Skip to main content

Young Christian Leaders and the Old.

Are old people irrelevant in today’s church?


This question was posed to me in a Christian youth forum that I had been invited to attend. Part of my answer was to say that I believed that old people in the church were no more relevant or irrelevant than they are in secular society. However, in many western societies old people were seen as non-entities or rather as an unseen sector of the community.
When challenged to explain I put it this way;
The world is getting faster, faster broadband, new faster technology that is unintelligible to older people. The world of older people is a lot slower they are about face to face encounters with friend and people, they don’t like talking to a faceless corporation and when they do talk to a human that human lives in India or the Philippians. Today it’s about being part of a global citizenship rather than a vital and productive part of a village community.
Older people are being bombarded by new political and social movements. They are being blamed by 16 year old teenagers that they have ruined the futures of millions of young people. Yet when they were young they used glass bottle not plastic, they had paper bags not plastic bags, they walked to school, or went by public transport, and they were never driven. Yet those same 16 year old feel that they can shout the loudest at the old and never come up with realistic solutions for themselves.
The old political paradigms and parties that they trusted have become blurred and no longer reflect the values that they once held. Social media as a way of communicating with your next door neighbour seems nonsensical when all you have to do is get up and walk next door and talk to them face to face.

Ideas and concepts of gender and identity have been warped and are completely unrecognisable to many of the conservative ideals that are held by the old.
It is for these reasons and perhaps many more that old people, feel that they are unseen or feel as though they are irrelevant. Young people come to church with a different worldview and with a sense of entitlement that the old never had.  The Old come to church for relationship and fellowship and meeting. The young come to church to text their friend in the next row and many shout about their rights. Yet youth forgets the wisdom of age and the lessons that can be learnt through life stories. Experience always trumps Google, or pintrest or snapchat and even instagram. The best and most functional churches are those that have meaning and involvement by all ages within the church.
The old are just as relevant in church as the young. The young need to see the old just the same way that Jesus sees them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Part One of The myths of following a Christian Leader.

Christian Leadership disconnects. When I look to a Christian Leader to be my covering, I look for four things; are they biblical and scripturally sound? Do they have a vision? Are they good motivators? And lastly, can I trust them? On the face of it you may see, these things are obvious and self evident. I am not so sure though, sometimes I find a disconnect that is not always so obvious. Don't get me wrong, I want to sit under a great leader no matter what size their church. I want to know I am being taught sound doctrine and biblical and scriptural principles. I want to follow a great vision that is full of direction, purpose and passion. I want to be motivated not just by words but action and deeds. I also want to be able to say that the person I serve, I trust. As Christian leaders we have to accept that the world we live in is becoming more and more complex. We deal with issues that our New Testament counterparts say little, if anything about.   It is no longer g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Manifesto of Intentional Christian Leadership.

Manifesto: We Promise to do the following- with intent, when in Christian leadership: 1) People Matter. People are our purpose. People are not a means by which we can create our own ends. When we reach out to people they are our objective. 2) We will help people think. If people are our objective we will not get bogged down in the process. We will help people to think through our process in order to recognise our objective rather than just getting them to do and blindly follow. 3) Create great environments. We need to help people become great, not just fix their problems. We do this by creating great environments by which they can grow and build their relationship with God. 4) Create opportunities for initiative. People need to see and experience a spirit of excellence. They need to see opportunities where they can succeed rather than just avoid errors. 5) Be curious. As a leader you don't need to know everything even though a little knowled...
Post a Comment
Read more

Playing well with others.

Today's rambling. Looking over some of my old school reports the other day and was amused at how some of the comments, that teachers made about me have shaped my life and in many respects made me who I am today. One teacher wrote that I didn’t play well with others, I was 5 at the time maybe I had an excuse. Another teacher in my high school years, the wood working teacher or wood shop teacher for my American friends wrote; “If you value your life you will keep him away from power tools and other dangerous equipment. I can’t remember why he wrote this, obviously I did something that made him fear for his life. Today as an adult I have to say that I don’t do well in committees, for most of my life I have been self- employed. I have steadfastly stayed away from power tools and other wood working equipment, basically anything that can cut something off and is a danger to life and limb. Over the last 10 years I have been looking at and teaching about Emotional Intelligence ...
Post a Comment
Read more