Generational Differences 8: One Last Word

If you've been following my Generational Differences blog, you'll notice that I believe the differences between old and young in the church are significant and important.

But not insurmountable.

College students givin' it up to Jesus at a recent conf.

My advice to young people is to be yourselves but remain humble -- or you will be humbled by the next generation.

And seek out the wisdom of older folks while they're still available. The boomers are just beginning to move out of leadership in local churches. Perhaps if you reach out to them they will stick around and serve under your emerging leadership.

To oldsters like myself: I call for communication that is cross-cultural.

It's called contextualization, and we expect our foreign missionaries to do it. But somehow we've exempted ourselves. We've been slow to adapt to younger cultural forms -- perhaps out of fear of compromising the gospel (and perhaps for worse reasons as well).

Additionally, we've sought to inculcate young people into the boomer church culture we've created. The result, unfortunately, has been disastrous. Young people have left the church in droves. Our way of doing things is simply too foreign to them.*

A radical (and biblical) solution: One of my oldster friends, Lynn, has suggested to me that any church that started playing country and blue grass music on Sunday mornings would quickly become a magnet for visitors -- especially those 35 and under (though hippies from the 1960s, now gray haired and ponytailed, might dig it as well).

I don't care for that kind of tuneage, but I think Lynn is actually saying something much larger:

That the precious treasure of New Wine with which we've been entrusted must, absolutely must, be stored in and distributed from new wineskins. The old ones are wearing mighty thin.

* See the introduction to the book You Lost Me by David Kinnaman

Generational Differences 7: Talking Across the Divide

Why is the following diagram so important?

(You may not have time or inclination or keen enough eye-sight to pick through it. So I summarize it below.)

It's called the Entry Posture Diagram,* and it's used in cross-cultural missions training.

To my thinking it nails the issues of how the generations can and should talk with each other.

Essentially, it says this: When you enter into cross-cultural interaction, your initial attitude (posture) will determine your eventual success (or lack).

Premises determine conclusions :)

If you begin with openness, trust, adaptability, you're likely to conclude with understanding and a deepened relationship with that "other-generational" person in your life. 

Naturally, the opposite is true as well. Starting off with suspicion, fear and prejudice will create a serious wall of separation when differences arise. The relationship will crash and burn.

Example: Conscientious parent, extremely concerned about 17-year old child's $100/month media subscription fees, decides to act decisively.

Parent thinks like this: "I grew up fine without all these high-tech gadgets. . . MY parents would never have allowed . . .  What does GOD say about stewardship of time/money? . . . 24/7 tech is killing young people . . . SOMEONE needs to stand up for what's right . . . I'm not running a popularity contest here . . . "

But of course this approach -- this posture --  is doomed before the first word is uttered.

It may even appear to work in the short run. But a new wedge of mistrust will enter the relationship.  And something way bigger than $100/mo will be in jeapordy.

Darn, I'm out of space. More next week. . . 

*EPD: Google it for more info, new diagrams, updates.