It is commonly assumed that new modes of church are for and by the young. I resist this assumption. Granted, my resistance owes something to my middle-agedness. But I’ve longed for generationally equitable renditions of church since I was young.
On the other hand, the commixture of ego and idealism feasible prior to age 40 can be a powerful propellant. Ego has not fully ceded the throne to self, and the storms of life have not yet pounded idealism into realism (or cynicism). A better way is still believable. The young might be uniquely capable of catalyzing meaningful newness.
Another consideration is the curse of the usurper: living by ideological swords and dying by the same. Baby Boomers (inside and outside the church) cut their teeth overthrowing the establishment. More accurately, there were fewer overthrows than hostile takeovers, brash ultimatums for early inheritances, smiley-faced elbowings aside… Viscerally, Boomers have known it would all come home to roost one day, and have been on the lookout for youthful scions eying their holdings.
It’s hard for Baby Boomers to share. But not everyone born within that fateful bracket of years manifests the same mindset; no more than any other cohort. My preference is to key on mindset over chronology. But my preference counts exactly zero if nobody younger than 40 shares it.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
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