Generation X

After the tour, the Edmonton team once again began to seek the Lord for His next steps in the journey, knowing there was more He wanted to do in particular between the “twin elder brother” cities of Edmonton and Calgary. 

To our surprise the Lord answered us that before we could address the issue of Edmonton and  Calgary together, first Gen X from the two cities needed to meet.  . 

Generation X refers to people born c 1965- 1979.  Sandwiched between two much larger, dominant generations, the Baby Boomers (1945—1964) and their children, the Millenials (also known as the Echo Boom or Gen Y, born 1980-2000) Gen X have been called “a lost generation”.  This has been especially true in the Church where Gen Xers, who have been wired by God to value relationships and reality, have found it very difficult to feel at home in religious structures and systems that seem to value performance, programs and position over relationship with God and the body.  Feeling powerless to effect real change and disillusioned by strained relationships with the older (mostly Boomer) leaders, they have exited the Church en masse, and in many cases also abandoned the faith.

And yet God has a divine plan for Gen X, conceived in His heart before the foundation of the world.  For centuries, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob  has longed  to break down the barriers and misunderstandings that have divided generations that He might have for Himself one united family.  And He has uniquely fashioned Gen X and positioned them at this time in history to fulfill a mandate to be a bridge between the generations. 

On the Awaken Tour the Lord instructed us to focus on connecting with spiritual mothers of intercession and the Gen X generation and we had conducted some meetings specifically for Gen Xers.  So,  in obedience to the Lord,  we contacted some of these Gen Xers from Edmonton and Calgary and a small remnant met in mid October for 2 days of worship and seeking the Lord together. 

Almost immediately the Lord began challenging the Gen Xers concerning His heart to see restoration between the generations.  Many of those present had been wounded by spiritual leaders, often feeling used for their gifts without being valued personally.  They had reacted to this hurt by withdrawing from the church community and rejecting any sort of spiritual authority.   As the Lord brought painful memories to the surface with them came a flood of strong emotion.

In the divine orchestration of the Lord, it was at this very point in time that some of the spiritual fathers (pastors) arrived, having been previously invited to join us for lunch and a time of sharing hearts that afternoon.  With emotions running so high, we asked the Lord’s wisdom on how to proceed.  He directed us to first enter in  worship together rather than opening any discussions.  In this way we could activate our spirits so that we didn’t find ourselves being led by emotions and reactions instead of the voice of the Lord. 

During a powerful hour of worship that followed, the Lord began moving on the hearts of the Gen Xers.  One of them, a soft-spoken engineer named Kevin, began to share his heart, saying:

“When we were talking this morning about our experiences in churches, I felt like someone had put a knife in my heart and was twisting and twisting it.  I never realized until today how much bitterness I hold toward the Boomers.   All throughout the worship, the Lord was convicting me and I feel like I need to repent to the fathers for harbouring hatred like this in my heart."

“Rick”, he continued, “would it be possible for you to stand in proxy for the leaders that have hurt me in my life so I can repent?” 

As Kevin began to repent to Rick, the presence of God filled the room and other Gen Xers began weeping and joining in their hearts with Kevin’s repentance. As Rick embraced Kevin and began praying and speaking over his life,  a tremendous wave of  peace, freedom and joy settled into the room as God once again made His pleasure manifest among us. 

What followed was hours of beautiful heart-to-heart sharing between generations.  The Gen Xers in particular were touched to hear the hearts of the fathers – as they shared their own longing and struggles to see unity established among church leadership and the kingdom values embraced in their congregations and denominations.

That evening, as the Gen Xers were once again on their own, the Lord placed before them this challenge: Would they be willing to leave the past in the past and trust God to heal them as they rise up and join arms with the remnant of fathers and mothers who are longing to see the Kingdom of Heaven being established in Alberta?   One by one each knelt to make this commitment before Heaven and one another and then together they made this declaration:  “There is a remnant of Gen Xers in this province, Lord, who are saying: 'It’s not about us – it’s about You! About Your will, Your way! And we commit, Lord,  to journey with You until Your Glory fills the church in this province like the waters cover the sea!' "