A Pope is Chosen - Hopes Rise for Change

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 21 March 2013 3 Comments
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Question

 

I am a big fan of your writings and books. I am curious about what you imagine will be the future of the priesthood and pastorship in churches. What is the future of the clergy? I have been wondering if my calling is to serve as a priest, but I am unsure. What advice would you give someone discerning their calling to the ordained life?

Answer

Dear Dan,

Thank you for your question. Let me begin my response to you by saying that I have now been ordained for 57 years and if I had a chance to live my life over again, I would do it exactly the same way. I would seek ordination once more. I have loved the things that my priestly vocation gave to me: an opportunity to be deeply involved in the personal lives of many, a significantly challenging intellectual agenda as I sought to make Christianity make sense to my time and place in history, a platform from which to speak to the issues of the world in light of my faith, a chance to help people grow from childish religious images to much more mature ones and a chance to practice daily the faith I still passionately believe.

This is not to say that the next century will be easy for people in my profession. There are many reasons to suggest that institutional Christianity is dying and that this death is irreversible. I do not think the church forms of today will support the faith of tomorrow. I believe that much of what people think of as traditional Christianity today will be seen as invalid tomorrow. This includes creeds, liturgy and the way the Bible is interpreted. We live in an era of a huge paradigm shift, which, if managed adequately, makes this a very exciting time to be a both a Christian and to be in a leadership role. If this prospect scares you then I think you should seek a career in something else, but if it excites you, there is nothing more important than to be a part of this transition.

I suggest you go to a pastor you admire and discuss these things with him or her as you seek to discern your future.

~John Shelby Spong

 

Comments

 

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