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Even More Key Characteristics
of Today's Teens It’s daunting so many youth leaders and parents. After roughly 35 years of teenagers basically using the same cultural touchstones, with similar social reactions, career outlooks, and worldviews, the youth today are seismically different. The best analogy might be music. In the 1960s, rock n’ roll changed the cultural landscape of the Western world, with parents despairing at the garbage (or other adjectives) their children were now welcoming with eager minds. Parents couldn’t understand the lyrics, hated the haircuts and clothes of the musical superstars, and were repelled by the cultural stands they took. The teens crowed about their own, unique music in the new age of enlightenment, drowning that period in electric guitar riffs. Flash forward to the 1990s. After reigning for over 30 years, those teens are now parents who suddenly don’t understand rap/hip hop. They cringe and wonder why their children listen to that rythmnless garbage, the endless cursing, and the materialistic lifestyle. The teens are crowing about their own, unique music in this new era of authenticity, drowning their world in a tsunami of spoken songs. Yes, the cultural touchstones are writhing in new directions and it’s best we understand that music just symbolizes that transformation. There are deeper, more profound movements at work that teachers and youth workers must understand to effectively minister. The biggest truth about this group is that “you're out until you're in.” You (and me and almost everyone else teaching) grew up under a “you're in until you're out” mentality, where we welcomed special speakers, trip chaperones, et al to our Youth Weeks, socials, and special outings, this group is indifferent to them because they haven't proved themselves. Whereas we welcomed any outside attention from teachers and youth evangelists, seeking their advice because we knew they had our best interests at heart, this group is suspicious of everyone (read: indifferent or abusive parents) who is in a position to help. Everyone in leadership, even church leadership, is just a hired gun doing a job, not fulfilling a calling. They’re not Millenials, they’re Missourians—show them; you have to show them you care over an extended period of time or they’ll never believe you care. Most of this must sound familiar, and that’s why this list was created. It’s not all-inclusive, nor is it the doctoral work of an accredited, sociological expert; rather, it reflects the observations of someone who continues to work with youth after many years. As with all lists, some points will apply to your teens and others will not; sift through them and figure out where your teens fit in because deeper understanding always results in a more defined and effective outreach. And so, in no particular order, 21st Century Teens… 1. See No Negatives in Technology (and Technology Symbolizes Change)—Those of us who grew up without cell phones and PDAs and every other device of convenience weigh each new “essential” to judge if it’s worth replacing our favored, tried-and-true (and dated) approach. Teenagers have no such context. They grew up with one hour photo processing and the Internet and car remotes, so any new device or enhancement (texting on the cell phone) is only cool, cooler, and coolest. (At least until the next great invention or enhancement bumps the previous best down a notch.) If all technology is good, then all change is positive and natural, since technology is most often the driver of change. This means they’re much less likely to fix a critical eye at prophecy fulfillment or the fact that these technologies might actually isolate, instead of connect, people; reinforce an independence that resists a sense of scriptural accountability; and diminish their privacy rights as a citizen, which is hardly a concern to any teenager. This is the group that would welcome a convenience chip in the right hand that would handle identity and financial transactions because it makes life easier. 2. Don’t Appreciate Irony—They’re hip enough to get what’s advertising and what’s not, what’s a scam and what’s sincere, but irony is ultimately hypocritical, it’s fake, pseudo wise-guy humor. It’s not real, clean, and true. The reason this fact is important is because these kids have grown up with too much fraud and divorce and broken promises to put up with peers and teachers trying to foist pseudo cool on them. There’s no time for that. It’s inauthentic and this is a very literal generation. 3. Recreate Their Own Identities—To take my above music analogy one step further, there is no dominant music form among these young people, just the latest fad. Rock n’ roll may have ruled previous decades, but one genre, a mono-form, is only too mundane for these guys. Everything listenable today is a fragmented mosaic of hip hop, gospel, pop, rock, country, electronica, and unusual hybrids that borrow from a few or many of these other forms. Instead of previous generations reveling in their strong, dominant identities, then holding fast to what they once were (even if it’s no longer relevant), this group revels in all available choices and dabbles in innumerable varieties. Thus, we have spectacular hybrid teens whose music reflects one value, their academic dreams another, their friends something else, and their religious belief system yet a different twist. The positive of this mindset is that many seekers now pursue Christ openly, without being judged as “uncool.” (Thus, we can’t be repulsed by the green haired, tattoo boy with the skateboard. He’s sincere and harmless.) The negative of this mentality is that they may only pursue biblical truth so far, and then stop, because their interest is shallow or the commitment required is too great when warring against all of their other tentacled interests. 4. Remain Undereducated in the Western Canon—One of the most disturbing side-effects of our failed national school system is the overall inefficiency of our passing on the importance of the Western, liberal democratic tradition. Jesus, 1984, Shakespeare, and the Magna Carta are often just names (if that) from another time; these are not personal realities. Where this hurts us is that this entire Western tradition of beauty and truth rests on an unmatchable Judeo-Christian foundation. When our kids can’t appreciate their own history and literature, they’re unlikely to apply it to their own lives or preserve and value it. Though we may not have received our Ph.D. in the Classics, the fact is that to accept War and Peace as history’s greatest novel, and Beethoven as our greatest composer, is to make and accept strong value judgments, something deeply out of tune with today’s culture and certainly no longer taught. A canon (a selected body of spectacular works) is to respect enhanced values, which recognizes truth, which connects directly to our God and the Bible. The stronger we emphasize the eternal verities of beauty and love, the greater our witness. 5. See Stories as the Coin of the Realm—In our current, pluralistic society, where every religion and belief system is seen as an individual choice, with none superior or inferior, there are few rules, but all of them are obvious (Don’t kill or steal or hurt others, et al). The overriding mentality is, ‘If it works for you (no matter what it is), that’s great. Just don’t push it on me.’ This mentality makes lecture, and even straight preaching and teaching, difficult and ineffective. However, this mindset embraces stories of every type and in every fashion. This is great news for Christians because we’ve got a treasure trove of history’s greatest stories. Stories immerse young people in an experience while simultaneously teaching them how to live and think and laugh. This point shouldn’t surprise, as this is how Jesus primarily taught, only he called them parables. (Plus, if you’ll think about it for just a moment, your favorite teacher and preacher is a great storyteller.) The only negative here is you can’t choose the moral they might want to believe or accept out of a story; but multiply enough strong Bible stories together and it will end at the equation you seek. 6. Insist Their Stories Be An Interactive Experience—Lecture is out. A single expert sharing is out. This crowd insists on participating in every story experience. That’s why drama, especially in church settings, is so popular today. It’s essential for them to feel a part, to live it, and share it with others. This is further born out in professional training. There are no teachers or experts, there are just “facilitators,” whose job is to facilitate everyone’s group learning experience. Facilitator’s recognize that everyone’s educated now, an expert in something. Thus, training (read: teaching) is not a competition between experts (after all, haven’t we all thought: “I’m smarter/more experienced than the speaker up there”?), but rather a willingness to learn from someone in their area. Facilitating stories is a non-combative method of sharing truth. Call it “dumbing down” if you want. I call it effective. Lecture is a dead-end. What all this means is, if you don’t want to be “just another adult,” you need to be willing to understand them and their world. When you commit your most precious gifts to them—your time and patience and legitimate interest—over an extended period, they will respond favorably. Sharing your time proves they are important to you. Not sharing it means they’re just another item on your list. (And that’s how most of them grew up at home.) Be sure to share your time with them in a non-judgmental way. That doesn’t mean you condone sin, but no teenager of any era ever appreciated an adult telling them what they did was stupid or nonsensical. You didn’t like it at their age and they don’t appreciate it in this age. They’ll welcome your guidance and advice when you treat them like a real person, as opposed to a kid. These standards, of course, aren’t easy to fulfill, but no one ever claimed ministry was easy. Frankly, while their generational quirks might be unexpected and odd, their standards are our standards. We know others care by the time they spend with us, not just because they hold a position that requires them to care. Not too long ago, the beloved chancellor of a prestigious, private university was retiring after many years of service. When his students asked, “What do you want to be remembered for?” He answered, “You.” Don’t be afraid to change for them, because our ultimate legacy is always who—not what—we leave behind.
ninetyandnine.com © 2003, Kent d Curry --------- When he’s not doing everything else, Kent d Curry is an Executive Editor of ninetyandnine.com. |
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