Matthew 16:18
“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

This is the first time Jesus speaks of the church and says that no force can overpower it. I believe the church is the hope of the world, but when I see other forces, like Islam, currently more powerful worldwide than the church. I have to begin to ask questions.

I mentioned Malachi 6:9 in my last post.

Malachi 6:9
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

It will be hard to be the most powerful force on earth with a curse on us. How can the church be better at fathering? I see to much fighting between young and old. We have to work together to be the force Jesus speaks of in Matthew. I believe we can do that by understanding our roles instead of being threatened by each other.

When you are raising a child, you take care of them, they depend on you fully. Then the child reaches an age when they are old enough to begin to decide for themselves and they move away. The roles on both sides change there. I think this is where we are at with the Buster and Boomer generations. Instead of understanding our role changes, we are fighting about it and causing the church to be a secondary force in the world.

When a kid goes to college, there is usually a little rebellion and they make bad choices because mom and dad cannot tell them what to do anymore. From the parent side, parents have a hard time not telling their kid what to do. They still want to care for them like they did when they were younger. If both parties act like this, it is a recipe for a broken relationship. This is where we are at in the church.

The Buster and Mosaic generations are the kids going off to college. They think they are big enough to be on their own and do it their way without mom and dad telling them what to do.

The Boomers are represented by the parents. They are still trying to tell the Busters and Mosaics (kid in college) how to do everything. Just like in a family, this is a recipe for disaster in the church.

I remember when I moved away after high school. I was gone for 3 years and then went back to Norman and lived with my parents for awhile. When I came back, my mom used to tell me how to make my bed, how to do my laundry, how to do everything. It drove me nuts. I finally told her that I had lived on my own for 3 years and had developed a way of doing things that was a little different.

When I think about it, we both reached the same goal. We both wanted the laundry to get done and the bed made. Whether I put the right pillows or left pillows on first didn’t matter. Whether I washed my whites first didn’t matter. The end result was the same.

Now I ask my mom if I have a question about how to do something. I know she has experience and I don’t know everything. When we found our roles, we became strong together.

Busters and Mosaics: You may be able to make some decisions on your own and you are growing up, but you still need guidance and wisdom from experience from the generations before you. You don’t know everything.

Boomers (and Seniors): You play an important role in the future of the church. Allow the generations after you to be who they are with your wisdom and guidance. Understand that they are different and can make some decisions on their own and they may do it a little differently.