The Wedge, a Powerful Combination of Forces

Recent research has revealed that "new older adults" in America are seeking ways to reinvent themselves so that they can give back to their communities. Churches are awakening to the fact that the new, high capacity older adult wants to serve, but in ways that will make a difference in the lives of others both inside and outside of the church. The menu selections for church involvement have been too few and uninspiring for many of them. The churches that create fresh, new ways of connecting this desire with an abundance of opportunities to serve will unleash older adults to make a huge impact in the world in which they live.

Leadership Network is identifying and connecting churches that are changing these current realities, and seeking ways to welcome older adults back into the mainstream of life and service in their congregations. They are also inventing ways for the new seniors to leverage what they have learned through life experiences and professional careers in order to maximize their impact in their church, their community and their world.

The emergent church is becoming increasingly more committed to serving and making an impact on the community. Leadership Network is close to completing its 5th Leadership Community of Externally Focused Churches. Each community has consisted of small teams from about a dozen churches at a time. These churches measure their success on the basis of not only what happens within the walls of the church, but also on what happens in the surrounding communities where they serve. They ask the question of themselves, “If our church were to close its doors today and cease to exist would anybody in the community weep. Would anybody in the community notice? Would anybody in the community care?” These 60 churches are changing the way people think of church, and their influence is rapidly spreading throughout the nation. They are daily inventing new ways of being a blessing to the people in their cities by helping them meet the raw needs of people, and by partnering in new ways with other churches and community based organizations.

Simultaneous to churches in America redesigning themselves to more effectively serve and make a difference in their communities; nearly 4 million Americans every year for the next 18 years will turn 60. Many of them are saying that they want to re-orient their work and their lives so that they can serve their communities. Leadership Network would like to help position the Church in America to effectively mobilize this huge labor force for community transformation in the communities all over our country. We will seek to do this by forming new Leadership Communities in the area of Innovative Older Adult Ministry. I will serve in this new effort in the role of Leadership Community Director.

In this next year we will attempt to form two new Leadership Communities. These communities will each consist of 3-4 leaders from about a dozen churches that have significant ministries to and through older adults over 50. Each church makes a commitment to gather together in community 4 times over a two year period. Leadership Network hosts and facilitates the gatherings, which are very fast-paced three-day colaborative learning sessions. The sessions are designed to bring the very best contributions of all the leaders in the room to the surface to create a sum that is much greater than the individual parts. As you might imagine, the community of leaders with similar bold objectives leads to some strong connections, to a strong sense of group accountability for the goals and strategic plans they form for their individual ministries. At the end of the two-year Leadership Community, we ask that the participating churches become teaching churches for other churches in their region who want to benefit from what they have learned.

In Newport Beach there is a notorious beach that is known as the Wedge. The entrance to the Newport Harbor is formed by a rock jetty that marks the end of the Newport Beach. The angle of the jetty in relation to the swells of the ocean creates "the wedge", which often results in a massive, unpredictable wave as high as 20 feet that will hurl a body surfer in ways you wouldn't believe. It's a sight to behold. Only the most daring of body surfers dare to enter the water when the conditions are optimal for the Wedge. You can get a look at the wedge if you click on this link: http://www.surfline.com/travel/surfmaps/surfspot.cfm?id=672 .

I think there is a powerful combination of forces gathering in our culture with this current Age Wave that is hitting the shores of our nation. Not only are we seeing masses of healthy, mobile adults moving into their 60's (4 million each year for the next 18 years), but we are also learning that they want to invest the rest of their lives in giving back to their communities. If the church can harness the incredible power of this forming "wedge" and direct it toward the expansion of the kingdom, there is no limit to what we could happen in the next several years. Leadership Network would like to be a part of seeing this happen, and we feel that the Leadership Communities can be an accelerator in the process.