Open Door: heritage and senior adults

Georgia Baptist Executive Director J. Robert White says he was reminded this week while at two conferences of the legacy of Southern Baptist senior adults. THINKSTOCKPHOTOS.COM/Special

I have had the delightful experience this week of speaking at senior adult conferences in two states. At the first of the week I preached at the Alabama Baptist Senior Adult Evangelism Conference. We met at Taylor Road Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. The lower level of this large sanctuary was full. There was a multitude of church buses in the parking lot from all across the State of Alabama. The spirit of the group was delightful. We sang, we prayed, and we worshiped together in a very memorable worship service.

No doubt, I have reached senior adult status. This is not difficult to do now-a-days. Fifty is the year in which you acquire AARP status, and like all of us, you will receive an AARP card in the mail and will be asked to send in the money for your membership. While it is difficult to realize that I am a senior adult, I do not feel a desire to withdraw from the senior crowd.

Seniors have a lot of credibility. Our group of Southern Baptists love the church and we demonstrate that love by supporting the church well through our tithes and offerings. We were brought up by parents who went through the depression and understood the value of a dollar. They were a part of World War II, and as a result, they knew how to get along in hard times and taught their children how to value small things and what it means to be generous.

Southern Baptist senior adults were, in all likelihood, raised by deeply-devoted Southern Baptist parents who believed in missions and educated their children regarding the value of the Cooperative Program. We were greatly involved in RAs and GAs, Training Union, and annual stewardship emphases in our churches focused on tithing. Some say that today’s young people do not have “brand loyalty” as those of us who were raised by an earlier generation.

Actually, I have observed that many of our young people do possess brand loyalty to Southern Baptists, others do not. This is a matter of devotion, not just to things you know, but to things that you know are making a difference in the world today. Even the casual, youthful observer can see that Southern Baptists have an incredible and effective plan for reaching our lost world and a genius way to support the effort through the Cooperative Program.

The second senior adult event of the week was the Georgia Baptist Seniors Music in the Garden event sponsored by Worship and Music Ministries. The event was held at Callaway Gardens. What a happy crowd it was! They just enjoy so much the fun of getting together and singing to the Lord. I want to thank Jon Duncan and his outstanding staff for their marvelous work in bringing about this delightful experience. I love Georgia Baptists, and cherish every opportunity to be with our seniors.

To all of our younger generation, our seniors would say, “We are praying for you as you assume leadership of our beloved denomination in the years ahead. We love the potential we see in you.” Nothing would please our seniors more than to see our younger leaders doing a far superior job of fashioning our Georgia Baptist and Southern Baptist future than did our generation.