I am 39 years old. I am on my final year of my 30s, and it may the last time people in the church still refer to me, their pastor, as young.
I also teach high schoolers Monday through Friday, and I get to joke about being old all the time. I listen to a podcast aimed specifically for ‘80s babies. I am barely a millennial, so I sometimes find myself nodding to Gen X stereotypes.
I’ve noticed a meme lately that reads: “I don’t know how to use TikTok, but I can write in cursive, do long division and tell time on clocks with hands… so there’s that!” This is not a meme about church, but it is a meme about the divide between generations. And, I have seen many “in the church” post it. Like it or not, we are not going backwards. Every advance in technology leaves something behind. With anything new, it is healthy to let go of something old.
This isn’t the first time I’ve written about this generational gap. My previous blog, “Millennial is not a dirty word,” was a plea to the church to love millennials first. Only then will they feel welcome in the church. But, TikTok is really Gen Z. (I confess that I don’t currently have a TikTok account, but I’m aware I may need to get one.)
This week marked the two-year anniversary of the passing of one of the beloved saints of the church I currently serve. Everyone has their own precious memories of how this man loved and served Jesus. At 75, he was still heavily involved in the church youth ministry when he died. Many of us serving on the youth ministry team with him were in our 30s. So, he bought a new cellphone and asked his kids to teach him how to use it. We insisted we could call him instead of group texting, but he insisted that he needed to learn how to communicate in the way that worked best for us and the population we were ministering to. I believe this – meeting others where they are and desiring to learn – these are the Christian skills we need to best come together and truly welcome one another.
It surely goes both ways; like many churches, we find ourselves needing to send out a weekly email during these COVID-19 times. It is phone calls and Zoom, not either or. But bragging about not knowing how to use a platform that younger generations enjoy seems problematic at best and outright divisive at worst. Current younger generations may have a lot to learn, but insisting that they take the time to learn in the same way that older generations did will never work. Clockwise and counterclockwise may be useful terms, but there are other ways to explain these directions that do not rely on growing up with analog clocks.
In a divided political climate, the last thing we need is a growing generational divide. We have so much in common that transcends generations simply by being people that inhabit the earth at the same hour, minute and second of each day. We have much to learn from one another. You don’t have to be on TikTok to love Gen Z, but you don’t have to brag about not being on it either. Jesus Christ preached unity, and we can continue to leverage the unique assets of our generations to bring this unity to the church. All generations love letters and packages; ask someone younger than you why they enjoy TikTok or a computer game or a hobby that you haven’t heard of, and take the time to read about a new technology rather than post negative uniformed reviews. Always be on the lookout for how to continue to learn so that you can bring groups together, rather than apart.
And as I move into one of the “older generations,” may we “older ones” be those servants of Jesus Christ who see no other option but to continue to learn, even a new technology, in order to reach anyone and everyone with the love and grace of our Lord and Savior.
JULIE RAFFETY serves as the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Franklin, New Jersey. Julie is a violinist, aspiring writer, snowboarder, runner, identical twin and crazy about popcorn.
