Here Come the Millennials

 

It is no secret in our presbytery that the church is currently facing a huge generation gap. Our churches are increasingly filled with gray-headed worshipers and increasingly fewer from the younger generation.  Truly, we see a generation gap.

I write all of this with a great sense of irony.  It is truly ironic that the Baby-Boomers, my generation, are now largely empowered as the leaders of the institutional church.  Yet, it was our generation that coined the term generation gap back in the 60s and 70s.   We insisted on living for ideals and principles rather than simply conforming to the “establishment" as had, we believed our parents' generation.   Indeed, our generation defined ourselves in terms of movements...civil rights, women’s rights (including women’s ordination), anti-war, environmentalism --all were all major movements of our era,   We Boomers saw it as our place to stand against the status quo and to work for new movements to improve society.

Now, we are the establishment.  We always knew this day would come, but I feel somewhat amazed, anyway.

We Boomers are now the ones who are upholding the institutions of church and society, and we comprise the older generation that the younger generation is rebelling against.  I wonder if our parents are secretly amused.

The generation we are across the gap is the Millennial generation, those people born since 1980.  The Millennials are a huge group of people, with a population twice the size of the Boomer generation.  Yet, though the oldest Millennials are already in their mid-thirties, the Millennial generation has been held back by circumstance and is only now beginning to show its strength.  The longer careers of older workers, combined with the economic crash since 2008, left so many of the Millennials without jobs, without spending power, deep in debt for studies that did not lead to jobs, and frustrated as society (read Boomers) continue to treat them as "kids."  Yet, the time has finally come when Millennials have begun to come into their own.

One of the defining characteristics of this generation is that they are digitally savvy.  Indeed, for many, "Digital" seems to be their native language, which really does make them, and their world, different from that of older generations.

• They  form community (friendships, dates, social causes) as readily through social media as in person.  
• The breadth of their online contacts allows them to network with with a much wider diversity of folk than their elders, and they are better skilled at networking than their elders, too.
•  As a result, they are looking at a wider range of alternatives to help the world than their elders.  After all, the more voices that network together, the more ideas come available for exploration, and the more creative brains become available to collaborate together.
• At the same time, the Millennials are also much more opportunistic than their elders—meaning they are ready to jump at some of these new opportunities as soon as they find them. 

The Millennials have much to offer in God’s service of renewing society and church.  It is time for the older generation to celebrate some of the amazing potential that God is raising up among us.

As a baby boomer, myself, I find both great joy and some (normal I think) trepidation in watching the up-and-coming younger generation.  I find their idealism rejuvenating.  

The joy comes from the vibrant ideals the Millennials are capable of pursuing.  They see the huge crises (environmental, financial, energy and political) looming over society, but also see the potential for a different future for he world.  Many boomers lost their zeal such causes in the 80s and 90s, but listening to the Millennials often reawakens those old desires.  If we Boomers can cease worrying about change and embrace it, we could become great allies with the Millenials.

The trepidation comes from a fear that the two generations will fail to see this common ground and form alliances together.  It would be easy for the Boomers to remain afraid of change and fail to reconnect with the idealism that defines them at their deepest level.  It would also be easy for the Millennials to witness the trouble the world is in and fail to realize that the Boomers really do have insights into this complex world that could save a lot of trouble as we build a new future.  Basically, the trepidation I feel has to do with the human tendency not to build trust among one another.

Yet, change must happen.  Our generation cannot simply burn all the world's fossil fuels and leave nothing for he future.  The environmental calamities that our generation is must not be ignored if we care about anyone other than our ourselves.  The world must be a place where people build sustainable economies and societies.  The diversity of human society must not give-in to the temptation to solve everything  through the tyrannical grasping or power that is always looming.

So how do we define the gifts that each generation brings to the table?  How do we free the creativity of the younger generation God is raising up, and how do we harness the wisdom that only comes with experience?  

God knows!

I certainly don’t have answers to all of that.  I am hoping that we can enjoy an ongoing conversation on this topic throughout our presbytery, and throughout the Christian Church.

So…to help start the conversation, I have attached just a few of the slides that Dr. Christine Hong, a Millennial herself, shared with us at the PCUSA-sponsored Big Tent gathering earlier this month. 

Shalom,

Curt Karns

Hope is God’s melody for the future;

Prayer is to listen for it;

Faith is to dance it.  (Rubem Alves)

Curt Karns

Executive Presbyter
Presbytery of Yukon
616 W 10th Ave
Anchorage, AK  99501

c -907-350-3969
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