You’ve probably heard the saying, “Out with the old, in with the new.” It's a popular motto for embracing change, like getting a new car, painting your kitchen, or trying a new hairstyle. But while that idea might work for things, it should never apply to people.
Ageism—the idea that older people are less valuable—is a real problem in our society, even in the church. It treats people like things to be replaced, not as individuals made in God’s image. Instead, Scripture calls us to value every generation. As some alternative sayings remind us: “Wisdom belongs to the aged, but energy belongs to the young,” and “The young walk faster, but the old know the way.”
We need each other.
Nowhere is that more clear than in the second chapter of Paul’s letter to Titus.
Paul wrote to Titus after leaving him to appoint elders in the churches they planted on the island of Crete. In those days, churches met in homes, and households were multigenerational—grandparents, parents, and children lived together. When a family became Christian, their household often became the nucleus of a new church. That means early churches naturally included all ages worshiping and growing together.
In Titus 2, Paul instructed different groups in the church how to live out their faith practically: older men, older women, younger women, younger men, and even slaves. Each group had its own unique needs and challenges.
Older men were urged to be temperate, worthy of respect, and self-controlled, showing stability and maturity. They were called to remain sound in faith, love, and endurance, modeling perseverance through hardship.
Older women were urged to live reverently, to avoid slander and addictions, and to become teachers of good things, especially encouraging younger women to love their families, live pure lives, and nurture strong homes.
Young men were encouraged to develop self-control, a crucial virtue for a stage of life often marked by impulsiveness. Titus, likely a younger man himself, was told to set an example of integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech to those around him.
Even Christian slaves were taught to live in a way that made the gospel attractive to their masters, demonstrating that the Christian faith transforms people from the inside out.
The point is clear: Christian discipleship is meant to be intergenerational. A healthy church needs older men and women to guide and encourage younger ones, and younger generations to bring energy and renewal to the body of Christ.
Inter-generational discipleship doesn’t happen automatically. It requires intentionally connecting across the age gap, learning from one another, serving together, and sharing our lives together. Whether through women and girls ministries, men and boys events, mentoring programs, or service projects, we aim to build a community where no one is left behind—and everyone grows.
In church life, we’re not meant to age out or age up, but to keep maturing together.
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Send your questions or comments to shawn@freegrace.in.
Read his latest book, The Myth of Tithing and the Joy of Grace Giving by getting it from us or from Amazon.
