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about the author...  Brooks Hanes ...is a Jesus lover, closet church planter and an undercover minister of music. Since 1996 Brooks has been involved in baby churches in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Iowa and watched them grow from seedlings to strong houses of worship. He is now leading a new church plant in his small hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. His wife Jennifer and he are expecting their fourth child. You can read his here >>>.
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Why my generation is closer to God than the previous generations by Brooks Hanes
From
the title of this article, one may wonder about the validity of claims
from anyone who presumes to be closer to God than someone else.
From the looks of it, I am proposing not simply that one person is
closer to God than another, but that a whole generation of people is
closer than a different generation, and not only that any one
generation is closer to God than any other, but more specifically that
children are closer to God than parents. I realize that by some people
this entire post could be mistakenly labeled as a work of rebellion and
discarded as such.
What does it mean when I say that someone is "closer to God" than someone else? This could have many meanings, however in this article I mean that one group of people has, as a generality, a truer understanding of what it is to worship God. This definition in itself is a mouthful. One might think that I should have nothing to do with this whole topic, and that I should leave it up to historians and learned minds. But knowing that I am 31, am married, and have three-and-a-half children, I think it a waste of time to wait to discuss this topic until I get a more advanced university degree. (I have no plans to improve upon my BA, which is in music and from a small Baptist college.) Just because a person drives a beat-up 20-year-old station wagon does not mean that he cannot receive enjoyment from the same streets and country roads as someone operating a brand new car. The concept here stems from the fact that I have often wondered if the things I do and the things I think amount to nothing more eternally than the doings and thoughts of the people of my parents' generation. For example, I wonder if turning up the sound, turning down the lights, and raising my voice and hands in emotional worship amounts to nothing more than the effect of a quiet, somber worship method. Are the methods and ways of my community any better than the way it was done by a generation previous? Can't we throw away all this talk of new ways to "do church," postmodernism, and emerging church because "there's nothing new under the sun?" Shouldn't we then stop looking for something new? If there is nothing to be learned, then we should not try. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." More aptly for my generation, "If it ain't broke, don't break it." And, I think it logically follows that we find a comfortable pew, and sit, shrivel and die. This conclusion proves to me that its originating statement is not the truth; we were not created to sit, shrivel, and die. Therefore, we must try to improve the system and we should try to learn from our predecessors. I feel like I might be doing philosophical backflips right now. Another reason to have hope that our generation can become closer to God than our parents is that this is what our parents also desire. Imagine a father telling his boy, "Son, if you learn one thing from me, it is this: you will never do anything better than I." Picture a mother bird, restricted by a limp wing, getting angry at her little chicks who are learning to fly -- even higher than she! This is ridiculous. Our parents want us to succeed, excel, learn from their mistakes, and get better. Whether or not this happens is up to the children. And whether or not it really happens is not the point. The point is that we can become closer to God than our parents if we try, and if we are allowed by God. This gives people like me comfort because our desire to improve is not only OK, but it is sponsored by the previous generation. The temptation for our parents to stop us is because of their pride. And our temptation to take credit for whatever we label as success is a more false pride. The anti-drug commercial comes to mind, where the parent discovers the kid smoking dope, and the kid says, "I learned it by watching you." Our parents want us to improve. We must keep reminding ourselves that just because our parent's churches don't hang a "Going Out of Business" sign, it doesn't mean they don't want us to improve upon what they have built. They want us to stop making the mistakes they make. We have our own mistakes, but that is for our children to discover. And when it is our turn to watch the little birds fly, we should be the loudest cheerleaders, devoid of pride in ourselves, knowing their ability to soar came not from us but from our parents, our grandparents, our great grandparents, and ultimately, from God. John, I bask in the grace in your comments. I am one of the generation you identify as being farther from God than yours. I think Rich was right on target with his observation that the older generation contributes necessary wisdom and experience to the Body of Christ. Some old farts may dismiss your article as arrogant, but I took it as an example of the wild enthusiasm of youth untainted by the caution of years. I can remember being thirty and ready to take on the whole world and Hell too for Jesus. I still have that passion twenty years later, but it has been tempered along the way with the painful awareness of my own failures and the solid assurance of God's Providence. When I was young, I worked hard by myself or as part of a team to do the work of God. I am now a teacher because I want to pour out my own life into the lives of younger people who will benefit from my experience and be able to accomplish more than I did. If I had only had an older man as mentor when I was younger, I would have been more prepared. Did you know that it is not about you? Having said that, I pray that the Lord draws you closer to Him than I ever was. Rich, thank you for your comment - and for reading the brief article I wrote above. Wow. That's a pretty big claim that you're making in your article's title. It's a shame you didn't say much in your article to back it up. Print-friendly version of this page Mail this article
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