FOOTSTEPS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
IAN BARNETT GENERAL EDITOR
The faith legacy grandparents leaveFOREWORD BY TIM COSTELLO
FOOTSTEPS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
The faith legacy grandparents leave
IAN BARNETT GENERAL EDITORAn imprint of Anglican Youthworks
Published September 2023
Copyright © Ian Barnett 2023
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ISBN: 978-1-922866-13-4
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Editor: Rachel Macdonald
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This book is dedicated to all the grandparents who are seeking to leave a legacy of a living faith in Jesus for their grandchildren. May they know Jesus, the author and perfecter of all things, just as we know him.
Commendations
My friend Ian Barnett is a grandparenting ministry pioneer, and Footsteps for Future Generations is a remarkable expression of his research, his biblical perspective and his wisdom. As an American counterpart to his passion for intentional Christian grandparenting, I found his Australian perspective affirming, informative and applicable to grandparents everywhere. This book is engaging, practical, and for many readers will be life-changing, as they come to understand a greater vision for their role as a grandparent. This has my highest recommendation!
Larry Fowler Founder and CEO, Legacy Coalition USCongratulations to Ian and his team for bringing this really important grandparenting opportunity to our attention through the National Grandparent Movement and its conference, and now through this book. The range of contributions is very helpful in directing and encouraging us to be more reflective in this crucial area. I really appreciated in particular the historical perspective presented. Thank you.
Keith Farmer Principal Emeritus, Australian College of MinistriesAcknowledgements
To all the grandparents and surrogate grandparents reading this, I thank you for your encouragement, perseverance and desire to leave a faith legacy for your grandchildren. Without your support this book would not be in your hands.
To my wife Rhonda, who has blessed me by making me a husband, father and grandfather—thank you. Without your model, prayers and patience as a grandmother, I would have been at risk of forgetting the power of legacy. You have influenced me in ways that words can’t describe.
To my children, Luke (and Melissa), James (and Alisa) and Emma (and Ben), without you of course I would not be a grandfather. Watching you raise your children makes me proud to be a grandfather and reminds me of the challenges that all parents face.
My grandchildren—Isabella, Isaac, Tamara, Levi, Micah, Matilda and Samuel—you have all taught me much about grandparenting. You are never far from Grandad and Nana’s hearts. We pray that you will carry the baton of faith in Jesus into the future in such a way that the world will continue to be shaped by the gospel.
A special mention to my executive director, Karen Dixon, who has been with me from the very beginning of this movement. You have made all that I dreamed about in regards to a grandparenting ministry become a reality. Your dedication to the movement and especially our conferences has brought home the reality of leaving a living faith legacy to all those who follow. Without you and your husband Rob’s support, nothing would have happened.
A big thank you to the staff and volunteers of Figtree Anglican Church, where God first birthed the idea of a grandparent movement
and ministry. A special thanks to Adele Peteranec and Greg Bell. You have always made any task that much easier.
To all our previous speakers, conference delegates, sponsors like Anglicare and the Bible Society, and our supporters (far too many to mention), thank you for all your prayers and encouragement, made more powerful by your own personal desire to learn and grow.
To my overseas friend Larry Fowler, founder of the Legacy Coalition in America, who very early on allowed me to pick his brains about such a movement and ministry, a big thank you. I still sit in amazement of what God is doing globally since our paths crossed back in 2017. I smile every time I picture you saying these words, ‘God is doing a new thing through old people’.
Finally, my thanks to Youthworks Media, without whose willingness to take a risk and support such a project I would still be sitting at my desk wondering how to make all this happen. A book on grandparenting and the legacy we leave … who would have thought! A special thanks to Natasha Percy, who has brought the idea of such a book to reality.
Foreword
My oldest grandchild is a little girl called Winnie. She is now four and she impresses me greatly with her imagination and ability to tell a story. I love watching her enchanted face and seeing how she weaves the people she loves into her storylines. I see how much it means to her that I am reciprocating, playing or just watching her do her activities.
I now think grandparenting is life’s reward for parenting. I remember those early years of parenting were hard for us—three children under four years of age and the pressures of establishing a church in a tough area of Melbourne. In some ways, my children got the worst of me because of the pressures we were under. Thankfully, my parents were actively involved in their lives and backed us up as a family.
It has made me reflect on the importance of my own grandparents to my formation and the legacy of their simple joy in me. I had a paternal grandfather who declared with great mirth, ‘That boy will grow up to be a clown!’ He recognised with delight my desire to please and to make people happy. And I had a maternal grandmother who got me to help her prepare food, which we would then walk around her suburb and deliver to people she knew were ‘doing poorly’. I learned from her example the value of care for others and kindness. Key life lessons were learned at the knees of all four of my loving grandparents.
So I am delighted that a book on the value of this kind of grandparenting has been produced. Speaking online for the National Grandparent Movement’s 2022 conference made me realise what a wonderful thing it is to encourage the diversity of older people now fully committed to the grandchild generation. Grandparenting is about care and interdependency at this critical time in human history when the dominant story is freedom, independence and
separateness—which may produce greater individual freedom, but at a cost of loneliness and brittleness. How will these little lives live well through a century that valorises liberty over care? By remembering grandparents whose love, interest and care was the fundamentally solid ground of their identity. We carry them in our hearts and our prayers so that they can develop a faith strong enough to cope with the journey ahead of them.
This book will be a source of encouragement, example and inspiration. It is a compendium of wisdom, grounded in good biblical teaching and woven together with personal stories and reflections. My hope and prayer is that you and your grandchildren will be blessed by it.
Rev Tim Costello AO Director of Ethical Voice Executive Director of Micah AustraliaI thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. (2 Timothy 1:3–5)
I have read these words again and again. Every time I read them, I am moved by my memories of my own grandmother, who first modelled to me what it meant to be a Christian. Her patience and love of God would shape me in ways that I did not appreciate at the time. Now, looking back, I can see how her faith in Jesus sustained her through both the good days and bad days—and was passed on to my own mother. They, in so many ways, demonstrated what the grace of God actually looked like, the grace that would carry them both through this life. I doubt that I am unique in these reflections; you may have had similar experiences growing up.
When I first became a grandfather, I started to realise how those who had gone before me had truly shaped my own thinking. They inspired in me a strong desire to leave a legacy of faith in Christ that could be passed on to future generations.
What follows in this book is wisdom that you can refer back to again and again, wisdom that will, God-willing, allow future generations of grandparents, pastors, ministry leaders, parents and others to run the race and finish well. In the words of Hebrews 12:1–3:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our
eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Sometimes we forget that our own grandparents, if they have already been called home by our heavenly Father, are actually in those stands, cheering us on, encouraging us to persevere and not give up.
If I have learned anything since becoming a grandfather, it is this: our churches, communities, families and especially our grandchildren need us more than ever before.
For this reason, I want to thank all the contributors to this book. Without their encouragement to me personally, I would likely not have started this journey. They come from a variety of backgrounds and influences; they have published many books; they include pastors, ministry leaders, mothers, grandmothers, fathers, grandfathers, educators, husbands, wives, counsellors, denominational leaders and preachers. Their contributions to this book, I believe, will shape us all for the many years ahead.
And thank you for being willing to give thought to your own journey. As you start to turn the pages, to reflect, to smile, to nod your head and even to shed some tears, remember that when it comes to discipleship and grandchildren, there is no magic pill, no instant change. I hope and pray that, over time, you do experience some special grandparenting moments. But what I have noticed is that most, if not all, of our intergenerational connections are more everyday in nature, from a cuddle to buying an ice cream to simply sharing a story or two. Yet these are the times that God gives you to show Christ to your family. So patiently take up these opportunities to show love in small but important ways, just as God does so for you.
What is the National Grandparent Movement?
When I became a grandparent, after some 30 years as a minister of the gospel in the Anglican Church, it did not take me long to realise that there was limited, if any, information available that could equip me to be an intentional grandparent.
The question I began to wrestle with was this: ‘In a changing world, what is the faith legacy that I and other grandparents are leaving behind?’ I became convinced that there was a need to provide opportunities for grandparents who held the same conviction to be engaged and equipped. But who was going to do this? How would one go about doing something like this? Was there anyone out there who could be called upon to provide wisdom, insight and encouragement to grandparents to leave a legacy of living faith in Jesus, so that others, especially our grandchildren might follow?
These words attributed to Walt Disney came to my attention: ‘It’s time to quit talking about what if … and begin doing’. So, without any idea of what a grandparent ministry might look like, I jumped in and began to do my best to swim.
More and more grandparents believe now is the time to chart a new course. This is why the National Grandparent Movement (NGM) is committed to supporting local churches to equip and encourage grandparents to teach and disciple the next generation.
We do this in two ways. The NGM empowers grandparents to grab hold of their potential influence and instils in them a fresh vision of sharing their love and faith in Christ with their grandchildren. We also seek to inspire ministry leaders and others to pass that vision on to those they influence, so that the dream of leaving a living faith legacy becomes a reality.
Launched in 2017, this movement, with the annual National Grandparent Conference as its key building block, has now helped
thousands of grandparents to better understand the influence they have in leaving a lasting faith legacy for their grandchildren in a changing world.
Ian Barnett CEO and founder of the National Grandparent Movement