God wants the next generation. I had coffee this week with a senior church leader and in the course of our amicable conversation he accused me of not understanding the dynamics of church congregations. He also said that most contemporary churches do not cater in their programmes for the 40+ age group, and that they are too focused on the youth agenda. Please forgive me if I have used this illustration before but I think it is directly linked to what I have to say below: When you have a goldfish in a goldfish bowl it needs to be fed by you on a daily basis otherwise it will die. When you have goldfish in a pond in the garden or a public park you don't have to feed them because for the most part they will find food for themselves, little insect larva or algae and maybe the occasional bread crust thrown in by a child. When it comes to Christians those that constantly need feeding never seem to grow in their faith but those that learn to feed themselves grow and ...