{"id":714,"date":"2013-05-31T16:02:17","date_gmt":"2013-05-31T21:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ptsblog.org\/?p=714"},"modified":"2021-04-02T12:47:20","modified_gmt":"2021-04-02T17:47:20","slug":"graduates-we-dare-to-send-you-forth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/graduates-we-dare-to-send-you-forth\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduates, we dare to send you forth!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To all our 2013 graduates:<\/p>\n<p>These are tough times for people of faith.\u00a0 A recent <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gallup.com\/poll\/162803\/americans-say-religion-losing-influence.aspx\">Gallup poll<\/a> reveals that 77% of Americans believe \u201creligion is losing its influence on American life\u201d\u2014the highest negative number polled on this question since 1970, when 75% of Americans thought that this was true.\u00a0 The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pewforum.org\/uploadedFiles\/Topics\/Religious_Affiliation\/Unaffiliated\/NonesOnTheRise-full.pdf\">Pew Research Institute<\/a> has determined that 19.6% of Americans identify themselves as unaffiliated with any particular religion; 32% of those 18 to 29 are unaffiliated, making \u201cnone\u201d the fastest growing religious affiliation among young adults.\u00a0In such a climate, many would say that a seminary education is a poor investment.\u00a0Some would say that we should be pulling back, discouraging new applicants, and cautioning our graduates that they have a long, hard road ahead.\u00a0But we aren\u2019t going to do that.\u00a0We are sending you out today, not apologetically, not regretfully, but confidently, joyfully, and with enthusiasm!\u00a0How dare we?<\/p>\n<p>We dare, because the numbers do not tell a new story.\u00a0Rather, they represent the stripping away of an illusion to which the church has clung for far too long: perhaps ever since the days of Constantine, when Christianity became legal!\u00a0We had come to think that we Christians belong with the popular and powerful, rather than the shunned and the powerless.\u00a0We had come to believe that we ought to be able to dictate our values to the world, rather than demonstrating our values through lives of engagement and service.\u00a0We forgot that we serve a crucified Lord, whose only crown was a crown of thorns.\u00a0Now that \u201cChristendom\u201d lies dead or dying, perhaps we can be the Church again, and seek the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n<p>We dare to send you forth, because the numbers do not tell the <em>whole<\/em> story. You will find, in old dying mill towns, in struggling rural communities, in blighted inner city neighborhoods, that God\u2019s Spirit is still on the move.\u00a0People are still hungry for the gospel, thirsty for the living water, eager to find meaning and purpose for their lives.\u00a0 Perhaps (to steal shamelessly from Martha Robbins\u2019 baccalaureate sermon) the \u201cgrowing edge\u201d of the church in our day involves finding new ways to <em>be<\/em> the church, in new places.\u00a0I am heartened that young adults\u2014the very people who in the Pew study represent the largest movement <em>away<\/em> from faith commitment\u2014have been, in my time here at PTS, a growing segment of our student body.\u00a0Every year, our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pts.edu\/syi\">Miller\u00a0Summer Youth Institute<\/a> brings to this campus high school\u00a0students from across the country, and in their enthusiasm and commitment I see real hope for the future: those youth are out there waiting for you.\u00a0I am also heartened by a recent article from, of all places, the <a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424127887323741004578416882961364450.html?mod=wsj_streaming_stream\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>!\u00a0This piece describes adults in mid-career who, realizing the sterility of a life devoted solely to success in the world\u2019s terms, have returned to a life of faith to find new direction and meaning\u2014some even winding up in seminary!\u00a0Many of you come from that demographic, too\u2014and there are many more out there in the world, seeking and hungry, whom we must reach!<\/p>\n<p>How dare we send you out? How dare we <em>not <\/em>send you out? You came to us in the first place, not because you were looking for a stable career path, but because you were compelled to come, by the leading of God\u2019s Spirit.\u00a0We have seen the gifts of the Spirit in you through this time we have shared together, learning and growing in God\u2019s grace.\u00a0 With you we have discerned the shape of God\u2019s call on your lives, and it is our prayer that we have helped to form you in the pursuit of that calling, grounding you in Scripture and in the tradition, helping you to grow intellectually and spiritually. Now, we too are compelled by that same Spirit to send you out, eager to see what God is going to do in and through your ministries.\u00a0Go forth, sisters and brothers, in the joy of our Lord, and know that the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, goes with you!<\/p>\n<p><em>The Rev. Dr. Steven Tuell is the James A. Kelso Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To all our 2013 graduates: These are tough times for people of faith.\u00a0 A recent Gallup poll reveals that 77% of Americans believe \u201creligion is losing its influence on American life\u201d\u2014the highest negative number polled on this question since 1970, when 75% of Americans thought that this was true.\u00a0 The Pew Research Institute has determined&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>Graduates, we dare to send you forth! 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