Generation to Generation: Inter-Generationality and Spiritual Formation in Christian Community

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-193
Author(s):  
Gordon T. Smith

The witness of the Scriptures and of virtually every human culture suggests that one of the most pivotal and thus crucial dimensions of human formation, and thus spiritual formation, is the intergenerational dynamic: older men with younger men; older women passing on the faith to younger women. One generation encouraging, blessing and transmitting wisdom to the next generation. And yet, it is often observed that this is a missing dimension of congregational life–that congregations are increasing stratified along generational lines. Thus this essay will make the case that the church is a liturgical, catechetical and missional community and that faith formation, in Christian community, will happen through the interplay of the generations in worship, teaching/learning and service. And that therefore congregations would be wise to be more attentive to how they foster intergenerational connections, rather than inadvertently or intentionally create generational divides in the church. Also, it is important to stress that a critical part of congregational life is that of equipping older men and women to be a means of grace to their younger counterparts. The essay will draw on the Biblical references to intergenerational formation, the insights of contemporary social-psychology and the observations of the author regarding contemporary congregational life.

2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 643-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margriet S. Westerterp-Plantenga ◽  
Annelies H. C. Goris ◽  
Erwin P. Meijer ◽  
Klaas R. Westerterp

Habitual meal frequency was assessed as a possible function of components of energy expenditure (EE) in human subjects. Fifty-six subjects participated (four categories differing in body composition): ten older women (fat-free mass (FFM) 42·0 (sd 6·3) kg, aged 59 (sd 2) years, BMI 27·5 (sd 6·9) kg/m2), fifteen younger women (FFM 45·5 (sd 5·2) kg, aged 34 (sd 10) years, BMI 21·9 (sd 2·3) kg/m2), twelve older men (FFM 56·8 (sd 5·9) kg, aged 62 (sd 4) years, BMI 25·7 (sd 3·3) kg/m2) and nineteen younger men (FFM 63·9 (sd 7·5) kg, aged 23·1 (sd 3·9) years, BMI 22·9 (sd 1·8) kg/m2). Measurements consisted of habitual meal frequency by validated food-intake diaries, physical activity by tri-axial accelerometers and resting EE by a ventilated hood system. Habitual meal frequency was expressed as a function of resting EE (including resting EE as a function of FFM), and of activity-induced EE, using regression analysis. FFM differed according to gender and age categories (P < 0·01). Physical activity level was higher in the younger men than in the other categories (P < 0·05). No relationship of meal frequency with the variables assessed was observed in subjects with a low FFM (the women). In the subjects with a medium FFM (the older men), meal frequency was positively related to resting EE (r2 0·4, P < 0·05), but not to the residuals of resting EE as a function of FFM, and inversely related to activity-induced EE (r2 0·3, P < 0·05). Resting EE explained 40% of the variation in meal frequency; adding activity-induced EE increased this to 60%. In the subjects with a high FFM (the younger men), meal frequency was inversely related to resting EE (r2 0·8, P < 0·0001) and to the residuals of resting EE as a function of FFM (P = 0·03), and positively related to activity-induced EE (r2 0·6, P < 0·0001). Resting EE explained 85% of the variation in meal frequency; adding activity-induced EE increased this to 89%. Habitual meal frequency was a function of components of EE, namely resting EE and activity-induced EE, only in subjects with a medium to high FFM (men). FFM-related differences in these relationships suggest a role of physical activity.


1998 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 599-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Proctor ◽  
Kenneth C. Beck ◽  
Peter H. Shen ◽  
Tamara J. Eickhoff ◽  
John R. Halliwill ◽  
...  

Proctor, David N., Kenneth C. Beck, Peter H. Shen, Tamara J. Eickhoff, John R. Halliwill, and Michael J. Joyner. Influence of age and gender on cardiac output-V˙o 2 relationships during submaximal cycle ergometry. J. Appl. Physiol. 84(2): 599–605, 1998.—It is presently unclear how gender, aging, and physical activity status interact to determine the magnitude of the rise in cardiac output (Q˙c) during dynamic exercise. To clarify this issue, the present study examined theQ˙c-O2 uptake (V˙o 2) relationship during graded leg cycle ergometry in 30 chronically endurance-trained subjects from four groups ( n = 6–8/group): younger men (20–30 yr), older men (56–72 yr), younger women (24–31 yr), and older women (51–72 yr). Q˙c (acetylene rebreathing), stroke volume (Q˙c/heart rate), and whole bodyV˙o 2 were measured at rest and during submaximal exercise intensities (40, 70, and ∼90% of peakV˙o 2). Baseline resting levels of Q˙c were 0.6–1.2 l/min less in the older groups. However, the slopes of theQ˙c-V˙o 2relationship across submaximal levels of cycling were similar among all four groups (5.4–5.9 l/l). The absolute Q˙c associated with a given V˙o 2(1.0–2.0 l/min) was also similar among groups. Resting and exercise stroke volumes (ml/beat) were lower in women than in men but did not differ among age groups. However, older men and women showed a reduced ability, relative to their younger counterparts, to maintain stroke volume at exercise intensities above 70% of peakV˙o 2. This latter effect was most prominent in the oldest women. These findings suggest that neither age nor gender has a significant impact on theQ˙c-V˙o 2relationships during submaximal cycle ergometry among chronically endurance-trained individuals.


Author(s):  
Dean G. Blevins

Contemporary attempts to renovate evangelical Christian discipleship in the 21st century include efforts to resolve the relationship between modern Christian education paradigms and the rediscovery of ancient Christian (spiritual formation) practices. One example resides in the current research on Practicing our Faith (Bass, 1997), and in age-level emphases on formational practices beginning to surface (Jones, 2003). Additional studies are needed for comprehensive approaches to Christian education in the 21st century. Evangelical Christian educators seeking new paradigms may find another example closer to home in John Wesley's means of grace. Wesleyan educators may have something distinct to offer contemporary evangelicalism if they can first embrace their own heritage and work to develop an approach that embraces the three emphases of formation, discernment, and transformation. A beginning point may be a new text currently emerging from Wesleyan educators within the Church of the Nazarene that seeks to synthesize the best of modern and postmodern education under this rubric.


Author(s):  
Tarlise Townsend ◽  
Neil K Mehta

Abstract Objectives In the United States, educational disparities in disability are large and increasing, but the mechanisms underlying them are not well understood. We estimate the proportion of population-level educational disparities in disability incidence explained by excess body mass index (BMI), smoking, and manual labor. Method We use waves 2003–2015 of the nationally representative Panel Study of Income Dynamics to calculate observed disability incidence and counterfactual incidence absent the key mediators (3,129 individuals; 13,168 observations). We take advantage of earlier-life measures, including childhood socioeconomic status, 1986 BMI, and occupational history between 1968 and 2001. To account for distinct processes in women and men at middle versus older ages, we stratify by gender and at age 65. Results Educational disparities in disability incidence were evident in women and men at younger and older ages, and were largest among older women. Together, the mediators of interest were estimated to explain roughly 60% of disparities in younger women, 65%–70% in younger men, 40% in older women, and 20%–60% in older men. The main contributors to disparities appeared to be excess BMI and smoking in younger women; manual labor and smoking in younger men; excess BMI in older women; and smoking in older men. Discussion These mediators explain much of disparities in earlier-age disability; successful interventions to address these factors may substantially reduce them. However, a considerable proportion of disparities remained unexplained, particularly at older ages, reflecting the myriad pathways by which educational attainment can influence disability status.


2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOEL H. KRAMER ◽  
KRISTINE YAFFE ◽  
JEANNE LENGENFELDER ◽  
DEAN C. DELIS

Age and gender effects on verbal episodic memory are well established. However, the possibility of interactions between age and gender has been raised by studies linking estrogen and verbal memory performance, and by research suggesting gender differences in age-related cortical atrophy. We evaluated whether age by gender interactions in verbal memory were present. Subjects within three years of the median age of menopause were excluded from a large cohort of normal subjects, resulting in a younger sample (16–47 years) of 288 men and 285 women, and an older sample (55–89 years) of 201 men and 245 women. All subjects were administered the CVLT-2, a multiple-trial list-learning task. Verbal memory was negatively correlated with age for younger men, older men, and older women, but not for younger women. Multivariate analyses indicated age by gender interactions on memory for the younger group but not the older group. Results indicate that verbal memory declines with age for younger men but not younger women, whereas both older men and older women show age-related declines. These findings are consistent with hypotheses linking estrogen and verbal memory performance, and with imaging data suggesting that age-related hippocampal atrophy is found in younger men but not younger women. The role of estrogen on cognition in normal aging warrants further study. (JINS, 2003, 9, 97–102.)


2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd K. Shackelford ◽  
David M. Buss ◽  
Jay Peters

Younger women, relative to older women, incur elevated risk of uxoricide—being murdered by their husbands. Some evolutionary theorists attribute this pattern to men’s evolved sexual proprietariness, which inclines them to use violence to control women, especially those high in reproductive value. Other evolutionary theorists propose an evolved homicide module for wife killing. An alternative to both explanations is that young women experience elevated uxoricide risk as an incidental byproduct of marriage to younger men who commit the majority of acts of violence. We used a sample of 13,670 uxoricides to test these alternative explanations. Findings show that (a) reproductive-age women incur an elevated risk of uxoricide relative to older women; (b) younger men are overrepresented among uxoricide perpetrators; and (c) younger women, even when married to older men, still incur excess risk of uxoricide. Discussion examines competing explanations for uxoricide in light of these findings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Paleczny ◽  
Rafał Seredyński ◽  
Małgorzata Wyciszkiewicz ◽  
Adrianna Nowicka-Czudak ◽  
Wojciech Łopusiewicz ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this study was to test the utility of haemodynamic and autonomic variables (e.g. peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity [PCheS], blood pressure variability [BPV]) for the prediction of individual performance (marathon time and VO2max) in older men. The post-competition vasodilation and sympathetic vasomotor tone predict the marathon performance in younger men, but their prognostic relevance in older men remains unknown. The peripheral chemoreflex restrains exercise-induced vasodilation via sympathetically-mediated mechanism, what makes it a plausible candidate for the individual performance marker. 23 men aged ≥ 50 year competing in the Wroclaw Marathon underwent an evaluation of: resting haemodynamic parameters, PCheS with two methods: transient hypoxia and breath-holding test (BHT), cardiac barosensitivity, heart rate variability (HRV) and BPV, plasma renin and aldosterone, VO2max in a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). All tests were conducted twice: before and after the race, except for transient hypoxia and CPET which were performed once, before the race. Fast marathon performance and high VO2max were correlated with: low ventilatory responsiveness to hypoxia (r =  − 0.53, r = 0.67, respectively) and pre-race BHT (r =  − 0.47, r = 0.51, respectively), (1) greater SD of beat-to-beat SBP (all p < 0.05). Fast performance was related with an enhanced pre-race vascular response to BHT (r =  − 0.59, p = 0.005). The variables found by other studies to predict the marathon performance in younger men: post-competition vasodilation, sympathetic vasomotor tone (LF-BPV) and HRV were not associated with the individual performance in our population. The results suggest that PCheS (ventilatory response) predicts individual performance (marathon time and VO2max) in men aged ≥ 50 yeat. Although cause-effect relationship including the role of peripheral chemoreceptors in restraining the post-competition vasodilation via the sympathetic vasoconstrictor outflow may be hypothesized to underline these findings, the lack of correlation between individual performance and both, the post-competition vasodilation and the sympathetic vasomotor tone argues against such explanation. Vascular responsiveness to breath-holding appears to be of certain value for predicting individual performance in this population, however.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-33
Author(s):  
Matthew Erickson

This article examines the role of the Christian, or liturgical, year as one of the simplest yet most powerful ways of spiritually forming people, both individually and corporately, to become more like Jesus. Many Christians and churches are subtly shaped more by the time structures of the average work week or cultural holidays than the life of Christ or the church. The tendency to address individual spiritual formation focuses largely on cognitivist approaches to change or individual formative practices. However, the author explores several ways in which the Christian year offers a wholistic approach to life formation through the steady, time-bound patterns of the Christian year. Engaging both the conscious and unconscious self in cognitive practices and steady habits, both the individual Christian and local congregations are trained toward Christlikeness.


1997 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 333-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne J. Millar ◽  
Surinder Wadhera

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Branckly Egbert Picanussa

Some Christian education experts have expressed their views on how the church should develop a curriculum to educate church members to achieve maturity in the Christian faith. This article purpose to develop a curriculum for Christian education in Church ministry. The method used is a literature study on the opinions of D. CampbellWyckoff and Maria Harris. The characteristics of Wyckoff and Harris's opinions and various responses in "imaginative dialogue", as well as modifications of the Christian education Foundations, Principles andPractices schemes of Robert W. Pazmino became a model to develop a Christian education curriculum in church life. The development of the Christian education curriculum begins with setting the goal of implementing Christian education for a group in the Christian community. Furthermore, curriculum development requires thecontribution of various development foundations, including biblical, theological, philosophical, educational, scientific and technological, historical, socio-cultural, ecclesiological and psychological.


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