Culture Change…
Leona Bergstrom
Scribbled words on newsprint reflect the concerns adult ministries leaders carry in their hearts as they attended the recent Re-Ignite Network Gathering. It wasn’t hard to identify the top issue, as person after person cast his vote by marking an “X” by the questions:
How can we change the church culture so that aging is valued, not discounted?
How do we create a new vision for ministry in the second half of life?
How can we be proactive instead of reactive?
Great questions, but difficult to answer. Culture change is not about restructuring organizations or programs. It’s about changing the shared beliefs, values and behaviors of the people within that organization. And when it comes to aging, churches today have a long way to go to actually change these. In the field of gerontology there is a growing realization that for too long we have perceived our aging journey as going from active adulthood to decrepit elderhood in one giant leap. However, current thinking establishes a new life stage in which adults may be of “retirement” age, but are far from being frail, feeble and infirm. During this life stage adults have an increasing desire to discover their passions, gifts and abilities and reinvest these in new areas of service. They are flocking to find volunteer opportunities, “encore” careers and intentional mentoring relationships. And organizations around the world are welcoming these seasoned, and sometimes sassy, adults. All too often the church is not the organization that highly values this unnamed generation. Thus, we lose the energy and the spiritual impact that might have been.
Clearly there is a need for culture change. We need to change our shared values, beliefs and behaviors to incorporate all ages and stages of life into the community called the church.
Leona Bergstrom is Director of Lifetime Ministries (a division of ChurchHealth), a ministry dedicated to assisting churches in developing powerful and effective programs for and by older adults. Along with her husband, Richard, Leona is co-director of 2nd ½ for Him Ministries of the Baptist General Conference. This article was also published in Converge Worldwide BGC ”Boomers and Beyond” in May 2011.