Generational Change

Generational Change

In business and technology we use the term Disruptive Innovation to describe a product or innovation that replaces or improves a previous market or technology.  It happens so quickly and often in today’s world that many are taken for granite but still measurable.  Some more obvious examples would be how mobile phones disrupted the communication marketplace or how the internet disrupted our shopping habits.   Sometimes these disruptions come in the form of people, Steve Jobs disrupted our perception of how people interface with technology and Ray Kroc disrupted America’s dining.  The examples are endless but they all have one thing in common, change.  These innovations and innovators bring new products, perceptions and ideas so powerful that the old way is permanently changed. 

We know that change happens in varied degrees, but the longer the old habit or reality has been in place the more forceful the disruption needs to be.  Disrupters have to be powerful because old technologies, old ideas, old habits, old dysfunctions die hard.  We see this resistance to change in the lives of people too.  The “normal” we know typically becomes the de facto-normal of our future.   Of course, this could be a good thing if we’ve experienced a healthy “normal”.  We know that parents that eat healthy raise children with healthier eating habits, parents that go to college have kids that are more likely to go to college and parents that save money have children that are more likely to save.  Unfortunately, not all “normal” is good.  Research tells us that children that grow up in homes with addiction are 2-4 times more likely to have an addiction, adult children of divorce are more likely to divorce and 70% of children with an incarcerated parent will at some point serve prison time.  Setting aside the debate on causation versus correlation, we can agree that the children are more likely to repeat patterns and habits of their custodial parents.  It’s a grim reality that needs disruption. 

Joshua’s Place exists to help break the cycles that cause instability.  In our work we see instability come in many forms and many are passed from one generation to another.  Not all struggles are generational but when they are it takes even greater disruption to change the future.  As a faith based organization, focused on the eternal, we’re not satisfied with short term solutions but rather bringing truth that has lasting impact both in this life and eternally.  Our model is to “Give a fish, teach to fish and fish alongside”.  We call it prepositional ministry, ministry done “with” not “to” or “for”.   We anchor ourselves in the scriptures that show us the power of generational change and how God moves in families to change futures.  These ancient truths tell us the stories of change but also equip us with the truths needed to bring change to individuals, families and the community we serve. 

In our eight years of work we’ve seen the impact of Generational Disrupters.  People that walked in our doors struggling with chaos, addiction, broken relationships and spiritual emptiness.  These same people, through the power of God’s truth, his indwelling Spirit and healthy relationships, have gone on to forever change the trajectory of their family.  These are the folks brave enough to think differently, trust bigger and change course for themselves and their children. 

To help these disrupters we offer development courses on parenting, financial literacy and self-discovery.  We have a community of grateful believers in Celebrate Recovery that are committed to overcoming the hurts, hang ups and habits in life that create bondage.  We work with children to improve reading literacy and offer extended camps focused on healthy views of self, God, other and our community.  It’s not a menu of programs it’s a strategy of change.  Change built on the truths of scriptures and implemented by 250 volunteers and the, more than 500, families we support.  Some have called this approach innovative, a break from the tired systems of entitlement and self-victimization that’s now several generations deep in our culture.  We don’t believe it’s innovative, it’s a timeless approach with contemporary application. We do believe it requires the innovation, commitment and courage of Generational Disrupters that will stand in the gap for their family’s future.   It is these disrupters that we seek and support, knowing that changed individuals change families that change communities.