Passing the Faith: Intergenerational Mentoring in the Church

``Faith already lived somewhere for him. It had a voice. It had a a face. There was a room, a table where faith was nurtured. And it's one of the most important characteristics or truths for intergenerational ministry. Faith is caught before it is taught. Faith is caught before it is taught. Faith doesn't come from a book of instruction and doctrinal training. First of all, it comes from catching that faith from those in our community around us. [00:34:20] (32 seconds)  #FaithIsCaught

Do you hear how Paul instructs Timothy in that passage? It isn't just an instruction. It isn't just direction, but it's remembrance. He says, I remember. I remember, and I want you to remember. Before Timothy ever preached a sermon, before he ever led a board meeting, before he ever got involved in doctrinal disputes, faith had already been embodied for him. [00:33:52] (28 seconds)  #FaithEmbodied

Intergenerational ministry and relationships flourish when scripture is not weaponized against each other, but when it's inhabited with each other. What does that mean to inhabit the scriptures? It means that when when when older believers open the scriptures, it's not in order to win an argument or to prove a point, but it's to tell stories about how it is that God has been faithful over their years. And when younger believers approach scripture, it's not as though it's a problem to solve or or something to be challenged, but rather it's a voice to be listened to and trusted. [00:46:20] (38 seconds)  #InhabitScripture

By character, what does he mean? The way you talk, the the the words you choose, the gentleness of your tone, the speech that you engage in. Do you talk to people the same when you're with them as you do when you're when you're not with them? Do you look at people and speak to them with respect in person and online? Conduct. How do you comport yourself? How do you live your life? Love. Do people know that you love them? Do they experience you as a loving person in their life? Faith. Are you a person who stands on faith and and trust your future and your decisions to God's leadership? And he says purity. Are you somebody that is trustworthy and outstanding? [00:41:52] (52 seconds)  #CharacterInAction

They're deeply personal letters, as I mentioned, from an old seasoned apostle. Paul, bears the scars of ministry both on his body and his spirit, written to a young pastor, just starting out his pastorate, and he's writing letters that are shaped by affection and genuine love, but also concern and memory and hope. And they show us that the church is not renewed. The church doesn't move forward just simply by novelty, but rather by faithfulness that is passed along in relationships. [00:31:36] (40 seconds)  #FaithfulnessPassedOn

Because true mentoring requires something of us. I'm speaking to the older generation. It requires us to loosen our grip a little bit. Not on the truth, but on our control. If we're going to take on intergenerational ministry where we entrust the gospel from one generation to the next, we have to ban this from our vocabulary phrases like, but that's how we always do it, or, but we've never done it that way before. [00:38:32] (36 seconds)  #EntrustDontControl

They didn't hold office in the church. They weren't professors of theology, but they shaped a pastor. They modeled a faith that was ultimately sturdy enough to survive pressure and persecution and doubt. And their lives and the legacy of their lives became the soil in which Timothy's own faith took root. [00:35:20] (25 seconds)  #UnsungShapers

Example over entitlement. The credibility of a mentor, the credibility of a leader is not grounded in age, young or old, but it is grounded in character that is shaped by Christ. [00:43:39] (20 seconds)  #ExampleNotEntitlement