Articles
General Board of Discipleship

From Generation to Generation

by Craig Kennet Miller

One of the greatest challenges facing The United Methodist Church as we move into the twenty-first century is how to change our leadership and ministry from the older members of the "GI Generation," who are in their seventies and eighties, to the generations that follow. Skeptics might say the generation difference is just an institutional issue that is being addressed so that The United Methodist Church can keep itself alive. However, another voice says that maintaining the legacy of faith and commitment of former generations is dependent upon our ability to welcome new people into the Christian faith. We're not concerned simply with counting numbers or staying afloat. We're concerned with the stewardship of the faith and our willingness to change so that the gospel of Jesus Christ may be proclaimed in a new way to the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of the "GI Generation."

Why Should the Church Be Concerned About Generation Differences?

Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, decided it needed to do something different to be effective in its ministry with the young adults in the area, many of whom are students at nearby Vanderbilt University. A historical church in an area that is becoming multi-ethnic and multi-generational, Belmont realized that its core congregation of older adults was not as active as in the past. United Methodist churches across the nation face the dilemma of being in ministry with older adults and with younger adults who have different needs and expectations.

Part of Belmont's solution was to start a worship service on Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. that is targeted to young adults. Rather than changing the 10:30 a.m. service and alienating persons whose needs were already being met, Belmont chose the healthier option of offering a new worship service.

Old Versus Young?

The common areas where differences between generations arise are worship and music. For the most part, older members of the congregation are happy with the current worship service. They like organ music, they enjoy singing the hymns they grew up with, and they like a formal worship service. Younger adult members often say they want the music they grew up with -- rock-'n-roll-- in the church. They prefer music that is upbeat, lively, and new. They like drums and guitars. Many prefer to dress casually for worship services.

What explains these differences? Are the older people stubborn, "old fogies" who want to block progress? Are the younger members "upstarts" who ought to wait their turn? How does the pastor address the needs of both groups? The issues involved are more than just old versus young. Profound cultural differences exist between the generations.

The Speed of Change

Before the twentieth century, change was slow. The beliefs, values, and perspectives of a generation were passed from generation to generation with little variation. Most people learned their parents' trade and lived in the community where they were raised. However, since the beginning of the twentieth century, changes in the ways we live and the ways we communicate have increased rapidly. In 1900, the main means of transportation were walking, riding a horse, taking a train, or sailing in a ship. Long distance communication was by mail or telegraph. Just a few urban areas had electricity, and telephones were still in the experimental stage. The first commercial movies were yet to be produced, and automobiles were in the initial stages of production. The vast majority of people used candlelight at night, worked by the sweat of their brows on farms, and communicated with the limited number of people who lived within the community.

As we move into the twenty-first century, we can communicate with people in Hong Kong or Egypt as easily as our ancestors communicated with their next door neighbors. Televisions, videos, movies, telephones, fax machines, computers, and radios bombard us with information from around the world.

People born earlier in this century have a different range of experiences from those born later in this century. How many "Boomers" in their forties have trouble programming their VCRs while their children can program them in minutes? Technology and the ways we communicate are major factors in generational differences.

The Church Is Undergoing Generational Transition

As a result of technological change and historical events, each of the five living American generations has a different view of the world. As the church seeks to be in ministry to everyone, its leaders need to recognize those different viewpoints.

For the last forty years, The United Methodist Church has done a good job of ministering to the needs and concerns of the "GI Generation," those born during the period of 1908 - 1926. Ranging in age from 74 - 92 in the year 2000, this generation grew up during the depression, was victorious in World War II, and provided all the United States presidents from Kennedy to Bush. As a generation, these people are the glue that has held many of our institutions together. According to a recent survey, about 61 percent of United Methodist Church members are fifty years old or older. (This number does not include preparatory members, but even if they are included in the total number, fifty percent of the persons in our denomination come from the "GI Generation" and "Silent Generation.")

Following the "GI Generation" is the "Silent Generation," born during the years spanning 1927 - 1945. By the year 2000, these persons will be ages 55 - 73. The "Silent Generation" pioneered vital social transitions in our society. Colin Powell, the first African American Chief of Staff; Sandra Day O'Conner, the first woman on the Supreme Court; and Neil Armstrong, the first person on the moon are members of this generation. The "Silent Generation" drove popular culture for years. Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Ray Charles are members of this generation.

Following the Silent Generation is the "Baby Boom Generation," made up of persons who were born during the years 1946 - 1964. Ranging in age from 36 - 54 in the year 2000, the "Boomers" make up the largest demographic block of people. This generation established numerous trends and became known as "Hippies," "Flower Children," the "Me Generation," and "Yuppies." So great were their number in 1992 that presidential leadership skipped the Silent Generation and came to the Boomers in the form of President Bill Clinton. The last two vice-presidents, Dan Quayle and Al Gore, are also Boomers.

What makes the Boomers different from GIs and Silents? Four main characteristics: Brokenness, Loneliness, Rootlessness, and Self-Seeking. Because of the political and social upheaval of the sixties and seventies, many Boomers gave up on the institutions of government, education, family, and the church. Trusting no one but themselves, many tried to make it on their own. Members of this generation want to make a difference in the world and are looking for ways to do so.

"Postmoderns" are persons of the generation born during the years 1965 - 1981. Ranging in age from 19 to 35 in the year 2000, they entered a world that was not certain it wanted children. Born between the assassination of President Kennedy and the election of Ronald Reagan, members of this generation grew up with parents who were dealing with the social revolutions of the sixties and seventies. Approximately forty percent of them have parents who are divorced. "Postmoderns" are hungry for healthy relationships and models of family security. Many are creating their own extended families through networks of friends. Television shows such as Friends and Seinfeld capture their struggles with relationships. "Postmoderns" are most likely to join a congregation that values their contributions, understands their culture, empathizes with their struggles, and offers them an authentic Christian lifestyle.

The newest generation on the scene, the "Baby Boomlets," offers another set of challenges to the church. Two youth workers at Christ United Methodist Church, Mobile, Alabama, shared their struggles with generational differences. They noticed significant differences between the youth who were born in 1981 and the youth who were born in 1982. They observed that the ninth- through twelfth-graders were team oriented, worked well in groups, and supported one another. That group of youth tended to wear similar clothes and to socialize together. The sixth- through eighth-graders were markedly different. They went to great lengths to ensure that they did not wear the same things. They liked individual attention and needed to be rewarded for the things they did. Their motto seemed to be, "Let's all be different."

At first glance, these differences may not seem significant. Kids are different after all, and we can not expect all groups to be the same. However, the youth directors felt that they had a problem: What had worked for the ninth- through twelfth-graders when they were in junior high did not work with the youth presently in the junior high program. They realized that to minister effectively to the junior high youth, they were going to have to offer a different kind of program.

The youth in the ninth- through twelfth-grades are members of the "Postmodern Generation," born from 1965 - 1981. Those in the sixth through eighth grades are the leading edge of a new generation, the "Baby Boomlets" or "Millennials," born during the years 1981 - 1999. Although not much research has been done, we do know a few things about the "Baby Boomlets." First, they are a larger group than the "Postmoderns." In fact, we are on the verge of a "youth boom" that will be in full bloom in about ten years. Rivaling the numbers of the older Baby Boom Generation, the Boomlets will challenge our society because of the great disparity between the "Haves" and the "Have Nots." Approximately two-thirds of the Boomlets were born to Baby Boomers. One-third were born to the younger Postmoderns, many of whom are teenagers. Some thirty percent of the Boomlets were born outside of marriage. About fifty percent live with blended families or in homes headed by a single parent. Already, the press has warned about the negative potential of these factors and has stressed the growing crime rate among juveniles.

The General Board of Discipleship Takes These Issues Seriously

The General Board of Discipleship recognizes the need for churches to deal with generational change. The board takes seriously the need to understand the local church as a system and to understand the different ways the different generations work. The GI Generation works best under a system of committees and boards that channel decision-making up the hierarchical ladder. Each committee meets, makes its decisions, then waits for a higher authority to grant permission.

Postmoderns, on the other hand, do not function well in a local church system that has multiple layers of checks and balances. They work better in a system of teams, where decisions are made by the persons doing the work. Impatient with long debates and waiting for approvals, they want to have the power to make decisions immediately. Churches that take seriously the ways different generations operate are better equipped to minister to different groups.

The General Board of Discipleship recognizes that different generations view pastoral leadership in different ways. For example, the GI Generation sees the pastor as the one who does the ministry. The pastor's job is to visit the sick, attend committee meetings, perform weddings and funerals, and preach a good sermon. Baby Boomers, however, see pastors in a different light. Rather than viewing the pastor as the one who does all the ministry, Boomers want to be free to discover their own ministry. For Boomers, the pastor is the person who holds the vision of the congregation and who empowers the laity to be in ministry. Because they want to make a difference in the world, Boomers seek to use the gifts for ministry that God has given them.

The New Congregational Development team at the General Board of Discipleship is urging church leaders to recognize the significance of starting new churches as a way to be in ministry to all generations. Grace Community United Methodist Church, Shreveport, Louisiana, built a new church that primarily serves younger Baby Boomers. Started in 1993, the church now has 400 people in worship on Sundays. The Los Angeles Korean United Methodist Church recently started a new English language ministry to reach Baby Boomer and Postmodern Korean-Americans.

Discipleship Resources (1-800-685-4370; Web Site: http://www.discipleshipresources.org), a publishing arm of the General Board of Discipleship, has several books that can help congregations in their work with different generations:

From Generation to Generation

Our challenge is knowing how to pass our faith to our children and to our children's children. We don't need new gimmicks. What attracts any group of people to church is a vibrant faith focused on belief in Jesus Christ. An understanding of the different generations enables churches to be able to listen more clearly to the needs and concerns of each group. It also equips leaders to be able to minister and to speak in ways that clearly communicate the gospel to each group.

If you were going to become a missionary to Zaire, you would learn the language, the customs, and the culture. You would attempt to discover the most urgent needs and concerns of the people. As we try to minister across generational lines, we are challenged to become missionaries to the new generations. Because of rapid technological and cultural change, we are called to learn a new language, a new way of dress, and a new culture so that we might share the gospel. The staff of the General Board of Discipleship invite you to be part of the challenge and the struggle to share the gospel of Jesus Christ across the barriers that divide us. As followers of Jesus, we can do no less.

-- Craig Kennet Miller (cmiller@gbod.org) is an evangelism director for the General Board of Discipleship. He specializes in new congregational development and generational studies.

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