My review of Intergenerational Christian Formation

[Bob]

Much has been written about the racial segregation in the church. This book addresses what might be considered another form of hidden segregation that occurs in many of our churches--segregation by age.

Allen and Ross contend that the most robust Christian formation occurs in multigenerational settings--where younger and older learn from each other. And the learning goes two ways--at one point older members spoke of all the lessons they learned from children in their church--things like love, simplicity of trust, a willingness to learn.

The book begins with an exploration of how age-segregated ministry developed in an attempt to provide contextually relevant formation based on developmental changes and generational characteristics. Allen and Ross do not categorically oppose this but argue that this is best when complemented by multigenerational approaches. They then focus on the biblical, sociological, and theological reasons why this approach should be practiced and then look at various generational characteristics and intergenerational dynamics. Finally, they look at implementing intergenerational formation in a number of church settings ranging from small groups to worship to service to multicultural settings and in megachurches.

One possible weakness is that much of the research and examples seem drawn from the mainline church context. It is interesting that these churches seem "thicker" in some respects in opportunities for intergenerational worship and have been less prone to age-segregate than non-denominational, low-church evangelicals. It seems that this might be an important area for further research, practice and writing.

I have to admit that I strongly resonate with the thesis of this book. As a youth, I was influenced greatly not only by family but by grandparents and those of their age and a number of other older and younger adults. Even when I thought the expression of their faith stodgy at times, I saw the integrity of their lives and how important their faith was when they faced suffering and hardship. Because of this, faith in Christ was not something I would grow out of but rather grow more deeply into as I grew older. And now that I am on the other side of this and work with many younger colleagues and students, I am so grateful for these brothers and sisters who keep me vital and fresh (I hope!) and prevent "hardening of the attitudes"!