A
new common term has sprung up in our society in just very recent
times - “millennial generation”. Alright, alright – the term
itself isn’t new, but it seems to have sprung up recent
conversations in Christian and non-Christian circles.
What
is the “Millennial generation” exactly?
According
to Live Science, the “Millennial generation” is defined as
follows:
“The term Millennial's generally refers to the generation of people born between the early 1980’s and the early 2000’s. Perhaps the most commonly used birth range for this group is 1982-2000.”
It
is in this specific generation, that the “reputations” of
adults/young adults has been ruined.
What
do I mean by this?
If
we tear this “popular generation” apart, we may understand it a
little better. So let’s look at the reasons one by one shall we.
Reason
1 : the “Millennial
generation” is known by either the Peter Pan generation or the
Boomerang generation.
Why
these titles?
The
reason this generation has been given the titles Peter Pan and
Boomerang are for very obvious (and rather
disappointing/discouraging) reasons.
Adults/young
adults born from 1982-2000 are
commonly known as the following:
1)
They are flighty and lack stability
Like
Peter Pan, they aren’t willing to grow up – nor are they (for the
majority) encouraged. Which leads to the following:
-
bouncing from job to job
-
going from their parents house, to their own, back to their parent’s
house, back to their own (I’m
sure you get the picture)
2)
They don’t take responsibility for their actions
Adults/young
adults today always have an “out” to their responsibilities –
no matter what. They aren’t encouraged to take responsibility for
their own actions. One of three things happens:
1)
they find the easy way out
2)
they get out of “it” completely
3)
their parents end up taking the responsibility.
For
example:
a
girl (within this specific generation) gets pregnant. She ends up
either 1) giving her child up for adoption (the easy way out),
2) having an abortion (getting out of it completely), or 3)
her parents tell her that they will take care of her baby so she can
have her life back and have fun (their parents end up taking
responsibility).
What’s
the problem with the above example? (I’m
not pointing fingers, just being honest and sharing my heart about
this)
1.
Who’s fault is it?
We
could play the blame game on who’s fault it is. I mean c’mon,
the blame game is common in this generation, right?
We
could blame the girl for not saving herself, the guy for allowing
himself to be caught up in the moment, them both for not being
responsible in their actions, the parents for not teaching their
children properly, God for allowing her to get pregnant, or the devil
for putting the temptation before the “couple”.
Let’s
pause for a moment, so I can explain something.
Who
are we to blame God for bringing evil to fruition?
It
is NOT God’s fault that the girl got pregnant. It’s NOT His
fault that the guy couldn’t control himself. It’s NOT His fault
that the parents didn’t teach their children properly.
Yes
the girl got pregnant, but God didn’t allow it. The pregnancy
occurred because it is a consequence from the sin that was committed.
Sin has a consequence, whether it’s here in the now, or later on
down the road.
However,
God WILL use the pregnancy for His good and His glory. He will take
the evil, and make it good. I have seen it happen, heard accounts of
this happening, and know it to be TRUE.
Okay,
back to the post.
So
again, who’s fault is it?
It’s
certainly not God’s fault, we’ve already discussed that (and the
reason behind it). We could use the devil, because “he made it to
where we couldn’t control ourselves”.
It’s
actually the parent’s fault!
2.
Why blame parents?
Just
because I say that it’s the parent’s fault, doesn’t excuse the
“couple” for their irresponsibility. They too are wrong, and for
that they are going to face the consequences for their actions.
However, if they were raised the way most young people are being
raised today, they didn’t know any better.
Parents
today have not raised their
children in the fear and
admonition of the Lord. They do not encourage their children to live
a life that’s set apart from society, to resist the devil and flee
(see James 4:7-8), to live a life of total surrender, purity, to live
their lives pleasing to God.
Instead,
they want their children to experience the world, have a life they
never had, have fun, express themselves, and just be “kids”.
After all, kids will be kids, right?
This
mindset that parents have has ruined this generation (and the
generation to come!). It has ruined the “reputation”.
Parents
have created young people
who use the excuses:
“Well,
‘this’ is wrong with me. So I can’t hold a job.”
“I’m
not going to do ‘this’ because it’s over my head.”
“I
don’t like how it doesn’t affect me.”
… and
other excuses.
The
reputation for this specific generation has been so called “ruined”
because no one expects more from them because of what their parents
have instituted early on. Instead
they have instituted a “me focused” mentality into young adults
in this specific generation (and the generation to follow).
But
have the parent’s “lack of knowledge” affected only the
reputation? Absolutely not.
Young people from today’s society haven’t been the only ones
affected. Christian young adults have been affected as well.
Because
the vast majority of the young people have set the “standard” in
the generation, it makes it very hard for Christian young people to
live set apart. The “standard” is now seeping into the minds of
Christian young adults today, which means the possibility for
affecting the world for the cause of Christ is diminishing rapidly.
Christian
young adults are leaving the faith, quitting church, and giving up on
the cause of Christ due to the mentality parents have instituted.
In
Christian families you have parents who
want their children to live better than they did. They want their
children to live differently than the world – pleasing God and
attempting to live a holy
life.
Now
don’t get me wrong, that is totally awesome! I am totally all for
that, however, what parents don’t realize is that their children
don’t attempt to search out their own faith. They are simply
living the way they’ve been raised, because “Mom and Dad says
this the only way to live life.”
They
never get to experience the freedom that comes with living out their
own faith.
They
are never able to fully understand the underlying reason behind some
convictions.
They
don’t understand the danger in living out the faith of their
parents.
The majority of parents today, don’t bother encouraging their children to search out their own
faith.
Let
me ask a question to any parents reading this post:
“What’s
the reason behind not allowing your children search out their own
faith? Is it because you’re afraid they may make the same mistakes
you have made in your past? Is it because you’re concerned they
will play with the evils of this world? Do you bother telling them
why you have instituted certain convictions in your household?”
If
the answers to those questions were “yes”, then let me ease your
mind and help you understand
the mindset of a child.
“Don’t be so quick to withhold the reasons behind certain convictions within your household/family. It makes a difference when you tell your children why you dress a certain way, why they won’t be allowed to ‘date’, why you don’t say certain words. Instead of saying ‘because we said so’ or ‘because that’s what we’ve decided, deal with it’, explain the why behind the convictions. It makes it easier when they start to search out their own faith.Allowing your children to search out their own faith, is the best thing that you (as a parent) can do. As a child who was allowed to search out her own faith, I can say it has truly helped me discover who I am in Christ and as an individual.If you have raised your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, all you have to do is guide, direct, and pray that your children see the Biblical way and the good in how you’ve raised them. They cannot always have training wheels in use, the training wheels need to come off eventually. And with taking the ‘training wheels’ off, comes the fact that you need to be willing to pick them up when they fall. You need to be willing to withhold scolding if they make a fumble. You need to be encouraging in second chances. I wish I could say that your children searching out their own faith, will result in no worldliness coming in. I speak from experience, searching out their own faith will mean that they will try to include some of the world, but make it godly.Not allowing them to search out their own faith may result in your children backsliding, leaving the faith completely, giving up on church, etc. They may take a drastic leap the other direction and start living their life in a way that will be hard for you to accept as a parent. You may find yourself hard to love your own child because of their drastic lifestyle change.However, if you allow them to search out their own faith while they’re living under your protection, they will find that they have a place of refuge when they make a fumble. They will find that they can come to you in regards to differing beliefs and opinions. They will see that you trust them to make their own decisions in life, which will encourage them to step above the ‘standard’ in the “Millennial generation” has set. Instead of hindering them, you’re encouraging them to grow.Don’t hesitate in allowing your children to search and grow in their own faith.”
Why
are young people leaving the faith and giving up on church?
My
theory is as follows:
“Because young aren’t able to seek out their own faith within the safety of their parents home, they are like a bird trapped in a cage. They are being too sheltered, wanting to spread their wings of faith (and when they do spread, the wings are clipped). They begin to realize that they don’t believe the same way as their parents, but as they continue to hear their parents bash other denominations, they decide to keep quiet. The pastor of their church decides to get the advice from the young people within his church. Advice on how to include young people more, to make church greater, to reach out to the young people within the community, and just to get a fresh perspective. When the advice is given, the pastor pushes it to the wayside, because “they’re only kids”. So they decide that they don’t want any part of church, because they aren’t being looked upon as the decision making young adults they truly are.However, their actions begin to change, because God is growing their faith anyways. Their eyes are being open to the legalism within their own church, within their family, within their friendship circles, etc. So when it comes time to be on their own, they jump at the chance as quickly as possible. Leaving behind what they know faith to be. Why? Because – why be a part of such a legalistic, constricting “faith”? They can do just as great in life with out being constricted, without all the legalism, condemnation, etc. So they leave the faith. Do they give up on church? No of course not, they have to go to church, because they have to be there every time the doors are open, and they are called to not forsake the gathering of believers. So they have not only left the faith, but have also left church. They no longer want religion, and quit reading their Bible, give up on their passionate prayer life, etc. They decide to denounce God and live like a child of the world, and not of God.”
What
is wrong with this?
Again,
let’s tear this apart and see the flaws within the mindset of all
this.
1.
The young people weren’t able to seek out their own
faith.
-
I’ve already discussed the importance of seeking out your own faith
(just
scroll up a bit and read if you can’t remember)
-
The “wings of faith” should never be clipped or constricted.
They should be allowed to spread out to their full capacity, full
length, ever growing.
-
If young people realize that they don’t exactly believe the same
way as the denomination that they were raised in, it’s not
a hill
to die on. We all are called to walk in faith, but everyone’s walk
is different. If they aren’t involved in cults, or drastically
diverse religions, they are fine. Let God grow them to be who He
created them to be.
2.
The young people aren’t looked at as the
person they truly are.
-
It’s a pastor’s job to encourage the young people within his
church congregation to be more than they think they are.
-
If a pastor wants a fresh perspective, and asks for the advice from
young people – then he needs to be willing to listen and use
discernment in heeding it.
-
The young people need to be encouraged to serve within their church,
and it’s the pastor’s job to institute this. If the pastor sees
that there are young men that are students of the Word, might he
encourage them to preach a sermon? If it’s known that there are
young women who are gifted in discipling young women, might he
encourage them to start a girl’s Bible study group? It’s the
pastor’s job to reach out and encourage the next generation to step
above the common standard that the
world has set.
Once
young people are seen for who God has made them to be, what they’re
capable of, and are recognized for their God-given talents/gifts –
the young people will feel the urge to stay and serve in
the Kingdom.
However,
there is one major problem with this specific generation (and I
stated it a while back). This generation is very me
focused.
You
hear today:
“Well
I left the church
because I didn’t
like the fact that the church didn’t do anything for me.”
“I
don’t do church because it
just wants my money.”
“Church
isn’t what I need.”
Okay,
I’m going to brutally honest, and just plain blunt.
It’s
NOT about you!
It’s
not about what church does for you, but what you can do
for the church.
Ask
yourself the following three questions:
How
can you effectively serve within the church, and advance the Kingdom?
How
much are you willing to give monetary wise, in order to advance the
Kingdom? The poor woman gave everything she had, and she was
incredibly blessed! (see Mark 12:42-44)
What
if you are what the church needs?
I
would like to point out two examples of selfless people that serve
the church on a regular basis.
The
pastor:
he
isn’t (or shouldn’t be) there for himself. He’s
there to be the mouth piece for God.
The
deacons:
they
aren’t there for themselves. They are there to offer spiritual and
moral support for the pastor. They help him make church decisions
and help keep him accountable.
Yes,
they enjoy the position in which they serve and there’s nothing
wrong with that. The important thing to remember is this: they
are there to serve God, not themselves.
Church
isn’t about serving you, but about you serving the church.
With
all that said, how can we put an end to this “popular trend”?
As
young people within this generation, we need to show the world that
we have stepped above the common standard. Yes it will be hard –
but think of the rewards.
We
will become radical in our faith, not our parent’s.
We
will reach the next generation and set a new standard for
them.
We
will learn to have a servant’s heart, and grow in our God-given
talents.
When
we make the decision to “debunk” this worldview, we are silently
saying:
“We’ve
had enough of the inadequacy, and are more than what you claim
we are. It’s time to show you who God has made us to be!”
Who’s
ready to step above the common standard, set a new standard, and
debunk this worldview?
