2020-08-19 Coffee with Chris - Next Generation or the Current Generation?

The speaker, Chris, is the next-gen coordinator at Highway Christian Fellowship. In a combination video, he discusses the concept of the next generation. He explains that the teens and young people around us are not just a future existence, but are part of the current generation with value. He references 1 Timothy 4:12, where Paul encourages Timothy, a young pastor, to set an example for others. Chris emphasizes that all of us, regardless of age, have the opportunity to make an impact and should not hold back the next generation. He encourages supporting and guiding them in their current situations. Hey guys! Oh, that was loud. It's Chris, next-gen coordinator at Highway Christian Fellowship. This is a bit of a combination video. Right now, I'm doing my Coffee with Chris video as well as my Engage recap message. All kind of in one here because it's the same thing I want to talk to you about. So this week at Engage, that is our youth group, I talked a little bit about when we say next generation. What does that mean? It sounds kind of funny in one sense. When we're talking about the next big movie to come out, we're talking about something that is not fully in existence yet, but it's up and coming. And that's not really true of the teens and young people that are around us. They're not somebody who one day will exist. They're somebody who exists right now and has value. They're the current generation, just as those who are older than them and younger than them are also the current generation because we're all alive right now. You know, in 1 Timothy 4, verse 12, Paul is telling Timothy about setting an example, which is interesting because usually we think about you need to set an example for the young ones. But he's talking to Timothy, a young pastor, telling him that even though you're young, don't let people look down on you. Instead, set an example for them in love and faith and purity and all of these things, which are great places not just for our young people to start, but for all of us. We all as a member of this current generation have an opportunity to set an example for those around us. And to be an impactful change right now. Not one day when we get older and smarter and wiser, although those are great things to get and I hope we all do, but right now we can make an impact. And we shouldn't hold people back from making an impact because they're the next generation. They're not here yet. No, they're here right now. They're dealing with real problems and real situations right now. And so consequently, they have the opportunity to be an extension of God's hands and feet to others in these situations and to be a blessing on the ground in context that sometimes those younger and older than them have difficulty being able to do. So an encouragement to all of us. Let's not write the next generation off as something up and coming, as junior church, lower church that will be church tomorrow. They're church today. They're in our community today. They need our help and our guidance and our love and support today. And they need opportunity to be a blessing to those around today. Anyway, those are my thoughts for you. God bless.