For all the jabs that get tossed at Millennials (text-junky-visually-addicted-short-attention-span-I’m-entitled-to-whatever-I-want-right-now), there is one thing that I can say with confidence. They can smell a fake a mile away.
My husband and I did youth ministry for ten years and we still get to wade in Millennial waters every now and then. (See adjacent photo of what the eighth grade girls did to me at summer camp last year. Yes, they painted my hair.) More than anything else, this tech-saturated generation longs for authentic face-to-face connection. While everyone has the social need to be known, this generation seems to thirst more openly for the waters of faithful, genuine relationship.
And hypocrisy repels them.
The new Barna study “Are Christians More Like Jesus or More Like the Pharisees?” is fascinating and convicting all at once. I know that I can fall into the Pharisee-like attitudes and behaviors all too often. But as it relates to Millennials, the following quotes should give all Christ-followers pause.
- …our team discovered that 84% of young non-Christians say they know a Christian personally, yet only 15% say the lifestyles of those believers are noticeably different in a good way.
- Perhaps pastors and teachers might take another look at how and what they communicate. Do people somehow get the message that the ‘right
action’ is more important than the ‘right attitude’? Do church leaders have a tendency to focus more on tangible results, like actions, because those are easier to see and measure than attitudes? - Finally, the question of authentic faith—is a particularly sore topic for many Millennials—who are often leaving church due in large part to the hypocrisy they experience. Again, no research is a perfect measure, but this study points out a sobering possibility: that the perception so many young people have of Christians contains more than a kernel of truth. Just as the New Testament writer Paul demonstrates in Galatians 2:11-16, the responsibility of the Christian community is to challenge hypocrisy just as boldly as other kinds of sin.
Christians do not need to figure out a new “tactic” on how to “reach the next generation.” We simply need to BE the new creation that results from truly meeting and following Christ. It is more critical than ever that we choose to take the hard, but necessary, steps of examining our motivations, thoughts and actions. If we can share honestly about how we fail and how God brings victory, a thirsty generation will naturally be drawn to the well of living water flowing out of these broken jars of clay.
askthe"Bigot" 
This blog particularly resonates with me … actually very deeply as it generally touches upon one very important reason my own spiritual journey drew me (or drove me) away from evangelical, Protestant Christianity. Thank you!
Where did you land in the ecclesiastical landscape, friend?
Following a long and winding spiritual journey, Eastern Orthodoxy
I came later to the party than some. And I either don’t remember, or the good examples have crowded out, glaring hypocrites before or after I became a Christian. But I have much-loved family members who were wrecked by aggressive Christian chest-thumping and harsh-lack-of-love actions. I don’t know if they will ever get over it.
I’ve posted this study on Facebook today and probably will be blogging about it myself in the future as I have in the past.
It’s heartbreaking, and while I knew it was bad, I’m not sure I realized to what extent it is bad. Thanks for sharing, Ms. Askme.
Well, the good news is that the prescription for moving forward is to see ourselves for who we are, see God for who He is, and demonstrate those two concepts to a skeptical world. Simple… and difficult. Thanks for commenting.
O God, I thank you that I am not like other Christians, even like these bloggers here…
very true, Troy. 😦 Got just such a response from someone to my facebook post.
Troy, ain’t nobody got time for that. 😉
Had a last-minute opportunity to attend a Matt Maher concert recently at a local parish. (My eight-year-old was my “date” – so fun!) Talking about his song, “Lord, I Need You”, Matt Maher said something along the lines of how much more powerful our witness would be if Christians talked less about “having” God and more about *needing* Him. And less about what we’re against and more about what we’re for. Of course, the latter I think we are somewhat forced into by our culture of soundbites and “us vs. them” – but his words convicted me nonetheless, especially with regard to our need for God. Wish I could remember what he said verbatim… Anyway, it’s late and I am rambling, but reading this post made me think of that.
“…more powerful our witness would be if Christians talked less about “having” God and more about *needing* Him. And less about what we’re against and more about what we’re for.”
This is truly the heart of the issue. Thanks for summarizing.
Honest, I did not read this before I mentioned today the point about Francis Schaeffer on another post (why do you hate gays?). However, what you said here is very much like something he would say. He would be proud of you. 🙂
That’s a darn serious compliment. I love Schaeffer!