Here’s the answers of Bruce Reyes-Chow, candidate for Moderator of the PC(USA) General Assembly.  I have to say, not only did he answer in record time–less than 24 hours–he did so wisely and graciously.   

BRUCE’S DISCLAIMER: These responses are done in a free-flow manner as if we were sitting at a cafe sharing a cup of coffee and are not edited or vetted in the same manner as with official publications.

1: In many circles within the PC(USA) there’s a deep antagonism towards all things denominational, but at my seminary there’s a vibrant hope for a vital future.  What gives?

Bruce: This does NOT surprise me at all.  If you remember, the Presbyterian Youth Connection was one of the strongest youth movements that we have seen in a while.  My hunch is that those who where impacted by that time in our history are “coming of age” now are are fully committed to the way they have experienced the denomination.  In many ways, I think that the youth and young adult program of the GA 10 years ago, was ahead of it’s time and we are now feeling the push from that constituency.

2. Folks have described you as the “young adult” candidate for moderator.  Do you consider yourself a young adult, and depending on that answer, how does this identity jive with your stand for moderator?

Bruce: Context, context context.  At the spry age of 39, in many clergy circles I am the youngest in the room, while at the church I serve I am constantly making cultural references that out me as an old guy.  What I do think I offer in my youthfulness is a worldview that has often been forced into a box of “young adult” so that the institution can dismiss it.  The postmodern worldview within which I live and serve may indeed have more younger people who embrace it, but by no means is it age-specific.  Still, it is easier to label me a Young Adult and that is a reality I must confront with grace.  How this connects to my stand for moderator is that even though I am perceived at the “youngster” I will not be defined by the negatives that folks may want to attach to that label.  Instead, I heartily claim my experience and savviness within the denominational structures while embracing all that is good and right about a youthful spirit.

3. You and I are active bloggers while most/many folks in my wife’s small rural older congregation have never read a blog, let alone considered blogging themselves.  How significant is this tech divide in our denomination, and what are its implications for ministry?

Bruce: I think that at some level we must be able to operate in a world that has this great divide.  This does not only exist in the church but in the world.  As technology and globalization advance – for better or worse – we must be able to walk with those for whom this way of being will never be the norm.  While I believe the church should embrace and adapt to many of the changes, i think it is unfair and almost cruel to force these cultural shifts upon folks for whom this is just not in sync with life experience, worldview, etc.  At the same time, I would gently nudge those in this demographic to be sure that they are open to “what may be” even if it is something that they themselves do not understand.

4. What’s the funniest thing you’ve been told since standing for moderator?

Bruce: Funny/Painful if not for my confidence of faith.   From a comment, “And I’m not sure a denomination will survive (nor maybe should it) having yet another unfaithful and unbiblical moderator.”  I am not sure who the previous ones were, but I couldn’t agree more.