LEGACY CHALLENGE: IMPACTING FUTURE GENERATIONS

MESSAGE DELIVERED TO CHURCHES IN SOUTHAMPTON, CHATSWORTH AND CHESLEY

Old Testament:  Deuteronomy 6: 5-19
New Testament: John 10: 4-16
Psalm:                 #78 verses 4-8, Refrain 1

Straying from the established Sunday-by-Sunday liturgy, I chose Acts 2: 38-47 as the gospel lesson this morning for a specific reason...The Book of Acts is a valuable history of the early Christian church. It was written in Greek, presumably by the Evangelist Luke, whose gospel concludes where Acts begins, namely Christ’s Ascension into heaven. 

After an introductory account of the descent of the Holy Spirit on 12 Apostles in the Upper Room at Pentecost (interpreted as the birth of the church), Luke pursues as a central theme the spread of Christianity to the Gentile world under the guiding inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

Without Acts, a picture of the primitive church would be impossible to reconstruct. With it, the New Testament letters of Paul are far more intelligible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is quite remarkable how much the Christian Church has grown in the ensuing 2,000 years, thanks to the heritage of faith passed from one generation to the next, forefathers to forefathers. The concern today, however, is that Christianity has plateaued and is giving way to an increasingly secular society.

I worry about that -- and I am sure you do too. Specifically, what will the emerging Presbyterian Church in Canada look like, long after we are gone?

While numbers are declining in small community churches today and congregations are amalgamating or closing down altogether, the PCC still boasts 1,000 congregations with members coming from many national and racial backgrounds...So it is not all bad news.

For example there are now 20 Korean congregations. Within our denomination there are also many different languages and styles of worship, including English, French, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hungarian, Spanish and Portuguese.

At the same time, we can be somewhat encouraged by what has been labelled the "Emerging Church Movement." The movement is loose and a bit hard to define, but emerging churches are inclined to share certain characteristics:

1) They tend to be new congregations begun by young pastors in urban settings.

2) They tend to be organized less hierarchically than existing churches, typically have fairly traditional theologies and liturgies, but are socially progressive.

3) They are technologically sophisticated, making use of Facebook, Twitter and other on-line computer programs.

4) They attract young members who may have grown up in a church tradition but have been alienated from it for a while.

Meantime, what should you and I be doing to maintain the status quo in our aforementioned aging small town community congregations today, especially our four-church Central Grey-Bruce Co-Op?

In proclaiming the gospel, and accepting the status quo, should we be focusing only on our own generation? Good questions?

Certainly, we have primary responsibility to reach the people of our own generation and appeal to the spiritual needs of the faithful amongst us.

However, if we present the gospel to every person living today, have we completed our task? Do we not have a responsibility to future generations as well?

Really, we need to have a broader view of the gospel and its proclamation in the world. Jesus gave us the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations and to teach them to obey the commandments of the Lord. Now, was Jesus talking only about the nations of that generation or for future nations and peoples as well? It is most probable that He had the whole age in mind.

This can be seen even clearer when we look at Acts 2:39 which says, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Not only were the apostles concerned for that generation of Jews that was immediately before them, but also for their children and for all that were far off. This would include the Gentiles who would come to know Christ in the far distant future.

John Calvin in commenting on this verse writes, “So he (Peter) uses the word "call", as though to say: ‘As God formerly called you together by His voice to be one people, so that same voice shall sound forth everywhere so that those who are afar off shall join themselves to you when they are called by a fresh proclamation of God.’

Peter looked forward to future generations who would hear the gospel and believe. He looked forward to other peoples and nations of the future besides the Jews who would gladly receive the gospel and be saved. F. F. Bruce in commenting on the same verse writes, “The promise of the gospel was extended not only to those present on that occasion, not only to the contemporary generation, but to their descendants as well.”

The apostles saw their responsibility beyond the present generation and foresaw future generations who would embrace their message. That is why they wrote the New Testament so that future generations could hear the gospel/ and know Christ/ and be a part of His Kingdom.

John wrote in the closing chapters of his gospel these words addressing them not only to his present generation but to all those who would read his gospel in the future. He said, “Then Jesus told him (Thomas), ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

John wrote for the benefit of all who would read those words even for peoples and nations yet to come.

Jesus envisioned the gospel reaching not only the people of the generation that witnessed His earthly ministry but for peoples and nations that would hear that same gospel in the future. In John 10:16, that we heard read earlier, Jesus says, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They, too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”

This one verse has influenced more than one missionary to give his/her life to missions. These words of Christ are at the heart of the missionary movement.

Without question, there are sheep yet to be reached in this generation and in generations to come. We need to have a comprehensive vision for the spread of the gospel in the world that encompasses not only this generation but those generations that are yet to be. We need to be laying a foundation that will help the future generations to hear the gospel and become a part of God’s kingdom.

And, we should not be intimidated by the future. Rather, we ought to live our lives in such a way that we exert the greatest impact upon it. And one of the best ways to influence the days to come is to invest in the people who will be living and leading in the future: the next generation.

We often hear of a generational gap between the young and old...And I want to talk about that for just a moment.

Young people often reject the values and lifestyle of their parents while the older generation is bewildered by the choices the younger generation is making. Yet in God’s eyes, what He initiates in one generation, He often completes in the generations that follow.

After hundreds of years it was crucial that Moses not only faithfully serve God in his own generation but that he teach the following generation how to obey God as well. It has been said that we are only one generation removed from total paganism, so it is urgently incumbent upon us to teach the next generation how to walk with God.

The message is pretty clear in all of this and it warrants serious consideration by churches of all stripes and sizes today.

Many larger churches have sought to lure millennials back by focusing on style points: cool musical groups, hipper worship, edgier programming, impressive technology. Yet while these aren’t inherently bad ideas and might in some cases be effective, they are not the key to drawing young people back to God in a lasting and meaningful way.

Research has established that millennials look for integrity, authenticity and a deep sense of mission in churches of today...and the good news is that these virtues cost nothing financially. So they are accessible to everyone.

And what about the generation coming right behind the millennials most of us raised? Do they too not need a rooting gallery?

Generation Zeders, born between 1999 and 2015, are beginning to reach college and high school, and in many ways, they're vastly different from their millennial predecessors — less religious, more success-oriented, more diverse, more captivated by technology and more likely to embrace different views on sexual identity.

And we have to ask: Are our churches, particularly the four in our co-op ministry, prepared to help them flourish in this new cultural landscape?

As it stands, at this point in time, the answer is "probably not." As our local supply of young church families has been exhausted in recent years, along with our motivation for continuing youth ministry.

Among ourselves we, the members, have some evaluation to do and we need look no further than young people in our own families and circle of friends, most of whom now live varying distances from us.

We do well to remember that St. Andrews is part of the ministry of the greater Presbyterian Church in Canada, even if it never grows by a single member. If in the past you have diligently and prayerfully done the tasks of ministry that the Lord requires of you, then you may assume that your ministry is leaving footprints, in spite of the immediately measurable results.

Just as an exercise, and this is what I'm getting at in a rather roundabout way...In your next free moment, list the names of young people in your life whom you are currently encouraging in the faith...or could be encouraging...That alone will tell you something...Then list several practical ways in which you can encourage those young people. Start with your children and grandchildren...Then branch out from there as opportunities present themselves.

We can all make an impact on the church of the future, whatever shape it may take, wherever it is located! We're talking now about the church at large that I just mentioned. As I say, we can develop more of a personal sense of mission about it, quietly and subtly in our own way, understanding what it is that we are up against.

You may have already been doing some of this without even knowing about it and if you have, I say good on you! The point is, we need to consciously do more.

Certainly, we would do well to forget about the so-called separation of the generations and instead look for ways of bringing them together...with love and understanding. Reinforcing virtues, a subject that is not taught in schools today.

Dare to ask the tough questions the world will confront young people with, and help them develop a faith that is not deterred by deviant standards. Coaching that equips them to share absolutes in a morally and spiritually pluralistic society, is essential.

The youth of today need heroes – and not just people who are good at throwing a football or a baseball or who have a terrific singing voice or who were born into a famous family. They need heroes they can identify with and learn from – they need heroes like the Moses we spoke of earlier.

Think about it – we (families and churches) have been given the awesome privilege of leading, training, and equipping today's youth. That is the responsibility that lies before us, now that we are well into a new millennium and precious time is fleeting for many of us in our senior years. It is most certainly a disciple-making challenge to be taken very seriously, in lieu of other applicable possibilities.

And again, getting to my point in all of this, grandparents in particular, can be role models. Creative grandparents model morals, gender and values. Grandchildren often look to their grandparents for how life is to be lived. I'll return to that point in a minute.

A creative grandparent can play several roles throughout the lives of their grandchildren. They are historians, mentors and role models, among other things. All of these roles are significant and important as grandparents seek to love and nurture a new generation.

You do not have to be "preachy" about it. Just talk to youngsters at their level. Share your heart-felt feelings with them and let them know that, out of love, you want to give them the benefit of what you have learned about a God-centred life.

It doesn't mean forcing them into a certain set of beliefs or rituals; rather, it means demonstrating a real faith – one that puts the focus on loving God and loving others. In my view, there's not a greater purpose we can have in life than reflecting God's image for our children to see.

We are compelled to find creative ways of doing it. You'll know when the time is right. It is never too late, although time does have a habit of slipping away from us.

Call it an obligatory legacy!

Unlike the "field of dreams", just because we have built a church, does not mean that they will come. We have evidence of that every Sunday. We can, however, be like Mohammad who went to the mountain instead!

How many times have we accepted the limp justification: "Our kids have moved away...and they're busy with work and raising a family." ...There are not enough hours in the day?" Or...

"They went to church as youngsters but they seemed to lose interest once they hit the high school stage."

Really! What else is new? Give us a break!

Just this past Thanksgiving weekend, I was talking to my youngest granddaughter who is in her first year of high school in Caledon East, Bolton. She attends a separate school, not because her parents are Catholic, but because it is the closest to her home and, more importantly, most of her friends just happened to be going to that school too.

I always attempt to ask Madison leading questions that will draw her out. On this occasion, however, she volunteered that one of her new subjects at school was religion and she was finding it interesting.

Imagine that...religion being taught in high school...How novel! You certainly do not get that in our public primary and elementary schools today where even opening morning prayers have been abandoned and give-away Gideon Bibles abolished. I readily give the Catholics church and school system full marks for including religion in the curriculum!

With prompting from her mother, Madison mentioned in particular a story a priest had told her class about the Miracle of the Eucharist, adding "there has to be something to it," evidence that what she is hearing is leaving an impression on her and in the process, opening the door for future Poppa-Madison chats.

You know, we can all make it a late-in-life mission to demonstrate the disciple within us. Call it your gift to a generation that needs you but is reluctant to ask.

If they don't go to church wherever they may live, and that can be for a number of reasons...take the church to them in your own loving, caring manner.

Kids, in their unassuming way, are very observant. While they cannot quite verbalize it, they recognize you for the good person you are. Your job is to grasp opportunities to tell them why you are the way you are. On a good day they will emulate you...a perfect example of how human beings develop and transmit culture over the centuries...One generation to another.

Think about this for just a few moments in closing:

Church is not just about you and I individually...It never has been. It is about community...and family...and leaving legacies of Christian morality. If you want to look at the state of churches today, we need look no further than our own past permissiveness.

We have some urgent making up to do and God will bless us for applying ourselves to the task. Would that there were easier answers. Bottom line: Kids need to know how important they are to God...They need to know that prayer is easy, faith is simple and God is huge!

Perhaps there is merit in the church, our Presbyterian churches, setting up courses for parents and grandparents, providing them with the tools necessary to sew seeds in the richness of young, fertile minds closest to them.

Now there's an initiative that warrants serious consideration by the powers that be at 50 Wynford Drive.

Meantime, dear friends, just do the best you can with what you've got. Pray to God for inspiration and direction as you leave a legacy for those young people in your life. You might surprise even yourself.

I found it eerily coincidental that Rev. Randy, in his anniversary sermon for the folks at Latona last Sunday, and I know that a number of you attended, was of a similar mind when he urged not only being role models, but Jesus models for families and neighbors, ready to give an account for the love that's in you.

...Mind you, I'm not that naive and idealistic to stand before you this morning and think that what I have said will be taken as gospel by everyone...Some of you might say "you've made a good point, Dick." Others might confess that "it's all too little too late...if I haven't made an impression by now, I never will." For still others, it will be a matter of "in one ear and out the other." Or "I don't interfere...I bite my tongue!"

Regardless, wouldn't it be nice to think that something you said, or did, left a lasting impression on a young person destined to follow in your Christian footprints.

We cannot really know what the church of the future will look like (perhaps it is better that way), even in the next 50 years...All we can hope is that our grandchildren will be a part of it, thanks in small measure to the influence we had on them in their formative years.