What Remains by Cory L. Kemp

Forbes.com recently ran an article that was rather shocking and intriguing all at once. The job market is not what it used to be and it is not going to look the same twenty years from now. Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock and Revolutionary Wealth, is quoted as saying that, "Most jobs are going to change. They'll survive, but they'll change." Almost any job dealing with technology will adjust to the advances we are used to seeing in media , communications and information technology. Some jobs will not fair so well and will disappear altogether, positions like cashier, CD store manager and construction worker. Machines will take over and make human beings unnecessary. And there will be new jobs created with titles that speak of how we envision our future world: flood area worker and quarantine enforcer. The former evokes chilling images from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the latter stirs renewed concerns for pandemics that are no longer if, but when scenarios.

But back to Mr. Toffler's original observation. Many jobs beyond technology-related ones will stay with us for one simple reason: we still need them and they require a certain human touch. The list is quite varied, and includes barber, politician, mortician, tax collector, artist and religious leader. It's curious that despite the fact of being a technology-driven culture, we still want a human being to cut our hair, represent us in government, prepare our bodies for burial, collect our taxes, create beauty in the world and guide us on our journey with God and each other. All of this is good to know as we move beyond this initial toe-dip into the new millennium. It's 2006, we haven't completely destroyed the planet or each other, and we have some work ahead of us.

That work, as people of faith called to a living community known as the body of Christ, is something that has not changed much at all since the first Christians began gathering together in each others homes centuries ago. This work we are called to is outlined by Paul in his letter to the church at Ephesus. "The gifts God gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4: 11-13)." For as much as we still desire a human being in the pulpit and at our bedside when we are ill, Paul is talking about each person of faith taking responsibility for figuring out what their role is in helping to equip the body of Christ, fellow believers, in strengthening their faith and ministry.

Does this concept fit with your understanding of the faith community? There is a lot of discussion and programming built around spiritual gifts, but how much of this work is applied to nurturing each other, supporting each other in the important work of building up the body of Christ?

It is no coincidence that Paul also included a few observations on what it meant not to move forward into a fully-committed work on behalf of one's faith community and how the body of Christ looks when it works well within itself. "We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every word of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love (Ephesians 4:14-16)."

Cashiering jobs may disappear in the next twenty years, but apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in the body of Christ will always have work. We will always have the chance to speak truth with love, the opportunity to grow in every way in living our faith, and giving of what we have been given to our fellow believers. This is what remains.

About The Author

Cory L. Kemp

As an ordained minister, Rev. Kemp has worked in both pastoral and educational ministries in several congregations. Her ministerial background and love of writing have combined to develop Creating Women Ministries, a website dedicated to encouraging theological dialogue, particularly among women, through workshops, journaling and personal spiritual development. Her book, You Don't see Many Chickens in Clearance: Essays on Faith and Living, can be purchased through Lulu Publishing at: http://www.lulu.com. Visit Creating Women Ministries at: http://www.creatingwomenministries.com for the e-book edition. Questions? Thoughts? Musings? She can be reached by email at: creatingwomen@irun.com.