REJECTED FOR PUBLICATION!
Having to report this saddens me greatly. First, some background:
In anticipation of the recent High Council to elect the next General, I participated in initiating and facilitating a cross-generational conversation, praying and believing that, ‘the involvement of different generations, genders, ethnicities in this distinct way will lead to cultural cross-pollination, to influence and inspire (another), especially in a reciprocal manner’. Our prayer being, that this influential pollinated diversity would foster a more fertile, inventive and dynamic Army.
In the introduction, I write:
Cultural conventions and customs are unique to every generation, with leadership at its highest level quite naturally exposed to and influenced by the cultural innuendos of their own day and time… The 2018 High Council was composed predominantly of Boomers, a very disciplined generation where rules, tradition, etiquette and protocol generally define their cultural values.
The tension comes when one generation imposes its cultural values upon another. It is a rare leader who can discern these differences, blending them together for substantive Kingdom results at every level, especially given the brief tenure afforded in leadership. This is precisely why the new General and his appointed leaders need broad-based intergenerational guidance in the form of General Counsel’ (as defined in the book).
The Salvation Army, like any missional movement, perpetually finds itself at a proverbial crossroads. Each High Council and election of a new General marks such a point of change. Each contributor to this cross-generational conversation approaches this crossroads uniquely and generationally. They represent five distinct age groupings:
1. the Silent Generation (1928-1945),
2. the Baby Boomers (1946-64),
3. Generation X (1965-80),
4. the Millennials (1980-94) and
5. Generation Z (born after 1994).
Finally, this resulted in a published e-book (pictured here), with sixteen writers contributing chapters. The editor of 'The Officer' magazine selected five of the chapters (one representative from each generation) to be featured accordingly, if approved for publication by The General.
Sadly, they were not
I’ll not identify those particular chapters, as all in the book were worthy, each giving good, sound and beneficial intragenerational counsel to The General Elect and his appointed leaders, should they be so led to listen. You, dear reader, will have to be the judge. The book is available as a free PDF download here:
God Bless The General!
God Bless The Salvation Army!
And God Bless us all!
