This past Sunday afternoon I conducted two worship services at the Presbyterian Homes in Roseville and Arden Hills. These were wonderful opportunities for the residents to participate in a communal worship experience.
There was great joy in the room when we sang "All Hail The Power of Jesus Name" and "Lead On O King Eternal." It was a delight when I invited those in attendance to join me in reciting the 23rd Psalm (King James Version) and so many of them recited the words from memory. These were people who had grown up in the church and had a deep love for their Savior. My heart was warmed by the experience.
As I drove home I was mindful of my own generation, often dubbed 'Generation X.' We are a generation that is largely missing from the church today. Depending on whose data you use we are the people born in the early to mid-1960's through the late 1970's. When the time comes for us to fill the nursing homes we will not share the same collective memories that those who are there today share. If we have a common music it is far more likely to be the songs of U2 and Nirvana that we will sing together in our old age.
It saddens me greatly that my peers are largely missing from the church and those who do attend often lament at how out of touch the church has become with the real world in which we live. We crave authenticity, we crave relevance, we crave vulnerability, we crave community.
We are not afraid to live life on the edge, we are willing to embrace risk and failure is not fatal. We are in our 40's now but there is still time for the church to reach us... will you do whatever takes so we don't lose my generation?
