I have never heard so much about a generation as I have about the Millenials. How they vote, what their values are, what their religious preferences are, their obsession/competency with technology, etc. It seems like we as a society are obsessed with their every move, their every path, and their every action.
I wonder why this is so. Is it America's perpetual fascination with youth, or is it something altogether different?
I've also noticed that they have to be the most criticized generation in history.
Now, to be fair, every generation criticizes the generation behind it. I am a GenXer, and we caught no small amount of flack from the Baby Boomers- we were slackers, we were rebellious, we were lazy and unmotivated, we teased our hair up with hairspray and listened to Van Halen, then we switched to baggy flannel shirts and listened to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and the "music these days" was horrible and awful.
I believe similar things were said about the Baby Boomers by the Greatest Generation- don't even get me started about my grandparents' opinions on the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Elvis Presley.
So, every generation views the one behind it as immature, lazy, and stupid. We get that. And to a certain degree, they are correct. Compared to mature adults with decades of life experience, the younger generations ARE immature and stupid. Everyone is immature and stupid until life deals them a few blows and they accumulate years of wisdom and experience. Human beings have an amazing ability to learn from mistakes and grow to maturity, but it takes time. I am a much different person at age 39 than I was at age 14, having had the experiences of graduating high school and college and grad school, getting married and raising children, owning a home and making major mistakes and learning from them. Astronomically different now than I was as a teenager or even as a young twentysomething. It is also easy, from my 39-year-old viewpoint, to romanticize my teenage years and twentysomething years as being more noble, more trustworthy, more grounded, etc than I actually was.
So, that being the case, I return to the criticism of the Millenial generation and I ask myself if this is a good thing for the church.
One thing I have learned recently is that the people of the Millenial generation are well aware of the criticism being lobbed their way. They know they have been branded as spoiled, lazy, entitled, and immature. And for good reason. Many of them ARE spoiled, lazy, entitled, and immature. Most of the time, stereotypes exist for a reason. However, like I said before, those same words were used to describe MY generation and the generation before me. So, are we really doing any favors to the Millenials in our churches by constantly pointing that out?
I remember the first time someone told me that they were glad I was part of the church.
I was fifteen years old. I was pretty much a punk kid- I had a big black curly-haired mullet (straight out of the late 80s, baby!) and strutted around like I was something big and bad. For some reason, I liked church. I liked the old people, I liked the stories, and I absolutely LOVED the music. We didn't go to church that often, so even though I was a punk and had a bad attitude, there was always something I liked about church.
One day at church, the youth minister looked at me and told me he was glad I was there. Then he asked me if I wanted to play bass guitar in the youth praise band. I believe his exact words were, "You belong here."
I really don't know why he said that. I wasn't a Christian and I sure didn't look like someone who would belong in a church. I wonder if that youth minister was nervous talking with me that day. If I was in his shoes, I probably would have been.
Fast-forward thirty-four years, and here I am as a pastor and church planter and missionary. I wasn't criticized into the church- I was encouraged into the church. I am very thankful for that.
I am very thankful that there was a place for me in the church. He didn't invite me to come and sit in a chair or in a pew. That probably wouldn't have interested me at all. He invited me to be a part of something- something living and organic, something life-giving and fun. He invited me to PARTICIPATE, not observe.
So, people in the church, how can we do this for the Millenials? How do we take people from a generation that this country has decided is spoiled, entitled, immature, and lazy and redirect them to be PARTICIPANTS in our churches? Is our attitude towards them encouraging or discouraging them from being a part of the Body of Christ? Sure, they don't look like us, they don't act like us, but is that necessarily a bad thing? I say that is a potentially GOOD thing.
Whatever it is we do, we certainly won't win the younger generation by criticizing them. Look for the young people out there who are ready to break the mold- ready to rise above the cesspool of culture and are looking for a connection with God. Take a risk on a young person. It might have more Kingdom results than you ever could have imagined.
I wonder why this is so. Is it America's perpetual fascination with youth, or is it something altogether different?
I've also noticed that they have to be the most criticized generation in history.
Now, to be fair, every generation criticizes the generation behind it. I am a GenXer, and we caught no small amount of flack from the Baby Boomers- we were slackers, we were rebellious, we were lazy and unmotivated, we teased our hair up with hairspray and listened to Van Halen, then we switched to baggy flannel shirts and listened to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and the "music these days" was horrible and awful.
I believe similar things were said about the Baby Boomers by the Greatest Generation- don't even get me started about my grandparents' opinions on the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Elvis Presley.
So, every generation views the one behind it as immature, lazy, and stupid. We get that. And to a certain degree, they are correct. Compared to mature adults with decades of life experience, the younger generations ARE immature and stupid. Everyone is immature and stupid until life deals them a few blows and they accumulate years of wisdom and experience. Human beings have an amazing ability to learn from mistakes and grow to maturity, but it takes time. I am a much different person at age 39 than I was at age 14, having had the experiences of graduating high school and college and grad school, getting married and raising children, owning a home and making major mistakes and learning from them. Astronomically different now than I was as a teenager or even as a young twentysomething. It is also easy, from my 39-year-old viewpoint, to romanticize my teenage years and twentysomething years as being more noble, more trustworthy, more grounded, etc than I actually was.
So, that being the case, I return to the criticism of the Millenial generation and I ask myself if this is a good thing for the church.
One thing I have learned recently is that the people of the Millenial generation are well aware of the criticism being lobbed their way. They know they have been branded as spoiled, lazy, entitled, and immature. And for good reason. Many of them ARE spoiled, lazy, entitled, and immature. Most of the time, stereotypes exist for a reason. However, like I said before, those same words were used to describe MY generation and the generation before me. So, are we really doing any favors to the Millenials in our churches by constantly pointing that out?
I remember the first time someone told me that they were glad I was part of the church.
I was fifteen years old. I was pretty much a punk kid- I had a big black curly-haired mullet (straight out of the late 80s, baby!) and strutted around like I was something big and bad. For some reason, I liked church. I liked the old people, I liked the stories, and I absolutely LOVED the music. We didn't go to church that often, so even though I was a punk and had a bad attitude, there was always something I liked about church.
One day at church, the youth minister looked at me and told me he was glad I was there. Then he asked me if I wanted to play bass guitar in the youth praise band. I believe his exact words were, "You belong here."
I really don't know why he said that. I wasn't a Christian and I sure didn't look like someone who would belong in a church. I wonder if that youth minister was nervous talking with me that day. If I was in his shoes, I probably would have been.
Fast-forward thirty-four years, and here I am as a pastor and church planter and missionary. I wasn't criticized into the church- I was encouraged into the church. I am very thankful for that.
I am very thankful that there was a place for me in the church. He didn't invite me to come and sit in a chair or in a pew. That probably wouldn't have interested me at all. He invited me to be a part of something- something living and organic, something life-giving and fun. He invited me to PARTICIPATE, not observe.
So, people in the church, how can we do this for the Millenials? How do we take people from a generation that this country has decided is spoiled, entitled, immature, and lazy and redirect them to be PARTICIPANTS in our churches? Is our attitude towards them encouraging or discouraging them from being a part of the Body of Christ? Sure, they don't look like us, they don't act like us, but is that necessarily a bad thing? I say that is a potentially GOOD thing.
Whatever it is we do, we certainly won't win the younger generation by criticizing them. Look for the young people out there who are ready to break the mold- ready to rise above the cesspool of culture and are looking for a connection with God. Take a risk on a young person. It might have more Kingdom results than you ever could have imagined.
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