If it weren't for those Millennials ...
"If it weren't for these residents, this job would be easy."
Once upon a time, I managed low-income housing communities. Sounds glamorous, right?
One of my responsibilities was to lead & support the teams that interacted with residents and applicants. Folks like leasing agents. Site managers. Maintenance staff. Cleaners.
And, every now and then, I'd hear the quote above. If it weren't for these residents.
My reply was always the same. If it weren't for these residents ... you would be out of a job!
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If it weren't for these residents. It's a ludicrous statement, right?
It wasn't (always) uttered by a poor team member. It's definitely a thought born out of frustration. And, ultimately, the issue is one of service. Or, rather, forgetting who is supposed to be doing the serving.
When someone makes a statement like this, they're simply forgetting, maybe even momentarily, that their job exists to serve these residents. The residents aren't there to serve the staff ... the staff is there to serve the resident.
So, what's this have to do with Millennials?
Well, I was thinking of this recurring episode in my former life as I was attending a large children's pastors' conference last week. A spectacular conference that encouraged & equipped me in more ways than I can count.
As you might expect, the topic of reaching the next generation was a frequent one in conversations and breakout sessions. And, when you talk about reaching the next generation, you begin to talk about the parents of that next generation.
And those parents are, by and large, Millennials.
So, we'd talk about Millennials. The largest generation in American history. Digital natives. Well educated. Concerned with social justice & civic service. Incredibly diverse.
But, the longer the conversation went, other phrases would start to leak in. The least "churched" generation in American history. Narcissistic. Self-absorbed. Helicopter parents. Participation trophies. Entitled.
And the group would nod. Arms would cross. Jaws would clench. Brows would furrow.
Predictably, someone would ask the question - how do we reach these Millennial parents & their kids? And, with arms crossed, many would shake their heads and wish that this generation would be more like the previous ones and "just come to church".
In essence, many answers would be this: If it weren't for these Millennials, this job would be easy.
Which would make me think: If it weren't for these Millennials (and their kids) ... you would be out of a job!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's definitely a thought born out of frustration. We long to see the kids & families in our communities connected with Jesus & His Church. But, ultimately, the issue is one of service. Or, rather, forgetting who is supposed to be doing the serving.
When someone makes a statement like this, they're simply forgetting, maybe even momentarily, that their job exists to serve these Millennials. Families don't exist to serve the local church ... the local church exists to serve the community - and especially the families that make up the community.
So, where do we go from here?
Millennial-bashing has become a unique cultural phenomena (if you don't believe me, just type "Millennial memes" into your favorite search engine). It's alive & well in the church, where many long for a "better" time when if you just built a church, people would come to it.
When it comes to us Jesus-followers, I think our issue with the Millennial generation is ultimately a matter of the heart.
One of my favorites of Jesus' parables is the story of the lost sheep from Luke 15. How the shepherd leaves 99 sheep alone in the open country in order to pursue the one sheep who has wandered away and is lost. And, when that sheep is found, the Shepherd picks it up. Places it on his shoulders. Carries it home. And celebrates. What a beautiful picture of what God has done for each of us.
And, what a beautiful picture of what we're called to do as followers of Jesus. And as leaders in our local churches.
It's true. Our calling is to leave those 99 sheep in the pew, and pursue with all our strength that one who is lost. And, ultimately, to call those 99 to join us in the search. Because they're really not doing a whole lot of good just sitting in the pew.
Right now, there's a whole lot of Millennials who have wandered away. Or maybe never knew where home was in the first place. They're lost (even if they don't know it). And lonely. And need a good rescue party to find them. To pick them up. Carry them home. And celebrate.
That's the mission that gets me really excited about being a children's pastor. If it was all about caring for the 99, I would have given up long ago.
So, the next time you get down on Millennials, remember that incredible picture of the Shepherd. I suspect, as he was searching for the lost sheep, he wasn't cracking jokes about the sheep's weaknesses. And I don't think the Good Shepherd was doing that as he tracked me down, when I had wandered away, and was lost, and lonely, and in need of rescue.
Even though I probably deserved it.
So, I've made a commitment to lay the Millennial jokes aside, for the sake of the Kingdom. Because, if it weren't for Millennials, and their kids ... well, the Church would be missing out.
How about you? Will you join me?
Once upon a time, I managed low-income housing communities. Sounds glamorous, right?
One of my responsibilities was to lead & support the teams that interacted with residents and applicants. Folks like leasing agents. Site managers. Maintenance staff. Cleaners.
And, every now and then, I'd hear the quote above. If it weren't for these residents.
My reply was always the same. If it weren't for these residents ... you would be out of a job!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If it weren't for these residents. It's a ludicrous statement, right?
It wasn't (always) uttered by a poor team member. It's definitely a thought born out of frustration. And, ultimately, the issue is one of service. Or, rather, forgetting who is supposed to be doing the serving.
When someone makes a statement like this, they're simply forgetting, maybe even momentarily, that their job exists to serve these residents. The residents aren't there to serve the staff ... the staff is there to serve the resident.
So, what's this have to do with Millennials?
Well, I was thinking of this recurring episode in my former life as I was attending a large children's pastors' conference last week. A spectacular conference that encouraged & equipped me in more ways than I can count.
As you might expect, the topic of reaching the next generation was a frequent one in conversations and breakout sessions. And, when you talk about reaching the next generation, you begin to talk about the parents of that next generation.
And those parents are, by and large, Millennials.
So, we'd talk about Millennials. The largest generation in American history. Digital natives. Well educated. Concerned with social justice & civic service. Incredibly diverse.
But, the longer the conversation went, other phrases would start to leak in. The least "churched" generation in American history. Narcissistic. Self-absorbed. Helicopter parents. Participation trophies. Entitled.
And the group would nod. Arms would cross. Jaws would clench. Brows would furrow.
Predictably, someone would ask the question - how do we reach these Millennial parents & their kids? And, with arms crossed, many would shake their heads and wish that this generation would be more like the previous ones and "just come to church".
In essence, many answers would be this: If it weren't for these Millennials, this job would be easy.
Which would make me think: If it weren't for these Millennials (and their kids) ... you would be out of a job!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If it weren't for these Millennials. It's a ludicrous statement, right?
It's definitely a thought born out of frustration. We long to see the kids & families in our communities connected with Jesus & His Church. But, ultimately, the issue is one of service. Or, rather, forgetting who is supposed to be doing the serving.
When someone makes a statement like this, they're simply forgetting, maybe even momentarily, that their job exists to serve these Millennials. Families don't exist to serve the local church ... the local church exists to serve the community - and especially the families that make up the community.
Millennial-bashing has become a unique cultural phenomena (if you don't believe me, just type "Millennial memes" into your favorite search engine). It's alive & well in the church, where many long for a "better" time when if you just built a church, people would come to it.
When it comes to us Jesus-followers, I think our issue with the Millennial generation is ultimately a matter of the heart.
One of my favorites of Jesus' parables is the story of the lost sheep from Luke 15. How the shepherd leaves 99 sheep alone in the open country in order to pursue the one sheep who has wandered away and is lost. And, when that sheep is found, the Shepherd picks it up. Places it on his shoulders. Carries it home. And celebrates. What a beautiful picture of what God has done for each of us.
And, what a beautiful picture of what we're called to do as followers of Jesus. And as leaders in our local churches.
It's true. Our calling is to leave those 99 sheep in the pew, and pursue with all our strength that one who is lost. And, ultimately, to call those 99 to join us in the search. Because they're really not doing a whole lot of good just sitting in the pew.
Right now, there's a whole lot of Millennials who have wandered away. Or maybe never knew where home was in the first place. They're lost (even if they don't know it). And lonely. And need a good rescue party to find them. To pick them up. Carry them home. And celebrate.
That's the mission that gets me really excited about being a children's pastor. If it was all about caring for the 99, I would have given up long ago.
So, the next time you get down on Millennials, remember that incredible picture of the Shepherd. I suspect, as he was searching for the lost sheep, he wasn't cracking jokes about the sheep's weaknesses. And I don't think the Good Shepherd was doing that as he tracked me down, when I had wandered away, and was lost, and lonely, and in need of rescue.
Even though I probably deserved it.
So, I've made a commitment to lay the Millennial jokes aside, for the sake of the Kingdom. Because, if it weren't for Millennials, and their kids ... well, the Church would be missing out.
How about you? Will you join me?
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