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"The Synergy of the Generations"
James W. Goll, Franklin, TN
If the Church hopes to be relevant and meet the needs of
the twenty-first century and beyond, it must be willing
to undergo a paradigm shift. The Elijah to Elisha
Revolution confronts the status quo by challenging the
Church to reexamine many of its assumptions. One of these
assumptions is what could be called the "quick escape
mentality."
For over a century many Believers have been taught that
the end-times are near and to expect Christ to take His
Church at any moment. This teaching has been especially
prevalent in parts of the evangelical and Pentecostal
branches of the Church. Whether or not this
interpretation of prophecy is accurate is not my primary
point. What is important is the influence it has had on
the mind-set of the Church.
One positive result of the "rapture mentality" is that it
has created in many Christians a sense of urgency with
regard to evangelism and missions. If Christ could return
"any day," then there is no time to lose in telling
others about Jesus. On the other hand, this same
mentality can have the unfortunate consequence of
discouraging long-term planning. If everything is about
to come to an end anyway, why focus on the future?
In my early years I was plagued by this short-term mind-
set that emerged out of the Jesus People Movement. Zeal
was abounding and the Holy Spirit was moving across the
university I was attending. I became a Jesus Person and
lived with other young men in a Jesus House. He thought
he knew that Jesus was returning any moment to come and
get His people out of this messy world.
A couple of the other young leaders planted a small
rosebud tree in the front yard of the Jesus House. When I
saw the newly planted tree I became disturbed and stated,
"What are you doing spending money to plant that tree.
Don't you know that Jesus will return long before that
tree ever grows into maturity!"

Time passed; the tree grew. It became a beautiful
flowering and haunting reminder to me that maybe God had
a long-timer's mind-set for the fullness of His purposes
to come to pass. Time has changed. Today I think
"generationally."
Thinking Generationally
The modern Church must rediscover the mind-set of
thinking generationally. For too long too many members of
the Body of Christ have considered themselves part of a
"terminal generation". It is time to change that way of
thinking. Each generation of Christians needs to see
itself as a bridge generation that builds on the past,
lives in the present, and plans for the future. It is
important to live each day as if Christ is coming back
today, yet plan for tomorrow as if He will not return for
years
Part of the mind-set of a bridge generation is
recognizing and taking seriously the responsibility of
passing on to the next generation a solid legacy of faith
and godly values. Just how important is this
"generational transfer"? Long ago someone observed that
the Church is never more than one generation away from
paganism. All it takes to lose everything is for one
generation to fail in transferring its beliefs and
principles to the next.
One of the most critical needs of the Church today is to
renew its commitment to "generational transfer": passing
on to the next generation not just principles, theology,
and doctrinal beliefs, but also passionate heart
affection. Each generation must learn to love God for
themselves, and it is the responsibility of the preceding
generation to teach them by modeling that love. It is a
fundamental principle known as mentoring—spiritual
fathering and mothering.
Spiritual Mentoring
Generational transfer does not happen overnight. There
are no shortcuts, no pat formulas, or "25-words-or-less"
summary statements for imparting faith and values.
Success comes only with commitment, discipline,
diligence, and patience. These qualities are fast
becoming quaint notions of the past in today's fast-paced
"microwave" society of instant gratification and ten-
second sound bites.
This same attitude has become quite common throughout
much of the Body of Christ. In truth, the fast burn of
revival and the slow burn of spiritual mentoring are both
critical to God's strategy for reaching the nations.
Revival releases faith and changes individual lives while
spiritual mentoring transforms culture. (Photo via
Pixabay)
The fire of God that fell on Mount Carmel was the fast
burn of revival. It released faith in the hearts of the
Israelites that God was greater than Baal, but it did not
turn the nation. Ahab and Jezebel still remained in
power. At the same time, a switch began to occur. The
Mount Carmel revival also ignited a slow-burning flame
that stirred an underground movement of spiritual
revolution that climaxed many years later in cultural
transformation.
Elijah set the stage by his faithfulness as a spiritual
father, but it is the next generation under Elisha and
Jehu that destroys Jezebel, who represents the domination
of culture by the powers of darkness, and brings
transformation to the land.
ElijahList Prophetic Resources
A Synergy of Generations
Synergy is defined as the condition where distinct groups
work together in a cooperative arrangement in such a way
that the total effect is greater than the sum of the
individual effects. In other words, the group
accomplishes more working together than the individual
members could achieve working independently.
One of the things that the Elijah to Elishas Revolution
represents is God's desire to link multiple generations
into a synergistic relationship once again. Three
generations moving together toward a shared goal can
accomplish more than the sum of what each generation
could achieve separately. This synergy of the generations
is something that God promised He would bring about in
the last days. I have often referred to this as the
"convergence of the ages."
A "convergence of the ages" will come upon us. The
falling of Pentecostal fire, healing and deliverance
crusades, the latter rain presence, the evangelical
burden for the lost, the charismatic giftings, the zeal
of the Jesus people movement, the credibility of the
third wave, the revelation of the prophetic movement, and
the relational networking of the apostolic reformation—
all will swell into a tidal wave greater than the impact
of the Reformation five hundred years ago and create what
could be called the Transformation Generation.
Before Christ returns, God will release an explosion of
His Holy Spirit that will shatter paradigms in people's
minds and cause the whole Church to begin thinking
generationally rather than selfishly. A whole generation
will begin to give themselves to their "Elishas," to
raise up "double portion" sons and daughters who will
dominate their culture in the power of the Holy Spirit.
When God describes Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, He is not just identifying Himself by name; He
is describing His very being and how His purposes proceed
throughout history. God told Abraham that his children
would be as the stars in the sky or the sand on the
seashore, yet Abraham had only one son of promise: Isaac.
Isaac passed the promise on to his son, Jacob, who passed
it on to his 12 sons, one of whom was Joseph, who rose to
prominence in Egypt. After a small beginning, in the
fourth generation one appeared who ruled an entire
nation. All of Jacob's sons were fruitful, their
descendants multiplying across many generations to become
the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel.
What Vision Are You Running With?
The Father's great desire is to fill the earth with
mature spiritual offspring. This will happen not through
a crash course in holiness, but through one generation
patiently and faithfully passing on to the next not just
information and knowledge, but wisdom, passion,
integrity, faith, heart affection, and vision.
Each generation must learn to honor those who have gone
before, the "pioneers" of the Church who have followed
their vision and forged a path for their descendants to
walk. Many spiritual parents and grandparents are alive
today who ache inside because they have not yet seen the
fullness of what God spoke to them 20, 30, or even 50 or
more years ago. They long to see their vision fulfilled
in their children.
Right before moving from Kansas City, Missouri, to
Nashville, Tennessee, I was given a striking dream. In it
I saw a scrapbook with the year 1988 written on the
outside of it. This was a year of much prophetic activity
in the Body of Christ and a time of fresh new beginnings.
As I opened up the scrapbook in the dream, I read prayers
and statements of commitments people had made in 1988.
Then, to his surprise, when he turned to the fourth page,
I found my own handwriting (and could read it!) where it
had the following piercing vow.
"I, Jim Goll, vow to be the unique vessel God created me
to be and I vow to do 'all that He created me for.'" Then
it continued, "And I vow to help others be the unique
vessels God has created them to be and to help them be
all they can be in God!" Then I could read my own
signature as though written in blood! (Photo via
Wikipedia)
Yes, God wants us to be secure, unique and multiple! He
wants to be fruitful.
Where are the Spiritual Fathers and Mothers?
The need of the hour is great. Where are the spiritual
fathers and mothers who will pray in the spirit of
Elijah, "God, give me a spiritual son or daughter"? Where
are the "elders" who will bless those children with their
time, knowledge, and every good thing that God has given
them? Where are the mentors who will share their life
with those children, knowing that generational transfer
is about life impartation and not just information?
Where will the sons and daughters find spiritual parents
who will dream with them and for them, help them tap into
their God-given passions and destiny, encourage them and
intercede for them? I am a survivor of many trials and I
have learned many lessons. I have seen many movements
rise and fall in my own life I want to pass these wisdom
lessons on to the generations after me. That is my dream!
Responsibility fosters maturity while maturity leads to
greater responsibility. The Elijah to Elisha Revolution
calls for a joining of the generations. It means
imparting blessing by a spoken word or a meaningful
touch, by giving them a high appraisal of their value, by
helping them envision their future in the family of God.
It means helping with practical steps, providing
necessary resources, and releasing authority to them to
accomplish their God-given commission.
Who will rise to the challenge? Who will cry out to the
Lord, "I will help take up the fatherless generation!
God, give me a spiritual son or daughter!"? Will you?
May My Ceiling Become Your Floor!
James W. Goll
This is inspired from the third chapter of The Call to
the Elijah Revolution co-authored by Lou Engle and James
Goll.