The New Generation & The Church

I recently read an article about the new generation that has been dubbed by the pollster, Zogby, as The First Globals. He has written a new book called “The Way We’ll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream.”

The article talks about how the new generation of Americans (between ages 18-29) are making dramatic moves away from traditional American ways. He obviously writes about it from a political standpoint, but I think there is something for the church to learn from it.

Here’s a summary of how he describes the new segment of our socieity:

- they are materialistic and self-absorbed
- they want to look richer than they are
- they obsess about relationships
- they are more accepting of homosexuality (more socially liberal)
- 66% say abortion is always morally wrong (you read that right, it’s not a typo)
- they are “color-blind”
- they no longer identify themselves as primarily American, but global
- they are willing to adjust their lifestyle to conserve energy
- they hunger for authenticity

I see some good things in there, but I also see some troubling things. I think the church can really capitalize on the hunger for authenticity; but it must be a true authentic authenticity. Authenticity for authenticity’s sake is like a festering boil and those who want authenticity can see right through it and will call it what it is: fake. The article says, “The America of 2020 will be a more tolerant nation,” he writes. “Our people by then will have lived for two decades in a new world of less . . . We will expect our leaders to talk straight: Hype, hokum, and hooey in politics, in advertising, wherever it appears (emphasis mine) will be punished.”

So what do you think? How can the church be effective in reaching out to this mindset? There’s a lot to digest here, but it’s also a good opportunity.

You can read the article in it’s entirety here.