by Paul Kelm

God created each of us with a unique personality; and all of us have been shaped in part by a handful of individual experiences. But each generation has a different view of the church. Each one expects different things from the church and becomes involved or doesn’t become involved for different reasons. Generation theory can help us understand.

“It just seems that members have little commitment these days,” Mildred Schulz observed. “We haven’t been able to get any of the new members to join the Ladies Circle. And who do you think is going to serve for funerals when we’re gone? Every time I open a church newsletter, there’s one more thing that somebody wants to change. I think people need to have more respect for our Lutheran heritage. Oh, and one thing that really bothers me is that we always seem to be behind in meeting our budget. But that won’t stop the council from pushing through that building program. I don’t understand why we need a bigger narthex in the first place.”

“Look, we’re real involved with our kids right now,” Jan Miller began. “Church is great, and we appreciate some of the things they try to do with the kids. In fact, I’ve been working with the Pioneer program. But pastors are going to have to get real. I wish somebody would explain that to the seminary. I work and my husband works; and there just isn’t time to sit in long meetings that aren’t accomplishing anything. Maybe if there were some things that related to what I’m dealing with, I could see getting more involved. It’s a different era, and the church is going to have to bend a little.”

“It’s not like my friends and I don’t care,” explained Damien Carter-Lopez. “But we work a lot, you know. There are only so many things you can do. Well, actually, I sometimes have trouble seeing the point of coming to church anyway. It’s all so… I don’t know, stiff… cold … uh… ancient. You know what I mean? It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with real life. If the church really wanted to do something, there are some really messed up kids that need help, but I don’t think that’s in the picture.”

The names and pictures are phony. The words are real, interview responses that reflect three generations in the church. Each has a window on ministry significantly shaped by the culture he or she has experienced. Generation theory is a relatively new facet of sociology. It suggests that when you were born shapes much of your outlook on life. Of course, generalizations are dangerous, but a brief sketch of the generations can help.

Builders Most authors recognize a clear generation line at the end of World War II. People born before 1946 are called “Builders” or “Strivers.” While there may be a wide age gap between 52 and 80-something, there are some commonalities that identify this generation. Those who didn’t live through the Great Depression heard about it often. This is the generation that saw America move from the farm to the city and then from a blue-collar economy to the information age. While they have seen mind-boggling change, they can remember when life was simpler, slower, and more sensible. Some of the characteristics of the Builder generation are that they are hard-working, frugal, patriotic, cautious, dependable, private about their feelings, and not very tolerant of what doesn’t fit their value system. More than 75 percent of the nation’s wealth is controlled by this generation, along with more than 80 percent of America’s savings. Builders tend to have a strong sense of obligation to their church. They won’t question how the pastor teaches, so long as kids are still learning the catechism. Builders are loyal to their denomination and supportive of world missions. They respect tradition, appreciate stability in the church, and want a sense of reverence about worship. Facing or in retirement, they are concerned about the AARP issues of health, safety, and financial security. They aren’t likely to admit it, but they fear loneliness.

Boomers “Baby Boomers,” born between 1946 and 1964, have been overanalyzed and hypermarketed. Boomers were raised in an era of rapid growth and change in the economy, education, and technology. Their parents wanted the best for them, and Dr. Spock explained what that meant. With physical needs more than met, Boomers were free to explore their feelings and experiment with life. Three dramatic assassinations (JFK, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King), Vietnam, and Watergate help explain why this generation became activists, distrustful of the institutions of society. The Cold War, consumerism, civil rights, women’s issues, and environmentalism are a few of the major themes that have occupied the attention of Boomers.

This is the generation whose T-shirts say: “Question authority!” Boomers are independent, cause oriented, and media informed. They are quality conscious, fitness preoccupied and linked by a common heritage of rock music. I think it is the Baby Boom generation that replaced the word “religious” with “spiritual” in American culture, because faith to them is primarily a “personal relationship with God.” As a result, many Boomers are tolerant of different and contradictory belief systems. Options are important to people in this generation.

Boomers are less loyal to the church and its denomination than their parents. Their commitments to volunteer service are more short-term, and they want their efforts to be personally fulfilling. They are more interested in local ministry than missions and inclined to give to the things that they really care about. They expect excellence of their church and pastor. They prefer a less formal worship experience that speaks to their heart “authentically.” An estimated one-third of the 76 million Baby Boomers in America never left the church. Some 40 percent of those who did have returned. Those who have returned and those who might are looking for comfort and meaning in their confused lives.

Generation X It may be premature to evaluate the next generation, “Generation X,” as the novel by Douglas Copeland titled it. Influences on this generation include “Roe v. Wade”, AIDS, the Persian Gulf War, existential philosophy, and unrestrained forms of music that blare a message of meaninglessness. Television and video games entertained X-ers while both parents worked. This generation has experienced several new definitions of family along with a lot of personal insecurity. Recently authors have described this as the postmodern generation. Their culture is pluralistic and technological, too complex to figure out and without specific rules. Their logic is nonlinear and their thinking nonsequential, because they do not understand any “big picture.” Their outlook can be angry, cynical, and depressed.

This is the generation that values time over money, rejecting the workaholic materialism of their parents. X-ers are willing to work; in fact, they have to work in order to pay big education bills. But funding the freedom to get away from it all is the only good reason to work, and finding a few close friends to go along is what makes life livable. Young adults tend to be more conservative than their parents. They are looking for values, but they aren’t starting from the vantage point of absolutes that governed their grandparents. Family is very important, but they are postponing marriage to be sure they don’t repeat the divorce rate of the previous generation.

Young adults don’t make early or long-term commitments. They aren’t interested at this point in institutional structure or large causes. They want answers because others have framed their life with questions. They respond in small groups and are likely to volunteer when personally recruited for one-on-one ministry to people. They will probably appreciate tradition more than Boomers, but someone will have to explain the tradition because structure has not been a significant element in their lives. Their approach to worship is outwardly casual but inwardly intense and emotional. They need help coping with stress and applying truth to life.