‘We thank you guys for your sacrifices over us. We appreciate every price you paid for our education,’ said our two oldest daughters after their home return from university having bagged their masters degrees a while ago. ‘It was all worth it. Above all was that we found Christ for ourselves.’ At this point, my wife and I shifted sitting positions and got inquisitive. ‘You’ve always known Christ from your childhood,’ we said. ‘Yes,’ they replied. ‘But we had no choice as Pastors’ kids than to accept Him as our Saviour and to go to church. We wanted to know for ourselves if He was the way, if He was real, and if you guys were right. We reached the conclusion that you guys were right and we have returned home with our faith strengthened.’ My wife and I heaved a sigh of relief at the conclusion.

My article is a challenge to my generation and our approach to the younger ones. No doubt, sharp differences exist between us due to massive shifts taking place in our culture. The changes are nothing short of revolutionary. Some shifts are positive and some are negative. However, if the Faith passed down to us from previous generations must be successfully passed down to the next in such substance and assurance that they will pass on to future ones, we must understand the changes we are dealing with and face them squarely. We were raised to respect and revere the older generation so much that we could not question their actions or their instructions. We were raised not to fact-check them and where we could, we were not supposed to point out their mistakes or call them out if they were wrong like this generation does. We must understand this young generation are not like us, were not raised like us, and are different.

The world has become a global village due to information technology. Through the internet highway, now further accentuated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), virtually all shades of human discovery and knowledge are potentially available to all. As we teach and preach, they are fact-checking us. Their quest for truth is satisfied by the availability of knowledge at their fingertips. For those who have made integrity a core value, this is not a problem. But, for those whose philosophy of ministry is only to take advantage of trends, fears, and popular demands, the attendant deception will be exposed and will lead to disenchantment with the status quo. Rather than preach spurious doctrines, or engage in religious theatrics with added fund raising gimmickry, let our concern be for the passing of the faith from generation to generation so that when Christ returns, He will find Faith on the earth.

‘What exactly is your generation looking for from the church?’ my wife and I asked our young adult children. They answered, ‘Authenticity. We are not looking for perfect people and leaders in the church but we are looking for people who are REAL. We want you to be honest with us about the message of Christ and about your own journey of growth. We want no pretences and hypocrisy. It’s a turn off for us.’ To make matters worse, their generation with their technological skills can investigate and find out nearly any information they are interested in or anyone they want to discover. Literally, there is no hiding place from them. Their disdain for hypocrisy is their motivation for exposing people, calling them out on social media, and speaking up irreverently. It’s an anger against a generation of Pharisees that raised them up, demanding exceptionally high standards from them that they themselves never attained.

Let me conclude by reminding us of our responsibility to pass down the Faith and the Fire of God given to us down to them so we do not become like the nations full of empty cathedrals being turned to pubs and mosques every day. In order to do this, we must live authentic Christian lives before the younger generation. The life of Christ imparted to us by the Gift of Grace enables us to do (Romans 5:15-17, Romans 8.1-2). Secondly, let us be real about the challenges of our spiritual development. We grew out of babyhood and carnality to spiritual adolescence before we got to spiritually (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Finally, let us be diligent in study so we can deliver to them sound doctrine devoid of any mischief, gimmickry, or mediocrity.

Victor Adeyemi