplycommitted.com.
Kevin Watson
However, my experience is also that younger clergy are not all cynical all the time. (Of course, I am painting with broad brushstrokes. There are many clergy who are younger and do not fit the stereotype I am developing here.) 
