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Diversity for the Ages: Generational Diversity
As God’s people, we have a
mandate to communicate
the good news of Jesus
Christ to all generations –
past, present and future.
Each generation offers a unique challenge for
sharing the Gospel.
Generations
• G.I.’s: (1901 to 1924)
• Silents: (1925 to 1945)
• Boomers: (1946 to 1964)
• Generation X: (1965 to 1983)
• Millennials: (1984 to 2002)
• Homelanders???: (2003 to ?)
Each Generation Has Its Themes
SilentsBaby
Boomers Generation X
“Busters” Millennials
Hard Work
Personal Fulfillment
Uncertainty “What’s Next?”
Duty Optimism Personal Focus On My Terms
Sacrifice Crusading Causes
Live for Today Just
Show Up
Thriftiness Buy Now/Pay Later
Save, Save, Save
Earn to Spend
Work Fast
Work Efficiently
Eliminatethe Task
Do Exactly What’s Asked
Source: Center for Generational Studies
Why Learn about Generations?
• 4 - 5 Generations are worshipping together. People are at the heart of what we do.
• The gap is widening.
• Different values, experiences, styles, and attitudes create . . .
– Misunderstandings
– Frustrations
• Different people, different views on ‘good’ and ‘bad;’ ‘right’ and ‘wrong’
The G.I. Generation
Born between 1901 - 1924
A Civic Personality:
• Believe in cooperation and
public harmony.
• Overcame the Great
Depression and won World
War II.
• Energetic and orderly builders of community.
• Are viewed as good, constructive, and
deserving.
• G.I.’s have much to offer in the areas of skill and
wisdom, but not many remain.
• These are the great grandparents of our youth.
• Patriotic, loyal, “waste not, want not,” faith in
institutions
• Military influenced top-down approach
Key Word: Loyal
Silent GenerationBorn Between 1925 - 1945
Grew up with:
Saturday Night Fights, Mickey Mouse, Wheaties,
Jukeboxes, “The Shadow,” Flash Gordon, Charlie
McCarthy, 8-Track Tapes, Blondie and Dagwood,
Babe Ruth, Tarzan, The Lone Ranger
An Accommodating Personality:
• Don’t like confrontation.
• Seek compromise.
• Trained to be “seen and not heard,” they
have learned to listen to others.
• Made it their cause to “walk in the other
guy’s shoes.”
• Fueled the Civil Rights movement.
• Tried to mold our society to be more
tolerant and inclusive.
Key Word: Accommodating
Boomer GenerationBorn Between 1946 - 1964
Grew up with:
Captain Kangaroo, Fallout Shelters, “Laugh-In,”
Peace Sign, Romper Room, Slinkys, Hula
Hoops, Bell Bottoms, Ed Sullivan, “Mod Squad,”
Tie Dye, TV Dinners, KISS
An Optimistic and Idealistic Personality:
• Perceive themselves to be an authentic
generation, a generation of destiny.
• Exalt individual conscience over duty to
community.
• “Be true to oneself” philosophy.• Idealistic, COMPETITIVE, question authority
• Continue to “search for truth” even as
they grow older.
• Visionary, committed and creative, but
tend to have difficulty achieving
consensus and mobilizing as a unit.
Key Word: Optimistic
Buster / Generation X
Born Between 1965 - 1983
Grew up with:
Brady Bunch, Cabbage Patch Kids,
Pet Rocks, “The Simpsons,” Nike,
Microwaves, MTV, “E.T.”, “Sesame
Street,” Game Boy, VCRs, PCs
A Reactive Personality:
• Know that other generations tend to see them
as “bad”.
• Also called “Generation X” or “13ers”.
• Characteristics - eclectic, resourceful, self-
reliant, distrustful of institutions, highly
adaptive to change and technology
Key Word: Skepticism
• Perhaps the most misunderstood generation of
recent history.
• Received the message: “Grow up fast.”
• Have a powerful survival instinct.
• Need a balance between work and life - Freedom
• Flexible and motivated
• Want to build a portable career
Millennial Generation
Born After 1983
Grew up with:
Barney, Pogs, X Games, Bill Gates, the
Internet, Cell Phones and Laptop Computers,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, iPods, Jerry
Springer, Pokemon, Britney Spears, Beanie
Babies, Spice Girls, Skateboarders
Millennials: The Next “Good” Generation:
• Have lead our nation into a new century and a new
millennium.
• If the cycle of generations stays true, this will be a civic-
minded generation with a sense of order, cooperation, and
community spirit.
Millennial (not Gen Y!)
• Most racially/ethnically diverse in history
• In comparison with Gen X (1980 vs. 2000)
– White student pop. decreased
– Women increased in influence
– Asian-American % increased
– Overall school enrollments up
– Wealthier students
– More ambitious
Career Goals
Goal
Silents “Build a Legacy”
Baby Boomers “Build a Stellar Career”
Generation X “Build a Portable Career”
Millennials “Build Parallel Careers”
Attitude toward Career Path
Career Path
Silents “Job changing has a stigma”
Baby Boomers “Job changing puts you behind”
Generation X “Job changing is necessary”
Millennials “Train for many jobs”
A Word of Reminder:
• The generational theory is not the only factor
that influences a person.
• Family structure, developmental stage,
economic background, cultural differences,
and religious faith all work together to shape
the lives of each individual.
Generations Impacted by
Their History
And how it impacts the
local church!
G.I. Generation
• Progress was made on the treatment
of diseases, and the life span was
increased dramatically.
• Their parents provided Boy Scouts
and Girl Scouts for them.
• Born in a time of optimism.
• They survived the Great Depression and won World
War II which defined this generation.
• They were successful because they acted as they
had been taught as children: decisively, collectively,
and with loyalty and allegiance to the common goal.
• After the war, they built homes, suburbs,
malls, hospitals, rockets, and interstate
highways.
• They saw most issues in Black & White;
there was no middle ground.
• Always loyal to their institutions – they
moved into retirement with full benefits from
the Social Security system they built.
G.I.’s Impacting the Local Church
• G.I.’s called themselves
“Senior Adults”.
• Remains fiercely loyal, and
prefers the social activity of
groups, but most are gone!
• Were the most loyal financial givers /
tithers in the church, but those left are on a
limited income.
• In Bible Study, they prefer traditional
classes.
• Dislike change, breaking traditions, and too
much self-analysis.
• First question concerning a church proposal:
“How much will this cost?”
• The Great Depression still influences their
thinking in the area of finances.
Silent Generation
• Children should be “seen and not heard.”
• Because their parents were faced with economic
depression and world war, they learned early to
stay out of the way.
• Learned to read the intentions of adults
before being told what to do.
• Reputation of being mediators.
• Invented “Rock and Roll”.
• Life was never “Black & White”, always various
shades of gray.
• Noted for their expertise,
many are doctors and lawyers
and government officials.
• Valued fairness and
inclusion, and fought for Civil
Rights and Women’s
movements.
• Married earlier than any prior
American generation, but they also
divorced in increasing numbers.
• Politically, they have never elected
a president from their generation.
Silents Impacting the Local Church
• Many are leaders in churches today.
• Serve well as committee members.
• Encouraged churches to include divorced and
broken families in ministries.
• Prefer Bible Study groups that allow discussion
with teachers as facilitators.
• Respond to sermons that explore life’s
complexities, avoid extremes, and reflect careful
preparation.
• They hesitate to give a hearty “Amen” or applaud.
• Tend to be generous and consistent.
• Concerning church proposals, Silents will
have many questions:
“Did you get all the bids?
Check all the possibilities?
Consulted all the experts?”
Boomer Generation
• Raised at home under the
care of their mothers (only
2% ever went to daycare).
• As children, “idealized view
of life” (Leave it to Beaver)
with a lot of material things.
• As adults, they rejected
material values (those that
became hippies).
• Also rejected religious
traditionalism – some
became “Jesus Freaks” &
“New Agers”.
• Music became the vehicle
of expression in boomer
youth groups.
• Breaking traditions
characterized this
generations search for
ideals and meaning.
• War in Vietnam defined boomers – they
asked “why?”, values became personal, and
no one could be trusted.
• Boomers married later than the
Silents and delayed having
children even longer.
• Anxious to begin careers.
• Both spouses work in most
households.
• Spent money to pursue the
“look of success”.
• Family life became a shared
experience – birthing process,
“stay-at-home dads.”
• Personal values – they want to know the
benefits of something before they make a
commitment.
• Commitment – redefined in terms of
something’s value to oneself.
• They commit only to things they personally
believe to have great value.
Boomers Impacting the Local Church
• Have been changing church life
in profound ways - becoming
more personal and experiential.
• Applause is as common as
“Amens” were for G.I.’s.
• Pay little attention to
denominational labels.
• Focus on personal
concerns and attend
church where their
concerns are best met.
• Concerned about religious
education for their children.
• Concerning church proposals:
“What is the benefit or value of
this issue for me? My family?”
Generation X
• Do not like to be put into a
mold.
• Resent being in the Boomer’s
shadow.
• Today’s reality generation.
• Grew up as unwanted
latch-key kids in a turbulent
society.
• During college years –
benefits withdrawn and
costs skyrocketed.
• After college, jobs were scarce.
• Became cynical realists.
• Saw phonies in institutions, heroes, and
leaders (Watergate, televangelists, etc.).
• Are down to earth.
• Seen crime, drugs, and sex in their schools.
• Lived and died with AIDS,
the dangers of street life,
and the conflicts of race.
• Tend to marry late, but hope to have
traditional homes and families.
• Have not been reached in large numbers by
the church.
• If they were a country, they would be the
24th largest country in the world – larger than
Canada or South Korea.
Gen X Impact on the Local Church
• Practical in their faith.
• Helping to start new churches.
• “True Love Waits” and mission projects.
• They easily reach alienated people.
• Accept a variety of friends, caring little
about their dress or past.
• Challenge churches to “get real”.
• Want leaders and teachers who are genuine.
• Concerning proposals: Likely not to be at
business meetings to ask questions or vote;
but if they were, they would most likely state,
“Who Cares… for me?”
Do you remember these bumper stickers?
• "Baby on Board,"
• "Have You Hugged Your Child Today?"
• "It Takes A Village To Raise A Child"?
The children those bumper stickers talked
about are now graduating from high school and
entering the work force.
The Millennials
All that attention and good self-esteem, all
those new schools and good teachers our
culture gave to them seems to have paid off.
• Born at time when our country put a real
focus on improving the lives of kids and their
families.
• Family outings and family night dinners
returned.
• Fathers and mothers were older and wiser
and more ready to have children.
• Parents as a whole were more mature.
• Millennials were busy little kids, too.
• Mom and Dad put them in camps,
sports, and gave them lessons in just
about everything.
• More interracial interaction than
any other generation.
• They have seen terror first-hand.
• They witnessed the Oklahoma
City bombing.
• They watched on TV the Columbine
High School killings of their classmates.
• Policemen and firefighters replaced rock
and movie stars, sports heroes and rebels
as a deeper and more substantial kind of
hero.
• As a result the kids
became more patriotic than
any other generation.
On 911 they saw American heroes:
The Millennials even like their
parents, and their parents like
them.
Just how cool are these kids?
• Nine in 10 describe themselves
as "happy," "confident," and
"positive." Teen suicide rates
are now falling for the first time
in decades.
• They're cooperative team players and like
doing community service in groups.
• A recent Roper survey reveals millennial teenagers blame "selfishness" more than anything else when asked, "What is the major cause of problems in this country?"
• By a huge 10-to-one majority, they believe it's their generation -- and not their parents' -- who will do the most to help the environment over the next 25 years.
We need to brag about our kids. People who
put down our young people need to get their
facts straight. The Millennials may very well
become the best generation our democracy
has ever produced.
Key Questions
• G.I.’s – How will you invest in the future of
the younger generations?
• Silents – How will you help each generation
bridge to a new future so that the greatest
possible legacy is provided?
• Boomers – How will you call for spiritual renewal
and what commitments will you personally make
to achieve such renewal?
• Generation X – How will you make faith real to
yourself and to others?
• Millennials – Will you stay faithful to your calling?