'Me Generation' becomes 'We Generation'

I read an article in the August 4th USA Today with the above title. It is written by Daniel J. Kadlec, who co-authored The Power Years: A User's Guide to the Rest Of Your Life. In my opinion, this book is the best source of information available on the "new old" in America. For people seeking to reach and engage the Baby Boomer, this book is a must read.

Kadlec in the USA Today story profiles the "new old" in this nation. "Many prosperous Americans are choosing to give while they live so thay can control how their money is spent or enjoy watching it do some good. As boomers seek to give something back and stay at work longer, they will begin to blend the two by developing personally rewarding businesses designed to serve the greater good. Like Robert Chambers, 62, who retired to start a non-profit that makes low-interest car loans to the working poor in New Hampshire, and Martha Rollins, 63, who has a furniture company staffed by former convicts in Virginia."

"The challenge is not, as many have argued, how to pay for an aging society. It's how to harness the skills of a vast, willing and able new crop of maturing Americans who want to stay in the game longer, give something back and help cure society's ills. If we can do that, our aging society may pay for itself--and then some."

This is a golden opportunity for the church in America that "gets it" with what we in Leadership Network are calling the Encore Generation. But will the church find new ways to "harness the skills" of this massive cohort of mature adults, and find significant ways to "keep them in the game" and impact the Kingdom of God?

Here is another tidbit I saw this morning on the Leadership Journal website:

Fewer Kids Among Us: Children under age 18 made up 26% of the U.S. population in the year 2000. By 2020, that number will decline to 24%. By contrast, at the end of the baby boom in 1964, kids made up 36% of the population. With fewer kids and longer lives, expect greater need for senior adult ministry.

Did you catch that? "Expect greater need for senior adult ministry." People who really get the current demographic in the U.S. are coming to the same conclusions with respect to church ministry. We need to give more focused attention to the Older Adult population in our churches and in our communities.