generations

Inventive Expressions

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Have you heard of the monowheel?

While looking up inventions recently, I came across one that immediately caught my interest. The futuristic-looking “Motoruota” was invented a hundred years ago, patented in France in 1924! David Cislaghi and Giuseppe Govetosa were the named inventors on the patent. Because they were never widely popular, these “monowheels” are shrouded in a bit of mystery, though they were featured in the December 1924 edition of Popular Science Monthly. It is said that the Motoruota could reach speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour.

We have enjoyed rapid technological inventions nearly nonstop for the past 150 years. This can lead us to always look to the next gizmo or updated version of a product we love. Perhaps we are sometimes too quick to disregard the inventions of the past. A few marvels lie buried that are worth some scrutiny, and, if we are honest, not all of today’s inventions are worthy of accolades.

As we live out our faith, we can be guilty of looking for the next innovation to propel us forward, though what lies in the past is often much more fruitful. We seek the next worship song, popular speaker, Christian living book, conference, or catchy verse. These are not bad, but they can leave us continually skimming the surface, looking for the next exciting thing that will boost our faith.

In truth, Christians should embrace both the old and the new, the things that stand the test of time and those new expressions of hope that will propel us forward.

God reveals this in His Word:

Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.

Isaiah 46:9, ESV

But just a few chapters earlier, we read:

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:18-19, ESV

Even at the end of the Bible, God declares He is “making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). In the next verse, He reminds us that He is the beginning and the end. The trustworthy truths of the past will always hold their value, and we can eagerly embrace new expressions of those same principles. That is because our God is the God of every moment in time!

What aspects of God’s past faithfulness do you treasure? How will you live out the hope He has placed in you in a new way in the coming days?

Image attribution: Nationaal Archief, (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Staying Fluent

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My family subscribes to a youth news program called World Watch. Recently on this program, Chloe Hendon reported on a language known as Jèrriais. This Norman French dialect has been preserved over a thousand years due to its isolation on the island of Jersey, where it is spoken. Now, however, about 500 mostly elderly Jèrriais speakers remain.

Around the turn of the 20th century, Jersey adopted English and French as the official languages, viewing Jèrriais as the commoner’s tongue, and schools stopped teaching it. From there, Jèrriais continued to steadily decline.

By 2001, Jersey sought to reverse the near-extinction of their language, offering free courses and even reintroducing it into primary schools. Jèrriais was also redesignated an official language of Jersey in 2019. Will these efforts be enough to keep Jèrriais from dying out? Time will tell. Atticus Mawby, a young adult speaker of Jèrriais, explained, “No culture is complete without its language…If Jèrriais does die, then Jersey will just become another part of Britain. It will be really sad.”

Mawby is correct, and his comments extend far beyond Jersey’s language and culture. Our own Christian faith and culture have been preserved by generations who poured themselves into the next generation, faithfully immersing their young people in the truths of our faith. Ironically, the people of Jersey were so immersed in their language that they did not realize the role it had played in keeping their cultural continuity. For a hundred years, fluent speakers watched as their children learned a new language, little realizing it might erase their own cultural heritage. We, too, find ourselves with a choice to either adopt the new cultural norms around us or hold fast to the faith heritage that prior generations have given us.

Do we want our young people to be fluent in our Christian faith? If so, we must immerse them in it. On a church ministry level, this means that programs involving our young people should be the last areas where we struggle to find volunteers. On a family level, it means that parents and grandparents – knowing that they model each day what their priorities are – seek to faithfully immerse their children in a lifestyle oriented toward godliness.

Speaking of passing along Scriptural truth, the Psalmist Asaph writes,

We will not hide them from their children, but will tell a future generation the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, his might, and the wondrous works he has performed.

He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children so that a future generation — children yet to be born — might know.

They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works, but keep his commands.

(Psalm 78:4-7 CSB)

What “language” are you passing along to the next generation?

Image attribution: Man vyi, https://www.flickr.com/photos/39904966@N00/3094304063/in/photostream/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Tap into the next generation with one simple trick

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Image by Cambridge_Spark from Pixabay

“I don’t understand why the younger people aren’t helping with ministry needs. We’ve served our time! Now we’re old.”

Those words were spoken by a frustrated senior adult who had faithfully served in ministry for many years, yet, she lamented that no one from the next generation was waiting in the wings to relieve her. Many saints toil for decades and come to the same frustrating conclusion: the next generation isn’t there to carry the ministry torch.

It becomes easy for one generation to cast aspersions at the other. “They’re lazy and self-centered.” “They don’t understand what we go through.” This tension won’t resolve itself and will instead leave both sides frustrated.

So, what is the trick to avoiding this heartache and seeing ministry efforts embraced by subsequent generations?

Involve the next generation early.

That’s it.

God commanded the older Levites to retire early so that the next generation could bear responsibility for the care of the tabernacle.

“In regard to the Levites: From twenty-five years old or more, a man enters the service in the work at the tent of meeting. But at fifty years old he is to retire from his service in the work and no longer serve. He may assist his brothers to fulfill responsibilities at the tent of meeting, but he must not do the work. This is how you are to deal with the Levites regarding their duties.”

Numbers 8:24-26 CSB

This is a great example of a seasoned generation providing valuable insight and support to the next generation, who must take on the work. The retired Levite would likely be in the prime of his career. At 50, he has many worthwhile years to contribute, and valuable experience has replaced heady enthusiasm of youth. God commands his retirement, yet he may put on the supervisor hat for the next generation who will take his place.

We may find a need for a similar system. In ministry life today, we often find that the younger people aren’t filling the gaps of service to carry on the work of the ministry. In some cases, this happens because there is no system in place to intentionally create space and support for them to serve. 

Here’s an example of how this might play out. A person aged 50 is likely more experienced and capable than the 25-year-old. In a couple of decades, the older person may be less capable, and the younger person is gone. He wasn’t needed, so he left or has made other commitments. His 15-year-old has no model of service to follow. The now 70-year-old wonders why no one is there to carry on the work and begrudgingly continues.

Let’s change the story now. If the 50-year-old invites the 25-year-old to help take on the role, the 25-year-old – who, let’s face it, is more likely to say yes and feel excited to be needed for something important at that age – can gain experience for a few years with an excellent advisor. When that advisor is 70, the work has carried on well for a couple of decades and can nudge the now 45-year-old to consider whom to tap for future leadership.

It is less about the capability of the 50 (or 60 or 70) year-old and more about the continuity of the work that God has called His people to carry out.

What is your church’s strategy for involving the next generation in the work of the ministry and the development of future leaders?