From one generation to the next: this is the way faith thrives

By Dean Collins

In recent years there have been countless articles on generational differences. If you are trying to keep score, there’s a lot of information for your generational scorecard. I may be wrong, but I think there are five generations living at the moment. And while I have heard different names, I think these may be generally correct:

Silent Generation, born 1925-1945
Baby Boomers, born 1946-1964
Generation X,  born 1965-1980
Generation Y,  born 1981-1996
Generation Z,  born 1997-2012

Of course, there are a few still living in what is called the greatest generation born before 1924, and we are recycling the alphabet with the alpha generation born 2013 and beyond, but generally the five generations listed are the voters, the leaders, the influencers, and the culture makers.

These generations have been studied many ways and continue to be carefully watched, especially by the employers, the marketing gurus, and the politicians. Everyone wants to understand their unique contribution to the workforce, where and how they spend or save their money, and what political party will get the new influx of voters.

Responsibility

As I read Psalm 145, verse 4 made me think about all of this again: “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”

Since ancient times there has been awareness of the importance of older generations passing down wisdom to the next generation. As followers of Christ, our focus must be on the transfer of recognition that God is King. Some ascribe this psalm to David, and other scholars build a case for why and how this psalm was written during the post-Babylonian exile. Whoever wrote the psalm opened with praise to God. While some translations, like the ESV which I often read, open, “I will extol you, my God and King,” Hebrew scholars suggest the better translation to be “God the King.”

David and Solomon each were revered as great kings. After that the reputation of most of the biblical kings gets pretty weak. The psalmist opens with certainty that we are to extol and praise God as the King. He is far and above all other leaders and worthy of our praise. It is his kingdom that Jesus came to establish for eternity.

Recognition

If we are to fulfill our kingdom responsibilities, then it is imperative that we pass down to the generations behind us the recognition that God is the eternal King. He isn’t one of a few options. The best way to show the next generation that we understand Jesus to be the King is for them to see evidence in our lives that we live under the kingship of Jesus. It is our living God who must be commended for all that is good and worthy and transformational. We are his agents, but we are not in charge.

I don’t ever remember as a child or teenager being told that one day I would be a leader. Looking back, though, I see many in my life who were investing in me so that I might lead well as life progressed. Some of my mentors had much higher goals for me than I had for myself. I am grateful there are older and wiser men and women who still pray for me and invest in developing me to be a leader within the kingdom of God. What is clear now that was not clear earlier in my life is these men and women were following the instructions of Psalm 145:4; they were commending the works of God in the world and in their lives to me. We must take this responsibility seriously and be active in declaring what God has done and is doing in us and around us and throughout the world.

Participation

Recently I was leading a board meeting in Troup County, Georgia. For a decade now I have been a board member with the Center for Strategic Planning in Troup County. Initially, i accepted membership and even chairmanship with hesitancy. I had all the excuses of time constraint, my main job as a university president, and a sense that I really don’t know much about how local government works. So I accepted my community leadership role with some reluctance. But in a recent meeting, I saw what was happening. God has allowed me to participate in commending his authority and reign in the world and in my life to others.

In our monthly meeting I had conversations with leaders on the board who are a generation or two behind me. We watched a performance by some members of Gen Z and the new Alpha generation in our local community theater. I watched as our board cheered on these young people. In that moment I think I saw some Gen X and Gen Y leaders realizing their role in transferring values and culture to the next generation. My takeaway was that those of us who are getting older must not pull back but rather lean-in to help declare the goodness of and the wisdom of God to those who are daily assuming roles as leaders in our world.

Declaration

Psalm 145 is filled with declarations of praise for God’s awesome deeds and his wondrous works. Let’s all join in these declarations and determine that whatever generation we reside in, we understand our responsibility to pass on to the next generation all the things God has done in our lives and in his kingdom.

Your time with God’s Word
Psalm‬ ‭145:1-21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by Ante Hamersmitat unsplash.com

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