Connecting the Generations

About fifteen years ago, when I was pastor at the Blue Hill Road Community Church in The Bahamas, I mounted a Christmas display outside the church building. It was a life-size manger scene with hay and still animals, but no Mary, no Joseph, and no baby Jesus. There was only a banner that read, “The Manger Is Empty.” O my goodness! I received so much feedback that Christmas from fellow ministers, church members, and passersby. “Boy, what you tryin’ to do!?” Some wanted to know what I meant by “the manger is empty.” Some took offense at the banner, believing it to be an anti-Christmas statement; it was not. My goal in mounting that manger scene was to disturb my members and churchgoers and everyone who saw it. I wanted to challenge them from thinking about Christmas as a fairytale story that we re-enact each year about a baby Jesus. I wanted to remind them that the Jesus who was born in a manger, who walked this earth teaching and healing, who suffered and died and was resurrect

Did you see the story about the two moose ? A man in western Alaska discovered two pairs of antlers sticking up out of the ice. It seems two moose had been fighting and one had been injured. Unfortunately, while fighting the antlers locked and the moose that had won the fight—so to speak—was not able to free itself from the injured moose. The result? Both moose were dragged to their death and frozen in time. People can unite to do good or evil. This story illustrates what can happen when people come together to do wrong. We might think we can hurt one another and then simply move on, unscathed, but we are wrong. The truth is that we are inextricably linked as human beings. And as Christians, we are “one body,” the body of Christ. If we come together to cause harm to a fellow human being or a brother or sister in Christ, we will suffer the same hurt as they. Unity comes with a price: In unity, what affects one will affect the whole. So, the next time you are tempted or inv

Not only do seniors make up a large proportion of my congregation, these Traditionalists and Baby Boomers are also among the most dedicated and hardworking members I have. They love their church and they are faithful in attending services. They preserve the history of the church—its growing pains and glory days; and when they share the testimonies of how they “got the victory,” they build our faith in God and make us wise. They are the prayer-warrior generation; and I know I can count on them to hold their pastor up in prayer. As our faithful seniors age, they encounter health challenges that can affect their ability to attend services and contribute to the life of the church. One of these health challenges is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain that impacts our short-term and long term memory and our thinking ability as more brain cells become damaged and eventually die. The disease also affects our mood, emotions and behaviour, as well as our ability to perf

“Moses came down the mountain with two tablets bearing the commandments of God for His people.” A simple-enough statement. The Baby Boomers in your congregation are right there with you. They can see Moses coming down the mountain with those clay tablets in his arms. The Millennials are wondering whether the tablets were iPad Pro 9.7, Samsung Galaxy, or Amazon Fire HD, and whether he had Wi-Fi at that elevation. The “I” Generation in your congregation are shocked that there were tablets in their grandparents’ day. One statement. Three images—at least. As preachers, we wonder sometimes why we’re connecting with only one group in our congregation or no group at all. It may be that, while we’re aware we have different age groups in our church, we have not considered what it means for how we “do church”. Each generation brings a different understanding to the scriptures we read, the words we speak, and the examples we use. So if we want to connect with our congregations, we f

Eleven years ago today, the “mother of the freedom movement” in the United States, Rosa Parks, died. She is remembered for having refused to give up her seat at the back of the city bus for a white passenger. People thought that Mrs. Parks, who was on her way home from work that day of December 1, 1955, refused to obey the white bus driver because she was tired and needed to sit. But Mrs. Parks explained later that she was not tired physically, “‘No, the only tired I was, was giving in.’” Sometimes that’s the point we have to reach in order to make a necessary change in our life. Are you tired yet of giving in to the people, habits, or thoughts that are destroying your life? Have you allowed yourself to be mastered by something—or someone—that is causing you to live beneath your privilege as a child of the only living God? Today is the day for you to stand up by claiming your seat in Christ Jesus. “[B]ecause of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive

Hurricane Matthew left a trail of devastation from the Caribbean islands to the east coast of the United States to the east coast of Canada in the past two weeks. It destroyed lives and property. For many of its helpless victims, life will never be the same. What do we do in times like these? What do we say to people who have lost everything? The Word of God tells us to give thanks. Not the kind of thanks that ignores the pain and suffering of the situation or pretends everything is okay. Oh, no! God teaches us to face the facts and give thanks to Him out of a grateful heart . The grateful heart has confidence in God’s unfailing love and in the knowledge that He is working out everything in your life for His glory and your good. The grateful heart knows that God will never leave you nor forsake you. The grateful heart knows that God can and will do exceedingly above all that you can ask off him or imagine. The grateful heart knows that you can trust God with your life. The g