Thanks for this, Tim. Yes, these demographics are a reality right now. One of the great weaknesses of the majority (white, middle/upper middle class, straight) AND most Americans is the assumption of universal experience. Persons in the minority are necessarily bi- or multi-cultural because they have not only their own context to live in, but also that of majority society. What would do ALL leaders well (church and otherwise) is the practice of taking on a "learning posture" in all things. Because, of course, folks in the majority aren't the only ones who assume that their experience is the norm. If we assumed a posture of learning and humility from one another, it would avoid a multitude of wounds that we inflict on those who are not like ourselves.

Thanks for your reflections, George. What you shared, I think, is a perfect example of a racial caste system, where some stigmas are applied while others are not. That your family had the "option" to move to the North side after your father's death speaks to the system's capacity to adapt to changing realities in the U.S. once you were deemed more "acceptable." As someone who has served as an elder for over 40 years in the PC(USA), I wonder how this has shaped *your* leadership in the church!

These are conversations that we are having at McCormick – conversations that are very personal for many seminarians who do not sense a call to the traditional parish but still desire ordination as a validation of that call. In a world where hierarchy is being flattened, ought we not think about our own structures? What would the church look like if there were deacons ordained to the tasks of advocating for justice and and care for the poor and sick -- not just within the church, but externally and maybe in "non-traditional" ministry? If I must go there: John Calvin thought was a good idea, why don't we? And, what if we took such an ordination seriously enough that it held similar kinds of rigor in preparation? It's not the same as Jack's idea, but I think that there is a touch point where the sense of "ordained ministry" is held by the constraints of tradition, fear of losing power, and lack of imagination.