Idols, Heroes and Mentors
25/01/12 05:39
A new class of confirmands begins their journey at our church this evening. Preparation for the rite of confirmation will be more compact and intense this year than in some previous years. Meetings are set for Wednesdays and Sundays, with confirmands responsible for participation in worship as well as regular sessions of instruction. Our program is team-taught, with all three of our ordained ministers and a lay minister sharing the presentation duties. It is a small class this year with only five students. You can do the math. The ratio of teachers to students is nearly one-to-one. This is important for our congregation.
For us, preparation for the rite of confirmation is not primarily about the maintenance or future of our congregation. It is mission work. While we would be delighted should one or more of this year’s students choose to remain in our community and remain active in our congregation, we know that we will soon be sending most of these youth out into the world. The rite of confirmation prepares them for their membership in the universal church, not just our congregation. Their spiritual journeys will likely lead them to other places and other congregations. Our goal is discipleship, not building our own future.
The four of us who will be doing the primary content presentation are not the only adults involved. At the heart of our program of preparation for confirmation are mentors. Each person preparing for the rite of confirmation has been carefully matched with an adult mentor, who is not a member of his or her immediate family, who will make the journey alongside the confirmand.
Part of tonight’s activities will be a process of confirmands and mentors getting to know each other better. There is a guided interview process that helps them to find out the basics of vocation and family. They also find out things like favorite hymn and favorite Bible passage or story. In the past these interviews have provided a depth of meaning for all involved. On one occasion, I met with a family to plan a funeral. When I asked if the family knew if there was a favorite passage of scripture or hymn that we wanted to include, they were uncertain. I commented that I knew someone who did know the answer to the question. When the service was held, a newly confirmed member of the congregation who had gotten to know the deceased as a confirmation mentor delivered one of the readings from scripture.
Our current society and culture is a bit short of mentors for young people. In a congregation of 575 members, it is a struggle to find 5 matches. Our congregation is an older one, with many distinguished people and an amazing well of wisdom and faith. But identifying people who will make a big and consistent investment in the youth is still a struggle for us. Outside of the church, mentors are difficult to find as well.
In an age of mass media, there are plenty of idols. Idols are people who show us what we will never become. Common among the idols of youth are entertainers and sports stars. Kim Kardashian may make headlines, but she shows youth more of what they will not be than what they can become. Fame and wealth are elusive, and dangerous. Kobe Bryant may be the highest paid player in the NBA, but he has cut a path that cannot be followed. Idols are visible and surround us daily, but they teach us more about what we cannot be than about what we can become.
Heroes lead by demonstrating what we can become. Genuine heroes usually achieve less fame. They are willing to do the work, invest the time, and serve others. They are often noticed by the size of their sacrifice. Gabrielle Giffords, who represents southern Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives will be stepping down this week to focus on her recovery, but her journey from the brutal attack that left her with a gunshot wound to the head has been inspirational and she has publicly shown the journey through adversity through hard work and setting an example that can be followed. In our city police officer Tim Doyle serves as a liaison officer in our schools. His heroism this past summer when a routine traffic stop turned into a shootout demonstrated the ability of a human being to put the safety of others ahead of his own health and safety. He is a hero who demonstrates a path than can be followed by others.
Mentors take the process a step further. Mentors walk alongside others and share the journey. The primary example for Christians is the story of Jesus appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus reported in Luke 24:13-35. Jesus meets the disciples who are confused and uncertain about their future. He doesn’t lecture them. He walks alongside them in their journey, listens to their concerns, and then opens up the stories of our people to them in a fresh way. Like Jesus walking alongside the disciples, confirmation mentors walk alongside youth as they take a look at their faith, at the stories of our people and of our church, as they engage in hands on mission, and as they step into the lectern of the church to lead the congregation in worship.
In our congregation we believe that preparation for confirmation is a task that is too difficult to undertake alone. We become Christians by walking together with other Christians. We believe that we are called into community. You cannot be the Body of Christ all by yourself.
There will always be a few people who measure success or failure by counting numbers. They will decry a program that is so inefficient in terms of cost per student. The amount of staff time should, in their opinion, be reserved for much bigger classes and much higher numbers. But we have not been called to be efficient. We have been called to be faithful.
And personally, when I look back, my faith has not been forged by participation in large groups and being a member of the crowd. It has been forged by caring individuals who took the time to guide and encourage me and then challenge me to become more than I thought would be possible. When Jesus gathered his disciples, he knew them all by name.
I’ll leave the counting and statistics to others. For this group of five who begin their confirmation journey this evening, I intend to be fully present and willing to pay the cost of service. Idols come and go. Heroes are called by God and forged by circumstances. Mentors answer the call to service and walk alongside others. This world needs more mentors.
For us, preparation for the rite of confirmation is not primarily about the maintenance or future of our congregation. It is mission work. While we would be delighted should one or more of this year’s students choose to remain in our community and remain active in our congregation, we know that we will soon be sending most of these youth out into the world. The rite of confirmation prepares them for their membership in the universal church, not just our congregation. Their spiritual journeys will likely lead them to other places and other congregations. Our goal is discipleship, not building our own future.
The four of us who will be doing the primary content presentation are not the only adults involved. At the heart of our program of preparation for confirmation are mentors. Each person preparing for the rite of confirmation has been carefully matched with an adult mentor, who is not a member of his or her immediate family, who will make the journey alongside the confirmand.
Part of tonight’s activities will be a process of confirmands and mentors getting to know each other better. There is a guided interview process that helps them to find out the basics of vocation and family. They also find out things like favorite hymn and favorite Bible passage or story. In the past these interviews have provided a depth of meaning for all involved. On one occasion, I met with a family to plan a funeral. When I asked if the family knew if there was a favorite passage of scripture or hymn that we wanted to include, they were uncertain. I commented that I knew someone who did know the answer to the question. When the service was held, a newly confirmed member of the congregation who had gotten to know the deceased as a confirmation mentor delivered one of the readings from scripture.
Our current society and culture is a bit short of mentors for young people. In a congregation of 575 members, it is a struggle to find 5 matches. Our congregation is an older one, with many distinguished people and an amazing well of wisdom and faith. But identifying people who will make a big and consistent investment in the youth is still a struggle for us. Outside of the church, mentors are difficult to find as well.
In an age of mass media, there are plenty of idols. Idols are people who show us what we will never become. Common among the idols of youth are entertainers and sports stars. Kim Kardashian may make headlines, but she shows youth more of what they will not be than what they can become. Fame and wealth are elusive, and dangerous. Kobe Bryant may be the highest paid player in the NBA, but he has cut a path that cannot be followed. Idols are visible and surround us daily, but they teach us more about what we cannot be than about what we can become.
Heroes lead by demonstrating what we can become. Genuine heroes usually achieve less fame. They are willing to do the work, invest the time, and serve others. They are often noticed by the size of their sacrifice. Gabrielle Giffords, who represents southern Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives will be stepping down this week to focus on her recovery, but her journey from the brutal attack that left her with a gunshot wound to the head has been inspirational and she has publicly shown the journey through adversity through hard work and setting an example that can be followed. In our city police officer Tim Doyle serves as a liaison officer in our schools. His heroism this past summer when a routine traffic stop turned into a shootout demonstrated the ability of a human being to put the safety of others ahead of his own health and safety. He is a hero who demonstrates a path than can be followed by others.
Mentors take the process a step further. Mentors walk alongside others and share the journey. The primary example for Christians is the story of Jesus appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus reported in Luke 24:13-35. Jesus meets the disciples who are confused and uncertain about their future. He doesn’t lecture them. He walks alongside them in their journey, listens to their concerns, and then opens up the stories of our people to them in a fresh way. Like Jesus walking alongside the disciples, confirmation mentors walk alongside youth as they take a look at their faith, at the stories of our people and of our church, as they engage in hands on mission, and as they step into the lectern of the church to lead the congregation in worship.
In our congregation we believe that preparation for confirmation is a task that is too difficult to undertake alone. We become Christians by walking together with other Christians. We believe that we are called into community. You cannot be the Body of Christ all by yourself.
There will always be a few people who measure success or failure by counting numbers. They will decry a program that is so inefficient in terms of cost per student. The amount of staff time should, in their opinion, be reserved for much bigger classes and much higher numbers. But we have not been called to be efficient. We have been called to be faithful.
And personally, when I look back, my faith has not been forged by participation in large groups and being a member of the crowd. It has been forged by caring individuals who took the time to guide and encourage me and then challenge me to become more than I thought would be possible. When Jesus gathered his disciples, he knew them all by name.
I’ll leave the counting and statistics to others. For this group of five who begin their confirmation journey this evening, I intend to be fully present and willing to pay the cost of service. Idols come and go. Heroes are called by God and forged by circumstances. Mentors answer the call to service and walk alongside others. This world needs more mentors.