Generational Partnership

There is a place at the table for both younger people and older folks when it comes to ministry in the church and in associational life.

At least that's what Acts 2:17 seems to suggest.

On the day of Pentecost the apostle Peter quotes from the Old Testament prophet Joel to describe to curious and confused onlookers what has just happened to the disciples in the upper room with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the launching of the Church. There is that intriguing line that mentions young men seeing visions and old men dreaming dreams as a result of the life-giving, energizing work of the Spirit.

Clearly both age groups are to be vitally involved in the leadership and mission of the Christian movement. It is regrettable, then, that in congregational life and associational affairs there is often a tension and occasionally even outright conflict between generations. Older adults sometimes say that the young are too green, too immature, too radical, too bent on change. Younger people speak of their elders as being too old fashioned and resistant to anything new and unwilling to share power and embrace fresh directions in the midst of a culture that is fluid and diverse and in constant flux, quite unlike any other period in our history. Lines get drawn. Cooperation suffers. The incredible impact of a united team with each age demographic offering its unique gifts and abilities is missing.

Proverbs 20:29 shouts at us that young and old both bring crucial contributions to bear on Christian work. It says that the "glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is gray hair" which indicates that we need the energy and zest and creativity of the younger set and the wisdom and depth and experience of the older crowd in order to have balance and cohesion. To neglect either generation's input and inspiration and integration is to make the body less potent than it could be. Whether it's worship styles or ministry approaches or methodology, we need to listen to each other and learn and find common ground and share together in reaching our communities for Christ. This applies to individual churches and to our Peninsula Baptist Association in this critical transitional moment.

Scripture highlights for us 2 mistakes that need to be avoided.

The young must be careful not to repeat the error of new king Rehoboam, Solomon's son, in 2 Chronicles 10 when he foolishly ignored the wise counsel of his older advisors and accepted the shortsighted advice of his contemporaries. That ultimately resulted in the division of the United Kingdom! There was a time when the monarch should have paid attention to the more seasoned reflections of his mature consultants.

But older church leaders must strenuously seek to guard against the attitude of king Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20. On one occasion he unwisely showed all his treasures to some visiting Babylonians. The prophet Isaiah chastised him for that and predicted that a day was coming when the enemy would show up and seize all that material wealth from a future generation. Hezekiah's selfish response to that dire warning was to remark, in essence, that at least it wasn't going to happen in his time so he could just relax and enjoy the present. Sadly, many senior saints in our congregations think similarly. Their position seems to be "We realize that our way of doing church will probably not draw younger people, but we want to maintain our comfortable ways of leadership and procedures for now. After we're gone, the folks coming after us can do whatever they want to.It's more peaceful this way." That's a prescription for losing time, momentum, and ground. It's a recipe for church and associational failure. It puts security above Kingdom business, ease before reaching people for Jesus.

Even if it takes effort and work and patience, let's find ways to come together generationally. These are such exciting days to be alive and involved in ministry. We must not miss our opportunity. After all, this is the only time we will have to make our mark and leave our legacy. Right now the PBA needs the fresh ideas of young people about techniques and strategies. We need their enthusiasm, too. We also need the accumulated insights of our older folks, who shouldn't back out but rather should reinvest and renew their commitment in their freer retirement years to helping make our association strong and vibrant, sharp and focused, effective and successful.

It's a joy and privilege to try and be of help during these months. Feel free to call on me.