A pastor in his early 40s told us recently that his youngest colleagues (20s) want more inclusive leadership. "We thought we communicated well, especially compared to the older Boomers," he said. "But we heard from our staff that they want to be included in the decision-making process much sooner. They want to know everything, not just our final decisions. They want to be heard." The result is lots of e-mails and shared decisions.

Is this a trend?

Rob Couch

I believe younger people want authentic participation in discerning where God is leading the church. I have a team of younger people (20s and early 30s) who work together with me in implementing at our church a contemporary worship service called NewSong.

Some days I come in with definite plans of what I want communicated, and how I want things to look. Increasingly, however, I will come to the team meetings with little more than a passage of Scripture. We will open up the Bible, read the text, and struggle to hear what God is saying ...