First Baptist Church of Herndon

Ageless Wonder

Linda Soller | Jul 21, 2014

One of the big topics in the business world is how to handle having so many generations in the workforce at the same time. Let’s face it, people are living longer, and many are having to work longer than they had anticipated. The common approach to dealing with the diversity of ages in the workforce is to try and keep in mind where they came from. I don’t mean Herndon verses New York City, although I am pretty sure that would have an impact. I mean we look at the world they grew up in and how that world created who they are today. The analysis can get pretty elaborate. I myself am a “Baby Boomer”, born between 1946 and 1964. Apparently I cannot complain about the “Generation X’ers” (born between 1965 and 1980) or the “Millennials” (born between 1980 and 2000) because my generation had a huge part in making them who they are today. Don’t you just hate it when you aren’t allowed to complain! To me the worst part about this whole issue is that it doesn’t adequately allow for the “ageless wonders” of our world. Those are the people who don’t act or perform as expected for their chronological age.

Churches face some of the same issues when it comes to dealing with varied generations. Does your church have multiple services? If they do, I hope it is because there are too many people to fit in your building for just one service. Realistically, churches often select to have multiple services to accommodate how their members use their weekend hours, or to be able to offer different styles of worship. I remember when our church first introduced an early service and I thought, there’s no way I can get my kids up and out in time to make that service. I wanted to sleep in a bit so the eleven o’clock service suited me just fine. Then there was the time when we moved our Bible study or Sunday school to after church service. When that happened the service went to ten o’clock. Technically my time in the church building was not impacted, but how I spent that time changed. I admit I was reluctant to let go of the “old way” of doing things.

As a kid I enjoyed Sunday school, but I wouldn’t have won any awards for the most dedicated church going kid. One weekend it had snowed and I was particularly interested in our topic of study. I dawned my snow clothes, boots and all, and walked to church. I cannot tell a lie, it’s maybe a mile and a half total. I was excited to be there. After class my teacher told me she thought I should have brought a change of clothing, I was too casually dressed. In fairness you need to remember it was a while back, and we weren’t even allowed to wear jeans to school yet. The point of my story is that I had focused on getting to church, and she had focused on how I looked. We were seeing the decision and the action through the eyes of two different generations. Our ages were impacting our expectations. Fortunately expectations can change.

One of the things I really love about FBC Herndon is its diversity. Our diversity covers gender, race, and age. I love that the senior adults I have known for years have also known my children, and now my granddaughter. She will see a church where faith is for a lifetime. I love that our choir has young teens, and well, people my age, and that we have a Baby Boomer, and two Millennials leading us. We are ageless in respect to praising God through music. The stories of our lives form the tapestry that is our church family. No matter when we were born, or what was going on in the world, we have managed to blend our stories to create a new one. To me that story is an ageless wonder.

Have a great week!  :o)    Linda