Tag Archives: Generational differences

Generational differences in the church

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’ve been thinking about generational differences in the church. Not just the “how do we attract millennials” stuff that’s so popular these days, but more of “how do we best utilize the resources of all generations.”

I’m torn between two poles. One is seen in Paul’s advice to Timothy:

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

We can’t dismiss people merely because they’re young.

The other pole is seen in the story of Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12. After his father, Solomon, died, Rehoboam was made king. Solomon had taxed the people heavily, and the people asked Rehoboam for some relief. Rehoboam consulted the elders, and then he consulted his peers. As the Bible says, ““Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men…”, and Rehoboam destroyed the kingdom before he ever began to rule.

We can’t dismiss people merely because they’re old.

I want to talk a bit, but I’d love to hear your insight. How do you see things in your church? Is it youth-driven or youth-ignoring? Does experience count or is everything past irrelevant? I’m especially curious to see if you feel that your age group is empowered or not.

(I’m expecting a flood of commenters who don’t usually participate on this blog, what with all of the generational justice advocates out there)

Standing on shoulders

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt’s very easy to look at those who have gone before us and feel that everything they did was wrong. Or at least to talk as if we felt that way. As we grow and make our own discoveries, we sometimes look back with a bit of disdain.

And that’s wrong.

I was thinking about the metaphor of standing on the shoulders of those that came before, considering how useful that metaphor is. The fact is, had previous generations not done what they did, we’d have a hard time being where we are right now. We’d have a hard time questioning them had they not prepared us to do that very thing. We are what we are because we stand on the shoulders of those that went before.

So let me offer some thoughts based on that metaphor:

  • There are two mistakes we often make when looking at previous generations. One is to try and tear down everything they did, looking to start over from ground zero. The other is to place them on a pedestal, regarding their work and their ideas as completely untouchable. That also leaves us standing on the ground. The healthy response is to climb up and stand on their shoulders, respecting what they’ve done, but not limiting ourselves to that.
  • As we look at future generations, we need to prepare ourselves to be stood on. We need to stand as tall as we can, yet keep a strong base. We need to accept that being stood on is uncomfortable; it’s much nicer to have someone stand back and gaze at us lovingly. It’s more productive to allow others to reach higher than we ever could.
  • To the next generation, I say, “Stand on me.” Don’t be limited by my mistakes. Don’t overlook my contributions. Use what I’ve done to reach higher. I don’t want to be a memorial, nor do I want to be a pile of rubble. I want to be a ladder, allowing future generations to be better than my own.
photo from www.morguefile.com

Didn’t we say that the building wasn’t the church?

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cathedralSome final thoughts (for now) about buildings and the future of the church. In churches of Christ, we have traditionally fought about the identification of a building as “the church.” In my experience, we don’t emphasize that in our language as we once did, but we have tried to hold onto the concept.

That being said, it’s hard for a church to separate its identity from a physical location. Some of it has to do with memories and tradition, a bit like a house that’s belonged to your family for years. That house is not your family, but you have a lot of emotions invested in that house, lots of memories of who was born there, who died there, all the things that happened there.

The same happens with a church building, but on a larger scale. More memorable things happen in any given church building. You have multiple families with memories of weddings and funerals, baptisms and special days. It’s hard to separate that physical location from the identity of the church.

Older generations feel it even more. Besides the special memories, there’s the investment of money and effort that has gone into a building. There’s a since of pride and accomplishment in what the building represents, and there’s a deep sense of hurt when younger generations don’t share the feeling.

Of course, it’s not just the building that evokes that feeling. As younger generations reject doctrinal stances, question the structure of the church, and seek to develop their own liturgy, previous generations feel that they themselves are being judged along with everything else.

Randy Mayeux once pointed out that generational struggles come from the fact that one generation has built something, while the next generation wants to build their own projects. It takes great sensitivity on both sides to keep from exacerbating those differences. It takes a real focus on the Kingdom and the good of the Kingdom, getting beyond personal feelings and pride.

 

photo from MorgueFile.com

Generational differences in the church 2

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A few quick things:
Long-time missionary to Thailand, Robert Reagan, is undergoing studies and treatment for tumors on his pancreas. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. Robert and I lived in an apartment together while at Abilene Christian University.
I got an e-mail from two ladies in Havana, listeners to my radio program. They were concerned about my safety following the hurricanes!
I’m pretty much “offline” this week due to the ACU Lectureship.
An interesting thought came up during the discussion about generational differences. The goal of “doing church our way” probably isn’t a good one. It’s all about yielding to others, looking to the interests of others, etc. It’s not about “my way” (and never “my way or the highway”).

Generational differences in the church

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How many times do we see problems between the different generations at church? I was discussing with my wife the other day at what point we would turn into “the old folks” at church that complain about everything.
Twenty-five years ago, a friend of mine made an interesting analysis. He said that the problem is basically this: you’ve got one generation that has built something. It may be flawed, but its theirs. Then you’ve got another generation that is ready for their chance to do the building. When they propose something, the older generation takes it as a criticism of what they have built. One group wants the chance to build, the other wants to protect what they have already built.
I see a lot of truth in that analysis. What do you think?