Is This Stuff for the Young?

I appreciate (along with all of your comments) Theresa's comment yesterday about a' Kempis (at this point I appreciate any comment about a' Kempis) and ambition.

And it raises another question for me.  Those of you who are in churches I know anything about tend to be in churches full of young people.  Even our venerable church is pretty darn young, after all these years.  And, every now and again, as I talk about the kind of faith we talk about here and as I talk about big dreams for impacting the wider world, I'll hear a vulnerable comment from someone who's, say, over 50. 

They like this stuff, they'll tell me.  But they can wonder if it's too late for them to have a meaningful role in wherever it goes.  Since whatever this thing is, it's still being put together, will there still be meaningful time left for them to participate once it gets figured out?  And, if you've read any of the Bobby Clinton material that I referenced here last week (and I've been speaking about it in Boston), these folks tell me it's both encouraging and discouraging.  If they were supposed to be doing stuff in their 20s and 30s to prepare themselves for their role in a big move of God in their 50s...well, they didn't get the memo way back then.

I, of course, say that of course it's not too late.  In almost all cases, these are great, dedicated people who are talking to me.  Clearly they've done a ton of things right!  And whatever trivial thing they might have missed, clearly God is more than capable of making up for that.

But I wonder what you think.  A lot of the fun of our conversation here is our attempt to forge something new that, nonetheless, has the strange ring of powerfully experiencing God.  Do you see a meaningful role for folks in the second half of life in something like this?  What role do you envision?  (And you better come up with something good, because I'm no spring chicken.)

Is this stuff for the young?

Comments

[andrew]

I have a feeling your going to get a lot of comments on this one. Just two quick observations I'd like to make based off of my experience so far. I'm 33 and right in the middle of the generation gap.

1st observation: I've seen more older people in ministry holding back the reigns and keeping younger people for speaking up, rather than launching them out into leadership and asking their opinions. Harsh, but true. The insecurity of being an older leader right now is pretty thick.

2nd observation: The older people who have adapted and truly love hanging out with younger people, answering their questions with an occasional "I don't know", and not being insecure about their age have been the most influential people in my life. I don't know where I would be without them.

I'm praying that I age well, like the latter.

[bsergott]

Many of us who would perhaps fit in the "younger" crowd were raised without any real parenting. I think the Church has made a mistake of equating empowering young people with casting them adrift. Many of the foundational blessings and birthrights that come with being well-parented are simply not present. We have found that there is real value in having very few age-specific events or programs. The younger people need the wisdom and experience of the older crowd to be spoken into their lives. As we have focused on having multi-generational small groups and such, we have seen young leaders, who would have otherwise become disillusioned or would have fallen, come totally to life and begin fulfilling their life calling. The stuff they were missing from their upbringing is being filled by solid mentoring by older adults. They have the most important role in the church. They are the trainers and leaders of leaders. Their ministry takes on a whole new gravity. When we have college students working side by side on the Board of Directors of the church, for example, suddenly the old folks can't dig in their heels and the young folks can't think they know everything. In that, we have also found that the generational gap closes. The younger people like the older people, regardless of "hipness" or "coolness". They see their sincerity of faith and mission, and they listen intently to the experience-filled truth that comes from them. And we all dance to a Kanye remixed Neil Sedaka tune.

[Jimmo]

I remember, years ago, in my young family, suit and tie days, seeing a biker drive out of our church parking lot with a cross on his sissy-bar. my first thought was, "we don't serve a cookie-cutter God."

one of the dangers of the Clintonesque mapping, as well as of the 4 stages of faith, is that we allow those things to define us, rather than treating them as the generalizations that they are. For the young(ish), i think it very important to let them know that growth in Christ, and all that entails, takes a long time. That is not to say they don't "get it" as well as an older person, for Paul tells Timothy, don't let the old guys despise your youth. For those of us who are older, we don't need Clinton to tell us time is running out.

So what do we do with that time? The same thing as if we were younger. Follow Jesus today. God is sovereign, and he is no cookie-cutter. He has a plan for MY life, regardless of where I am at. If I am crucified with Christ, the results on this earth hardly matter. But that raises the question: am I crucified with Christ? Do I live my life by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me?

And thank God he's trashed my report cards from my 20's, 30's, and 40's.

[PB]

I'm with you andrew - mentoring has been everything for me. I remember we had some posts on here recently about mentoring, and I seem to remember a swath of "young" ones (20 somethings) who mentioned they would really like to be mentored. So that leaves us with 1) people who want to be mentored, and 2) people who aren't sure how to get in on God's plan. Maybe this mentoring thing would be a good thing to pray about?

Also, can I plug something here? To anyone of you who feel like you're jumping in late in the game, there's a people group who are in dire need of your presence: children. No, you don't have to be the world's greatest teacher, or the world's greatest whatever. Be a positive influence in their lives, and I'm sold that you will change their world.

[Theresa Musante]

I'm still in my 20s so I don't know ... but even if someone wasn't following God or wasn't into this calling stuff when they were younger .... that doesn't mean that they weren't experiencing life and learning and growing, right? So if they plug into this Jesus / calling / destiny thing for the first time now, its not like they come at it with a blank slate. God uses all their preparation and growth and they get to be part of the fun. Right?

[Theresa Musante]

PLUS, as Andrew and bsergott said, its just fun to have people of different generations and stages of life around.

[Trish Ryan]

I'm loving the Clinton stuff...but I'll admit that the narrow focus on age makes me cringe. I suspect that real life looks a lot more like being suspended between stages, ahead of the curve in some areas and behind on others.

I can't tell you how many times I've been at gatherings of Jesus-ey people in the few years I've been at this where the speaker or leader offered to pray for something that sounded really cool--vision, connection with big dreams, spiritual inheritance--and then narrowed who could come forward to receive that prayer by some age limit, leaving me out by a year or two. It's a bit crushing, even as I struggle to remember that God knows what I need and hears my prayers...even if the speaker thinks I'm beyond that already because I've hit a certain birthday.

I don't think this stuff is only for the young, obviously. If we're still alive, then it's for us :) But sometimes figuring out how to make it through the stages if your life doesn't look or feel quite on schedule takes extra persistence.

Although (and I say this with humor) if it IS only for the young, does that mean those of us over, say...30, can just relax, come to church on Sundays, and spend the rest of our free time working on the perfect putt or learning to tap dance???

[Paul]

I 'turned my back on God' in my late 20's and only returned at 40. I've prayed and wondered a lot if I'm now on plan B...or triple Z. My sense is not! Its all a journey...and God is in all of it...not just when I'm aware of Him or being a good boy. That is if He actually calls/leads us (and I think He does...given Nebakanezer's story).

I'm continuing to follow Him as best I can...and I've graded myself as currently being in nearly every Clinton stage (all at once). I have to say I'm really enjoying this stage of life (and I think its directly due to relationship with God)...meaning I could've enjoyed every stage if I'd allowed myself. I'm almost 50 and love my relationships with people of all ages in the church...they are totally a gift...and sense its mutual. I can imagine the same for all of us at any age.

Suspect there is value to intentional cross generational relationships, but I KNOW there is value in a more spirit lead 'serendipitous' relationship ... and imagine God is for all of it!

[andrew]

I love your statement here:

"I have to say I'm really enjoying this stage of life (and I think its directly due to relationship with God)...meaning I could've enjoyed every stage if I'd allowed myself."

LOVE IT!