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Ian Miller | 04/22/2024
My personal musings about the challenges we’re facing today and how we can turn towards one another rather than reacting against each other.
Never have we lived in a time in history where acceleration of change has been so high. Acceleration of change in these three areas (and others) have created a much wider gap between generations, in experience and perspective.
Speed of transportation
Instant communication
Access to information
Transportation has drastically changed the way we view church. This generation, more than ever before, is connected with people who are all across the country and even around the globe. They meet up at volleyball tournaments, youth retreats, Bible institutes, missions trips, and on the mission field. This has contributed to a much broader worldview than ever before. Most singles have visited more countries than those who are 50+. Check it out for yourself. Ask 3 young people under the age of 30 how many countries they’ve visited. Then ask 3 who are 50+ and compare. We are more used to public transportation than ever before. Flying, training, bussing, you name it. We are travelers. The appetite for seeing new sights and places is at an all-time high. The church is viewed less as the primary community of relationships and is viewed more as a launching pad. It’s a starting point and it’s a place to return to.
Communication tools have shaped the way we communicate with every relationship imaginable. Near-instant delivery is now standard. Whether texting, emailing, voice messaging, or video-calling, we can maintain connection with more people than any previous generation would have imagined. The smartphone that fits in your pocket carries the power that would have required a house-sized computer only a few decades ago. Family members who have moved across the country or even halfway around the world can now stay “in the loop” through the family group chat. Grandpa and grandma can do regular video calls with their grandchildren who live out of state. Churches can keep their members abroad informed through the church email group, WhatsApp group and announcements phone line. At this point I haven’t even mentioned social media such as [fill in the blank with the top 10 most used social media platforms today]. This has enabled people, more than ever, to maintain a casual connection with more people than ever could have been imaginable only a few decades ago.
Never has a generation had such ease of access to information. With just a few clicks (or voice commands) anyone can pull up answers to almost any question, such as [you fill in the blank]. AI (artificial intelligence) has multiplied the ease of accessing and processing large amounts of information. Watching sermons, listening to podcasts, researching for sermons, finding Sunday school curriculum, reading books, listening to music - all this and so much more is impacting the way we learn and find resources for ourselves personally as well as for our congregations. The sermons at church and small group Bible studies are now a fraction of the input that church members are receiving. All throughout the week, each individual is being fed by the endless fountain of information at their fingertips.
With each of these powerful developments we can readily see both the opportunities they bring as well as the challenges they pose. What I want to focus on is how they are shaping this generation, and how they are contributing to the ever-widening gap between generations. I will also share a few personal reflections on how we can proactively seek to bridge that ever-widening gap so that my generation can be anchored by the wisdom of the older generations who have gone before us.
There is an ever-growing attraction to global missions. With all the resources available to us, young people are looking beyond merely providing for the needs of their families and communities and are considering the endless needs around the globe. On the one hand, the draw of international travel and the excitement of new cultures and foods are hard to compete with on the home front. On the other hand, the almost endless barrage of opportunities and requests can be overwhelming, resulting in a numbed sense to the real needs both at home and abroad.
There is a face-off happening around the lines. All lines imaginable are becoming more nuanced and “gray”, which is triggering a deepening of lines, or avoidance of lines completely. There are so many perspectives about everything. Pretty much anything you want to believe can be backed up with some sermon on YouTube, perspective on a podcast, or a Facebook group where it’s being talked about. On the one hand, it forces us to recognize that not everyone shares our point of view (which hopefully makes us more humble in our stance on truth). On the other hand, it makes it possible for us to create a personal echo-chamber where we only hear the thoughts and ideas from those who share our point of view (you can block everyone who doesn’t share your perspective and have a feed full of people who say what you say).
More than ever, we need to prioritize in-person and multi-generational relationships. We have never been in a greater need for strong church communities and families, where brotherly love is being lived out and where truth is being spoken with grace. More than ever, we need to turn towards each other and seek to know each other!
I dream of churches…
Where parents are embracing the daunting task of trying to stay current with the challenges their children are facing.
This requires a whole lot more time and energy than it did before because of [see above]
Not reacting to the things their children are wrestling with but create a safe place for them to process
Where the young people are looking to the older generation for input and guidance for decisions and direction in life.
This requires maturity and grace to listen with a desire to learn rather than reacting to the seeming inconsistencies and desire to control outcomes (let’s try to give them the benefit of the doubt—maybe they’re not trying to control us, they just might care so much they are trying to influence us towards what they think is the best route for us to take)
Recognizing that change can feel very scary and bad to the older generation where to us it can feel exciting and attractive
Choosing to slow down our pace of change in order to link arms with the older generation and glean from their lives of faithfulness and wisdom (we will never regret this!)
Evaluating our trajectory in life on a regular basis, in the multitude of counselors, weighing our motives and making sure we are not simply reacting to the previous generation generation
Where all generations are turning towards each other with a desire to understand each others’ perspectives.
This is the picture of loving each other; choosing to not react and instead to listen to each other
Seeking to understand each others’ desires and fears and working to find common ground on which to move forward together
Where church leaders are intentionally building multi-generational leadership teams.
This means not waiting until a pastor retires to consider bringing in new leadership
Instead, bringing on younger leaders that have demonstrated maturity, both as an opportunity to bring a broader perspective to the leadership of the church as well as to increase the chances of survival amidst the ever-changing world that we live in
Where business owners, pastors, and school teachers see mentorship as one of the greatest investment they can make in the Kingdom.
If ease of access to information and the speed of communication have multiplied the voices that our generation is hearing, all the more time needs to be spent in mentor relationships where truth is being spoken in love
Where wisdom is being gleaned from real, living people who can look you in the eye and talk about real-life situations
Where we choose to set aside our fantasies of the perfect role models and find imperfect, not-completely-balanced people (of character) that we can follow, even as they follow Christ
Where we are turning our eyes outward and embracing our call to take the Gospel to all nations.
Starting with the lost in our own community
And praying about our role in that which is beyond
And talking about it with the people at our churches without becoming judgmental of those who don’t share our fervor
All so that Jesus might receive the glory He deserves (not because we want to scratch our itch to travel and see new things)
This is my heart’s cry for my generation. May He continue the work He has started in each of us and use us to bring hope to a dying world!
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