My associates and I recently began a listening tour to gage the interest and effectiveness of our latest curriculum which is designed to engage the millennial generation. Our work has focused on empowering Millennials through time tested principles and connecting them to faith in their daily walk. The last two years have been amazing as our participants have experienced life changing transformations, which is both gratifying and humbling to witness.
Our hope is to engage millennials of all faiths, (or no faith at all as the case may be) as our celebration of this generation is boundless.
From our perspective, since our curriculum is customizable, engaging and proven on six continents, we are shocked when some spiritual leaders decide this opportunity does not fit into their space. It could be considerations or restraints of time, something new and unfamiliar, fear of the unknown , or our greatest shock—they just don’t care to entreat them—to actually change and do something different to earn their trust. We certainly respect their reasoning while at the same time offer an invitation to partake.
For the aging spiritual leaders who somehow believe the 70+ percent who have left their faith are coming back—let me say this as tenderly as I can….they are NOT coming back to the same environment. NOT until you prove with all sincerity that you value their unique spiritual journey as much as your own, even (and especially) since it doesn’t mirror the road you may have taken. This group is not out sowing their oats, waiting to “Come to themselves.” They have planted new seeds, which given time, will likely embrace shared values of all generations while growing many of their own. Their crops are different than those their parents grew, yet likely just as nutritious spiritually if we only can get a taste of it.
I lived through a similar cultural shift; the hippie generation. I claim to be a full-time boomer, part-time millennial. Indeed, I also have had the heart of a millennial and love the pulse and vibe of these wonderful young adults. My children would laugh when I told them my true spirit self was that of a hippie. In the hippie era of free love and feeling groovy, our parents were beside themselves as young men grew their hair over their ears and girls wore mini-skirts as they embarked on new paths of independence. Somehow much of the hippie generation forgot that deep thinking in different directions isn’t necessarily rebellion, as much as it is discovery.
I believe there is place where our varied paths can rendezvous at the same designation and celebrate our respective journeys. It doesn’t necessarily require compromise or giving into to the others mind set. The world of spirituality is not rigid. It is more like a sponge—-not so defined along the way that it can’t absorb and take in new things.
The millennials embrace and love our curriculum—almost without exception. We are talking about thousands of graduates of faiths all over the world. While this is wonderful, we are concerned that many of the old time gatekeepers seem so concerned about keeping those who are still coming to church in their pews, that they have essentially disconnected from those who have left—-namely the twenty and thirty somethings.
If only the old guard could remember their roots and offer the same acceptance and nonjudgmental hope they (we) sought as they were re-defining their (our) world.
There are several prior posts that support this one, for example, Old Dogs MUST Learn New Tricks, 5 Keys to Effectively Feed Millennial Hunger, and 3 Reasons to Stay Connected, to name a few. Messages from the podium need to be shaped to embrace the fresh ideas of the expectant generation. The lessons of the good word don’t change, but the approach and delivery need to. Even in the days of Pentecost, people could hear the messages in their own languages—-I say “embrace and celebrate” don’t agnosticate. Gaining the trust of millennials and speaking their language is the only way to re-engage their faith.
So this post is a challenge to all generations and spiritual leaders; to wake up to the reality of the beautiful world we live in and celebrate each other’s journey. This will require opening up the chapels and classrooms to new and engaging curriculum such as Launching Leaders, and other excellent programs that motivate and empower. In doing so, as a side benefit to the old and hopefully changing guard, the pews will be full for generations to come.
