Movin’ On Up: Worship, Generation, Inclusion
February 20-21, 2009
Generation
2 Kings 2.13-14
“Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.”
This is one of the main transition stories in the Old Testament. The great prophet Elijah, the one everyone expects one day to return before God sets things right with the world, has gone off to heaven in a chariot of fire. The younger prophet Elisha has asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, and now it looks like he gets it.
The mantle is passed. The authority and power and responsibility have passed. In the church, you see a lot of people in times of grief—the death of a parent, often, or an aging spouse. What I’ve noticed is that when the second parent dies, the children feel a strong sense of responsibility passed on to them. You may have felt it, too, or seen it pass to your parents from your grandparents. It is a heavy mantle. It's an honorable one, yes, but you can tell what someone feels they now have to carry on the legacy of the family.
Elisha has willingly taken the role of Elijah.
Watch out for bears
2 Kings 2.23-25
“Elisha went up from [Jericho] to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, ‘Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!’ When he turned round and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and then returned to Samaria.”
What can we make of Elisha, the boys and the bears?
At first, the conflict was generational—young boys taunting an old man
But Elisha was also in the wrong for using the Lord’s name to curse the boys
There’s power for harm and for good in our use of God’s name
There’s power in our faith, so hadn’t we better use it generously and well?
These are the generations who may be in our churches
G.I. Generation – 1901-1924
Silent Generation – 1925-1945
Boomers – 1946-1964
Gen X /Busters / MTV – 1965-1985
Gen Y / Millennials 1981-1997
iGeneration 1997 – present
Each generation has its own idea of what it means to be faithful and generous. A friend of mine was consulting once in a church that was conflicted over money. He took a stack of silver dollars and put it on the table in front of one of the old, Silent Generation men and asked, “What should you do with it?” The man covered it with his hands and said, “Keep it safe.” My friend put the stack in front of a Gen X young man who also served on the church board. “What should you do with it?” The young man knocked the pile over, pushing coins all over the table, saying, “Make it move.”
Multigenerational Church
Most churches can serve 3 generations well.
Churches that have been around 30 years or more are serving at least 4 generations.
Most people can worship easily enough with people a generation older or younger than they are.
Most struggle to worship well with people two generations removed.
See the challenge of 4 and 5 generation churches?
It’s in your hands
2 Timothy 1.5-7: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”
Others’ hands have been placed on each of you. And your hands now have the power, just like your voice has the power, to make good things happen or to call out the bears. Which will it be?
Caring for each other tears down generational walls
Challenges
Understand the needs of people two generations removed from you or more.
Be honest about your own needs, and find ways to tell your church clearly what you need in your generation to be faithful.
Use the power of your faith to do good, and not to curse; after all, you have to watch out for bears.
