Ridgell's Originals

So what are some of the church issues that may have been influenced by the culture of the sixties?

...Authority: we have undergone a dramatic shift in leadership style, especially away from the autocratic model where elders or preachers said it and it was so. The same pattern has happened in our homes and even in the workplace. Very few "post-sixties" will blindly follow anyone in authority. It is flows from the disillusionment of Vietnam and Nixon.

...Marriage: our churches have many divorced members now. I don't mean converts. I mean those who grew up Christian, married Christian, and then divorced, remarried, and stayed in church. How much of the "free love" culture of the sixties contribute to this? Has our leadership become more tolerant because of the culture that produced us?

...Women's role: how much of the "women's issue" in our churches is a reflection of a leadership raised in the sixties.

...Music: how much of the movement to more praise and contemporary worship is driven by leaders who grew up on music. The sixties in many ways was the music explosion.

I would not argue that all of these things are just because we "give in" to culture. But I would argue that we are all products of our culture. Many of our churches have elderships that are split between "the greatest generation" and the "boomers". Some of our church conflicts are reflections of clashing cultures.

Well, just some observations. What do you think? What are some of the defining moments and characteristics of the next generation of leaders? How will they see or do things differently in a church leadership context?