Generational Gap

Have you ever stopped into one of those old time drive-in joints that serve greasy burgers, thick fries and old time milk shakes? There is usually some oldies music playing on the jukebox and 10 or 12 middle age or older couples sitting around really enjoying themselves. I walk in at 26 years old take one look around, laugh and remind myself that I am only here because the food taste good. I tend to lean more towards the Applebees and Red Robins of the world. In fact you wouldn't find many teens now days hanging out at the old time drive-in joints. It isn't that I dis-like the drive-in atmosphere or even the company that frequents such a place it just isn't my era. You don't find Applebees playing the music they play at Johnny Rockets. Okay now that I have rambled allow me to help you understand where I am coming from. I love both Applebees and Johnny Rockets...both have their time and place.

I was recently in attendance at a sectional church meeting. I was the youngest preacher there and one of the five young people in the building since there were only three youth in attendance. It was here I was reminded once again of the great "generational gap" we have in Pentecost. Allow me to compare this church meeting to Johnny Rockets. Usually the folks who frequent Johnny Rockets are very sentimental about those types of places. They are sitting in the booth sipping their old fashion milkshake with two straws remembering of a Friday night in 1965 when they were driving a 1957 Chevy two door Bel-Air wearing a letter-mans jacket after a homecoming drubbing of the football rival 20 miles down the road. As I sat in this meeting listening to a 60 year old 4th generation pentecostal singing a song her mother must have sung at a fellowship meeting when this sister was my age I had to stop and look around at the young people sitting around me and wondered to myself if they thought the same way about this meeting as I do at Johnny Rockets. Oh, and the reason there are only three youth in attendance...they have been to these meetings before and refuse to come back because of this very atmosphere.

Think about this for a moment why do we have children's church during our traditional Sunday morning worship service? Because for the most part young children cannot relate to what is transpiring in that particular form of church. Why is it that when kids get older and become young adults we suddenly feel the need to subject them to grandma pastor's wife singing "On the Wings of a Snow White Dove" to some really bad piano playing. I know that I am about to get blasted out of the water here by some of my more traditional peers but I have kept my peace for 10 years and I am more concerned for the present generation of youth and my own generation than I have ever been. I know, we have youth rallies and youth camp and youth convention (hold on to your bladder) but some of those meetings are not any different than what I have described above. Youth Camps and Conventions are great and they hold some of the most memorable experiences of my young life but why am I subjecting the current generation to participate in the same activities at youth camp that I participated in. It doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to understand that no generation has the same interest.

I am in no way implying that standards of holiness need to be let down to appease a generation of vipers. In fact, I believe we need to hold the line as strong as ever in this generation. I am not talking about holiness, I am talking about methods. I can already here the screams of traditional Pentecostals, "REMOVE NOT THE OLD LANDMARKS!" Consider this for a moments. When Moses was faced with a water crossing at the Red Sea, the LORD told him to lift his staff. When the next generation was faced with a water crossing the LORD instructed Joshua (the new leader) to have the men carry the ark of the covenant and step into the Jordan. Both men received the same result, but two separate methods were used under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Imagine for a moment if Joshua had walked to the Jordan and lifted up his staff waiting for the waters to part. That generation would have never walked in the promise that God intended for that hour! The problem is too many generations of Pentecostals are standing at the edge of Jordan with the same method that the previous generation used. To break it down even further...trying to build churches and see a harvest in their cities with the same methods that the previous generation used. We need more Joshua's that in lieu of just walking to Jordan and lifting a stick because that is what Dad or Grandpa did, they wait upon the Lord for his inspiration and then act on it in their hour.

I am not sure what happened to the interim generation in Pentecost. I appears to me as though we have a whole slough of Azusa Street folks and a whole bunch of North American Youth Congress folks but not a lot in the middle. Those that are in the middle seem to lean towards the Auzsa Street folks, because they are the generation that passed the mantle to them. Now here comes the North American Youth Congress group whose parents are leaning towards the Azusa street group but they are seeking a new method and the Azusa Street folks can't figure out why we don't want to be just like them. I hear questions from the Azusa Street group like, "Why do you guys want to sing all that new music?" "What is wrong with the hymns?"

There has got to be a coming together in the day and hour that we live in. We have to close the generational gap! The present generation has to embrace the former and their methods and the elder generation must embrace the younger and their passion to be on the cutting edge of what God desires in this hour. Until the generational gap is closed we will continue to have empty sectional meetings and minor interest from each generation in what the other is doing

Grace

Too many "church" people over the years have confused grace with mercy and used them as though they were synonymous terms. Consider this for a moment. Mercy - compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence (Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) ). Grace - the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them - the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God (same as above).
In my short 10 years of ministry I have numerous times been confronted with a faithful saint of God who in a time of affliction or infirmity solicited the prayer of an elder in accordance with the word of God. I have always prayed the prayer of faith believeing that God was able to deliver from any circumstance and heal all manner of disease. I have many times witnessed the working of miracles as Paul described to the chruch in Corinth regarding the spiritual gifts imparted by God, and have at other times witnessed the impartaion of the gift of healing as was described by Paul in this same setting. Allow me to share my thoughts regarding this passage and how it plays into the thought of Grace. If I were to give you a gift wrapped in beautiful paper and stuffed in a box you would not have actually received the "gift" or the object that I had given you until you had taken the time to un-wrap the gift. If you don't have the faith to belive that the box with fancy wrapping that I gave you contains an actual "gift" then you will miss out on the contents of the gift. For some folks un-wrapping a gift is a five minute ordeal. For others like myself I un-wrap it in a hurry because I want what is inside. I know that there have been times through the years that I have prayed for folks with different ailments and because the Lord chose not to operate through the working of miracles but rather through the gift of healing they walked away from their encounter unchanged and within a few hours began speaking things like" Well I guess God chose not to heal me this time." Quickly the faith with which they approached me is now fading. In other words, they place the "gift" back on the altar because they didn't see instant results.
Now that you think I am absolutely crazy, allow me to explain how this ties into grace. Paul in his writing to the church in Corinth makes this statement in 2 Corithians 11.
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Paul writes to the church regarding all of the circumstances he has encountered in his walk with God. Being a man of God myself I can't help but believe that Paul did not talk to God about any of these issues. I am sure there were a few prayers that went up in the midst of these beating. There had to have been a few cries for help amidst the ship wrecks but yet seemingly God chose to allow Paul to continue through each of these trials. Did Paul do something wrong? Did Paul not have enough faith in the midst of his situation to belive that God was able to deliver him? I believe Paul begins to shine more light on this subject in 2 Corinthians 12.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Because I pray for a healing from my presesnt infirmity or I ask for deliverance from my present situation and God chooses not to heal me or deliver me doesn't mean that God doesn't heal anymore or that God doesn't deliver. It doesn't even mean that I have any less faith than the last time that I prayed for healing and received. It simply means that this time God has chosen to simply give me the grace to endure whatever it is that I am going through. As christians when we pray we are immediately looking for the instant deliverance or healing. I can only imagine how Paul and Silas felt that night in prison after a beating was received for preaching the gospel. In Acts 5 when the apostles were put into prison for preaching the Gospel the angel of the Lord was sent and delivered them out of their present situation. However, when Paul and Silas were captured and beaten then thrown in prison the angel of the Lord did not appear this time, but rather God gave them the grace to pray and sing praises to God and that brought them through and out of their situtation.
I have often had folks tell me, "I am praying for direction but the Lord just hasn't answered me". The God I serve is always faithful to answer those that wait upon him. However, I don't always like the answer that he gives and so I catch myself continueing to wait upon him hoping that he will somehow change his direction. Could it be that the answer to my prayer is, "My grace is suffucient for you?"
Won't you boldly approach the throne of grace for help in time of need?

Sabattical

As most of you know I haven't blogged for nearly 4 months. This has been due in part to a very busy schedule and also some other issues that arose out of blogging.
Still desiring to log in some sort of format each and every thing we encounter, understanding that this is a process and I am growing everyday and every single thing that I encounter helps me to understand how I got where I am and refocus on where I am going.
This isn't a place to begin debates or even push my viewpoints on any given subject.
So, please just enjoy what ends up on here and I will do my best to keep up with this thing at least weekly!

A lot has transpired in the last four months. I will probably share more as I feel led in each post. I don't desire just to post for something to do but rather to post as I am led of the spirit. Who knows all of whta will end up here but I hope that who ever stumbles across it will enjoy some part of it.

Nick