My Generation - The Magnificent Millennials (or not)

Pastor has been preaching a series about generations and how they affect the church and its ministry. It has been so interesting and eye opening! There is so much I could write about....but they will have to find their way into other posts. :)

The generation I unfortunately belong to are the Millennials. Here are some of their famous attributes:

1. They lack personal relationships
Millennials are the most technologically savvy - they text to friends on their cell phones and communicate through Facebook and MySpace, yet they do not do well face-to-face with others. They feel awkward in those situations and would rather express themselves through mediums of technology. It seems strange to see a generation who so desperately desires social relationships, constantly hide behind their electronics.

2. They are super-tolerant
Tolerance used to mean being respectful of differing opinions, but the Millennials have changed the definition to an "everybody and everything is right" mentality (Except when it comes to conservatives). You are a chauvinist if you do not believe in homosexuality and a bigot if you disagree with another religion. This generation has taken tolerance to a completely new playing field.

3. They lack commitment
On average, Millennials change careers about 8-10 times. This is quite different from the silent generation, who were extremely loyal to the companies they worked at. This current generation seems to always be looking for an easy way out and they do not commit to their projects or jobs for any length of time.

So, what are the implications of this phenomenon in our churches? How do we take what we know to be true, and use it to minister to the Millennials......the future generation of our churches?

Feel free to comment and give suggestions. This has been on my mind ever since Pastor's message. I do not have any solid answers yet, but in the next couple of weeks, Pastor is going to give us some alternative actions to consider. I will make sure to post these when he does mention them.

The three attributes are from Pastor Jim Murphy's message on March 15, 2009.