Tag Archives: Gen Z

Chapter-a-Day

Outward Appearances, Inward Realities

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/1X5CEZNC2plgBQDIp33Kay?si=egXbcZiDT7SJ_pLydqAJhg

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV)

Around our house there is a lot of conversation about generations. In our company’s customer research we are regularly discovering that our clients’ customers are segmented into very different generational groups who have very different expectations and preferences. Companies who don’t recognize and address the differences risk losing business. Personally, I fear that if the institutional church does not recognize and address the differences we may risk losing souls.

For several years now, Wendy and I have followed the writing of Dr. Jonathan Haidt. He has been at the forefront of understanding the negative effects that smart phones have had on children. He was also among the first to cry the warning of what closing schools during COVID was doing to our children. He is also seeing how these things are creating differences in generations of children. Haidt has signed on a young woman named Freya India to his team. She has written an amazing post about Gen Z that everyone should read about why Gen Z will not look back with nostalgia at their own childhood, but rather they are nostalgic about the childhood of previous generations that they never had.

What’s fascinating to me as I ponder the emerging generation of young people is that they are arguably the product of the most blessed, advanced, and affluent society in the history of human civilization. Nevertheless, they are experiencing record levels of anxiety and depression.

This came to mind this morning as I read today’s chapter in which Paul shares with the believers in Corinth the troubles and sufferings that he and his companions have been experiencing as they tirelessly share the message of Jesus with others and lovingly concern themselves with the Corinthians’ well-being. Paul describes his daily realities as “hard pressed on every side…perplexed…persecuted…struck down.” Despite these external physical hardships, Paul says that they are “being renewed inwardly” daily.

As I read this, I thought what a contrast this is to the description that Haidt and India provide us with our current younger generation. Outwardly, it would appear that they are outwardly blessed with affluence, education, technology, safety, security, and health in ways and in levels that no generation before them has ever experienced. Nevertheless, they are inwardly wasting away. In today’s chapter Paul calls his sufferings “treasure” inside the “jar of clay” that is his body. It reminded me of a contrasting reality Ms. India wrote about recently:

I worry because young women like me were raised with only one vision of hell. Now our only nightmare is being restricted by religion, by a relationship, or burdened by responsibilities. But what if hell is also the opposite? What if hell isn’t the faith that makes you stay, but the doubt that makes you leave? What if sometimes the devil is not the voice keeping you trapped, but the one whispering that you are being restricted, wronged, held back—deserve a fresh start? Have we ever considered that the most dangerous ideology might not be the one asking us to have faith through hard things but the one training us to doubt what is good, to see something that should be treasured as a trap?

In the quiet this morning, my heart and mind are pondering how much all of us in this affluent, technologically advanced, safe, secure, and healthy modern reality are suffering the same malady as Gen Z, just not to the same extreme. Outwardly we appear to be healthy, wealthy, and blessed. Factually, we are. Is our “inward” reality the same?

Jesus repeatedly told His disciples that the requirement of being His follower was selflessness, sacrifice, service, and even suffering. For almost every one of His twelve disciples that included suffering excruciating death. It will be the same for Paul. Yet, Paul says his inward reality is Life and love that is renewed daily and flourishing.

God’s ways are not our ways.

As Paul put it, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

I’m in daily need of this reminder.

Where are my eyes fixed this morning?

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

Spiritual Adulting

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Spiritual Adulting (CaD Matt 5) – Wayfarer

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
Matthew 5:21-22 (NIV)

Yesterday I had the honor of presenting the results of some research that I and my colleague did for a client. The client came to us because they have observed that they are slowly losing their customer base. In particular, they’ve observed the younger generations are not doing business with them. So, we did a research study among their younger customers. They weren’t wrong. They’ve got a generational gap issue. But it’s not as simple as it might seem.

A couple of days ago I mentioned that we are living in extraordinary times. One of the things my team’s research is beginning to see over and over again is that there are stark differences between generations. It’s no longer the differences between old and young. Generations X, Y, and Z all have very unique ways of thinking and expectations when it comes to communication and experience. Businesses are having to become more refined in their marketing strategies. One marketing strategy may no longer be enough. It might require multiple strategies to target different generations of customers.

One of the observations I’ve had of recent generations is the difficulty they’ve experienced in maturing into adults. So much so that “adulting” is now a common term. When I was a kid, I fully expected that at 18 I had to go to college or move out and start a life on my own. In choosing college, I knew that part of those four years was figuring out life on my own. Today, I’ve watched as my friends have adult children who have never moved out and continue to live at home off mom and dad’s provision. I have listened to friends struggle with the reality that their adult children willfully refuse to leave home and live on their own.

Today’s chapter is the first of three of the most famous chapters in the entire Great Story. It is Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” and it is the most lengthy example we have of a message Jesus gave to the crowds who followed Him. As I read, I thought about our chapter-a-day trek through the ancient manual for Hebrew priests that we know as Leviticus. Time and time again I reminded us that Leviticus was an instruction manual for a fledgling people group in the toddler stages of humanity. The instructions were simple, binary, and black-and-white like a parent talking to a toddler with limited cognitive comprehension:

“Do this.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Be a good boy or girl and I’ll bless you.”
“Don’t you dare disobey Daddy, or you’ll be punished.”

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount does not abolish those simple early principles. He even makes a point of saying so. He is, however, speaking to an older and more mature people. Humanity has matured over the 1500 years since Leviticus. It’s time for some spiritual adulting.

Throughout today’s chapter, Jesus points back to the old binary rules laid down in the toddler stage.

“Don’t murder.”
“Don’t commit adultery.”
“Stand up to bullies. An eye-for-an-eye.”

Now, Jesus transforms the principles into higher expectations the way a parent prepares their child for life on their own, making their own way as an adult.

“It’s not just about the act murder. Don’t harbor hatred. Don’t be a mean person. You can kill a person’s spirit, esteem, and ego which is just as bad.”

“It’s not just the act of adultery. If you give your mind and heart over to your lusts, you’re already completely out-of-bounds.”

“Living life by violence, vengeance, and retribution is no life at all. It will shrivel your soul and keep you spiritually imprisoned. Blessed are those who are merciful, peacemakers, and hunger for righteousness.”

In the quiet this morning, it’s abundantly clear that what Jesus was offering us was the Heavenly Father’s lecture on spiritual adulting. Even in Leviticus God clearly stated that the rules and instructions He was laying down were so that the people groups around the Hebrews would notice that there is something different about the way they live and conduct themselves. They were to be an example for others to observe and follow.

Jesus says the same thing. “You are the light of the world! Shine!” How do we do that? By being examples of spiritual maturity. The world thinks nothing of vengeance, retribution, mean tweets, lust, lawfare, grudges, judgement, and self-seeking. Jesus points out that Kingdom People must live differently to offer a bright contrast that others notice and to which others will be attracted.

In the quiet this morning, I’m asking myself how well I’ve adulted spiritually. Following religious rituals and going through religious motions is simple, binary, and projects an image of righteousness. Even the religious leaders of Jesus’ day did that. But Jesus made it clear that He expected something more than that, something deeper, and something more spiritually real. “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

I told my clients yesterday that if they want to succeed in their business, they have to mature in their understanding of their customers. If I want to succeed in being a disciple of Jesus, I have to mature in my understanding of what it means to be an adult citizen of God’s Kingdom.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

Best of 2023 #15

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I’m on vacation for three weeks. While I’m gone, please enjoy the top 15 posts from 2023 based on total number of page views and podcast plays. Cheers!

Beyond the Blame (CaD Job 12) – Wayfarer

“To God belong wisdom and power;
    counsel and understanding are his.”
Job 12:13 (NIV)

This past weekend, I gave a message among my local gathering of Jesus’ followers. I began the message by citing three articles I had randomly come across from my daily perusal of the news. In each case, they spoke of the current epidemic of anxiety in our culture, especially among teenagers and young adults. One of the articles I read discussed the root of this epidemic and suggested that it lies with parents.

For most of human history, children and young adults lived with the stress, anxiety, and insecurity that simply comes from living on this earth. My generation rolls our eyes at young people who are connected to their parents 24/7/365. One meme I recently saw said “my parents didn’t know where I was the entire decade of the 1980s!” It’s funny because it’s true.

I grew up having to learn to cope with naturally stressful situations because I had no choice. If I got a flat tire driving through rural Iowa, I couldn’t call someone. I couldn’t use GPS to figure out where I was or where the nearest farmhouse was. I either changed the tire with the spare in the trunk or started hoofing it until I found a farmhouse and risked knocking on the door of a stranger to ask for help.

Today’s young generations have had the luxury of parents who can and do protect them from every uncomfortable situation as they grow. Parents have gone out of their way to effectively eliminate stress, difficulty, and danger from their children’s lives while taking care of their children’s every need and granting most of their affluent, earthly desires. As these children “adult” they now see any difficulty or natural life stress as inherently bad and something to be avoided at all costs. They expect their adult lives to be as easy as their parents made their childhood and young adult years. In some cases, children refuse to leave home and feel unable to cope independently in a cruel world.

Wendy and I recently had dinner with a friend whose young adult child is walking through an acutely painful stretch of their life journey. The pain results from the actions of another person. As we explored the circumstances and the host of negative consequences that have resulted, the conversation eventually turned to our own respective life journeys. Every one of us could identify painful stretches of our own respective life journeys, and in each case the pain served to produce progress toward personal and spiritual maturity in our lives.

Perhaps the most meaningful and useful life lesson that I have gleaned from the Great Story in my 40+ years of study is the fact that suffering can produce personal and spiritual maturity while lives free of struggle are likely to produce personal and spiritual immaturity. A diverse trio of voices echo this same general principle in the Great Story: Paul in Romans 5:3-5, Peter in 1 Peter 1:6-7, and James in James 1:2-3. Struggle promotes a host of character qualities that lead to wisdom, wholeness, and spiritual maturity.

In today’s chapter, Job continues to struggle with the “why” of his suffering. He wants to know why he is going through this painful stretch of his life journey. He wants to pin the blame on something or someone. In recognizing that an omnipotent God controls all of creation, Job continues to prosecute God as the perpetrator of his circumstances.

What’s fascinating is that Job continues to hold that every event in nature and history is a direct result of God’s willful action. That’s a lot of blame to pin on God in a fallen world in which billions of sinful people have the God-given free will to choose to hurt others, even unwittingly and with the best of intentions.

In the quiet my mind wanders back to our friend’s child and the pain that young adult is experiencing as the result of another person’s actions. I think about the painful events our own daughters have had to navigate and survive in their young adult years. I recognize how those events contributed to growing them up in positive and necessary ways. I think of other friends I know with adult children still living at home unable to cope with life outside of their parents provision and enabling.

There is progress in pain if I move beyond blame.

Chapter to read for tomorrow’s Best of 2023: Job 40

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Beyond the Blame

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Beyond the Blame (CaD Job 12) – Wayfarer

“To God belong wisdom and power;
    counsel and understanding are his.”
Job 12:13 (NIV)

This past weekend, I gave a message among my local gathering of Jesus’ followers. I began the message by citing three articles I had randomly come across from my daily perusal of the news. In each case, they spoke of the current epidemic of anxiety in our culture, especially among teenagers and young adults. One of the articles I read discussed the root of this epidemic and suggested that it lies with parents.

For most of human history, children and young adults lived with the stress, anxiety, and insecurity that simply comes from living on this earth. My generation rolls our eyes at young people who are connected to their parents 24/7/365. One meme I recently saw said “my parents didn’t know where I was the entire decade of the 1980s!” It’s funny because it’s true.

I grew up having to learn to cope with naturally stressful situations because I had no choice. If I got a flat tire driving through rural Iowa, I couldn’t call someone. I couldn’t use GPS to figure out where I was or where the nearest farmhouse was. I either changed the tire with the spare in the trunk or started hoofing it until I found a farmhouse and risked knocking on the door of a stranger to ask for help.

Today’s young generations have had the luxury of parents who can and do protect them from every uncomfortable situation as they grow. Parents have gone out of their way to effectively eliminate stress, difficulty, and danger from their children’s lives while taking care of their children’s every need and granting most of their affluent, earthly desires. As these children “adult” they now see any difficulty or natural life stress as inherently bad and something to be avoided at all costs. They expect their adult lives to be as easy as their parents made their childhood and young adult years. In some cases, children refuse to leave home and feel unable to cope independently in a cruel world.

Wendy and I recently had dinner with a friend whose young adult child is walking through an acutely painful stretch of their life journey. The pain results from the actions of another person. As we explored the circumstances and the host of negative consequences that have resulted, the conversation eventually turned to our own respective life journeys. Every one of us could identify painful stretches of our own respective life journeys, and in each case the pain served to produce progress toward personal and spiritual maturity in our lives.

Perhaps the most meaningful and useful life lesson that I have gleaned from the Great Story in my 40+ years of study is the fact that suffering can produce personal and spiritual maturity while lives free of struggle are likely to produce personal and spiritual immaturity. A diverse trio of voices echo this same general principle in the Great Story: Paul in Romans 5:3-5, Peter in 1 Peter 1:6-7, and James in James 1:2-3. Struggle promotes a host of character qualities that lead to wisdom, wholeness, and spiritual maturity.

In today’s chapter, Job continues to struggle with the “why” of his suffering. He wants to know why he is going through this painful stretch of his life journey. He wants to pin the blame on something or someone. In recognizing that an omnipotent God controls all of creation, Job continues to prosecute God as the perpetrator of his circumstances.

What’s fascinating is that Job continues to hold that every event in nature and history is a direct result of God’s willful action. That’s a lot of blame to pin on God in a fallen world in which billions of sinful people have the God-given free will to choose to hurt others, even unwittingly and with the best of intentions.

In the quiet my mind wanders back to our friend’s child and the pain that young adult is experiencing as the result of another person’s actions. I think about the painful events our own daughters have had to navigate and survive in their young adult years. I recognize how those events contributed to growing them up in positive and necessary ways. I think of other friends I know with adult children still living at home unable to cope with life outside of their parents provision and enabling.

There is progress in pain if I move beyond blame.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.