“Hillcrest Generations: The Boomers”
by Tom Goodman
July 13, 2005
I laughed at the following story from a new “empty nester”—
Soon after our last child left home for college, my husband was resting next to me on the couch with his head in my lap. I carefully removed his glasses.
“You know, honey,” I said sweetly, “without your glasses you look just as young as the day we married.”
“Honey,” he replied with a grin, “without my glasses, so do you!”
Meet the Boomers. This is the name we’ve given to the generation of folks who are currently in their 40s and 50s.
Those in their 50s are paying for their kids’ college and weddings, while preparing their own retirement accounts at the same time. They’re taking care of two generations: as they help their kids get started in life, they also minister to their
aging parents. It’s a stressful time of life for many.
Behind them, those in their 40s are getting their high school kids ready to make wise adult choices regarding careers, money and romance. At the same time, many in their 40s are
Unlike a lot of start-up churches in Austin that target a single generation, our church has the joy and burden of serving four generations:
Builders: Senior Adults
Boomers: Median Adults
Busters: Young Adults
Bridgers: College and Younger
It’s important that you keep in mind the things the generations have in common and the things that make the generations different. So, we’re spending four Sundays looking at the characteristics that define each Hillcrest
Generation, the contributions that each generation makes to the Body, and the challenges that Scripture gives to each generation. This coming Sunday, Week Two of the series, we’ll focus on the Boomers.
Wow! I’ve received so many wonderful notes from people about this new series—and we’ve only finished the first week! Last Sunday we put the spotlight on our Builders—a generation that practically
You made us old folks look good Sunday. Looking forward to the next group.
You really made a point when you said that many in the audience would give their lives for their children or grand-children but would they give up their music.
Sunday's sermon was great. It felt good and I could identify with so many things. Mostly I continued to remember Deuteronomy 32:7, “Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father
and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.”
If you missed the first sermon, you can listen online at Click here.
We received a couple of questions about how we’re organizing the music for the series. We decided that the best way to approach the music for this series was to create a medley of music from one composer of the particular generation we're
studying. That way we could avoid trying to make assumptions about how a whole generation likes to worship.
Instead, we’ve decided to take five or six minutes of our normal song service each week and put together a selection of songs from someone born in that generation. So, the Gaithers were featured this past week—they were born in the Builder
Generation. The worship songs of Twila Paris will be featured this upcoming week for about five minutes—she was born in the Boomer Generation. The praise songs of Chris Tomlin will be featured on July 24—this Austin worship pastor
was born in the Buster Generation. On the last week, when we focus on the Bridgers, we're going to have our own youth praise band lead a portion of the music service!
The point we want to make is that each generation contributes to the worship and ministry of the whole body! That’s what our “series verse” says—have you memorized it yet?
Join us this week for this important study! Worship begins at 10:45 a.m.!
This Sunday evening, we continue our Ramblin’ Road Trip! Herb Ingram is taking a packed roomful of adults through a five-week road trip through key Old Testament events. Jim Siegel is taking vanloads of youth on a real road trip to Austin-area destinations each week. And BJ’s team is helping our children discover some great tourist attractions across the U.S. while learning some important things about God! Go to www.hillcrestaustin.org/#education and www.hillcrestaustin.org/#children to learn more!
It’s not too late to get on board our Ramblin’ Road Trip! The fun runs from
—Tom
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