“The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided. Every generation is crucial; every generation is strategic. But we cannot be held responsible for the past generation and we cannot bear full responsibility for the next one. However we do have our generation! God will hold us responsible at the judgement seat of Christ for how well we fulfilled our responsibilities and took advantage of our opportunities.”
–Billy Graham, 1966 at Berlin Congress on World Evangelization
How often are churches trying to balance generations? Attempting to honor and remember the past of any given congregation, while attempting to create experiences to be appealing to today and tomorrow’s generations.
The past is the past. We shouldn’t spend our days basking in the glories of yesterday.
It will not come again. We can only learn from the lessons provided by the past.
The future is the future. We shouldn’t devote an overabundance of our days planning, visioning, dreaming for what will (or more appropriately could) be. Rather, we must act in the time and place where we are.
While we work we can remember the past, with an eye towards the future, to better the Kingdom of God. Hebrews 13:8 reminds us “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!” Let us not squander the gifts of today by being chained to our past or aimlessly dreaming of the future.
My hope is today’s church will prayerfully take action in the present with those in our midsts to create a better tomorrow. Let’s have a little faith.
Red Chair Music 