We just wrapped up our Equipped 2014 conference presented by
Covenant Life Ministries and hosted by New Covenant Church. God’s presence was
incredible, the speakers were amazing and getting to catch up with old friends
from around the globe was great. The theme this year was Re-Generational. We
are totally aware that it’s not a real word but it is a powerful concept. To
realize that God, not to mention 2000 years’ worth of faithful men & women,
have passed the baton on to us is humbling. To understand that we have the
responsibility of preparing the next generation to carry on the cause is sobering.
We must finish well. In order to do that we must live and
work for something bigger than ourselves. We must realize that true success
cannot occur without a successor. I’m not talking about passing along an
organization or a position - not to say those are necessarily bad things. What
I mean is that we must equip people to lead and then empower them to do so.
Jesus is still building His church, day by day, year by year and generation by
generation.
There are so many sad stories in the Scriptures about one
generation failing the next - Eli & his sons, Samuel and his sons, Solomon
and Rehoboam and the list goes on. The entire book of Judges is like Bill
Murray in ‘Groundhog Day’ - History repeating itself over and over. Every time
God raised up a judge the people would repent and then the judge dies and the pandelerium
ensues. So tragic and so unnecessary!
“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that
great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the
parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their
parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” -
Malachi 4:5-6 (NIV)
Generations must learn to cooperate and not to just tolerate
one another. We must truly love and value each other because every generation
has something of value to offer. What could we accomplish if we married the
wisdom of one generation with the energy the next? Or the creativity of a
teenager and the perspective of a senior? We would be unstoppable!
One generation thinks the music is too loud and another
wants to crank it up. One grew up holding hymn books and another with
projection screens. One remembers the stained glass and another wants LED
lights and fog machines. At the end of the day what really matters is that we
all have something to offer and we need each other to achieve our common
calling. It’s something the Apostle Paul understood -
“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is
in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence
of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to
teach others.” - 2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NIV)
Hopefully we get it too, and sooner rather than later. We
need to pass the baton, not the buck - and that applies to the young, the wise and those of us somewhere in between.
