The church faces one of the greatest opportunities in history as the world totters on the brink of collapse and chaos.
We have a mission field prepared for harvesting.
To be effective we need to understand the mindsets of this generation.
Consider the following attitudes and what our response should be.
RAMPANT INDIVIDUALISM
It’s cool to be whoever you want to be.
Hairstyles, clothes food etc. have all been affected by globalization. You can look like any culture you want, and live out any fantasy you desire.
Individualism is lauded today as a sign that someone is going to make it in life.
Mothers now dress more outlandishly than their daughters, and fathers have more ear-rings than their daughters. It is a confused world where anything goes with anyone.
The church now often tries to adopt even more rules and regulations in an attempt to control this rebellion, but it actually drives this very creative generation even further from their doors.
KEY FOR CHURCH: FOCUS ON THE CAUSE AND ALLOW CREATIVITY TO FLOURISH.
LIQUID LOVE
In previous generations love was traded for security and belonging. Today security and belonging have been traded for freedom. No longer is love equated with commitment and longevity. Today it is linked to freedom of choice to enjoy the immediate experience without repercussions. Love is now liquid. Love is a commodity to be traded. It can flow to wherever and whoever makes the moment special and important. Love is no longer tied to covenant, commitment or marriage. Love today is expressed in any form of feel-good behavior, without moral restraint. Love is best expressed by the common and popular saying, “If you can’t be with the one you love; then love the one you’re with.”
KEY FOR CHURCH: MODEL UNCONDITIONAL LOVE FOR OTHERS – BUT LINK YOUR LOVE TO COMMITMENT .
EMPTY EYES
People today have cluttered vision without specific focus. The eyes of 21st century people are cluttered with more options, portrayed through more mediums, offered by more organizations, filling more horizons than ever before.
When you look into the eyes of today’s generation you can see a million things but none are in focus. Therefore there is little commitment but much expectation of a better day tomorrow.
KEY FOR CHURCH: TEACH THE KINGDOM CAUSE UNTIL IT COMES INTO FOCUS AND BECOMES PERSONAL VISION.
GATED COMMUNITIES
The need for territorial segregation will continue to grow as the great divide between the classes continues to widen.
The haves are feeling increasingly nervous and the “have-nots”, are becoming increasingly demanding of their supposed rights.
People want to live in areas where they feel secure amongst their own kind and so the “gated community” is now a blossoming industry.
The more we segregate our communities the more hostility it creates.
KEY FOR CHURCH: BUILD A CHURCH WITHOUT WALLS GOING INTO EVERY SEGMENT OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
EASY SPEAK
With the breakdown of society’s values has also come the loss of power through language. Easy speak has diminished the average person’s vocabulary to a mere few hundred words. With such a dramatic loss of expression has also come the language of the street using slang and now the language of the internet and SMS using letters and digits together.
With the destruction of our language has come the loss of power to persuade and influence through expressed thought, and consequently the use of physical force to achieve and end has increased dramatically.
KEY FOR CHURCH: TEACH THE POWER OF WORDS TO INFLUENCE AND BUILD OUR WORLD.
WILLING SLAVES
Today’s generation is not a “drop-out generation and is actually committed to working very hard. Unfortunately the affluent generation love to spend their money and so they then must work hard to make some more of it to go around.
People today are willing to work hard to make money to play hard. Gone are the days when people worked all year for a few weeks holiday over Christmas. Now people want a mini-break every few weeks, and usually in a nice hotel on the beach.
Consequently their lives are dominated by work to provide for their increasingly affluent desires. The ability to have the good things in life is very important and so hard work is seen as essential to make it all happen. Because of this their commitments to more noble causes are again becoming of secondary importance.
KEY FOR CHURCH: TEACH STEWARDSHIP OF WHOLE LIFE, AND TO SEEK GOD’S KINGDOM FIRST.
DESIGNER SPIRITUALITY
There is a strong trend toward having a spiritual component to your life. It is again cool to look inward and be a spiritually aware person.
With such a search for spiritual significance has come a plague of designer churches and spiritual shop-aholics chasing designer programs that suit their lifestyle and so connecting with weird gurus who offer an easy way to inner peace, prosperity and happiness.
KEY FOR CHURCH: TEACH BIBLE BASED DISCIPLESHIP.
