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The Minds of Millennials: What Our Young People Are Thinking

November 1, 2017 by Herbert Daughtry

Part Two

“WE ARE ABOUT TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT OUR IMPACT:

“We do want families and significant relationships, but will wait until we have better acclimated to challenges of life that are difficult to navigate because they have been unprecedented in past generations.

“Interested in access over ownership (Shared-economy share resources: Zipcar, Uber—everyone has a personal driver who is easily accessible and it’s not just for the rich and upper echelons).

“Affinity for technology created and economic shift it retail, for example, Amazon is a powerhouse company and large department stores are going out of business and downsizing;
We want maximum convenience at lowest costs, Amazon, movies at home with Netflix
Wellness-focused; health to us does not mean an absences of sickness, it means eating right and exercising; so much so that wellness is a high and profitable trend.

“When Millennials reach their prime, there will be a drastic impact on housing market, boom in home ownership.

“WHY ARE WE AN IMPORTANT GENERATION:

“We are a dominate cohort influencing older and younger generations.

“We are an intercessory generation. To reach youth (Generation Z, born after 2000, who now read about September 11, 2001 in text books as historical events, whereas we lived it) Millennials are crucial to bridge the generational divide .

“We came to age with new technology that current Generation Z cannot imagine a world without; we know older forms of technology that are now remote to younger people; payphones, VHS/VCR, beepers, developing pictures rather having a hand-held cameras as a part of our phone, land lines, Blockbuster, floppy disks, and having actual buttons on phones like flip phones.

“Our values and behavior (later marriage; desire for fulfilling career; reliance on social media) is defining a new cultural context that older generations sometimes disapprove of and are skeptical of because they can shift the moral atmosphere of this country and world

“WHY TALK ABOUT MILLENNIALS HERE AND NOW–THERE ARE LESS MILLENNIALS IN CHURCH

“There are many reasons why Millennials are missing from churches. Here are a few that I find most interesting.

“Breakdown in the family unit—experiences with an earthly father can inform our experience and relationship to the heavenly and divine father. Consider the black community where many men and fathers are absent because they are largely incarcerated. Difficulties in relating to an absent earthly father can make it difficult to relate to a spiritual father.

“Dominance of secularism: There is no God/spirituality in schools, in fact, it is unconstitutional, and for children to be reared in educational institutions that omit God children/people have been conditioned to think dogmatically and practically, and deny the essence of who we are as spiritual beings.

“Lack of spiritual authenticity among adults. Why emulate a way of being that is insincere?
Millennials are not interested in insincerity.
The church’s cultural influence has greatly diminished. The neighborhood church is irrelevant. They do not connect with the community and in my personal experience churches are being sold and converted into coffee shops, demolished; no representation of God in community .

“A new ‘god’ is Tolerance: Everyone seems to have a proprietary truth that cannot be challenged. A motivating thought is ‘no one can question what I believe and practice because it is my own,’ which is coupled with an ascension of individualism. With the promotion of tolerance is people’s experience of churches/Christianity as anti-gay and ill-equipped to accommodate diverse and varying gender identification and fluid sexuality.

“Millennials are coming into adulthood, which can mean that we are experiencing and navigating our autonomy.

“That could lend to an inflated sense of intelligence, our gifts, and abilities and it is a cultural/developmental trend to reject God unto we come to reconnect with God newly and personally. Think about 92 million Americans in the apex of adulthood who are additionally experiencing life distinctly in human history: nuclear proliferation; a black president; Donald Trump as the current President; climate change resulting in overwhelming natural disasters; mass and terroristic killings outside of wartime in domestic USA and other countries, continuation of covert racism and prejudice and much more.

“HOW TO CONNECT WITH MILLINENIALS AS CHRIST’S VESSELS AND WITNESSES

“Shift in our way of being: be authentic, honest, and communicate clearly.
Be patient and loving and sincere: Don’t discount us and write us off as a ‘lost generation.’

“Our impact is vast and inevitable and we need the guidance, coaching and feedback.

“Many of us are spiritually in-tuned and seek those who also are in authentic ways for development. We want to be fed and sustained by God’s fresh anointing and pure spirit. We want to be accepted for the ways we experience and encounter God, though the ways may be untraditional like mediation; aromatherapy; sound therapy; crystal healing, reiki healing, etc.

“Nevertheless, we need the context of Jesus’ revolutionary ministry of love, which does mean to challenge, connect, and personally relate to people in order to grow and be shaped. There is a scripture that resonates with the necessity of intergenerational connectivity. 1 John 2:14 (NLT) says: ‘I have written to you who are God’s children because you know the Father. I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. God’s word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one.’ God has deemed us victorious! It is for such a time as this that God is calling us all back to Him so that we may reflect His true image and majesty. There is a shedding and a metamorphosis taking place at this time and upon our generation so that we may all be reckoned unto Him and for His glory.”

Sources:
http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/millennials/

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2017/04/two-types-of-millennials.html

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/04/30/ten-reasons-millennials-are-backing-away-from-god-and-christianity.html

The End.