With a modern culture inside the church and out that is primarily youth oriented, we too quickly take a pass on the older generations.

Modern culture too often focuses on those in the ‘first half,’ while failing to inspire, explore and powerfully engage us in the deeper and fuller life we yearn to experience in the ‘second half.’

Richard Rohr (Falling Upward) puts it this way: “The container (i.e., life’s first half) is not an end in itself, but exists for the sake of your deeper and fullest life, which you largely do not know about yourself! Far too many people just keep doing repair work on the container itself (life’s first half) and never ‘throw their nets into the deep’ (John 21:6) to bring in the huge catch that awaits them (in life’s second half).”

If you are a pastor or an influential leader among second half people, you must not permit those of us who are older to slide into apathy and indifference through your inattention. You must keep challenging us. There is a richness among us, a connectivity to the past and the future that has high value.

We too quickly excuse the older generations; and in so doing the generation gap increases. Conversation and relationship, real ‘family’ that both young and old long for is missed.

Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Jung, son of a poor rural pastor in the Swiss Reformed Church, is credited with popularizing the phrase “the two halves of life,” when describing the transitional swing occurring usually between 45 and 55 years of age.

It is a crucial life stage for today’s generations.

We who are in the ‘second half,’ still growing in life experience and spiritual maturity, are called by God to take our place, not from the young, but alongside them, in the church and outside, too. (For more on this, visit a blogpost by Wes Wick, co-founder of Y.E.S., Young Enough to Serve, entitled, Footloose and Fancy Free, click here.)

The young are not interested in our golf scores unless we make our living posting them. They want to know who we really are inside, why we are still here and still matter, and what there is about us that makes faith in Jesus attractive.

In a day when transformational wisdom is hard to come by, the maturing Christian possesses a wealth of time, talent, life experience, biblical knowledge, healthy tradition and more that God expects to be given away to those who are young and wise enough to ask for and receive it.

We can just keep doing repair work on the ‘container’ itself (life’s first half), or we can “throw our nets into the deep” (John 21:6) to bring in the huge catch that awaits us (in life’s second half).”

Are you ready to answer his call?