Craig Groeschel is the founding pastor of Lifechurch.tv. His latest book is the Christian Atheist.
Brad asked me to speak about generational tension, a topic I wasn’t quite sure about. My wife left me with our six kids for the weekend. My 3 year old son told me that no one does their hair like that in this decade. I’m like, how did you learn the word decade?
The enemy wants to divide the church generationally.
Craig’s interview with the devil.
Are you on twitter? Yep
A lot of followers? Yep, although you haven’t started following me yet.
What are you during to hurt the church? Causing problems between ages.
How do you keep the generations apart? I throw in technology. I go with the LOLs and the RTFLMOs.
How do you isolate the younger generations from the older? The older generation is pretty easy. Take a guy who feels like he can make a difference and you’re like, look at that kid, you don’t have the goatee or the tattoo.
What else do you do with the older generations? The old way we used to do it is the only way. These seeker churches, they’re all going to hell.
What about the younger generations? It’s so easy. Who doesn’t feel like they have all the answers in their 20s.
What else? Play up the cockiness and ego. Skinny jeans. I’m just bringing skinny jeans in because they’re funny.
Division between generations is bad, but the tension can be good because we desperately need each other. We need both wisdom and passion. What I’m able to do today is because those in the previous generation believed and invested in me. I am standing on the shoulders of great men and women who have gone before me.
Honestly, God will often put people in your life to pave the way for full time ministry. I came to Christ in college and immediately felt called into ministry in the local church, but I had no idea what to do. My pastor who was in his late 50s told me I should bring all of my friends to church on bring-a-friend Sunday. And sure enough 40 hung over fraternity guys came with me. And everybody over the age of 112 was gasped. Then the pastor had everyone who brought someone remain standing and everyone else sit down. The 40 guys around me sat down, and the senior pastor said find that guy and hire him.
Nick invested in me, and that’s how I came into ministry. He taught me how to do hospital visits, not to say, “Man, you look bad.” He taught me how to preach. Whenever you forget what to say next, just repeat the last thing you said and walk back to your notes. I used to be so nervous before I preached I threw up before I preached. I don’t do that any more, now I just throw up in my mouth a little bit.
He invested in me, and I am able to do so much of what I do because of the wisdom of those who have gone before me.
I want to talk to the older generation for a few minutes, and then I want to talk to the younger generation.
So let’s talk first to the older generation and have one thing to say. I would beg you not to resent, fear or judge the next generation of ministers but to believe in them, invest in them. Find as one of the greatest callings on your life to invest in them. Those young guys are not on deck. They are in the church. I’m talking about 11 year olds. Put them on stage and let them lead worship. Don’t resent them. They’re different. Just like you were different.
One of the reasons the older generation finds it difficult to invest in the younger generation is because we feel insecure. When I turned 40, I began to wonder if my best days are behind me, if I could still connect with the younger generation. So you begin to lead from insecurity, you delegate tasks, creating followers. When you delegate authority, you create leaders. Many older people don’t feel cool enough. You don’t have to be cool. You have to be real. The younger generation is craving someone who will be real, be themselves. There’s nothing worse than a fat 50-year-old preacher wearing skinny jeans. That is not of God. Just say no!
I want to tell the older generation, if you are not dead, you are not done. Your age and experience is not a liability. It is your greatest asset.
Lyle Shallor is a crazy man. He is one of the best church leadership consultants in the world. He is 87.6 years old today. He told me he peaked in his early 70s. Here’s what Lyle did for me back in the early years. We had three services, considering going to a fourth. Back then, no one did four services. He said to me, all you young guys are alike, you think too small. You should be thinking seven services at your first location and thinking about your second, third, fourth locations. He left me with a splitting headache. Now we’re in 14 locations with 80 services. Why? Because a seventy something hero who was peaking took time to invest in the younger generation.
We bring folks in their 20s to invest in and ask them to invest in our children. We brought in one girl in our 20s. And I could just feel her about to say, “You’ve been just like the older brother and sister I never had.” Of course, she said “mom and dad.” I’ve realized that one of the best things I could do at this point in my life is to be a spiritual father.
Psalms 71:18 – Let me live long enough that I may declare you to the next generation. Give me a shot to live. Let me live long enough that I could declare you to all of the people in the next generation. They don’t know you like I do. Give me the shot at the next generation.
Those in the younger generation, let me talk to you. I love you and believe in you.
Dr. Tim Elmore said in his book that ther’e s agroup who did research on the younger generation of workers and asked employers what the number one word to describe them. It began with “e.” It was entitled. When the younger generation was asked what they thought the word was, no one came up with it.
It’s not your fault. You grew up in an age when you had to wear a helmet to go to the bathroom. We rode 18 people to the 7-11 in the back of a pickup at 90 mph. You feel like things in ministry should come very easy to you. You tend to overestimate what God wants to do through in the short run. When you don’t get it you feel disillusioned. You grossly underestimate what God wants to do through you in the long run. You think in hundreds instead of tens and hundreds of thousands and millions. Don’t underestimate what God wants to do through this generation. Think bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger in the long run.
The problem is we think we deserve this and that. The number one question Andy Stanley and I get at Catalyst One Day is what is your schedule like, which is stupid. The second question, which is great, is how do you lead up? I asked my pastor that, he said because you honor me. The younger generation is one that does not show honor. Andy Stanley says that honor publicly leads to influence privately. You say, “they don’t get it.” No, they’re not your age. They don’t get everything you do. But I guarantee they see tons of things you don’t see.
Mark 6 – Only in his hometown is a prophet w/o honor. It means to dishonor. To treat as common or ordinary. Some of you have been mistreating the spiritual leaders above you. The text says that Jesus could not (not would not, could not) do any great miracles there. Now theologically I don’t understand this at all, but the text says he could not do any greater miracles because there was no faith because their was no honor. The reason we’re dishonoring those above is because Jesus is your homeboy, a 6 pound 8 ounce baby Jesus. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When we truly honor him, we will honor those above us. You want to be over someone, learn to be under well.
What does honor do. The Greek word honor is time – to value, respect, or highly esteem; to treat as precious, weighty, or valuable. Honor values, dishonor devalues.
You say, maybe I would honor my leader if he/she were more honorable. Maybe if you honored them, they would rise to the occasion. There is a big difference between respect and honor. Respect is earned. Honor is freely given. There are some in the younger generation who need to repent because you disrespect the authority God has put over you. Repent because you’ve been dishonoring.
I was called in to consult with the senior pastor and elders of a great church. The whole time the elders were talking over the pastors. They were expecting me to say something about contemporary services or multi-site or something stupid like that. Always look at heart values. Here’s how you dishonored him, you just kept talking over him. The great news is, four years later that church doubled in size. I think at least part of that is that they began to honor the person God put in leadership.
Be teachable, be willing to learn.
Let me speak as one who is in-between.
I honor those who are in the older generation. I honor my mom and dad. I want to honor Nick Harris, my pastor who took a risk on a 22 year old guy, who stood behind me when the board wanted to fire me. I want to honor John Maxwell because he was a man who had a vision to invest in the next generation. We are here today because of him. I want to honor Lyle Shallor. I want to honor Bill Hybels. When you grow a church to 1000 in 2 years, it’s because he paved the way. We can do more today because of those who have gone before us.
Younger generation, your down side is that you really are entitled. You feel like you should have the same standard of living as your parents at the age of 25. Here’s what I want to say about you. You are the most cause driven, passionate generation in modern history. You crave authenticity. If you don’t go authentically, you don’t want to go at all. You ache to make a difference. You are the most cause driven, mission minded generation in modern history, and I want to say to you I believe in you. If you will come under authority, you can be the greatest generation in modern history. I feel called to serve you. I believe in you. There is kingdom greatness in you. Not only do I believe in you and you believe in God. God believes in you. He chose you. You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. There is a future John Wesley and Bill Hybels and Christine Caine and Beth Moore in this room. I believe in you. Don’t you dare think small. There is kingdom greatness in you.
I want to kneel down before Christ and give him honor for who he is and what he’s done for me, forgiving me of more sin than you can ever imagine. Taking a man who could never be faithful to a woman and giving him a wife and six children. I want to give Christ honor. And I beg you stand on my shoulders.
Combine the wisdom of those who have gone before and the passion and energy of the later generation. Quit messing around in your arrogance and do something to change the world for Christ.
Reggie Joiner: How do we pray for you? What’s next in your church?
We ask what we do best. What we do best is give things away. We’re trying to posture everything we do to serve the greater church. One of the things I’m passionate about is giving the Bible away digitally through YouVersion. If you e-mail me at craig@youversion.com, I’ll send you things to help you out with this.
