Christian Education Week

September 14-16, 2009 6:45 – 9:00 p.m. nightly

Theme: “God’s Faithfulness to All Generations” Psalm 89:1
“One Church, Four Generations”

Click here to view the flyer.

Exposition of the Theme
By Rev. Dr. Jesse T. Williams, Senior Pastor

There used to be a time in the church when a “cookie-cutter” approach to ministry, worship, and spiritual principles was adequate for the people of both congregation and community. But we can clearly see, given the waves of change that have overcome our contemporary culture, that approach is no longer relevant or effective in these times. The truth is that people are diverse and different, in the world and the church. Differences of thought and diversity of paradigms is the norm now. One need only look in the pews on Sunday morning and it is apparent that cultural, economic, social and generational differences are seemingly more apparent than they have ever been.

This is an issue that the church must be concerned with if we are to continue being effective at making disciples for Jesus Christ now and in the future. While we are the church of Jesus Christ, we cannot ignore the cultural context where we live, and what type of ministry it will take to reach people of all generations for Jesus Christ. Yes, we have different generations of people within the church and the community, and the same approaches that used to work 30 + years ago are no longer as effective or relevant as they used to be. At any given time, the church has four different generations of people within it. There are the Builders who are now age 70 and older; the Boomers who are now about ages 45-69; the Busters who are about ages 25-44, and the Bridgers who are age 24 and under. Each generation has its’ own core beliefs and values that were shaped by the life experiences that they lived through in the cultural historical context that they witnessed while they have been alive. Each generation is different than the others. Each generation critiques the generations that came before it. Each generation has something unique and special to contribute to God’s church and the Kingdom of God. Each generation was created by God, saved by Jesus Christ, and filled with God’s Holy Spirit just like the others.

It is unfortunate then, that we allow these generational differences to become barriers and sources of conflict within the church instead of celebrating them and utilizing them to the glory of God. We affirm that God made all the generations of His people, and that He purposely made us with different ways of expressing our relationship to God through Jesus Christ. God does not expect all of us to think the same, act the same, preach the same, pray the same or worship the same. The only constant is our confession and faith in the saving power of Jesus Christ. The Christian doctrinal beliefs are consistent in substance and content. But the style of how each generation expresses its’ relationship to God should not become grounds for one generation to alienate itself from another in the church of Jesus Christ. We value both tradition and contemporary approaches in their proper context, but it is not our objective to indoctrinate each other on our opinions and passions about church life; we are here to lift up Jesus Christ and to use whatever God has deposited in each generation. We seek a greater fuller understanding of each of the generations in the church, and how we can all work together, celebrate one another, and edify each other while giving each other the freedom to be who God created us to be. God created us in HIS image, not the image of each other. We affirm that if we know more about each generation, and understand each generation better, then we can live together and love one another and lift up Jesus Christ for all generations in the world to see clearly.

Speaker Bios

Rev. Dr. V. Duwayne Battle
The Rev. V. DuWayne Battle is the Pastor of the historic St. Paul Baptist Church, Harlem, New York City. He has more than 27 years of ministry experience with a focus on worship, service, discipleship, evangelism, and fellowship. He is currently on the faculty of the Graduate School of Social Work at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where he serves as the Director of the BASW program. Born in Washington, District of Columbia, he earned the Bachelor of Arts degree from Barton College, Wilson, North Carolina, the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina, and the Master of Social Work and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Rutgers University. He is married to the former Edith Sumner and is the proud father of two children, Thomas Oscar and Mary Elizabeth.

Rev. Violet L. Dease
The Reverend Violet L. Dease, is the Assistant Pastor for The Abyssinian Baptist Church. She was licensed and ordained to the gospel ministry of Jesus Christ by the Covenant Baptist Church in Washington, DC, A native of Cheraw, South Carolina, Rev. Dease holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree (BSW) from Winthrop University in South Carolina, a Master of Social Work degree (MSW) from Howard University in Washington, DC and a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. 

Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr.
The Reverend James Alexander Forbes, Jr. is Senior Minister Emeritus of The Riverside Church and President of the Healing of the Nations Foundation. He is an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches and the Original United Holy Church of America. He earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, NY, in 1975; a Master of Divinity Degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, NY in 1962; and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1957Born in 1935 in Burgaw, North Carolina, Dr. Forbes is married to Bettye Franks Forbes, formerly of San Antonio, TX. They are the proud parents of one son, James A. Forbes III

Rev. Dr. James O. Stallings
The Reverend James O. Stallings serves as the Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of Metropolitan New York. He was elected to this position in 1992. The American Baptist Churches of Metropolitan New York comprises all of New York City, Long Island and southern Westchester. There are 191 churches with a total membership of 115,000. It is one of the most ethnically, socially and culturally diverse regions among the 35 regions of the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. He is the author of “Telling the Story: Evangelism in Black Churches”. Rev. Stallings has served as the Executive Director of the Cleveland NAACP.

Rev. Dr. Carl L. Washington
The Reverend Washington is currently the Pastor of the New Mount Zion Baptist Church in Harlem, New York. He serves as the Board Member for the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education and the C.O. P. W.A. (Children of Parents with AIDS). He is the Chaplain with membership to the United Chaplains, State of New York. Rev. Washington is married to the former Bernita K. Stewart and is the father of six children: Carla L., Carl L. III, Chandle N., Caura N., Carson S. and Kristin. He is grandfather to six grandsons and three granddaughters.

Rev. Dr. Allen Paul Weaver 
The Reverend Allen Paul Weaver, Jr., is the Senior Pastor for Bethesda Baptist Church of New Rochelle. He is a native of Orlando, Florida. Dr. Weaver graduated Cum Laude in 1969 from Florida Memorial College with a B.S. degree in Religious Education. He furthered his studies at Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, NY, graduating with a Masters of Divinity degree with a concentration in Christian Ethics in 1972. He received the Doctor of Ministry degree in 1994 from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.