This week is a momentous one for South Africa. It’s not just that we’re in the midst of the excitement of the World Cup. It’s that this week we celebrate one of the pivotal moments in our history - the June 16, 1976 riots in Soweto that protested the forced use of Afrikaans as a language for education in township schools. It was a tragic time in which for many of the protesters - young people who were the immediate victims of the oppressive education policies of the time - youth was lost in the chaos of political conflict. In many ways, though, their sacrifice - and deaths - resulted in huge international pressure and marked a turning point in the struggle against apartheid. Let no one ignore the power of young people when they get passionate!
Today, the Church is facing a different kind of protest from the youth. It’s not violent, and it’s often not even really recognised, but it is very real. Quite simply, our churches tend to be experienced by young people as boring, irrelevant and unfriendly places, and in response, large numbers of them are simply walking out the door. In their 2007 book, “UnChristian”, Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman questioned young people both within the Church and outside of it on their views of the church. The title of the book is a summary of the responses they received. The results of this can be clearly seen in the demographics of the Church. I read a few years ago that the average age of people who attend Church in the United States is twenty years older than the average of the general population!
In South Africa things don’t look a whole lot different. Young people are wrestling with outdated styles of music, with overly formal services and with priorities that are completely disconnected with the realities of living in the 21st century. Somehow it seems that we have forgotten Paul’s advice to the young pastor Timothy: “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young.” (1 Timothy 4:12 NLT).
The alternative of making young people the only priority and giving them free reign is not necessarily the answer, though. Honouring, respecting and including young people in the life and worship of a community does not mean that young people must rule the community. While they have passion in abundance, youngsters often lack wisdom and discernment - two qualities that can only be gained through experience. But, this does not mean that young people should be ruled over by their elders. Rather, the biblical pattern of leadership is service. What this means then, is that young people need those who are no longer young to serve them, create opportunities for them to use their passion, their energy and their gifts, but also guide and teach them.
In worship, in service, in learning and in leadership we can make two equal and opposite mistakes. We can ignore and reject the youth or we can worship youth and ignore the wisdom of age. Both do great damage to any community. The healthiest communities - which is where you’ll find the healthiest individuals - are those where young and old learn to play and worship and talk and live together. My dream for the Church is that we would learn, once again, how to be multi-generational. Because if we can find a way to do this, our young people will find their youth to be a time of great joy and inspiration. And then they’ll become the leaders our world so desperately needs them to be.
__________
John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.