Young Adult no more (?)

At the age of 35, Eric Van Meter reflects on the experience that many Gen Xers are having these days: that of moving past the fabled "young adult" category.

As Eric puts it, he is now in "the border country between young adult and unqualified adult."

His column series in the Reporter began here, and in his new article, he reports that he is more hopeful than ever. He talks about the somewhat strange experience of moving out of that phase of life where everyone is excited about who you are (young, and therefore the hope for the future) but no one wants to listen to you (because you're young, and you don't know anything).

In your 30s, people do start to listen to you. And with that age, you also tend to mellow a little bit. You start to take the less savory and more frustrating parts of your own denomination as an inevitable part of what it means to be in a church that is run by real, broken people.

But - and this is an important but - you still have the desire to work for the change you so ardently hoped for back in the more idealistic days of your 20s. This is probably a common experience of all generations; it's just that Gen Xers are only now beginning to realize it for themselves.

Eric points to the way that the Arkansas Conference Vision Team invited a bunch of Gen X pastors to help think about what it would mean to "youthify" the church in Arkansas. As Eric rightly points out, the willingness of the Vision Team to make such a move is a very positive step. The group Eric took part in did some great brainstorming. Now the annual conference needs to show that it can not only listen but also take action based on what they heard.

In my recent article in Faith & Leadership, I specifically used Eric as an example of one who has navigated the waters of ministry as a young adult and made a positive impact. I also believe he represents a type for hundreds of other young (yes, still young) United Methodist pastors out there. Let's not forget the difference we can make!