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Is it a Generation Gap or Something Else?

Not all 20 year olds like loud music and not all 70 year olds like a pipe organ. There are 40 year olds who prefer to sing hymns and 60 year olds who enjoy Chris Tomlin. Generalizations about the differences among generations are not always useful.

I read an article last week regarding a study conducted by the University of Illinois about how businesses can create better work relationships among employees of different generations. This was a quote from the article that I think has lots of application for those of us leading in churches: “Assumptions based solely on age can lead to some very faulty conclusions and missteps.”

While the article was about businesses, there were a number of transferable principles. For example, one finding in a review of the research was as follows:

Generational factions also can emerge based on when employees start work with a firm, similar to the lifelong bonds formed by soldiers during boot camp or deployments, the study found. Because those factions can include workers of all ages, the study says age-based solutions to unite those workers with colleagues are ill conceived.

This made me pause and consider the timing of when people start attending a certain church. There are those older adults who have been there for 40-plus years, but also those older adults who have come in the past 5 or 10 years along with those younger adults who have come to church in the past 5 or 10 years. Regardless of age the feelings and impressions held by those members who have been there for 40 years may be different than those who have been attending for 5.

The article concludes like this: “It’s human nature that workers interact with their cohorts, seeking out their own,” she said. “Figuring out ways to bring them together will allow companies to tap into all of those knowledge silos and reach full potential.”

Isn’t this exactly what we want to have happen in the church? Check out the entire article and then let me know what you think.

How can we keep from making generalizations that tend to polarize?

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