Is Our All Too Small?
Wes Wick
J.B. Phillips authored a powerful book you may have read, Your God is Too Small.
Somewhat parallel to that classic reminder, we like to pay close attention to what follows when someone says, “It’s ALL about…”
While we’re passionate about older adult ministry, we recognize that it’s not ALL about us and older generations.
We’re passionate about younger generations, but we know it’s not ALL about them either.
“For God so loved THE WORLD.” We like the bigness of that picture. He loves the poor, the elderly, the unborn, ethnic minorities and majorities, the young, the rich and middle class.
And while our passions may draw us to a specific cause or people group, it’s ALL about the ALL, y’all!
We confess that it makes us kind of sad when we hear that a church is ALL about young families. Don’t get us wrong. We, too, love young families.
But young families without older generations around will take on weights of responsibility God intended to be shared more broadly. The vibrancy of our later years will be diminished if we’re generationally isolated.
With extended longevity, four-generation families are common. May our churches reflect that as well!
Some communities, of course, have a narrower generational mix, making age breadth a more difficult goal.
We recall seeing “This is not your grandparents’ church!” advertisements for new church startups in earlier years. We know this meant the worship and other style preferences would be a departure from earlier generations. We get that.
We love it, though, when churches have a unified Thanksgiving-celebration spirit. Imagine receiving a Thanksgiving invitation from a family member declaring “This is only for young families” or, “This is not our grandparents’ Thanksgiving” or, “Sorry, mature-adults-only this year.” Ouch!
Is our ALL too small?
While embracing fresh creativity, let’s make church an intergenerational affair! Like this month’s Thanksgiving meal, it’s not ALL about what’s on the table; it’s about who feels welcomed around that table as well.