Summers were made for movies! I recently went to watch the new release Spider Man: Far From Home. One scene in particular caught my attention. Two teenagers who just started dating are sitting beside each other on a bus. The couple is wrapped is up in their own little world because each is looking down playing on their phone. But then the teenage boy gets a text from his girlfriend that says “I miss you.” Without looking up or to the side (where his girlfriend is sitting), the boy replies back with a text that says, “I miss you too.”
Marvel has a way of displaying culture in a humorist way, but Marvel does this in a way that is also realistic. We laugh because we know the scene we are watching is real. The next generation has always had a fascination with themselves. Really, its just part of human nature. But with the advent of smart phones, it appears that the next gen’s preoccupation with themselves is now on steroids.
Not only does Gen Z speak a different language than everyone else (watch the above video), I am afraid Gen Z is losing the battle on knowing how to communicate with real people in a face to face conversation. It really isn’t a bad idea to offer the next generation a workshop on communication skills. The motive behind any workshop you offer should be the gospel. Sure, Gen Z is better with reaching Gen Z for Jesus online than older generations. But I still think there is value in Gen Z learning how to communicate the gospel face to face. Life is a balance and for the moment, life isn’t lived in a completely digital world.
Leaders, we must lead the way if we want the the next generation to learn how to share Jesus with others in a non-digital way. For example, I recently heard of a summer camp that asked for all of its students who received Christ to text in that they had made this all-important decision. What are we really communicating to our students when all we ask of them is to text us that they made the most important decision they ever could make in their life? The decision to follow Christ for the rest of one’s life should be a public declaration, not merely a set of private texts sent between two parties. After all, Jesus was publicly humiliated for our sin. He didn’t accomplish his work on the cross in a single text, tweet, or post. I think we owe Jesus more, but again leaders, that starts with you and I leading the way.
Let’s teach our students how to have out-loud conversations, how to communicate the gospel online and off-line, and that their faith should be public. At the same time, let’s learn the language of Gen Z so we can better speak into their lives!