The missing generation

‘Millennials’ musings – part 3

// I introduced Millennials a few years ago (written by the coolest named couple in the world, Amy & Frog Orr-Ewing) in previous posts (part 1 – Intro, part 2 – What the commentators say) and have finally been able to pick it up again to digest some of the further gems within.

Here’s some nuggets from chapter 2, ‘Generational analysis’:

Characteristics

The Orr-Ewings highlight 7 key characteristics on p47 of the ‘Millennial persona’, as they put it, taken from Strauss and Howe’s, Millennials Rising:

1. Special – previous generations have impressed upon them the belief that they are vital to the nation
2. Sheltered – they are the recipients of some of the most radical youth safety policies
3. Confident – they believe that good news for themselves is good news for the country
4. Team-orientated – living life with others is paramount
5. Achieving – they are the best educated and behaved adults in the nation’s history
6. Pressured – they feel the need to excel
7. Conventional – they believe that social rules help

The authors also quote a report from the Evangelical Alliance Council Meeting on September 16, 2009 on ‘The 18 – 30 Mission: A Missing Generation’

In research carried out by Innovista it was found that 96% of church leaders think that increasing the number of 16 to 30 year olds in the church is either more important or as important as any other top priority. Yet despite this, only 11% of the same church leaders felt ‘well resourced’ to do this in terms of people, training, and tools. p48

Work

They are looking for a job that will give them everything. p49

The “magic” for Gen Yers comes in making a difference – producing something worthwhile – whilst working with a great team and getting the rewards they feel they deserve. p49

Teaching on giving will need to be strong and clear as will the link between caring about social justice and doing something about it personally as the gap between rich and poor increases. p52

Consumerism and brands

Due to the amount of adverts, the focus of the millennial consumer has become lifestyle image rather than functional need. p56

[Millennials are] used to not having to exert much effort. p57

To become part of the inner circle a brand needs to be trusted, agile, transparent, and engaging. p59

Communication

“Hyper communication” leads to constant multitasking, and the potential for CPA (continuous partial attention). p62

This point resonated as I’ve recognised the shifts in my behaviour over the last five years or so: multi-device consumption, shorter attention span, increased ease of distraction etc.

Morality

Quoting p46 of Smith and Snell, Souls in Transition,

The vast majority are intuitionists – that is, they believe that they know what is right and wrong by attending to the subjective feelings or intuitions that they sense within themselves when they find themselves in various situations or facing ethical questions… The majority of emerging adults interviewed had difficulty thinking of even one example of a situation recently when they had some trouble deciding what was the morally right or wrong thing to do. p64

Conclusion

If we succeed in reaching this generation for Christ they have the potential to rival the Victorians in the impact they make in the world in rebuilding the community and the family, tackling poverty and seeing massive social transformation in the face of poverty and inequality. Could they usher in another great Evangelical century? p70

‘Millennials’ musings – part 2

// It’s taken longer than I’d hoped, but ‘hey-ho’, life is full and fun at the moment! I introduced Millennials (written by the coolest named couple in the world, Amy & Frog Orr-Ewing) in a previous post and wanted to continue getting some quotes up here. So here’s some interesting bits from the first of five chapters, ‘What the commentators say’:

Millennials

// Long. Too long since I’ve been able to get some proper musings up here. However, changing working patterns should rectify that though and especially in relation to a great little book I’m reading at the moment.

The kind Mr Paul Lambert gave me Millennials by Amy & Frog (surely the best name in the world!) Orr-Ewing a few months ago at the stage of dreaming and thinking about what Mosaic would look like. It couldn’t have been a more timely book had I actually read it! Well, a few months on, and with changing job shapes, I’ve finally been able to get stuck into this little book. My plan, as I work my way through it, is to post quotes in coming posts hopefully providing an opportunity for you too to engage with the subject matter too.

Our passion behind beginning Mosaic was to reach those in the 18-30s generation: a grouping who are becoming the influencers in society as they get jobs, pursue carriers and influence the direction society takes. They tend to be spiritually interested, but averse to institutional expressions of church. Our heart is to see Jesus capture and transform their hearts and lives, especially men who are increasingly being told by our culture to remain boys for longer and longer! More on that in due course.

So, what has that got to do with ‘Millennials’?

Third Place Communities

// Where do you enjoy hanging out? What are the places you visit to relax, unwind, spend time with friends, and have fun outside of your home or work settings? Chances are they’ll be places like gyms, pubs, clubs, restaurants or sporting venues and activities. Sociologist Roy Oldenburg called those places ‘Third Places’; places other than home (first) or work (second) settings. They are places of belonging where people let their guard down and are more willing to talk about the big questions of life, letting their friends see the ‘real’ them. Understanding the role of ‘third places’ in people’s lives is key to any mission endeavour that wishes to engage with our culture.

Instead of me waffling the excellent Mike Frost does a much better job in this extract from his book Exiles which unpacks some of the missional implications:

Wild Thing

// Mosaic kicked off a couple of weeks ago with a fab meal at chez Bemrose and some good chat. I also showed an awesome little animated parable from the guys over at Kore to get the discussion juices flowing.

The question is, “What do you think it’s about?”. Post your thoughts below.

If it pushes your buttons then there’s a couple more on their YouTube channel and Jonny Baker recently blogged about some fantastic new ones now available at Proost.

Try a bunch of stuff

// The excellent Peter Short has this quote from Tom Peters on the back of his door and I love it! I wish I had penned it as it reflects so much of how I want to live and lead. Too often I hold back from trying a bunch of stuff because of a fear of failure, or worse, looking bad in others people’s eyes (or is that just my problem??).

What’s more, it reflects a much more postmodern style of leadership than the prevailing modern, organised, systematized, (and dare I say institutionalised) style. An excuse for laziness? Maybe. A more effective leadership style in today’s changing culture? Definitely.

A few years ago Eddie Gibbs stated in a lecture that the task of leadership before us is no longer to make 5 or 10 year plans of how to cross the ‘sea’ ahead and strategize accordingly. No. Instead we need more leaders who just get in the boat, head out on an initial bearing and then change course often as the journey dictates. For more of his thoughts and reasoning behind such a statement I can recommend Eddie’s book Leadership Next, despite wishing for a bit more Bible in it!