God Himself always thinks and acts generationally.
Therefore, each generation of Christians, and especially leaders, need to see themselves as a bridge that builds on the past, lives in the present, and plans for the future.Part of the mind-set of a bridge generation requires recognizing and taking responsibility for passing on a solid legacy of faith and godly values to the next generation. Just how important is this “generational transfer”? One of our most critical needs today in the Church is that we renew our commitment to “generational transfer,” which is passing on to the next generation not just principles, theology, and doctrinal beliefs, but also passionate heart affection.
Each generation must learn to love God for themselves, and it is the responsibility of the preceding generation to teach them by modeling the Christ-life. This is the biblical pattern, not only in God’s dealings with man, but also in the patriarchs’ dealings with their children. It is a fundamental principle known as mentoring—spiritual fathering and mothering.
A Synergy of Generations
Synergy is defined as the condition where distinct groups work together in a cooperative arrangement in such a way that the total effect is greater than the sum of the individual effects. In other words, the group accomplishes more working together, than the individual members could achieve working independently.
The Church has long suffered from a “generation gap” where there is little genuine appreciation, understanding, or cooperation between the older, middle, and younger generations of believers. God wants to bring these generations back together—to infuse them with a common vision, a unified sense of purpose, and a recognition of their mutual interdependence.
Three generations moving together toward a shared goal can accomplish more than the sum of what each generation could achieve separately. This synergy of the generations is something that God promised He would bring about in the last days. I refer to this as the “convergence of the ages.”
God is relational by nature. Even His self-revelation to humanity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one God in three Persons—reflects a generational perspective. God the Father gave His only begotten Son to redeem lost humanity and make salvation possible for everyone who believes. God the Son gave Himself to a small band of spiritual sons and imparted to them the Holy Spirit to dwell within them continually.
God the Holy Spirit empowers and enables believers to carry out the Father’s redemptive plan on a global scale. Completion of the plan requires that all “generations” work together as one. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal in nature, but generational in relationship to mankind.
Running With the Vision
This is God’s plan for every person in every generation. God wants to do in each of us that which He did in His own Son. The Father’s great desire is to fill the earth with His spiritual children. This will happen not through a crash course in holiness. It is accomplished through each generation patiently and faithfully passing on to the next not only information and knowledge, but also wisdom, passion, integrity, faith, heart affection, and vision.
Each generation must learn to honor those who have gone before, the “pioneers” of the Church who have forged a path for their descendants to follow. I live for this. I pray for this daily.
This is one of the primary goals of my life – to invest what the Lord has given to me into the lives of others.