"UP" Continued

where we could be an intergenerational support to each other.  But all I had to go on was a 30 second sneak peek. I wanted more. I called Pixar and asked if they could tell me the full plot of the story.  What was I thinking!?  Of course they couldn’t.  Unfulfilled with only getting the dates of when the next teaser would be released, I called back. I explained twhat I was thinking and noticing about intergenerational connection in the film.  I asked if they could tell me if the movie would address those issues. As they continued to listen, I poured out my heart to the young Disney/Pixar intern who probably only had a vague idea what the movie was about.  I lamented that we live in a culture were we segregate ourselves by age.  I shared observations that we are more peer focused than we have ever been and our teens are arguably less oriented towards adults than they have ever been.  The reality of being so age separated is that we are loosing something valuable while we strive to be demographically relevant.  I concluded my rant with “I think we have lost an understanding of what it means to do life together as young and old!”  There was a pause and then I heard a response, “Hang on let me put you through to someone in the marketing office.”  I waited and passionately let loose once more.  Again silence and then heard, “You hit the nail on the head. That would be a great way to sum up the direction of the film.” 

Yes!!! I thanked the marketing rep and hung up.  From that moment on, I committed myself to getting behind this film and to using it to launch intergenerational dialogue, conversation, and eventually ministry momentum.  Still I had not yet seen the movie for myself. For someone who has been burned more than once by others’ recommendations of films, this was a tough place to be (some of you are nodding knowingly).  I made it tougher on myself by deciding that I would view the film not with our youth, but with the seniors of our church.  Not seniors and youth together but just seniors.  I know CRAZY right? Wrong.  It was perfect. 

I called through the list of 55 plus folks in our congregation and asked them to join me on a cheap Tuesday night at the theater.  There were a lot of questions and without giving away too much I just asked them to trust me.  The intrigue worked! 40 people signed up to come see the movie with me. We met at the theater got our tickets and watched the film.  I sat at the front and looked back at the audience that brought the median age of viewers to about 30 years old.  Forty of the older generation in a sea of children and young families, it was beautiful.  I watched as they sat mesmerized by the story. 

Later someone quipped that the prologue which recounted the ups and downs and dashed dreams of the lovable “Carl” seemed to have been written in a way that only adults could really understand.  The feedback was that it felt as if their generation was specifically targeted in the making of this movie. Five minutes before the movie ended I left the theater to head to a common area outside where I asked them to assemble when the movie was done.  I stood there and waited. 

In my hand I held the same cane that Carl relied on for support in the movie. I noticed in the trailers that Carl used a four-posted cane with tennis balls for cushioning. I remembered I had one of those cones in my costume closet at church it was donated by a senior that upgraded to a scooter.  I split open four tennis balls and stuck them on and voila, I had the cane that would become my metaphor for intergenerational support.  As the older generation gathered around me I shared that the movie in a unique way highlights the need for intergenerational support.  Just as the cane was support for Carl so the younger and older generations can be the support we need from each other.  Russell (the kid in the movie) needed Carl’s years of experience and wisdom to guide him through the adventure of life.  Carl needed Russell’s freshness, vibrancy and optimism to help put the blessings of his life in perspective.  I concluded by admitting we have neglected to lean on the support of the various generations in our Churches by segregating young and old.  The truth is we need each other.  The young need to learn from those who have gone before them and have walked out their faith with fear and trembling.  The old can learn from the young that there is still much to be thankful for in a world that might seem to them to be “going to hell in a hand basket”. The youth still need the legacy of faith to be passed on from the old, especially in an ever increasingly peer oriented society. 

Shortly after (some of the elderly asked me to end early) I closed with prayer and invited them to continue the dialogue the following week back at church.  A week later three quarters of them came back to carry on the conversation.  We dialogued about the adolescent faith journey, post modernism, experience based learning and what they felt was a lack of theological grounding in our youth. There were times of lament and times of recognition that we might have yielded too easily to the silo based ministry model of the church growth era. There was a prayer for forgiveness for perhaps relying too heavily on youth ministry “specialists” when it has always been the responsibility of an intergenerational faith community to teach it’s children (i.e. Israel in Deut 6: 4-7). It was the first time in 12 years of youth ministry I have ever had such candid dialogue with the older generation of the church about our youth.  Through this one movie, I was able to build a bridge to a generation that our youth had sadly been segregated from. I am cautious to move too quickly in changing our youth ministry focus to reconnect the generations.  In the mean time I can see the cracks are forming in our age segregated ministry silos. I hope and pray that in my time at New Life Church I will yet see them fall.  This one movie gave me an excellent opportunity to invite the generations to reexamine the importance of intergenerational connection.  We may not have time to watch all the movies out there but it pays off to scan the upcoming box office releases before they are in theatre.  

Koenraad Beugelink
Youth Pastor at New Life CRC in Abbotsford, BC, Canada 

Check out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkqzFUhGPJg
http://adisney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/up/