This 5th Sunday, Frank Patrick will be our guest speaker. We're celebrating the older generation in the church and how vital they are to us all. Frank has an article coming out next month in SAGE magazine that I've asked permission to share here as a primer for our time together on Sunday. I trust it (and our service) will encourage you all, regardless of the generation you're a part of!
Blessings,
Pastor Tracy
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I’ve noticed something recently. I’ll be seventy-six years old this coming March, and a number of people aged twenty and thirty-something are willing to include me in their company, both individually and as a group.
The reason that I was a little surprised at first is that my generation, the so-called Baby Boomers who were born from 1946 to 1966 (Canadian stats), largely came of age in the fifties and sixties.
During that era I remember well listening to the Beatles as they sang tunes like “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?” Another popular group told high school students “don’t trust anyone over thirty!”. Teens of that day ‘spoke’ the language of the music that they listened to, and very often took the lyrics to heart.
There were many other contributing factors, of course, but the fallout from the overemphasis on youth led to what became known as the “Generation Gap”. This phenomenon was largely found in western Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America, and grandparents, parents, teachers, authority figures of any kind, and pastors were viewed with suspicion. Teens and young adults relied on what they heard from their peers to guide them, and the idea of having a mentor was out of the question. Teen-only youth groups were popularized.
Fortunately for me, I served in the Army Reserves and the Regular Forces during my teen years and experienced the tremendous value that came from having older and more experienced people in my life to guide me. Coming from a broken home I especially benefitted from those influencers in my life. Many of my peers didn’t have any input of that nature in their lives, and it showed.
Ever since my early twenties I have sought out godly women and men for their advice and encouragement. I wouldn’t be who | am today without their influence in my life.
Here’s an example: I was asked by the late James MacKnight, who was the General Superintendent of the PAOC at the time, to attend a special committee meeting at our head office. At the coffee break, I asked Bill Griffin how it was that about eight leaders in their own right could sit at the table and make major decisions together without open conflict.
His reply wasn’t what | expected. “Do you see that door?” he asked. “When you come through that door, you leave your personal agenda out in the hallway and you ask yourself this question ‘What's best for the Fellowship?’”. In that moment he mentored me, and over forty years later I can still recall what he said. Powerful!
In our senior years, it’s easy to sit back and say that ‘we’ve done our bit’ for the kingdom. May I suggest something to you? That’s called peer mentoring, by the way.
We have untold millions of younger Canadians, both in the church and not, who’ve reaped the whirlwind of our generation insisting that ‘drugs, sex, and rock and roll’ was what life was all about. Many are not only from broken families, their peers are as well. So where do they go for guidance?
The media? Social networking? Their friends, who are usually no better off than they are? There is another option, of course. Us!
The Bible is replete with examples of younger women and men benefiting from the guidance of those older than themselves. Unfortunately, many of our churches do virtually nothing in terms of intergenerational relationships (one of the things that I notice, in my work as a church consultant), so the possibility of developing quality mentoring relationships is difficult. Unless...unless we do something about that ourselves, outside of the structure of our church.
This weekend take a moment and notice, I mean really notice, those who are attending your Sunday services. Are there any younger singles, or couples? What about single parents, or students? Don’t assume that they are already connected in some way with your congregation. Many are not. Invite them out for lunch following the service, or during the week. Offer to be of assistance to them in some way. Find out what their needs are, and help them with those. Most importantly sit with them and really listen to their story. Ask leading questions. Don’t judge them. Love them. My young friends say that it’s precisely because of my age and life experiences that they seek me out, and once they know that you really do care about them they’ll want to be with you as well.
Author: Rev. Frank Patrick
To Be Published: SAGE, February 2023
