Is it agonizingly difficult to relate to others from a different age group than you? Do the behavioral and communication quandaries in those encounters confound you?
If so, you definitely are not alone. There are five generations alive today in the United States. This has never happened before in the history of our society. With such a diverse span of ages, the relational challenges and opportunities are increasing at a quickened pace. In order for these encounters to be fruitful, we must handle them with penetrating insights and earnest strategies to make the most of our time together and leave a hopeful legacy that endures.
Ask any leader today to give you an assessment of the frustrations in their faith community and the source is almost always generational in nature. From worship styles to discipleship, from educational offerings to outreach, the span of ages in our culture is providing fertile ground for communal disharmony and diminishment of witness.
Press on by passing on...
From the receding of meaning in our society, the marginalization of Christian faith, the proliferation of information conduits that can distract and fragment witness, and the general upheaval of discontinuous change, it is imperative that faith communities persistently press on in discouraging times like these.
The author of Hebrews challenges his audience in chapter 11 to pass on their faith with a confidence in the future and a tenacity in the present that spans time, weaves through generations and infuses encouragement for Kingdom living regardless of historical circumstance.
Introducing LivingYearz: The times of our life
LivingYearz is training that taps into the narrative arc of our contemporary lives that is spread across the five generations. It consists of three phases each highlighting a crucial timeless interaction in relating across the ages. Each presentation is effective on its own, but combined with a weekend event, LivingYearz becomes a transformative moment in the narrative life of your congregation, para-church organization, or educational institution.
•Phase One: The Sociological Interaction more>To effectively learn about one another requires grasping the formative themes that shaped each generation.
•Phase Two: The Situational Interaction more>To richly live within a broad generational context requires understanding the situational quandaries that challenge all of us
•Phase Three: The Relational Interaction more>To deeply love one another requires enacting the relational competencies that integrate every generation
Extrapolating the best from recent theological, biblical, and sociological studies, LivingYearz dives provocatively and humorously into the depths of our current generational situation.
You will laugh and learn your way to more harmonious relationships by exploring the formative themes that shaped our unique personalities, the key quandaries we face together in contemporary society, and the core competencies required to make your generational relationships crackle with relevance.
Jeff Vankooten takes Christian churches, schools, universities, colleges and other organizations through each phase of these critical interactions with humor and acuity. Each phase is a stand alone presentation that can be mixed and matched as needed, ultimately providing a comprehensive and enriching journey for our life of faith together.
One wonderful benefit of these presentations is that they include and involve everyone in the learning process -
This provides a memorable communal experience that weaves the unique generational stories in your life and location with God's epic narrative for the world.
After participating in this seminar, you will walk back into the morass of intergenerational relationships with a renewed vigor, greater personal insight, and simple (but deeply effective) strategies that you can apply immediately to identify with one another in bountiful ways. preview>