February Messenger Article

For years I have been fascinated by generational studies. This area of study looks at the unique cultural perspectives of various age groups. It also looks at global events that occur during a generation's "coming of age" years - generally considered to be around 17 to 25 years old - and how they affect world views and cultural perspectives.

I am no expert in this area, but I have done a lot of research. I am particularly interested in how generational perspectives affect church life.

How do the generations differ from one another?
How do they tend to think?
Are all generations equally celebrated in the life of the church?
Are they well represented in the leadership?
Do they have an equal say in what happens?
Are they al comfortable in worship & fellowship settings?

This past fall, I focused my sermon series on our congregation. I looked at the various seasons in our 125 year history. I enjoyed studying past session minutes, looking at old photographs and hearing stories from longtime members. I got to know the church family better. I grew in my understanding of who we are and where we've been.

Now this spring, I plan to look at the various sociological generations in our society and how they fit - or don't fit - in our church family. You have probably heard of some of these in the media: Builders, Boomers, Generation X. How are they different from one another? What are they looking for in a church? What keeps them from attending church? How might we address these concerns?

But here's the situation. I need your help. On any given Sunday, I will focus on a particular generation. I would like to receive input from members of the congregation who are a part of that generation. In fact, I would be very excited if members from that generation planned the entire worship service: i.e. choose music, plan the worship order, coordinate special moments within the service, assist in the leadership. You can even tell me how to dress!

For example, people born between 1900 and 1924 are most often called the Builder Generation. We have several "Builders" in our membership. On February 17th, I will be focusing on this generation.. On February 10th, I'll be focusing on my generation, those born between 1956 and 1964. On February 24th, I'll focus on Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980.

I would love to have a representative team plan each individual worship service, so that we sing hymns or praise songs that resonate with what "church" is to them. Please give me a call or e-mail me if you are interested and/or willing to help with any of these services.

Furthermore, I will be interviewing as many of you as I can to find out about your attitudes in regard to society and church, so that I can speak somewhat intelligently about each generation. My goal is to show the importance of a multi-generational church family, to show what each generation brings to the life of the particular congregation and to discuss ways we can become more open to others so that we might provide a safe place "To Every Generation."

In His Love & Service,

Lance