Interpreting The Christian Mission of the YMCA by Paul Limbert

Paul M. Limbert was an ordained Christian minister and renowned leader within the YMCA movement. His work with the Y includes Springfield College as an educator and President; the CEO of the World Alliance of YMCAs in Geneva, Switzerland; CEO of YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, North Carolina. After retirement Paul mentored, led, taught, served men and women around the world for over thirty years; his influence continues on in the YMCA still today.

For more on Paul M. Limbert, you can purchase a copy of his autobiography: Reliving A Century.

This talk “Interpreting The Christian Mission of the YMCA” was given on December 4th, 1998 for a YMCA Professional Group gathered at Blue Ridge Assembly YMCA by Paul M. Limbert, aged 101, 20 days before he passed away.

The typed/photocopied version I received was given to me in November 2020 by Steve Tarver, CEO of the Greater Louisville YMCA, who was mentored by Limbert. I’m publishing it here on my blog to make it more accessible to the wider Y movement.

INTERPRETING THE CHRISTIAN MISSION OF THE YMCA – 12/4/1998

It is not only a pleasure but an honor to be asked to speak to this important group of YMCA professional leaders from the South Field. At my age, it is a pleasant surprise to be asked to speak anywhere! People would expect me to be in a wheelchair, dimly aware of what is going on, doting on memories from the past.

I have been quite puzzled how to approach this subject of Christian purpose or Christian mission today. It might seem like “old stuff” to some of you. I have been dealing with this subject for more than 40 years. Is this still a timely topic? I am tempted to pause and ask you whether this is still a live question in the circles where you move. And if so, whose concern? The staff? The members? The public? And to what extent is this an important question to you personally? Where do you stand as a Christian? What questions do you have, either theological or practical? I am not stopping, but I’ll be glad for your comments on these questions later.

1. Let me take a few minutes to review my concern with this question. In the early 1940s, before I was President of Springfield College, I was involved as chairman of a Commission on Religious Emphasis and YMCA-Church Relations under the State Committee of the YMCA’s of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Those were days when relations with the Catholic Church was a live issue, and there were many Roman Catholics in Massachusetts and in the YMCA. Much of this pamphlet seems surprisingly relevant to today’s situation. I quote only one sentence:

“No participant in the YMCA is required to accept the Christian faith or join a Christian church, but he ought to be aware that he is joining a Christian organization which recognizes the importance of religion and makes resources available for the deepening of Christian faith.“

2. A few years later I was stationed in New York City as secretary, among other things, for the National Committee on Christian Emphasis. Part of my time was given to writing a book entitled Christian Emphasis in the YMCA. This was based in part on a survey of what YMCAs were actually doing. For many, this became a kind of “bible” of both philosophy and practice.

3. Twenty years later I was in Geneva as executive of the World Council of YMCAs and had first-hand contact with Catholics (two members of our staff), Orthodox (a World Council meeting in Greece), and any number of Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists within the YMCA membership. I attended many quadrennial World Council Meetings, including the one in Kampala (1973) where we wrestled with whether to change the Paris Basis. And of course there was the “top” experience of the 1955 World Centennial Conference in Paris in 1955. The report of that series of conferences, And Now-Tomorrow, is still worth reading.

4. Then followed 30 years in “retirement”, when I was privileged to maintain close contact with the YMCA’s across the country and around the world. In my autobiography you will find several pages entitled “Reviewing the Christian Mission of the YMCA: An Elusive Goal” (pp. 351-354), with a page of a few of the many articles I have written on this subject (p. 354).

I take this time for this historical review not to brag but to bear witness to a central concern for Christian mission through the years in our Movement. But how about today? Is this still a live issue? I do not live near the seats of power in the YMCA, but I cite several illustrations of lively interest.

1) The Executive Committee of NAFYR met in Orlando in November. On the docket was a proposed mission statement for NAFYR and resolutions from two chapters relating to the “C” in the YMCA. I will not take time to quote the new NAFYR mission statement, and I do not have details about the resolution from the chapters. But apparently for my retired colleagues this is still a lively question.

2) Our National Council had a Task Force which attempted to formulate a revised statement of Christian purpose. This ran into difficulties about two years ago and the proposal to leave “Christ” out of the statement aroused a flurry of protest. The Task Force gave up the idea of a change and instead is concentrating on mission. On the letterhead of our National Council correspondence is a more or less official statement that is widely copied locally:

YMCA mission: to put Christian principles inot practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.

3) I have written a critique of this statement, but can not go into detail now. My brief comment is made in a publication which is another indication of current interest in Christian mission: a quarterly publication by the Charlotte YMCA called Dunamis, described as “A Newsletter to Encourage YMCA Leaders in the Christian Faith.” Are there publications of this kind in the South Field?

4) My last illustration: Some weeks ago Jay Lippy asked me to confer with him at this center. He is on the staff of the Tampa Metropolitan YMCA as Spiritual Emphasis Director. This is the first appointment of its kind that has come to my attention for many years: adding to the staff a person whose central concern is the Christian emphasis of the YMCA. Whether this is a trend I do not know. I am not even sure that I recommend this type of appointment. It may raise an old question about departmentalization. But at least it is another reflection of current concern. We would like to know more about how he is approaching this new assignment.

At this point you may expect me to launch into an analysis of what we mean by “Christian Mission” and how to express it. Instead, I want to make a “functional” approach. Let us look at the various groups with whom we are dealing in the interpretation of the Christian basis or mission of the YMCA.

1. The Public (statements in print). Every Association has its brochure, its printed statements about what the YMCA has to offer. Sometimes these are confined to schedules and events. But usually they include some statement of what the YMCA is and how it seeks to serve individuals and the community. This bulletin or brochure is important for our concern today. How do we interpret the YMCA to the public and our constituency? If I were a chief executive officer, this would be one of my important concerns: to put into print what the YMCA stands for. I would want to make clear that the YMCA is open to persons of all churches, all faiths, or none. Yet I would want to make clear that the YMCA has a Christian heritage and basis and seeks to put into practice the basic convictions of this movement centered around the teachings of Jesus and his outlook on life.

Some years ago the World Council of YMCAs published a little booklet entitled Christian – But Open. many YMCAs in the USA might prefer Open – But Christian. Take your choice! But some catchy title of this kind would be useful. How can we interpret to the public and to our adult members the basic Christian orientation and dynamic of our movement?

2) The Members. My impression is that most YMCAs are sadly lacking in their interpretation of the Christian basis of the YMCA to our own members. If I am wrong, correct me. But my impression is that the recruiting of members is primarily a matter of numbers and fees. To what extent do we try to explain to new members their responsibilities and our expectations? The process of interpretation would have to be carefully adapted to varying age groups. And it dare not be a dull, routine performance. Questions would be encouraged. There would be stress not only on bad language and not getting in fights, but on friendly relations and concern for others.

In my judgment, the current emphasis on values and responsibilities tends to be too abstract. Illustrations and stories are more effective. And at least an elementary understanding of how Jesus dealt with people is essential. Stories will be far more effective than slogans. Very few YMCAs will organize Bible studies, but a skillful teacher will find ways of using the Bible for illustrations. The stress will be on the right kind of relationships. And a realistic understanding of the way God deals with people is essential.

The job of a Membership Secretary – if there are any such – will take on new meaning.

There is of course also the broader interpretation of the YMCA historically and worldwide, which will be an important part of the education of members. But more about this later.

3) The Staff. In this process of interpretation the leadership is of cetnral importance. I think of both the professional staff and the volunteers. And the maintenance, non-professional staff dare not be overlooked. But I am thinking primarily of the full-time professional leaders.

Many staff meetings are routine affairs, with emphasis on jobs to do and events to come. Seldom can these be turned into educational experiences. Probably provision must be made for a series of sessions dealing with serious study and discussion. We have our curriculum for leaders in the early stage of their experience. Why not a continuing program, in spite of other pressures? It is this kind of continuing staff study that lends itself to a lively discussion of the Christian basis and purpose of the YMCA.

High on the list of topics would be a fresh study of the life and teachings of Jesus. Many of our leaders have had little opportunity for serious Bible study. Many are not ready to take on a study of the “C” in the YMCA with members because their own understanding is so shaky. I am ill at ease in leading a discussion in a field where I I am poorly informed. If a staff member is clear about the basic Christian purpose of the YMCA, he will find ways of communicating his point of view to members.

I would be glad to confer with any of you about suitable books for study in a staff session of this kind. In the field of the life of Jesus and his teaching, I have often recommended a book by a German Catholic professor, Hans Kung. It is a ponderous volume of about 700 pages. but it has basic insights that I have not found elsewhere. A year ago someone borrowed my copy and did not return it. But here is another book in my library that I recommend highly: The Historical Figure of Jesus by E.P. Sanders (Penguin Press, 1993).

Some of you are aware that during the last ten years there has been a fresh study of the Biblical records, particularly the four Gospels, sometimes referred to as the Jesus Seminar. To what extent are these records historically reliable? Did Jesus really say what he is reported to have said? E.P. Sanders takes these studies into account. His approach is truly scholarly, but positive. I assume that you would be interested in a scholarly approach of this kind rather than a writer who avoids critical examination of Biblical writings. The South Field could set a pattern for the national movement if you were to develop a program of continuing staff study related to the Christian basis of the YMCA.

4) I conclude by dealing with an aspect of our question that relates to all three areas: the public., the members, the staff. I am thinking of the broader picture of our YMCA Movement. Our tendency is to think of the YMCA in local terms: its membership, its program, its constituency. The average YMCA member has no idea of the breadth of this movement: its history, its spread to all corners of the globe, its reality as a world organization. I have one of those long photographs taken at the World Council Meeting in England in 1994. There is an amazing array of different colors, costumes, nationalities. There are about 1000 persons from over 100 countries. If only our “average” members could get the thrill of belonging to a world movement like ours! Ordinarily we shy away from pride. But you will forgive me if I am proud of belonging to a movement of this kind. And one of the thrills of my long lifetime was being in Westminster Abbey for the observance of the 150th Anniversary of the founding of the Young Men’s Christian Association.

Some of you heard me speak of the quarterly magazine published by the World Alliance, YMCA World. I will not elaborate, but I remind you that here is a publication that goes beyond our World Service program, great as that is. The World Alliance includes national movements never mentioned by World Service. This quarterly would be an eye-opener for many Associations – and even for many professional leaders. Recently I have been in correspondence with Bart Shaha, General Secretary of the Asia Alliance of YMCAs. In his newsletter he tells about a recent visit to Nepal, where there are now 11 small YMCAs. I did not know that the YMCA exists in Nepal. There is news here of YMCAs in other countries of Southeast Asia little known in this country.

Only a few of us have had the privilege of first-hand contact with YMCAs in other parts of the world, but each one can have a part in interpreting the wider dimensions of the YMCA. As we read of fires and floods and famine, we can remember that the YMCA is one of many organizations helping to restore these broken communities – and doing this as part of our service as Christians.

I have only touched on the challenge to renew a vital Christian spirit in our far-flung YMCA. You are the ones in the field who must carry through over and beyond my limited understanding and capacity. You are the ones who must translate these few suggestions into reality!

Paul M. Limbert