The Merging of Generations

For the first time in a very long time, I am an encouraged with what I see happening outside the walls of traditional church. I have been reading books and articles recently about the Emergent Village or the Emerging Church. I have to admit that I began my investigation of this movement with a lot of reservation and I don't know why. I'm a sixties dude and so I should be able to blend in with any counter culture movement but for some reason I dug in my heels a bit. The more I read the more I become fascinated with what I see as a merging of the generations of Baby Boomers, X and some of the Y into the early stages of spiritual unity. I see the Boomers and X-Y's coming together for very different reasons.

Many of the Baby Boomers experienced a wonderful spiritual renewal in the early 70's known as the Charismatic Movement. This movement was represented accross the board from almost every denomination and was marked by a powerful move of the Holy Spirit. It was quite eccumenical in that you could attend large conferences like the one at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh with Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, and many other denominations all coming together to worship. It was an amazing time.

Many of these Boomers have lost their way since then. They have been trapped in tradition along with others. Many of these Boomers are now leaving the traditional church in order to "keep their faith". Many were guilt ridden because of their feelings but finally came to grip with what they really wanted and they have begun to leave. These folks want to find their way back to their first love. They want Jesus, they want His Spirit, and they want community not tradition.

Generation X and Y on the other hand do not have any interest in the traditional church for very different reasons. In my reading I have learned that these young people do not want to be preached at or talked down to. They seem to view the traditional church as very un-natural and political. The great thing about these younger generations is that they are genuinely interested in learning more about Jesus. They have a high regard for his place in history and are very curious about who He really is in the scheme of things. These folks are looking outside the traditional church to "find their faith".

So here we have it, the Boomers, X's and Y's are looking either to keep their faith or find their faith outside those walls and they are merging together.

The American Church will have a hard time coping with this because it is set on doing what it has always done. It's very difficult for the church to see our country as post-Christian. It's true. The Biblical literacy is way down. The terminology that we used to use in the 50's and 60's is no longer understood. We must become a mission. It's no longer "Go to Church". It's Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. That's the mission!