Senior citizens in our congregations face many challenges and tempta­tions. On the one hand, the culture pushes them to indulge in every pleasure they can before they are too old to enjoy life. On the other hand, the Devil tries to convince them that as they move into old age they have nothing left to give their church family.

Caleb and Jacob⤒🔗

Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, didn’t buy into that lie. Not only did he have wonderful stories to tell the younger generation of the LORD’s works in his long lifetime, he was also ready to take on the Lord’s enemies as an octogenar­ian. Joshua 14:10-12 records his speech,

And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for com­ing in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said.NKJV

But we live in a different culture than that enjoyed by Caleb. Our culture of­ten looks at senior citizens as used up­ nice to have around in our churches, but of little value beyond that. But, young people, are your spiritual grandmothers and grandfathers useless and used up? Who better to help our young married couples in their twenties with advice on how to have a long and happy mar­riage, than those who have been married forty or fifty years or more? Who better to counsel twenty-somethings on child-rearing than those who have successfully raised a quiver full? Who better to en­courage our youth to take paths which they know by experience will bring the blessings of Christ on them?

Our covenant God uses every genera­tion to bless His people in unique ways that only their generation can. What a powerful picture of a grandfather pass­ing on the heritage of the Lord to his grandsons we have in Genesis 48:

Joseph said to his father, ‘They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.’ And he said, ‘Please bring them to me, and I will bless them’ ... And he blessed Joseph, and said: God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

Passing on to a young generation the heritage of a lifetime spent walking with Christ is one of the highlights of being a seasoned saint. The Triune God depos­its a great deal of wisdom into His saints who have served Him for more than half a century. In third world countries today, such elders still sit at the entrance to the village, ready, willing, and able to pass on their God-given wisdom to anyone who asks. Wouldn’t it be a blessing to all to find ways of doing something similar in our congregations? Think of the family reunion at Thanksgiving time when ev­eryone from toddlers to great grandma are gathered in one place. What a bless­ing it is for the twelve-year-old to hear great grandma pass on the spiritual wis­dom she has acquired by the grace of Christ.

A Ugandan Funeral←⤒🔗

At the end of February, one of my colleagues in Uganda, an OPC mission­ary, graciously included me as a recipi­ent of his family news bulletin. Under the heading of The Loss of a Friend, he wrote the following about culture in re­mote and primitive Karamoja.

There were hundreds of people at the funeral. I was struck by the attendance and the quiet, patient love expressed by those who were there. For hours and hours, people just sat. Little was heard between occasional shouts of grief from family members and close friends. The wail­ing was intense at times — marked by loud screams, falling, and fainting. Some folk had to be carried out and revived. As I watched the people, especially those who sat quietly, I thought that we should learn some things from a culture that is committed to communal life and mutual support. Richard Dowden wrote that the Cartesian motto of Africa is, “I relate, therefore I am.” This event, it seems to me, was a model expression of that saying. Few words were said, but the connections between the people were evident and surely felt deeply by those who were present.

Those last three sentences struck me as I prepared to write this article. Any­one who has visited East Africa has been struck by the sense of community among the people there, and their lack of individualism for the most part. When people visit our congregations, one of our hopes as pastors is that they also will tell others that the connections between the people were evident and surely felt deeply by those who were present at our weekly gatherings for worship and other occasions.

Understanding Generations Y and Z←⤒🔗

Many of our congregations are made up of several generations. On Sunday morning you may bump into empty nesters from the WW2 generation or the Baby Boom generation. You will probably also encounter members of Generation X (Gen X) consisting of 31– 46 year olds. Some of these will likely be elders and deacons. Then the Gen Y folks between 20 and 30 years of age. If your congregation is blessed with children and teens ages 6-20, you will also exchange glances and/or words with representatives of Gen Z.

For our purposes in this article, the question is posed, “What can be done so that the connections between the WW2 generation in our congregations and the youth of Gen Y and Gen Z are evident and surely felt deeply by those who are present?” How can the WW2 generation bless the 12 to 30 year-olds in our congregations?

To answer the question, I want to briefly help those who are 65 and old­er better understand the subculture our youth live in. In July of 2007, Pe­nelope Trunk wrote an article in Time magazine entitled, “What Gen Y Really Wants.” Here are a few of the sentences in her article that caught my eye:

Friendship is such a strong moti­vator for them that Gen Y workers will choose a job just to be with their friend ... It feels normal for Gen Y employees to check in by BlackBerry all weekend as long as they have flex­ibility during the week ... Generation Y’s search for meaning makes support for volunteering among the benefits it values most. More than half of work­ers in their 20s prefer employment at companies that provide volunteer opportunities, according to a recent De­loitte survey.

These observations give the WW2 generation some valuable insights into the world of 20-30 year olds (Gen Y). I believe that these insights can help the esteemed grandmothers and grandfathers in our congregation better con­nect with fellow members who are out of high school, but have not yet hit their mid-thirties.

The same holds true for those students who have not yet finished high school, or are just beginning their col­lege years. Generation Z, as they are called, also intermingle in a very different world from the one familiar to the WW2 generation. Wikipedia, the on­line encyclopedia, says of them:

Generation Z is highly connected, many of this generation have had life­long use of communications and media technologies such as the World Wide Web, instant messaging, text messag­ing, MP3 players, mobile phones and YouTube, earning them the nickname ‘digital natives’ ... A marked difference between Generation Y and Genera­tion Z, is that older members of the former remember life before the take­off of mass technology, while the latter have been born completely within it. Some can be described as impatient and instant minded, and tending to lack the ambition of previous genera­tions. Psychologists are claiming an ‘acquired Attention Deficit Disorder’ since their dependency on technology is high and attention span is much lower, as opposed to previous genera­tions who read books and other print­ed material, along with watching live television ... Generation Z are also more individualistic. While members of Generation Y are group and team oriented, members of Generation Z are more self-directed. Parents of Generation Z are working part time or are becoming stay-at-home parents so that children are raised by them and other family members instead of a day care facility, which forces children to be in groups.

Ministering to Gen Y←⤒🔗

A few of the comments above under­score some opportunities for the WW2 generation in our congregations to bless 12 to 30 year-old church members. Those in our congregations between 20-30 place a very high value on spend­ing time with their friends. We want to encourage the communion of saints in that age bracket, but two obstacles to fellowship come to mind. Young adults in this age bracket who are still single often are living at home or in cramped quarters. On the other hand, those 65 and older in our congregations and/or Classes, often have homes with large liv­ing rooms or family rooms. Their (own) children have moved out and the house is pretty empty. Some have very large backyards, conducive to barbecuing or outdoor games, maybe with a swimming pool. What a blessing it could be for the older generation to open their homes to the 20 to 30 year olds for these kinds of get-togethers from time to time.

The second obstacle to fellowship which comes to mind is the need for well-qualified babysitters/grandparent-­types. Many members of our congrega­tions between 20 and 30 would love to spend a couple hours each month with RCUS friends, if only someone could watch their kids. At the same time, many in our congregations 65-plus love to spend time around children. If an old­er couple could help a younger couple or two in this way, what a blessing this could be to them.

Another commendable character­istic of Gen Y is their desire to do vol­unteer work. Simultaneously, many of our WW2 generation members could use a little volunteer help from time to time. This article is about the older gen­eration helping the younger generation. Yet, it seems to me that older members giving young people an opportunity to volunteer some much needed assis­tance is helping the youth, in terms of their spiritual growth. Those over 65 in our congregations love to see 20 to 30 year olds maturing in their faith. Here, I think, is a great way to promote what Paul exhorts Timothy and Titus to en­courage, in terms of interaction between the generations.

Ministering to Gen Z←⤒🔗

Let’s turn our attention to the younger youth of our denomination, Genera­tion Z. Our 12 to 20 year olds live in a culture where their peers expect most everything to happen instantly. Many of their acquaintances are impatient and without ambition, overly dependent on technology. What can the WW2 generation do to come alongside the parents and bless these young ones and teens? As I’m typing this, my dear wife is watching the Waltons on TV a few rooms away. That WW2 family typified a family and community which was close-knit in a small town, in which several generations would spend a lot of time interacting with one another. That is still typical in third world countries like Uganda and Kenya. It still happens in small towns throughout the South and Midwest of our country. Many of our beloved members over 65 can re­member those days with fondness. Most young people, though not all, enjoy hear­ing stories from those old enough to be their grandparents — stories of what life was like when they were young.

Most are fascinated to hear about liv­ing in what would be considered by Gen Z to be primitive conditions. But what I am getting at here is not just storytell­ing for its own sake. This kind of communication from grandparent figures to spiritual grandchildren is perfect for passing on biblical values and Chris­tian life-lessons learned. Generation Z would, I believe, profit greatly by be­ing instructed, in this non-threatening and fun way, about developing patience and the importance of Christ-centered, godly ambition. Spiritual grandparents can help our youth learn not only how to survive, but thrive without the latest technology.

But, our 12 to 20 year old church mem­bers are still under the authority of their parents, for the most part, to a greater or lesser degree. So, this proposed model takes cooperation between parents, their teenage children, and what I am calling spiritual grandparents. In the days of WW2, in rural communities, such in­teraction was natural and common. But today, it must be fostered and planned. One venue for such interaction is around the campfire at summer camp. Another opportunity which could bless the youth is 20 or 30 minutes of storytelling from a senior citizen, followed by a Q and A from the Youth Group. Still another is the opening of the homes of spiritual grandparents to the youth group from time to time. Interaction between the youth and the hosts could be one part of the get together. Snacks, prepared by the senior hosts, and perhaps games led by the youth leader could take up the re­mainder of the event. Once these bonds are forged, our senior citizens may well find themselves being sought out for ad­vice and counsel by those 12 to 30 in our congregations.

In these kinds of gatherings, consider all the things older men can teach young­er men and boys as spiritual fathers and grandfathers. Titus 2 says, “that the older men be sober, reverent, temper­ate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; ... Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that can­not be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having noth­ing evil to say of you.” Consider all the things older women can teach younger women and girls as spiritual mothers and grandmothers. “The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behav­ior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things — that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.” 1 Timothy 5:5 and 10 says, “Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day ...  well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.”

Conclusion←⤒🔗

Many of our senior saints have amaz­ing experiences, gifts, and abilities which have the potential of powerfully blessing the 12 to 30 year olds in your congrega­tion or Classis. One of my colleagues in Uganda was a retired minister about 70 years old. Nonetheless, he and his wife, often annually, would come and minister at the Mbale Mission station six months at a time. But our seasoned saints need not travel to Africa to find ways of min­istering to the youth in our congrega­tions and Classes. The 12 to 30 year olds of our Classis need what they can give. So the challenge comes to both the young and the seniors. Those between the ages of 12-30, and their parents, must open their hearts and minds to be­ing ministered to by our senior saints. And the seniors, for their part, must be ready and willing to serve in the twilight of their journey. What a wonderful way to prepare for a life of service forever in the new heavens and the new earth.