Carpe Diem

Regeneration is a major problem in most of the church and organisations world wide. The older generation seems to reluctant to pass the baton. On the other side, the younger generation seems to be sloppy yet ambitious to take the baton. Condition become worse in this era of great technology and fast information, older gen lack of information but rich in experience and the younger gen rich in information but poor in experience. Nowadays, thank to technology, younger gen voices, whether it’s smart or not, could be heard through many channels. What was hard in the time of older gen, now it’s easy and free in the younger gen’s time.

Ada tambahan juga apabila older gen memiliki “sakit” insecurities yang memberikan tambahan tekanan pada young gen untuk bukan cuma bisa perform, tetapi perform dengan cara older gen. Sadly, it happens to many organisations. If i keep writing, it all will narrowed down to one word : TRUST. Kurangnya kepercayaan older gen ke younger gen, dan juga yang kurang dimengerti oleh older gen, kurangnya kepercayaan younger gen kepada older gen in many ways. Jadi masalah trust bukan cuma dari atas ke bawah tapi juga sebaliknya. Yang tua merasa khawatir dengan kecerobohan dan “liar”-nya anak muda, sementara yang muda merasa tidak di-mentor dengan sebagaimana mestinya. Banyak yang kemudian menyalahkan generation gap, bahwa tiap generasi punya caranya, karakternya dan suaranya masing-masing. Yah ada benarnya. Ada kurang benarnya juga menurut saya. Here is how i think about generation gap, if the gap just happened from the baby boomer till today, so what had happened back then when even the older generation time ? Kenapa mereka baik-baik saja ? Atau justru mereka juga punya masalah tetapi mereka punya jawabannya ? Saya rasa generation gap sudah ada sejak jaman manusia pertama memiliki anak-anak dan cucu-cucu dan ada hierarki. Masalah itu ada, tapi mereka memiliki jawabannya sehingga mereka bisa lewati dengan lebih baik. Semua generasi harus dealing with their own problems in their own time. The Jews, culturally will see someone mature enough when someone reach the age of 30. King David was reigned at the age of 30, Jesus started His ministry at the age of 30, Peter preached on the day of Pentecost at the age of 30. There has been a pattern passed down from generation to generation, problems starts when mentoring and cultivating next gen is too slow or not even happen. The Jews promoted someone to certain position at 30, because they’ve been mentored since the day that someone was born.

MENTORING, is easy if you take it easy, and could be really hard if you take it hardly. Let me give you examples of great men in the history of the church :

• Charles Spurgeon was 15 when he did his first preaching
• Kenneth Hagin was 17 when he did his first preaching
• Timothy was around 21 when he led the church of Ephesus
• Smith Wigglesworth was 23 when he became an evangelist
• John Wesley was 26 when he started the Methodist Church
• John Calvin was 27 when he first time publish his text to protestantism
• Billy Graham was 29 when he did his first preaching
• William Seymour was 32 when he first ordained
• Martin Luther was 34 when he sent his 95 theses to the archbishop of Mainz

They all were LAUNCHED at the young age, because they’ve been mentored at their younger life. They’ve been given so many occasions where they can EXPERIENCED the problems in their ministries. Somebody must’ve TRUSTED them so they can learn to do the ministry. Everyone started small, sloppy, and sometime stupid, but as the time passed, they grew and became the big names we all knew.

If you want to see regeneration happen in your church, if you’re the older gen, start mentoring! If you’re younger gen, start learning! TRUST is not earned but have to be given FROM BOTH SIDE. I am 40 as i am writing this, my experience has taught me one thing, when you’re young, be humble and learn a lot. And when you’re a bit older, be a good BRIDGE for the younger gen and older gen, when you’re old remember your own teenage self. You were probably a nightmare too. So don’t push it.

posted May 20th, 2019