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One Church, Four Generations: Understanding and Reaching All Ages in Your Church

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I recently completed a reading critique of Gary L. McIntosh's One Church, Four Generations. Here are a few of my observations:

1. The author's main purpose in writing this book was to equip church leadership to "understand the challenges of synthesizing the generations under one ministry" (McIntosh, 14). Cross-cultural communication demands that one first gain a healthier viewpoint concerning the Builders, Boomers, Busters, and Bridgers within the local church and the surrounding community (14). His hope is that the church "will cause [God's] name to be remembered in all generations" (Psalm 45:17, ESV).

2. The author's instruction on the different responses to cross-generational ministry was helpful. Demographics bring success with target audiences but lack variety in practice (McIntosh, 211). Multi-venues bring various elements or locations but might develop inconsistent visions (212). Newly planted churches relate to new groups but cause congregations to grow further apart. Blended services model cooperation but also can appear to be disjointed at best or cause power struggles at their worst (214).

Another item of instruction that was appreciated was the teaching on recognizing that each generation can bring and receive value to the whole. The Bible counsels the young to listen to the wisdom of the elders. Likewise, elders "should focus on scriptural values, such as honesty, overcoming temptations, wise use of the tongue and putting God first" (McIntosh, 232). Every generation is to be committed to loving each other, offering others the first choice out of respect, sharing the same overarching vision, not being arrogant in opinion, and being united (McIntosh, 233).
3. The most helpful part of the book was the contrast of generational values. Generally speaking, Builders are seeking stability, Boomers are striving for quality, Busters are looking for simplicity, and Bridgers need community (McIntosh, 95). Leadership has to reconcile the one's need for tradition with others' propensity for change. One is calling for alternatives while another is searching for uncomplicated processes (97).

4. The quotation that seemed particularly important was the one which read, "Generations change and Scripture records that it normally takes new leadership to communicate to new generations" (McIntosh, 21). There are several repercussions to cross-generational miscommunication. Attendance in local churches continues to dwindle. The gospel must be presented in the language that is understandable. Missionary recruitment is also decreasing. Financial support of Christ's mission is suffering (McIntosh, 22). A culture of consumers has to be transformed into givers. The emerging generations are embracing the secular over the sacred - politically, academically, and financially. Finally, people are being left disconnected from Christ. Leadership must honor the past while simultaneously envisioning the future.

I led a discussion group where this book was the primary source, but not the only source, for understanding the viewpoints held by the generational groupings within our church. It was a great asset to everyone and aided us developing more unity within our ministries.

It really helps you to think about the generational differences in churches across America. This is crucial for us all to know, mostly because the church of the future has a lot to learn before taking over. We all think differently in the church and it is helpful to point out and stay aware of such issues. I highly recommend this book.

I am reading a number of books for the purpose of understanding aging in the United States and what we as leaders must know if we are to work effectively across generational lines. McIntosh's book is well documented and detailed related to the four generations currently overlapping in the United States. While written for the church environment, if one reads it from a leadership perspective, there is much to gain in terms of developing programming, advertising, and considering what drives the experiences of each generation. The book is just a little dated in material, but overall is well written and helpful for those wanting to understand the complexity of cross generational work.

good book it cover the four generations alive today and how they are different and how they can be reached out to.

Before reading this book, I took generational differences for granted. While I knew there were generational gaps, my categories were a simplistic, 'young and old' and the differences on the continuum between that. After reading McIntosh, I am convinced that the 4 generations he outlines in One Church, Four Generations indeed have their own distinctive culture. Each generation has a shared social experience unique to their own experiences while growing up whether that be WWII, the civil rights movement, or the war on terrorism.

Coming at this book with a missiological background has proven helpful to me in applying lessons from this book. Ministry to another culture has now been deepened by my realization in reading this book that differences between the various age groups are large enough to make each a distinct sub-culture of its own. With the collapse of the extended family, and the weakening of the nuclear family due to globalization and the Industrial Revolution, generation-specific ministry niches may be our best hope for a church that represents all four generations. I'd argue for that being the initial thrust, followed by attempts to incorporate inter-generational ministry. The family is still the best target, as no other structure has endured so well across the generational boundaries.

Some unanswered questions I now have for further research are the following: Do parallel generation groups in different countries have more in common with each other than different generation groups of their own country? Are current generations qualified to be a distinct 'people group' in the missiological sense?

McIntosh provides an excellent comparative summary of the generations of the 20th century and bridging into the 21st. In an American social context, he describes the formative events of each generations, the characteristics that developed as a result, the common attitudes and approaches to life this led to.

He then provides a basis for communicating and building intergenerational communication. McIntosh provides a survey of the religious and church concepts of each generations, including the expectations their formative life experiences created in their generation. Then he analyzes how church leadership needs to interact with members of each generations, how to understand their needs and how to enhance their spiritual growth.

McIntosh does a good job of lining the practical implications for each generational and for handling the conflicts or differences in response to various educational, social and worship formats. He emphasizes the possibilities and need for inter-generational relations in the church community, as well as the society at large. Readers of this book should gain a positive appreciation for the other generation they relate to in daily life.

I appreciated the time-line analysis of the worldview of each general age group. This provides a practical perspective on the manner in which the early formative events lay the foundation for a general perception of the world at large. I have referred to such dynamic events in my writings as Shared Significant Experiences.

These shared experiences that are significant in forming our early shared concepts of reality result in what we call worldview. The worldview differences are at the base of what we refer to as Culture, in the cognitive level, beyond the sometimes puzzling outward expressions in lifestyle and decision-making approaches.

McIntosh's analysis clarifies how narrow the walls of a world can be right alongside others who remember earlier experiences that strongly shaped their view of reality quite differently.