Young Clergy

  If I had to be honest, sometimes being a young clergy person scares me. It scares me when older pastors tell me, in words and sometimes in their silence, that I'm not good enough, that I'm not a real pastor yet - I haven't walked through enough fires. It scares me that churches look at me and assume I will bring in young families by my mer presence, even if everything else stays the same. It scares me that the assumption is that I have boundless energy and never need to rest. It scares me that at this time last year I was sick with an illness exacerbated by stress. It scares me that the age limits of young clergy keep expanding because we aren't bringing in enough "young clergy". And when I am scared I simply have to stop and remind myself that being young is a gift, and that it is not my job to fulfill everyones expectations, positive or negative.