Generations at war at church

As a church or ministry leader you are very likely working with at least four generations at any given time.  Sometimes it is difficult to get consensus on how to do the work of ministry.  It shouldn’t be hard, should it?  We are all Christians; we all want to see the Kingdom come, and the Lord’s will done, don’t we?  But sometimes it seems that there is no common ground between the generations.  Members of one generation act as if the members of the other generation are actually opposing the work of ministry.  In some cases there arises negative feelings that range from quiet discomfort to open hostility.  

Generational studies are fascinating and by no means a new subject.  Every generation has in some way rebelled against the generation(s) that it follows.  But in your church or ministry you now have four generations and before long five generations volunteering and working, if not together near each other.  How is it possible that people saved by the same Christ, working in the same tradition, fellowship or denomination, and with, we assume, a shared set of beliefs and values can see things the same way?  The reason why is they do not share the same view of the world.

Thousands of words have been posted and many volumes have been printed and will continue to be posted and printed on the subject about the change and friction from generation to generation.  As a leader it is a subject you can’t ignore.  For this brief moment I want to look at one area that demonstrates the way the generations see the same subject radically different, and you are looking at it right now!  Generalizations always fail at some point, but they are a useful tool. 

How the generations view IT.

Millennial Generation (born circa 1981 - 2000) IT is home.

When a millennial was born they emerged from the mother’s womb so adapt at information technology they were cordless.  Approximately 1/3 of these children were using a computer before the age of 5.  They are unique in that for the first time in history a generation knew more than their parents about a subject that actually mattered.  In every generation the young have had more knowledge than their parents, on given subjects but it was generally trivial matters.  (Boomers knew more about English rock bands than their parents, but neither generation cared).  From how to program the DVR to how to install a new app on a smart phone, the millennial knows how.  For a millennial IT is an appliance, like the fridge or microwave, it is always there, always been used and always accessible.  IT is an all-encompassing reality.  It is how they get and listen to music and watch videos.  It is how they connect with friends, how they bank and how they share and have their opinions shaped.  They were the first generation for which IT is their mother tongue. 

Generation X (born circa 1960-1980) IT is the cool new toy.

The early Gen Xers stood in awe looking at a four function calculator the size of a small cigar box that sold for a mere $90.  The first half of Gen Xers heard rumors of computers being in their school and were jealous of their friends who could afford a TRS 80 or Commodore 64.  Most Gen Xers did not have access to any IT in their early years, but the later half come close to being native speakers of IT.  When the internet skyrocketed, they were, if not in the pilot seat, along for the ride.  They got great jobs before the dot.com bubble burst and can crave the latest and greatest versions of everything.  They took to IT like a kid on Christmas morning playing with a new toy.

Baby Boomers (circa 1943 – 1960) IT is a new tool to be mastered.

The birth rate increase did not occur till 9 months after VJ day, but in many ways those born at the end of WW 2 are culturally Boomers.  They are well educated, competitive and success driven.  From Star Trek to Lost in Space, Boomers grew up with the idea of computers; they were never around.  Boomers saw the flashing lights in the background at the NASA control center, but for most that is as close as they came to IT until the PC revolution.  They embraced IT not so much out of excitement like GenX or as a fact of life like the millennial, but as a new tool to help them succeed.  Boomers still have a love-hate relationship with IT.  With each new upgrade they cringe a little, worrying how much they will have to relearn.  But they delight in Facebook stalking their children and Skyping with distant grand children. They have concluded that IT is a pretty useful tool. 

Traditional aka Builder Generation (Before  circa 1943)  IT is a distraction. 

The Traditional Generation doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about regarding IT.  They are the ultimate pragmatist and have adapted IT as it is useful.  Those still in the work place use IT, but often think of it as a high performance typewriter.  They, like their Boomer children, enjoy the connectedness that the internet provides, but they are more likely to use their smart phone to make a phone call than stream videos.  They are much less obsessed with real time answers and connections than younger generations and can recall when a letter took days to cross the country and are fine with that pace.  This generation is noted for its loyalty to and trust in institutions.   After all a government that ended a depression, won a three theater World War, rebuilt Europe and created economic prosperity shaped them.  They like structure and order, and IT seems too decentralized, too unstructured and too unpredictable.  They were taught by teachers and books the way it is supposed to be.  So, if your millennial child is on the couch Googling The New Deal with their traditional grand parent talking to them, the traditional grand parent will find IT a terrible distraction. 

Now, if these four generations see something like IT so radically different, imagine the potential, various understandings of what it means to worship, pray, or serve.