
Jeff Finley
Light + Life Executive Editor
Jeff Finley is this magazineās executive editor. He joined the Light+Life team in 2011 after a dozen years of reporting and editing for Sun-Times Media. He is a member of John Wesley Free Methodist Church where his wife, Jen, serves as the lead pastor.
by Jeff Finely
The generation gap is nothing new. Activist Jack Weinberg famously said in a 1964 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, āNever trust anyone over 30.ā His statement turned into a rallying cry for a generation of young people, but those young people soon became older people, and Weinbergās age is now 80.
Itās no secret that many of us would like to stay āforever youngā (a phrase that generates 27.2 million Google results), but that simply isnāt possible. I often think of myself as young. After all, Iām three decades younger than the major partiesā presidential candidates. Then a friend my age (or younger) posts a picture of his or her grandchild on Facebook, and I am reminded I may be older than I view myself.
I was born during the 1970s, which makes me a member of Generation X that seems more like Generation Invisible lately. A CBS news report last year left Gen Xers out of an on-screen āGeneration Guidelinesā graphic with information about the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Millennials and Post-Millennials. Forbes magazine reported that my generation āhas essentially fallen off the radar among marketers.ā Perhaps being ignored will drive Generation X to a midlife crisis, but will anyone notice?
Earlier this year, a small church in another Methodist denomination made national news for allegedly asking āolder parishioners to leave in an effort to attract younger families,ā according to CNN, which noted the congregationās pastor disputed the reports. In the weeks leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, this story likely spread because it resonated with the experiences of some Christians.
Like our nationās political institutions, many congregations have a majority of leaders and/or members who are 50 or older. Young people may feel like these churches donāt want to hear their viewpoints or welcome them into leadership, and the worship style or sanctuary dĆ©cor may seem outdated.
In the effort to shift demographics and attract younger people, however, the words and actions of church leaders may communicate that longtime members (or previously unreached older people who live nearby) donāt matter as much.
Should we target our ministries toward younger or older people? As revealed in this issue by Larry Petry, a Free Methodist elder in the Genesis Conference, and Heritage Ministries colleague Melissa Anderson, we can look to the past efforts of Bishop Walter Sellew and other Free Methodist leaders who understood āproviding for the physical and spiritual needs of others does not require an age limit on either end of the spectrum.ā
This monthās issue offers the perspectives of people from different age groups ā including young Free Methodists Natalie Forney and Chris Kaufman, both of whom understand the importance of intergenerational connection. Bishop Matt Whitehead tells us we must pass āalong the generational baton of faith.ā Youāll also read about Donna Saylor, whose decades of urban ministry have benefited countless people of different ages and backgrounds.
The COVID-19 pandemic may widen the generation gap as health concerns prevent us from occupying the same room as people of other generations. Technology can be helpful, but some people lack access to the internet. Thankfully, most people can still be reached by a phone call or a letter in the mail.
We serve the Rock of Ages āwho is, and who was, and who is to comeā (Revelation 1:8). Heās been around much longer than the oldest person reading this, and Heās more innovative than a young tech entrepreneur. He is the One who tells us āEven to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue youā (Isaiah 46:4).+

Jeff Finley
Light + Life Executive Editor
Jeff Finley is this magazineās executive editor. He joined the Light+Life team in 2011 after a dozen years of reporting and editing for Sun-Times Media. He is a member of John Wesley Free Methodist Church where his wife, Jen, serves as the lead pastor.