For 41 years, I served the Lord and the people of Cleveland Baptist Church, 24 of them as senior pastor. It was a distinct honor to serve the church where I grew up. I was nine months old when my parents carried me into the church’s second meeting. I don’t remember that moment, but over the years, I had a front-row seat as the church was planted and grew into a thriving congregation in Northeast Ohio, reaching its Jerusalem and impacting the world with the gospel. 

I feel blessed because people of all ages poured their love and wisdom into my young heart as I was growing up there. It is funny, as a child or teen, that people seem old when they are in their 50s and 60s. Yet when you get to those ages as an adult, it doesn’t feel old. Plenty of people in our congregation who are that age have helped me with their kindness and wisdom in the Word. I am grateful and blessed because of it. 

When my wife and I were young in ministry, we joined the church staff after graduating from Bible college. It wasn’t long before I sensed God wanted me to do more to help and bless the church. In my early 20s, I felt called to serve the older, retired adults in our church. Denise and I got to work and soon discovered that they were thrilled we were interested in them—and that they had so much to share. They taught us about grace and the work of the Lord. They also let me cut my teeth in preaching and were gracious, even when I wasn’t. We labored among them for seven years, and looking back, those were some very good years of growth and maturity. Simply put, spending time and fellowshipping with people 40 to 60 years older than we were helped Denise and me grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Saviour. 

Now that I’m in the fourth quarter of my life, God has given my wife and me opportunities to travel around the world and serve in ministry. I’ve been greatly impressed by some of the younger men I’ve met who are serving and leading in ministry. I love that these folks bring a fresh approach and a desire to do what pleases the Lord. I am grateful to be a cheerleader and encourager of their work. I feel honored to pour into them some wisdom I have gleaned over nearly five decades of ministry. 

Here are some principles that I think impact our multi-generational fellowship:

• Younger people must have a spirit that allows them to be teachable. 
• Older people must have a humble spirit and not come across as those who know everything. 
• Every generation faces challenges. It is clear that people think differently in our culture than they did fifty years ago. While Biblical principles and truths never change, much of what we think about ministry is based on tradition, not necessarily on Scripture. There's nothing wrong with traditions, as long as they don’t violate Scripture. Jesus chastised the Pharisees because their traditions were invalidating the Word of God. 
• Avoid becoming so rigid in thinking that you assume what we did in ministry 50 years ago cannot change today. At the same time, a younger man in ministry must not be so full of himself that he thinks he can make major changes to an established ministry without first earning the trust of the people who have been there for decades. I’m serious when I say that ministry changes must happen from time to time, but a younger man taking on an established church should give himself time before making major changes. He needs to build trust with the people and help them understand his heart and mindset. Otherwise, he’ll only create problems for himself and the church. 
• Do not develop an Elijah syndrome, thinking you’re the only one who hasn’t bowed your knee to Baal. I’ve known men and fellowships like that: no one else is holding the line, and no one else believes as we do. Everyone outside our fellowship, movement, and church is compromising. That kind of thinking is foolish. I have literally lost friends and ministry opportunities because I will not embrace that mindset. Most younger people do not believe that is true. 
• Don’t fight or break fellowship over foolish matters. Some things simply aren’t worth dividing over: screens in churches, which can be helpful tools; livestreaming services, which nearly every church learned to do during COVID; hymnbooks or no hymnbooks, since screens can display the words; singing newer, doctrinally sound hymns and songs; and pews or chairs. Service schedules—morning and afternoon or morning and evening—and whether small groups meet on Sunday or midweek aren’t worth breaking fellowship over either. 
• The real enemy is the devil, not someone who doesn’t do it like you. 

The Bible says much about multi-generational fellowship; here are a few verses among many. 

Proverbs 27:10 Thine own friend, and thine father’s friend, forsake not… 

Proverbs 3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 

2 Timothy 2:2 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Be wise and embrace the generations both above and below you. Be a blessing and grow in the grace of our Lord. Let’s do all we can to encourage God’s work and move the needle toward reaching our world with the Gospel.