Love Understands!

Ratio Update

We are well into our first semester with Ratio @ ECU. God has put together a wonderful Team! With Noah Watkins who is from Central Church of Christ. Our own Luke and Ally from Harmony. We have had some very interesting conversations in our first few meetings. Tackling a number of issues. One that tends to come up a lot is the issue of morality and truth. But one things that has stood out to me is that those that are engaging with the questions. There is a genuine desire to seek. Which gives me hope for the next generation.

When I started this role as the chapter director for RC one of the things God impressed upon my heart was to make it my main goals as been to do everything I can to try to understand the worldview younger generation. Particularly those entering and leaving college. Right now that is GenZ. One of the slogans at Ratio is, “ as the university goes, so goes the rest of the world”. And I think this is absolutely true. And the long I am in this role the more I find myself trying to tap into their heads and their worldview.

Love Seeks Understanding

Knowledge helps us understand people, so we can better love them. But knowledge is also power. Josh McDowell often says, “A problem well defined is half-solved.” Once we clearly understand the task at hand—by having the knowledge—we are in a much better position to find a reasonable solution.

First Chronicles 12:32 says this....

1 Chronicles 12:32 ESV

32 Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command.

We have to meet people where they are. But you have to first know WHO they are.

In other words, they had knowledge of the times in which they lived in order to act with wisdom. Understanding the uniqueness of the next generation helps us love them, but it also helps us guide them appropriately according to knowledge. Love and wisdom both require understanding.

When we truly love someone, we aim to understand that person. The challenge is that it takes time and effort. This is not only true for friends, neighbors, and coworkers, but it is especially true for the next generation of young people. If we truly want to love them, we must make the commitment to understand them first.

Proverbs 24:3 says,

Proverbs 24:3 ESV

3 By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;

God’s wisdom is certainly required to build a lasting, healthy home. But there must also be mutual understanding of one another. If you want a home, team, or youth group with meaningful relationships, it must begin with understanding.

But which is more important? To be understood? Or to seek understanding? I would contend that it is the latter. The culture tends to emphasize an attitude of “ make your voice heard”. I think that the Church can easily fall into this trap. As Christians we want to make sure our position is heard and known! But how much are we really listening to people and the culture to truly understand so we can better reach them.

It is no secret and I would also say no surprise that the younger generation is leaving the church in droves! Why?.....Think about it for a moment. Let’s use Movies as an example of how the last two generations have approached life.

Millennials-Harry Potter

GenZ-Hunger Games

So I want to maintain focus on GenZ. Because this is the age entering college right now.

Now from a Christian perspective it’s no wonder they are leaving. We've raised a generation that doesn't know how to navigate culture or the world from within their Christian faith. We give them shallow answers. It's emotion-filled. Disconnect their faith from what it means to actually live. And so, they go through the motions. And then eventually, when they're really tested and get out of the home, it reveals the lack of a faith that was never there. So I think there's this deep worldview component. Some of this is apologetics. Some of this is theology. Some of it's just learning to think Christianly in a world that we can argue is increasingly non-Christian and post-Christian, and in some ways, anti-Christian based on what we believe.

The other side of that is there's also a huge relational piece, why young kids leave the faith.

The number one factor that would shape why a young person stays in the faith and-or leaves on the reverse, is a quote, "warm relationship with the father". Now that's not to say the mother is unimportant. Last I checked, when a kid is born, a mom is there. The dad just tends to be more of the wild card. That's reality. But there's something powerful about relationships in the body of Christ but with a father and teaching kids how to navigate reality. So if one or both of those are missing, the chances sky rocket that a kid is going to walk away from the church, and-or their faith.

How Well Do You Know Young People?

How well do you know the Gen Z people in your life? How much have you interacted with them?[1]

Think of someone you know that you would say is a Gen Z. What three or 4 words come to mind?

Now keep these words in mind as we actually list the some of the attributes of Gen Z. Or what I would generally call the younger generation.

It is tempting to think that trends among Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1999) will apply to Gen Z. While there are some similarities, this assumption is deeply flawed. Some trends have carried over to the next generation, as we will see, but there are some stark differences too. Here is the bottom line: if we are going to genuinely reach young people, we must have an accurate understanding of what they think, see, and how they feel about the world. [2]

Consider the defining events that characterize a generation. For instance,

Baby Boomers (1946–1964)

The Vietnam War and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Gen Xers (1965–1980)

The Challenger explosion, fall of the Berlin Wall, and the AIDS crisis.

Millennials (1981–1999)

9/11.

These collective experiences deeply influence how members of each generation see their place in the world.[3]

Gen Z also has some collective experiences that help define them. For instance, in many ways, Gen Z is a post-9/11 generation. They are the first generation without any memory of September 11 and were raised in a world still coming to grips with the reality of terrorism and what that means for immigration, government oversight, and so on. Older members of Gen Z will recall the economic crash of 2008 and natural disasters, such as earthquakes in Haiti. Younger Gen Zers grew up practicing drills for the possibility of a school shooting.

Before we look at some unique factors about Gen Z, 1 let’s compare these insights to our own experiences for a little perspective:

• Ronald Reagan is as distant for them as Dwight Eisenhower was for their parents.

• Email is an antiquated and useless technology to them.

• YouTubers are the new stars.

• With map apps on their smartphones, they have never needed directions.

• They consider the bands Nirvana and Guns N’ Roses to be classic rock.

Times have clearly changed. Let’s step out of our comfort zones and try to understand how Gen Z sees the world so that we can love them uniquely for who they are. [4]

“Phygital”

This is the blending of the physical and digital. You can see the potential issues with this. But what also comes along with this mindset is the belief that technology can do anything. Gen Zers spend nearly every waking hour of the day interacting with some form of digital technology. This shapes their sleeping habits, how they process information, how they build and maintain relationships, and how they spend their spare time. The internet has been available and accessible to them since they were born. Gen Z is the first generation raised swiping screens on tablets and smartphones before they could even speak. While Millennials were raised on smartphones, only Gen Z was raised by parents (Gen X and Millennials) who were also on smartphones. The use of digital technology—and in particular social media—is perhaps the defining characteristic of this generation.[5]

Impatient

Gen Zers have been raised in an age in which speed and convenience rule the day. Streaming video platforms like Netflix have eliminated the need to wait to watch the next episode of your favorite show, streaming music apps have created immediate access to your preferred music, and online merchandise sites with seemingly endless choices of goods have removed the inconvenience of having to travel to the nearest store. Gen Zers expect instantaneous delivery on nearly everything from information to music to goods. Maybe that’s why some studies place the attention span of Gen Zers at around eight seconds. Internet industries understand this reality and have responded accordingly; Snapchat’s ten-second story limit and YouTube’s six-second pre-roll ads are just two examples.

Fluid

Categories that were seemingly fixed and distinct for previous generations are now considered blurry, ambiguous, and fluid for Gen Z. Technology has contributed to a blurring of the lines between work and home, truth and fiction, fact and feeling, and our public and private lives. Perhaps nowhere is there greater fluidity than with issues of sex, gender, and family. Young people today have grown up with the reality of single parents, stay-at-home dads, couples choosing not to have kids, cohabitation, three-parent families, and same-sex marriages. Few believe there is such a thing as a “normal” family. Only half of teens today believe gender is defined by one’s sex at birth. Roughly one in eight Gen Zers describe their sexual orientation as something other than heterosexual. And three in ten report personally knowing someone, most often a peer, who has changed his or her gender identity. 9Formerly fixed categories of gender have increasingly broken down in the minds of Gen Z.

Overwhelmed

In a cover story for Timemagazine, a teenager named Faith-Ann described how overwhelmed young people today often feel: “We’re the first generation that cannot escape our problems at all. We’re all like little volcanoes. We’re getting this constant pressure, from our phones, from our relationships, from the way things are today.” 13More than two out of three teens today feel overwhelmed by everything they need to do each week. Previous generations could usually get away from bullying or peer pressure, at least in part. But with social media, young people find it increasingly difficult—if not impossible—to escape their troubles. The corresponding stress and anxiety, coupled with the constant bombardment of information, can be overwhelming.

Lonely

Based on their online presence, most teens seem eminently happy. But this happiness is often a veneer hiding deeploneliness. In fact, according to psychology professor Jean Twenge, this new generation is on the verge of the greatest mental health crisis in decades. 15She noticed a significant increase in depression and loneliness around 2012, the year iGen (her term for Gen Z) became high school seniors. And this trend crosses socioeconomic, racial, and demographic categories. She attributes the increased loneliness to the ubiquity of smartphones and the resulting decrease in personal interaction. Regardless of the cause, one thing is clear: there is a growing mental health crisis of loneliness and depression among today’s students.

Post-Christian

More young Americans describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated than ever before. The frequency of Bible reading, prayer, and church attendance is also declining. The Bible no longer holds the same authority in the minds of this generation, at least in terms of what previous generations claimed to believe. In her book iGen, Jean Twenge concluded,

“The move away from religion is no longer piecemeal, small, or uncertain; it is large and definitive. More young Americans are thoroughly secular, disconnecting completely from religion, spirituality, and the larger questions of life.”

How Well Do You Interact with Young People?

Now that we’ve looked at some timely attributes common to Gen Z, let’s take a moment to examine three timeless principles we can apply as we interact with them:

Find Their Story

While there are significant cultural events, technological advancements, and trends that deeply shape a generation, we must remember that no one is simply a product of his or her generation. Every young person is different and unique. Social media, for example, is one of the defining characteristics of Generation Z. But we shouldn’t assume that every single young person uses social media in the same manner or to the same degree. In fact, many young people (for a variety of reasons) don’t use social media at all.[1]

Focus on What We Have in Common

Because language, dress, entertainment, and technology change so rapidly, it is easy to feel disconnected from generations other than our own. But the reality is that we have much more in common than you might think, and the reason is simple: regardless of race, age, socioeconomic status, or any other secondary factor, there are Scriptural truths that bind us together. Let’s look at just three!

Genesis 1:27 ESV

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

We are made in the image of God!

Romans 2:14–16 ESV

14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

We all know right from wrong!

Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

We yearn for eternal life!

All of us weather we want to admit it or not want to belong, to be loved, and to live significant lives. We yearn for meaningful relationships. This is true for Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and every other generation who ever has—or ever will—live. It’s true for you, it’s true for us, and it’s true for every young person in your life. So, rather than focusing on differences across the generations, we hope you will focus primarily on what binds us together. [2]

Stay Positive

I started by asking you to think of the first words that came to mind when trying to describe Gen Zers. Now compare your description to the attributes I offered. Are they similar? More importantly, did you choose words that are primarily positive or negative? Did you offer pessimistic descriptions like “lazy,” “entitled,” “gullible,” and “selfish.” For many people, these descriptions are the lens through which they understand and relate to this entire generation. And I would say life in general. If you see Gen Zers through a negative lens, how do you think you’ll interact with them? That’s why our third and final principle is simple: be positive. Are there reasons to be concerned about this generation? Yes. Are there positive things to celebrate? Of course. Be mindful of your concerns (and address them with wisdom), but don’t dwell on the negative. Instead, rejoice over our kids and relish the opportunity to mentor, guide, teach, and love them. [3]

The Church will have to seek desperately after this generation. We all know we cannot be afraid to speak the truth in Love. But we also cannot be afraid to love people into the Truth!

[1]McDowell, S., Wallace, J. W., & Nick, F. (2019). So the next generation will know: preparing young christians for a challenging world. David C Cook.

https://voice.dts.edu/tablepodcast/equipping-gen-z/

https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/the-key-to-having-tough-conversations-author-interview