Today is Father’s Day. I am sitting in O’Hare waiting to catch a plane to Atlanta.

In news stands and television monitors throughout the airport, there are pictures and stories about Tim Russert, the TV journalist who passed away just a few days ago. Throughout his career, Tim talked a lot about his Dad, Big Russ and the living legacy of wisdom and purpose he received from his father.

Today I am thinking about my own Dad and the godly influence he continues to have in my life. At 78 years old, he continues to seek God and prays daily for his children and grand children.

My Dad lives in Lancaster, PA, just fifty miles from York, where I recently taught Veritas. I invited Dad to attend and he did! It meant so much to me that he was there! He even asked a question or two.

We’ve talked on the phone a few times since then and even in our conversation today, he continues to mention the Living Legacy church.

That’s what he remembers most about Veritas.

He likes the idea of a Living Legacy Church because over the years he has seen many churches hang on for all the wrong reasons. He likes how Living Legacy churches can pass on the faith to the next generation through their sacrificial and dignified death. This godly inheritance will be used to plant new churches and revitalize established churches. This is the good news of the gospel…life from death!

And just as we give hospice care to help people pass on with dignity, so we provide hospice care for churches to pass on with dignity. Just as we have memorial services to honor people, so we have memorials services to honor churches.

(This photo was taken during the presentation of the Living Legacy Award this year at Annual Meeting.)

My Dad also connects with the Living Legacy idea because he realizes that this own generation is dying. He, and many others like him, desperately want future generations to know Jesus Christ. This is called the generational transmission of the gospel, and Living Legacy churches see this clearly.

Psalm 78:6 says it best, “…So that the next generation will know.” In fact, all through the Old Testament, there is powerful support for Living Legacy thinking. 

Dad is ready to pass the baton from his generation to future generations. This handoff must take place if future generations are to own the gospel story for themselves.

Moses’ generation and Joshua’s generation think differently about life and ministry. Instead of feeling threatened by these differences, Dad prays for future generations to contextualize the gospel in a way that makes sense in a world that is constantly changing. 

His hope is that more and more At-Risk churches will chose the Living Legacy option and honorably pass on the faith to the next generation.

I admire my Dad for being a Living Legacy thinker. He gets it.