I have a burden on my heart and a challenge for our generation. The burden is for our children and our children’s children and the challenge follows.
Every generation in the modern era has had a name. The “Builders” before the last world war, the “Boomers” from 1946 through 1964, the “Busters” from 1965 to 1983 and the “Bridges from 1984 to the new millennium. In the past decade we have tried to pin down the new postmodern generation with letters like the “X” and “Y” generations. The “X” generation to indicate that we don’t know or understand them and the “Y” generation for all those filled with unanswered questions and unknowable answers. Regardless how we attempt to label the generation that follows us or those that have preceded us, our real challenge is to serve our children and leave a legacy for them to live by and grow in.
As a father, grandfather, and a pastor, I am increasingly concerned for our children and their future. What will they grow up to become? What are we doing to prepare them for life? What kind of legacy are we leaving them? I believe that we need hope for the future and tools for today!
I am also aware of the rising level of frustration and the routine panic that fills many homes and threatens family life. The family is the foundation of our culture, it is the bedrock for building our future and the family is under greater stress today than ever before. Our families are threatened from every side with disintegration.
Now, I have not arrived nor do I have it all figured out, but in these past few decades I have learned many good and hard lessons. Experience is a hard teacher but we seem to remember these lessons the best. I have a challenge on my heart to instill hope for our future, for our children and our children’s children. Hope is the expectation of good. We have an opportunity to change the direction of our lives and our families. A change for good!
I am inviting as many people as I can to grow together with us in a new teaching series that I am preparing. I have confidence in our tomorrow and am preparing to instill hope for the future. For four Sunday mornings at 10:00am beginning September 20th I will teach a life giving series for this purpose. We will begin with laying a foundation for life, then learn to grow a richness of life with the purpose of creating a culture of life in order to leave a legacy of life. This “Life giving” series will help us all to value and invest in our family and our community for a better tomorrow. Please plan to come grow with us!
In correlation to this Sunday morning series I will also begin a very practical class for parents and grandparents on Friday evening October 23rd from 7-8pm. This one hour parenting class will last for 10 weeks and give you tools for understanding, shaping and raising your children, as the Scripture states, “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Cornerstone Community Church will provide a nursery for your small children and activities for your elementary children so that you can get the most out of the class. We want to give you every opportunity to learn, grow and impact your family with practical and biblical tools that will bring life and peace.
So look and prepare for a brighter future, for our children and our children’s children! Please come join me on Sunday morning September 20th and we will begin this journey together.
jc
