Connecting the Generations
April 1, 2002
The hippie movement was at its height in 1971, and Stuart Briscoe had just become pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brook-field, Wisconsin. Stuart persuaded a group of 100 counter-culture youth to attend worship one Sunday, and one of the church's leaders was not pleased. "I want to make one thing perfectly clear," the leader said. "These young people you brought into our church have to be kept separate. We have worked hard to keep our children away from these kinds of people." Stuart had recently traveled to South Africa, where he had witnessed a similar form of prejudicial separation. Stuart mumbled something about apartheid. Today, he quips, "You must remember, I was a new pastor then, and not versed in diplomacy." When a "full and frank exchange of positions" concluded (Stuart's more experienced, diplomatic description), the leader offered a solution Stuart could agree to. "I'm tired of hearing about the generation gap—let's build a generation bridge." Soon afterward Elmbrook started a new Sunday morning class. It ran for three months, and participants were hand-picked from diverse age groups. The class wasn't given a teacher (or a referee); the studies were led by the participants themselves, with an older person and a younger person sharing the task each week. Their curriculum, the Book of James. Though reluctant at first, the participants began to address the walls of prejudice and misunderstanding between them. They were honest enough to ask, "Why do you grow your hair to look like a mophead? And don't say it's the same reason I grow mine to resemble a tooth brush." In time, friendships and mentoring relationships were built that last to this day. The class shared its experience with the church, and a waiting list was created ...
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