Twitter Potluck #genchurch

Tonight, a group of faith-filled folks joined in conversation, just like we were having a potluck dinner in the fellowship hall.  Moderated by @KGDebus, this discussion was about how we can foster truly multi-generational faith communities and the hashtag was #genchurch.

Our conversation focused on 4 generations defined by @KGDebus as:

• Millennials: aged 7-28, our community-minded, selfless, hopeful and interactive young adults;
• Generation X: aged 29-50, perceptive, pragmatic, self-reliant, up-and-coming leaders
  (With an identity with more depth than "the MTV Generation", I don't mind being labeled Gen X!);
• Boomers: aged 51-68, principled, resolute, creative, visionary leaders and new retirees;
• Silents: aged 69-85, our adaptive, flexible, caring, open-minded elders. 

Sharing how we define God, what our experiences in church and leadership are, why we participate in church and faith communities, the hour flew by.  I am grateful for the voices of the Millenials and Boomers that mixed with many of us Xers, and to see where we shared and differed on points-of-view, between generations and within generations.

I'm not sure why I was surprised by the give-and-take, rhythm or cadence of the conversation.  About a month ago, another group of interested, talkative and faithful folks began a Tuesday night (9 pm EDT) tweetchat #chsocm where we talk about social media and churches, covering blogs, Facebook, friending, personal vs. institutional profiles, branding, tagging, etc.  If you're interested, you can see last night's transcript on the chat's blog and plan to join us.

These two tweetchats illustrate the intersection of communication, community and faith that is happening today. Face-to face, in real life interactions aren't replaceable, but these interactions and these communities are authentic and important, and I'm grateful for the chance to meet and talk with folks who I wouldn't find in my corner of the world.