I’m a secondary school teacher and have been doing a lot of thinking about the differences between generations. 

Generational differences are alive and well.  If you think that young men (Gen Y) are perhaps more unreliable when it comes to completing small but necessary ministry tasks, wait until our current Generation Zedders become young adults.

Generation Z, with all their good points, will be the most self-centred generation ever seen in the history of mankind.  They are under-parented and over technologicised (I think I may have just invented that word…), and this will lead to being self-centred and perhaps unreliable. 

I need to make sure I teach my young children, that there is more to life than self, and of course, that godliness must indeed be placed ahead of giftedness. 

Thanks for the blog.

I know Boomers & Gen Xers like this too. This is not just a generational thing, I think it is as much about personality. The unreliable dreamers can be a pain to work with. But those of us who are detail people need them too to keep us thinking big thoughts and making bold plans.

We need to keep challenging one another to be faithful but also valuing the strengths that these people bring.

Thanks Gavin - this is an issue I’ve been thinking about a lot this week.

My question is this - how do we do this without making it sound like we are just sticking with the status quo?

(You know - ‘faithful’ ministry as plodding along doing what we’ve always done can appear to be an excuse for getting stuck in tradition.)