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Brave New World

In my last post, I wrote about the contagious coronavirus and how it compares to the outbreak of the gospel. The coronavirus outbreak has changed the world and maybe for good. This not only affects how we do life but also how we do church.

First, there is no need to fear. The coronavirus didn’t catch God off guard. The world has been changing for a while. If anything, the coronavirus may just speed things up. What do I mean? Well, I mean that the world has slowly but surely been going from physical to digital.

A few days ago, I felt as if time stood still and the world came to a standstill (Joshua 10:1-15). The coronavirus is a game changer. I haven’t seen anything like it since well, the advent of the smartphone in 2007.

I do think our lives will at some point return to normal, but it will be a new normal. At some point, I think common sense will set in and “flattening the curve” will be balanced out with “we’ve got to get on with living our lives.” However, social distancing could could last well into the distant future. Maybe the new life looks something more like “phygital” where we get the best of both the physical and the digital world (I have wrote about this before).

How does this new life play out in the church? Once the new normal sets in, maybe now we go to the physical church building once a week and we go to the virtual online church once a week. Perhaps next generation leaders offer students a bible study at church and a bible study online every week (Zoom, Facebook Live, Skype, etc.).

Our lives have been radically altered. However, there are some good things about the irreversible changes the coronavirus outbreak might bring about. For one, the Bible is clear that parents are to be the primary disciple makers of their children (Deut. 6:4-9). The coronavirus in some ways is forcing parents to do what they should have been doing all along.

The church can help the home by providing parents with family resources that they can begin teaching and discipling their children with. One resource I would recommend is Tim Keller’s New City Catechism. This catechism and curriculum is targeted toward children ages 4-11, but can be tailored to use with students of all ages. I plan to begin emailing the parents of my students family resources/devotions that they can begin implementing in their homes. The home is to be a little church where parents and guardians can display the love of Christ. The father is the pastor of his home.

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Coronavirus or something worse?

The coronavirus has taken the world and the United States by storm. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),

On January 30, 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC). On January 31, 2020, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency (PHE) for the United States to aid the nation’s healthcare community in responding to COVID-19.

How do I know information about the coronavirus is spreading like wildfire? Because the global media won’t stop talking about it. Have you been to your local grocery store lately and looked for cleaning supplies? You will probably find a barren shelf. Why? Because people everywhere are freaking out about the possible implications the coronavirus could have on their own life.

Is there cause for concern? The CDC says,

More cases of COVID-19 are likely to be identified in the coming days, including more cases in the United States. It’s also likely that person-to-person spread will continue to occur, including in communities in the United States. It’s likely that at some point, widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the United States will occur.

Widespread transmission of COVID-19 would translate into large numbers of people needing medical care at the same time. Schools, childcare centers, workplaces, and other places for mass gatherings may experience more absenteeism. Public health and healthcare systems may become overloaded, with elevated rates of hospitalizations and deaths. Other critical infrastructure, such as law enforcement, emergency medical services, and transportation industry may also be affected. Health care providers and hospitals may be overwhelmed. At this time, there is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and no medications approved to treat it. Nonpharmaceutical interventions would be the most important response strategy.

It is up to you to decide if you believe what the CDC is saying is true or not. I have no intention to persuade you one or way or the other on this matter. What I do hope to persuade you to believe in, however, is in the contagious spread of the gospel. Before Jesus ascends into heaven, he tells his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

 The epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak is Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. One month has passed since the World Health Organization made a public declaration about the virus outbreak. Since then, not only has the virus spread from person to person, but news of the virus can be heard from huts in Africa to villages in the Middle East to cities in the mainland. Thankfully, for those of us who live in the United States, the CDC reports: This virus is NOT currently spreading widely in the United States.

The news may not be so bright for the rest of the world. The CDC reports: However, it is important to note that current global circumstances suggest it is likely that this virus will cause a pandemic.

That is both bad news for the United States and for the world.

But, if bad news can spread this rapidly around the world, can’t good news? Jesus not only said it could, he said it would! If you know Jesus, you are a witness. You are able to share with everyone everywhere everyday the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ:

  1. This world is beautiful (Creation)
  2. But the world is not what it is supposed to be (Fall)
  3. There is savior who can save you from your sin (Rescue)
  4. And one day, this world will be what is supposed to be (Restoration)

If bad news can spread around the world in less than a month, shouldn’t good news spread even faster? It must because the eternal consequences of not repenting of one’s sin and trusting in Jesus is far worse than any temporal effects that could come from suffering attached with the coronavirus.

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Tribute to Kobe

I have grown up as lifetime Lakers fan. My favorite player to this day remains Magic Johnson. I always admired Magic’s charisma, ability to pass the ball, and willingness to put the team above himself. Kobe was a different player. Kobe modeled his game after “the greatness” we call Michael Jordan. Kobe was as close as anyone will ever come to being “like Mike.” The only advantage Kobe had over Mike was his 3-point shot making ability. Kobe shot a basketball much the same way Ken Griffey Jr. swung a baseball bat. To this day, Kobe has the best looking shot I have ever seen.

I received the news that Kobe had passed away in a helicopter crash this past Sunday at 3 pm. I felt the impact immediately. After all, I knew Kobe was a universal figure and that his death would be felt across the globe. It was. The unusual circumstances reminded me of John Denver’s plane crash and others who have gone on before it was their time.

The truth is we never know what day will be our last. Kobe’s death should serve as a reminder to all of us that we are not promised tomorrow. Kobe was 41 and had a lot of life left to live.

Are you ready? If your bell is rung, can you say that you are in Christ? Kobe was a charitable man, a philanthropist. Kobe also loved his country. But on the Day of Judgment, good deeds (even in the form of patriotism) will get you nowhere (Isaiah 64:6). Was Kobe in Christ? I’ll let Jesus answer that. But as for you and I, the Bible is clear that we can know if we are in Christ or not:

11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:11-13).

What we do now determines our forever then. Today, are you living for yourself or are you living for Christ?

I spent countless hours watching Kobe win championships and the play the same game I love. Never in a million years would I have guessed that in the morning on my way to church I would hear radio sports talk show hosts discuss a living Kobe and then receive news that same afternoon that Kobe had passed.

We just never know. Without Jesus, none of us have life (John 1:1-4). But if you don’t believe in Jesus, you stand dead already (John 3:17-18).

Parents and leaders, take this time to talk to your students about the brevity of life and how they should not put off following Christ. It isn’t just Kobe who is no longer with us. Sad to say, it is also his 13-year-old daughter.

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What do you have to give?

With ten days left before Christmas Day, shopping has really amped up. People are either hustling and bustling to the nearest brick and mortar store or are busy buying online. But when we think of Christmas, we usually think of Santa. Santa is even busier than us! He has to load up the sled, shout commands to his elves, and make sure his reindeer are ready for the long journey ahead.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Just think of all of the malls Santa has to visit before Christmas and all of the gift requests he has to take up from children. You remember the days, don’t you? The days of waiting in line just so you could climb up in Santa’s lap and tell him what you wanted for Christmas.

Think about this: Ever since you have been a small boy or girl, your society has conditioned you to believe that life revolves around you. The world tells you to seek pleasure and to be fulfilled. What does Santa Clause ask you when you climb up his chair and sit on his lap? Santa asks you, “What would you like to have?”

We live in a country that is becoming more secular by the minute. However, the statistics that show a significant rise in secularism do not show a significant rise in atheism. The group that is growing in the United States is not atheists, but rather the “nones” (those who are religiously unaffiliated). This group may believe in God, but the shape of their belief can vary significantly, even with one another.

Over the course of time, however, a rise in the nones may equate with a rise in atheism. Many countries in Eastern Europe would just as well equate Jesus Christ with Santa Clause, an Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy. They would claim Jesus is nothing less than a fictional character and certainly no one we should bank our lives on.

If it wasn’t for the resurrection, I would agree with my Eastern European counterparts. Scripture itself says if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is our faith…And if Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile…If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men (I Cor 15:14, 17, 19). I couldn’t have said it better myself. I mean, why live for Christ if he was not real and did not die on a cross and rise from the dead thus doing what he said he was going to do (John 2:19).

Jesus is not a genie in a bottle that grants you every wish. He is not a divine butler or a cosmic therapist. Being a God that is all-knowing, Jesus knows what you would like to have before you do. Jesus told his disciples to let the children come to him (Matt 19:14). Being from a good Father, Jesus knew all about the love a daddy has for his children. Jesus would have understood why a child climbs up in a father’s lap and why a father grants his children good gifts (Matt 7:11).

But encountering Jesus is nothing like encountering Santa Clause. That’s because Jesus isn’t sitting on a chair. He is sitting on a throne (Heb 8:2). Though Jesus gave up his life for us on earth, his ultimate aim was to please His Father and bring him glory. Because of this sacrificial type of obedience, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:9-11).

Jesus is creator, sustainer, and redeemer! He sits on his throne as the King of kings and Lord of lords. When you approach an earthly king, you come in humility and reverence. A king doesn’t ask you, “what would you like to have?” A king asks, “what do you have to give?”

What will you give King Jesus this Christmas season? He is due nothing less than anything and everything you have.

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Goldfish in an Ocean

I just finished reading A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today’s World by John Stonestreet and Brett Knuckle. This material should be required reading for anyone working in next generation ministry.  

Stonestreet and Knuckle equate culture to the ocean. They say in the book’s introduction: “Like the ocean, culture is all around us. Just as fish swim in the ocean, culture is the water in which we swim. Also, like the ocean, culture has both seen and unseen elements. Though cultural undercurrents are invisible, they powerfully pressure us to conform to their collective assumptions about the world. Cultural issues, however, are more like waves: seen, heard, and felt. Understanding both is critically important if we’re to keep our heads above water.”

All too often, the next generation gives sway to the prevalent culture they live in and the next generation does this in almost subconscious fashion. A fish can’t tell you what water is because water is all the fish has ever known. Stonestreet and Knuckle say, “Culture is for humans what water is for fish: the environment we live in and think is normal. The main difference is, unlike the fish, we make our own environments . . . Culture is, in fact, one of the things that makes us different than animals.”

The next generation has also been compared to goldfish in the sense that they have an attention span that is smaller than a goldfish. So, we have goldfish swimming around in this ocean called culture and we have been called not only to catch these fish for Jesus, but also to help re-direct them to swim against the pounding waves. Remember, culture isn’t bad. We all help to create the culture we live and breathe in. But the pounding waves, the cultural issues of our day, are knocking the life and breath out of the next generation in a way that many of our goldfish are drowning and in need of rescue.

It is our calling to gather the attention of these goldfish long enough to teach them how to be counter-cultural in a way that both honors Christ and glorifies God. Stonestreet and Knuckle identify half of the cultural issues of our day as pornography, the hookup culture, sexual orientation, and gender identity. All four of these topics center around the issues of sex and sexuality. Chapter five, entitled “Identity after Christianity” is profound and includes content such as the paragraph below:

“We used to talk of sex in terms of behavior, but now, we’re told, it’s who we are. The overwhelming message to kids today is that Christian faith isn’t nearly as important as sexual inclinations and attractions. Religious belief is mere personal opinion, but sexuality is definitive, absolute, and unquestionable. In today’s culture, sexuality is identity.”

It is difficult to find books that give Christ-followers practical advice on how to engage topics such as these. For instance, when tackling the LGBT movement, the authors state, “Prior to the last thirty years, where was all the Christian activism and outrage on the subject? many wonder. The answer is that no one really talked about it prior to thirty years ago. Historically, Christians haven’t been obsessed with this topic because the culture hasn’t been. LGBT rights have become the issue of our times, and some are looking for Christians to fully and unconditionally surrender.” 

The other half of the cultural issues addressed by the authors include affluence and consumerism, addiction, entertainment, and racial tension. The book was also a good read for me because it taught me definitions for new words such as heterosexism and cisgender. If you are looking for a book to help you or your staff guide the next generation through the tsunami called culture, look no further than this Practical Guide.

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Ten “In Charge” Rules

This post is designated for parents and guardians of the next generation. If you read my last post, you know I raved about having attended Dr. White’s latest Church and Culture conference. Dr. White shared Ten “In Charge” Rules with conference attendees.

Below are the new Ten Commandments (Ok, I’m joking). But seriously, in light of changing technology and the digital revolution, parents would do well to heed these rules:

Ten “In Charge” Rules

  1. Limit their phone minutes, texts, and online hours. Don’t let it take over their life.
  2. Don’t ever let them see a movie you haven’t reviewed thoroughly on the front-end, regardless of its rating.
  3. Don’t let them sleep with their cell phone under their pillow or by their bed. The phone should be turned off at bedtime.
  4. Have times of the day when they have to turn their phone off, and times when texting isn’t allowed – such as family vacations or family outings.
  5. Don’t allow cell phones at the dinner table.
  6. Tell your kids not to share their passwords with their friends, not even their best friends.
  7. Keep all computers in a public area.
  8.  Don’t allow TV’s in their room.
  9.  Don’t let them be on something like Facebook or Instagram unless they friend you as a parent.
  10. Don’t let them join any social media prior to the stated age.

Besides these rules, many parents also have their kids sign a smart phone or internet/social media contract. Parents, be the parent and lay down the law. Just don’t forget about showing some grace if and when your kids blow it!

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Let’s Get Phygital!

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending a phyigital (this new word is a combination of the words “physical” and “digital”) conference led by Dr. James Emery White. This church and culture conference was hosted in a physical place (Dr. White’s church in Charlotte, NC), but also in a digital space (my laptop).

The idea in the conference that struck the deepest chord in my spirit as it relates to Gen Z and Generation Alpha (the generation after Gen Z) is that churches are going to have to get phygital whether they like it or not. In fact, in order to attract the next generation into a physical building called church, the church will first have to greet the next generation online through their website and social media presence. The church website is the new front door. Before the next generation attends your church’s physical service, they will have to first attend your church’s digital service (on FB live, YouTube, church website, etc.). In fact, the next generation today is most likely to first invite their friends to church by saying, “check out our website.”

This is because the world that the next generation understands the most is the digital world, not the physical world. The next generation often struggles with face-to-face communication because their primary way of connecting with others is online. {The stats and information to follow come from Dr. White’s conference} This is why the next generation is often lonely (3 out of 10) and say they have no friends (1 out of 5). Besides being highly isolated, the next generation is highly individualistic with 2 out of 3 saying they don’t need or want anyone to help them grow in their faith. It doesn’t help that slightly less than half of Christians will reach out to help others in their church grow in their faith.

Digital discipleship is becoming a real thing. Churches are being forced to help stair-step the next generation into physical community through the avenue of digital community (i.e., digital small groups and forums). This is because the next generation’s favorite way to communicate (in the form of face to face communication) has dropped from 50% to 30% in the last six years. Churches will have to hire online pastors to help facilitate digital small groups and video chat rooms through apps such as House Party, Kick, Fam, Tribe, ooVoo, Airtime, and FB messenger. Digital natives call this online interaction “live chilling” and these apps have become the new 3rd place. Online pastors will be utilized to beef up their church’s online presence (websites, social media and marketing, etc.), offer online prayer rooms, and answer people’s spiritual questions through online conversations, etc..

People engaging the world through their phone is the new norm. The church begins by engaging the next generation digitally. Once physical engagement finally does occur (the person attends your church campus), the engagement must be digitally served and enhanced by the phone. Get used to hearing “Bring out your Bible and your Phone” before the start of the service.

Churches will be forced to offer in-service Apps that will allow all generations to have an interactive experience while at church: Imagine ordering coffee and checking your kids in before you get to church, recording sermon notes while digitally following the Scripture/message outline, downloading a praise song you just heard, and then receiving e-vites to send your online friends as soon as your car leaves the parking lot. The next generation is used to everything being an instant customized experience set up just for them (individualistic and tailored by analytics). This is why the next generation doesn’t go into grocery stores unless the store offers them an experience like a cooking class, live music, or taste samples (this in-store experience would be considered a date night for 20 year-olds). I mean, why would they when after all, they can go to the grocery store to have someone deliver the already-ordered groceries to their car (and never even have to get out). This is why 30-40 percent of grocery stores will close in the next decade. This is why you will see many brick and mortar banks close shop. This is why Best Buy just stopped selling CD’s (Gen Z only listens to music through its streaming services). This is why the education industry will have to radically altar the way they offer learning (for ex., take attendance with Twitter, post assignments on Slack, and hold office hours at 10 PM on Zoom). Because the digital revolution (especially with the advent of the Smartphone in 2007) itself has rewired the next generation’s brain and has changed not only when, where, and what the next generation learn (Google search, Ted Talks, Podcasts, You Tube services, Online do-it yourself tutorials, and online courses), but “how they learn.”

A huge shift and might I mention, generation difference has occurred in how the next generation communicates and relates to others. For instance, online dating now is fast- becoming the only dating. Robots have supplanted the role of matchmaker. Tinder, Ok Cupid, and Bumble have taken the place of community.

It is the church’s responsibility to step in and build generational bridges by offering authentic relationships and functional community through a family-like atmosphere. The digital to physical gap can be be bridged! Real people still matter! It’s just that now, physical people in the church will need to go to great lengths (the extra mile) to help its digital natives become comfortable in physical environments. At the same time, much grace must be given to help the next generation learn how to engage people in face-to-face conversations (both individually and in a group setting). The great irony is that many in the next generation who say they are lonely and want to have friends are bad at making friends. They are not socially gifted and can at times be socially awkward. If the church doesn’t help the next generation overcome these deficits by offering real community, who will?

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Take a little ride with me

Barna and WorldVision recently tag-teamed to produce a study called the “The Connected Generation” which documented interviews with more than 15,000 adults ages 18 to 35 in twenty-five countries and nine languages. The research was quite extensive and has been ten years in the making.

As next generation leaders, I think it is vital that we pay attention to a study that offers this much depth. You can look over key findings of the study at this link: https://theconnectedgeneration.com/key-findings/

Of all the information covered, however, the one statistic that I cannot get out of my head is that only one out of every three young adults said they had someone in their life that believed in them.

This statistic literally breaks my heart. I have had countless number of people in my life invest and believe in me. This sad statistic forces me to look in the mirror and ask myself, “Am I believing in someone in the next generation?”

The next generation is often criticized, but if they have no mentors, no coaches, isn’t that somewhat of an indictment on the next generation’s leaders? I think it is.

As this latest study revealed, Millennials and Gen Z aren’t the next generation; they are the now generation! They are not an add-on to the church, but rather an active agent; not a consumer, but rather a contributor.

So, the question becomes, “How are you preparing future leaders for the arts and sciences, for economics and politics, for business and ministry?” Vocational discipleship is extremely important to the next generation and they are looking for coaches and mentors at church. Your job is to help facilitate this new reality: the workplace has become the new church.

This past Sunday, a young man approached me and asked me to mentor him. For starters, I was honored to be asked. It might now work this way for you. You might be the one who needs to ask a young man or woman if you could mentor him or her.

So, how will I mentor this new protege of mine? I have learned the last thing to do is give my mentee a book and tell him to go away. That practice does not do either party any good. You must first start by understanding that mentoring is a way for you to grow as much as your mentee.

So, how will I mentor this new protege of mine? I will take him along for the ride of his life. I will let him do ministry with me. He will do what I do. He will feel what I feel. He will see what I see and he will hear what I hear.

Wasn’t this the way of Jesus? Didn’t he tell some guys to come and follow him? Really, what Jesus told his disciples was “come and take a walk with me.” But, this was no short walk. This was a journey, a day-by-day walk beside Jesus and trusting him that he was taking them exactly where they needed to go. For one disciple, it led to the most unexpected place-hanging on a cross, upside-down. Thank goodness Jesus did not tell Peter this news on Day 1. This ride may not always be fun, but it will be worth giving up your very life for.

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The Next Generation and the First Generation

In Bible times, it was normal to define older men/women and younger men/women in one or two different ways: (1) Older men/women were above the age of 40 and younger men/women were under the age of 40, or (2) Older men/women were above the age of 60 and younger men/women were above the age of 12. Expectations by God of older and younger men/women were very similar (see Titus 2).

What if we, however, took the first definition and just made all the generations we have today either fit into one generation (those above the age of 40) or the other (those below the age of 40). In that line of thought, I have often wondered, “What would you then call the generation that comes before the next generation?” Though they are older and some may even be approaching death, I think it rude to call the preceding generation the “last generation.” Though they are wiser, “mature generation” just doesn’t sound right either. Though seniors shouldn’t be offended by the word “older” (the Bible considers old age a badge of honor), some are and might not like being called the “older generation” or the “senior generation.”

It is at this point that the words of Jesus enter my mine. I think of when Jesus talked about how the first would be last and the last would be first (Matthew 19:30). I know Jesus was talking about how service and discipleship related to the Kingdom in this verse and not how the generational gap could be bridged. But, there is a principle I have gleaned from Jesus’ statement that helps me answer the above question.

Things usually work backwards in life. Parents often raise their kids in young age only to turn around and have their kids take care of them in their old age. In this way, the last becomes first. When the next generation serves and takes care of those who came before them, they are being Christ-like. When both generations put the other before themselves, the first become last and the last become first. If we live the way Christ told us to, there really is no need for a generational war! Next generation, why not honor the oldest generation by calling them the first or best generation?

My friends from GenOn ministries recently gave me some great advice and ideas for intergenerational ministry. They told me that it is not how the first generation talks to the next generation or even how the next generation talks with the first generation. What it is about is in asking the right questions and having all voices at the table be heard and respected.

With my church’s homecoming coming up, GenOn provided me with a wonderful list of questions that the first generation can ask the next generation. I have since talked with both generations! I asked the first generation to be intentional about approaching the next generation whether that’s by walking up to or sitting down with the next generation. I asked the next generation that when approached by the first generation, they should not run or say hi and bye (one-word answers).

Here’s the list I want to lay down on each table at my church’s homecoming for generational conversations to begin:

  • What is your name? 
  • What grade are you in?
  • Do you play sports and if so, what sports do you play?
  • Are you involved in band or drama at school?
  • Did you go on any fun vacations or trips this past Summer? 
  • What are some of your favorite things to do?
  • What is school like (Tell them how school was for you)?
  • What do you like or love about our church?
  • What is a lesson you have learned at church and how does this lesson help you in your life?
  • What would you say to someone about why you attend this church?
  • What might your role at Mt. Carmel be in the future?
  • What are some ways you connect with God?
  • What are some highs and lows in your life that I can be praying about?
  • How can I pray for you this week?
  • What could our church do better at?
  • What is your favorite hymn/praise song?
  • Are there any other church songs that speak to you?
  • What music style do you connect with?

Keep in mind that what we have done for so long in church is multi-generational ministry, not intergenerational ministry. For too long, we have sat generations together in a room and asked for no interaction between the generations. Generations come and go to church without ever talking to or acknowledging one another. Intergenerational ministry doesn’t work like that! We need both formal and informal experiences where intentional and spontaneous ministry between the generations can take place.

So often, we let education or worship wars divide our generations and our churches. I’m not even talking about the technological gap. It shouldn’t matter if a younger man/woman wants to attend small group in a house instead of Sunday school in a church or if an older man/woman prefers the opposite. What should matter is that both are ministering and being ministered to!

Why do we make such a big deal about worship? Here is how I answered the last three questions on the list: “I can’t say that I have a favorite hymn/praise song. I do like both and my church does both. I don’t like dead worship. When God is being worshipped in spirit and in truth, that is live worship and you feel Him. I think the worship pastor/praise band is instrumental because no matter what he or she/they sing, who they are takes precedence. They may not sing my style of preference but their worship of God is evident and inspires me to worship. So worship goes beyond words. Our worship pastor has led worship for nineteen years and hasn’t got paid a dime. When he leads worship, I know he is truly leading out of his love for Jesus.”

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The Last Generation and Mental Health

As you know, I am always writing about the next generation. This is why I must admit that while reading James Emery White’s book Meet Generation Z, I became awestruck by an idea that Dr. White presents in the book. White says, “Intriguingly, some are calling Generation Z the last generation we will ever speak of. The speed of culture, in which change can happen in a day, will make speaking of generations and their markings obsolete.” White then quotes a Culture Forecast by Sparks and Honey that says, “Tomorrow will be less about what a difference a generation makes, but more about what a difference a day makes.” White then continues, “All the more reason to make sure we know about what is probably the last, and arguably what will prove to be the most influential, generation in Western history.”

Could Gen Z be the final generation? If you are working through the alphabet, it makes sense. I mean, we just went through Generation X, Generation Y, and now Generation Z. I think there is some validity to the concept White proposes. There is no doubt that the years in which comprise a generation are shortening due to technology, the generation gap, and the speed at which society is moving. I like what Daniel 12:4 says: “But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” It is no surprise that knowledge has increased and that people are scurrying about. Man, in his rebellion, has always tried to unite in order to reach heights that properly belong to God (e.g., The Tower or Babel in Genesis 11). But does all of this mean that generations will cease to exist? I am not so sure. I am reminded of all the times Jesus spoke of judgments regarding various generations. In the end, I don’t think the answer matters all that much and that any talk about whether Gen Z is the last generation or not is just fanciful speculation at best.

While we are on subjects of dispute, I have to bring up another. In the year 2008, Dr. Robert Leahy posted on Psychology Today this line: “The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950’s.” Leahy made this statement based off of research that is now nearly twenty years old. However, with the advent of smart phones and social media in 2007, I think Leahy was onto something. Yet, with such a time lapse between the research, I prefer to lean on one of the leading Gen Z expert’s opinions in analyzing the mental health of youth culture today.

Dr. Jean Twenge, Professor of Psychology at San Diego St. wrote a book called iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids are Growing up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy-And Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.” Twenge followed up on her book when she recently wrote an article entitled, “The mental health crisis among America’s youth is real – and staggering.”  Twenge has said that it is not an exaggeration to describe iGen or Generation Z as being on the brink of the worst mental health crisis in decades.

In the article, Twenge says, “The large increases in mental health issues in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health appeared almost exclusively among teens and young adults, with less change among Americans ages 26 and over. Even after statistically controlling for the influences of age and year, we found that depression, distress and suicidal thoughts were much higher among those born in the mid- to late-1990s, the generation I call iGen. The mental health crisis seems to be a generational issue, not something that affects Americans of all ages. And that, more than anything else, might help researchers figure out why it’s happening.”

The old research says that teens were tripping out because of academic pressure. Academic pressure has only intensified today as kids compete for scholarships, etc. However, I think Twenge is more onto the cause when she says, “But there was one societal shift over the past decade that influenced the lives of today’s teens and young adults more than any other generation: the spread of smartphones and digital media like social media, texting and gaming.”

I agree with the latest research which says mental health is a generational issue. Whereas mental health was a minor issue in the 1950’s, now the issue has blown up to become a normal part of life. In the past, those struggling with mental health were treated as exiles. Today, these same outcasts are embraced and treated with special care. Colleges, in particular, are having to navigate these challenging times by offering their students programs and professionals which can assist them with their mental health. Jim Sankey, SEC Commissioner, recently stated at SEC Media Days, “The perspectives on mental health represent not a ripple of change, but a wave of new reality, which faces all of us in intercollegiate athletics and higher education.” Whereas talk with students used to center around campus parking and textbooks, Sankey says students today need and want to talk about their mental health.

We should help students understand that they need to value the words coming from those who love them like parents, teachers, and coaches more than they do the words coming from their Twitter followers or other social media outlets.

How are you helping this generation deal with mental health issues? There is no better place to start than the Bible. This verse comes to mind: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV).