Trend Watch
October 1, 1996
This Is Not Your Boomer's Generation
What works-and doesn't-in reaching busters for Christ.
The Great Room at the Navigators' Glen Eyrie castle never rocked like that
before. When a high-decibel praise band and around 200 people involved in
ministry to Generation X descended on Colorado Springs last March, more than
windows quaked. Those evangelizing and discipling this post-baby-boom,
post-Christian generation called for a reappraisal of Christian mission every
bit as radical as that demanded by the Jesus People twenty-five years ago.
"For many of the nearly 40 million young people between 18 and 34," said
Ken Baugh, director of Frontline, a ministry to baby busters at McLean Bible
Church in McLean, Virginia, "preachers are like used car salesmen or politicians.
But if your relationships with them are good, and if you are perceived as
being authentic, then they'll follow you into the church through the back
door."
Throughout the three-day Gen X Forum, sponsored by Leadership Network, speaker
after speaker emphasized the importance of authenticity, quality relationships,
and new ways of doing church. Kevin Ford, an evangelism consultant (and nephew
of Billy Graham), opened his talk by playing Joan Osborne's Grammy-nominated
song, "One of Us" ("What if God was one of us"), one of many contemporary
songs exploring spiritual issues. Ford then asked his listeners to create
biblically-based narratives that touch busters' imaginations.
"Don't destroy a good narrative by breaking it up with points," he said.
"That's condescending. Just tell a story. And don't explain it."
Pollster George Barna agreed on the importance of stories. "[Busters] are
non-linear, comfortable with contradictions, and inclined to view ...
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