"Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it."
Builders, Boomers, Gen X, Y & Z'ers... There is a lot of discussion inside and outside of the church around the generations and their differences. Sociologists
have done extensive research like the image on the right to identify
the unique general characteristics of each age group. From
popular culture, to learning formats and leadership styles; we are
attempting to discover not just how to get along socially, but how to
thrive and preserve legacy together. A GENERATION is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It
is the average period, generally considered to be about thirty years,
during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and begin to
have children of their own. The root word GENERATE means to cause something to arise or come about; to produce.
As a worship leader, the struggle to gather a congregation generationally in worship is real. Today I saw a video clip of a church that had a separate afternoon service of just hymns featuring Builders and Boomers gleefully singing. It was melancholy for me. On one hand I was
Inter-generational life and ministry is powerful. In the same way that we lose impact by being racially segregated, we deprive ourselves of rich treasures when we are generationally separated. Proverbs 20:29 states, "The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old." The LORD wants us to be both wise and strong. He desired that the spiritual lineage and legacy of the Children of Israel be passed down through the generations. I believe that is still true today. Psalm 78:1-7 says it more eloquently than I ever could:
O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I
am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you
hidden lessons from our past-stories we have heard and known, stories
our ancestors handed down to us.
We will not hide these truths from our children; we
will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power
and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know
them- even the children not yet born- and they in turn will teach their
own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not
forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.
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