Emerging Leaders

I just returned for our Church Foundational Network Family Conference in Peachtree City, Georgia. It was a powerful time of hearing from the "fathers" of our spiritual family and seeking the Lord together to impact us, move us beyond mediocrity and into our full potential for effectiveness. The high point for me was a special session that I felt to schedule with younger, emerging leaders. My concern for sometime was that I sensed a lack of connection with some in the younger generation to CFN and our future. I encouraged the group to share from their hearts and share they did! We talked for 1 1/2 hours about the challenge of generational transfer. This has been a particular burden on my heart for serveral years now. Let me share some of the things that came out of that meeting.

First there was a sincere appreciation of the past and the price the older leaders had paid to get us all to this point. There was not a critical spirit present. However, there was an obvious disconnect in some from the past leadership and a frustration of sorts about their role as we move forward as a spiritual family. There were other young leaders who approached me later to say that they did not feel a generation gap at all and were somewhat surprised in the meeting when this was brought up. One of the concerns voiced in the group was not only a generation separation but a cultural difference. There has always been a cultural difference from generation to generation.

What can we learn and do as we seek to marry the zeal of the younger with the wisdom of the older? Serveral positive suggestions came out of the meeting. There first must be this understanding that CFN is a "family". As with any family there must a gradual release as sons come to maturity. There will always be this strain on both sides as this occurs. It was interesting to me to notice that the ones who felt the tension were the ones who have been a part of this family for most or all their lives. The ones who didn't feel a strain were young leaders who have been adopted into the family and probably never had to work out the release within this particular family. We will find a rememdy to this as we allow the younger leaders to take a greater part in the family and release more responsibility to them.

This time of sharing helped me immensely and gives me an avenue for future planning and implementation. One of the questions that I was asked was, "how did you transition from the generation before you into your role as a leader?" I had never thought of it. While I do remember a generational gap of sorts, spending time on a daily basis in ministry together seemed to take care of the differences. I never remember it being a limiting thing. This would make me think that if there is a day to day functioning together of spiritual fathers and sons in practical outworking of ministry, any generation gap would be a minor factor.

May the Lord give us wisdom so that we don't continue to start over with each generation and never making real progress. I am committed to working to see the natural flow of transition occur.