My Mother died this week. She was 96 years old. She lived a very full life having buried 2 husbands and having a boyfriend up to the end. What can I say, she was a pistol. She had 4 children, 10 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. The torch has officially been passed to the next generation, her children. The family name and legacy lives on in us and our children. I have fond memories of some of the special foods she prepared and the traditions that we’ve kept in our family. Will our children keep them? Who knows?
As Church planters we have a responsibility to pass on more than family/church traditions. Billy Graham said, “I don’t need a successor, only willing hands to accept the torch for a new generation.”
The torch we pass on has eternal significance. Our torch is more than our style or our method of leadership. It’s based on Biblical truth, not whim or fad. We must be very careful to pass on what is important to God, not what’s important to us.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “I do not think the devil cares how many churches you build if only you have lukewarm preachers and people in them.”
It’s important to remember the past, but that cannot be our focus. Like Moses and Joshua we are headed to the Promised Land. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:14
Let’s continue to press on for this present generation.
