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Quotable – Jimmy Draper
Posted by Quotable in Uncategorized
“Our convention is being more and more represented with older people and less and less with younger people participating. … Rather than condemning them for their disinterest, it is our task to appeal to their tremendous passion and energy and bring them into the ministries and leadership of our convention. Many of us are afraid to do this. As we get older we can fall into a trap of feeling that we have all the wisdom, creativity and passion necessary. We often feel threatened by younger ministers with their new and/or different ideas. My generation must embrace these younger ministers or we will cease to exist as a(n) SBC.”
Dr. Jimmy Draper, former president of LifeWay Christian Resources, commenting on Ed Stetzer’s blog regarding the LifeWay study which shows a dramatic decrease in the involvement of younger leaders and pastors in the SBC Annual Meeting.
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Have long believed youth and young people should be more a part of church life and less apart. Having served as youth director in every church since I became a Christian, the Lord has allowed me to bridge many gaps in our generational divides through their willingness to minister to the rest of the church.
I happen to love the contributions our young people have in our church. I love their enthusiam, their energy, their eagerness and their ideas. I appreciate their willingness and their ever-present giggles and timely comments.
What exactly do you think Draper means by embracing young ministers? I kinda like some of the ones I’ve run into of late. They are a wellspring of wisdom and knowledge. selahV
SelahV,
I cannot speak for Dr. Draper, but I think he is pointing to the relative lack of leadership and involvement of younger pastors in SBC “denominational” life.
There may also be some reference to the “demonization” (probably not a good word but somewhat accurate) of the methodologies of some younger ministry practitioners.
Demonization is an understatement, actually. It seems that a great number of older, more mature and arguably wiser pastors and church have forgotten what its like to not know that there are things you ‘can’t’ do. Young people don’t know that. I say let them find out rather than squashing them.