"And a child shall lead them ..."

We've heard people quote this over and over, especially when there are shared videos of children or youth speaking intelligently or prophetically on different issues.

But this week, we saw something even more dramatic and prophetic. Something this pithy Bible quote doesn't even begin to describe. 

We saw the next generation of prophets beginning to emerge. 

After the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, video after video and tweet after tweet began emerging. No, I'm not talking about the "thoughts and prayers" we kept hearing from officials and other adults in power. I'm talking about the social media frenzy from teenagers. Because it turns out, they've been paying attention.

And whether you agree with them or not, you can't help but listen to them. 

I've been working with teenagers in some capacity since I was a teen myself. (I could write a whole separate post on how important that has been in my own development and how thankful I am for their presence in my life.) I spent time with teens throughout the 2016 election cycle. At least once a week, I was teaching them the basic tenets of the Christian faith and helping them figure out what that meant for their lives. And inevitably, social issues came up. Not because I told them, but because they're paying more attention than, I would argue, any young generation in history. They know the names of elected officials (I probably couldn't have told you the name of the Secretary of State or the Attorney General when I was their age). They know about legislation that is passed or not passed. They know about campaign finance issues. They know. They're paying attention.

So when a school shooting happens, they know that "thoughts and prayers" aren't going to cut it. They know whether or not their legislators have taken money from the gun lobby. They know. And if they don't know, they know how to find out.

The first of this generation is registering to vote. Some of them will vote this year. And they aren't going to vote the way their parents vote just because their parents vote a certain way. 

Watch out, world. [Generation Z] has been watching you, and they're not going to just sit back and watch for much longer.

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Be sure you're subscribed to the blog (click here and sign up for updates) so you can catch part 2 of this series where I look at historical generational trends to help us understand why it makes perfect sense that we're seeing a new generation of civil rights leaders emerge in [Generation Z], and what that may mean for the future of our country and our churches.

We've all been there. Maybe you're there right now.

Maybe things are going well. Giving is stable, the calendar has been planned for the year, your staff and ministry leaders are leading well, and worship attendance is solid. And yet, you can't figure out what the next step is. You feel like there's so much potential to be built upon, but it's hard to see how to move to the next phase of your church's life. 

Or, maybe things aren't going well. There are some physical issues with your church building, giving is stagnating, you're barely keeping up week to week with sermon writing and funerals and all the other administrative tasks you have to do now because you're still trying to replace the administrator who quit just before Christmas. It feels like there are so many holes to plug that you can't figure out where to turn your attention, so you keep moving along, just keeping your head above water. 

Either way, you feel stuck.

While I'm a big-picture thinker, and I love dreaming big, what I spend a lot of time working with churches on is actually very small - the next right step. 

Figuring out your next right step is always the first step to overcoming that stuck-ness, but when you are so deeply embedded in your context (as any good leader should be!), it can be hard to discern which of the myriad things in your field of view should get your valuable attention.

When I've hit this point, I usually go to a clergy colleague for support and conversation. We have lunch, talk it over, they ask me some pointed, challenging questions, and I can usually move forward. That day. But then there's the next week, or month, or project, or the next crisis that comes along. 

This is why a coach can be the most valuable investment a ministry leader makes in her career. 

That conversation I have over lunch with my colleague is a version of coaching; only that colleague doesn't have the time or energy to coach me week in and week out, to keep motivating me and challenging me, to ask the hard and pointed questions to help me move beyond stuck. 

That's why I became a coach - I love helping you figure out the next right step, and the next one, and the next one. I love thinking big, and keeping you connected to what you're really about, even when you have to deal with the day-to-day details. 

Your time is valuable; your ministry is even more valuable. And what I love about coaching is, it acknowledges that you know best, but sometimes it's hard to do that deep work of discernment on your own. That's what I'm here for, so let's figure out your next right step together!

Have you considered hiring a coach? What are the things you're unsure of? Or have you had a coach and have experiences to share in how coaching helped you get "unstuck?" Share in the comments!

Last week, we heard from the Barna Group about the first major study done on [Generation Z], the generation estimated to be born from 1999-2015. As the first of their cohort is just beginning to graduate high school, the information we can acquire about them as a generation is limited, but Barna took the opportunity to get a small glimpse into the lives of this current youngest generation. 

As a committed student of generational theory, I was excited about this first look at the post-Millennial generation, so I ordered the study report as quickly as the internet would allow, and broke into it the moment it arrived on the doorstep.

The Challenges with the Research

Before I dig into the pertinent findings, though, I have to make a few caveats about this "research." 

• First, this is not generational research. At this stage, it's polling of a group of people from a specific age cohort. This was one of the most disappointing things for me as a student of generational theory. While the study is able to make some solid generalizations about [Gen Z], the researchers often choose to compare them to other generations. Unfortunately, they're not making comparisons about other generations at the same age, but those other generations today. It shouldn't be shocking to anyone that the priorities of teenagers and the priorities of sixty-somethings are different. So, while the data still may be valid, the comparisons only give us a point-in-time reference rather than a generational one, so it's hard to parse out what are generational characteristics and what are just related to age and stage in life.
• This study only included Protestant Christians. Excluding Catholics and Catholic Churches excludes a significant population of churchgoers, so is simply not a representation of all of the landscape of Christianity in the US. Whatever this study tells us, we have to be aware that it only represents a segment of the Christian population. 
• The other major challenge I faced in reading the research is the religious bias. No doubt, Barna is a religious research group and their partner for this study, Impact360, is an evangelical organization, and in their words, they "cultivate a biblical worldview." Unfortunately, most mainline Christians would not qualify as having a "biblical worldview" under their definition. So as the data are interpreted throughout the report, some comparisons and evaluation are skewed toward a conservative evangelical approach. It's not subtle, though, so it's not hard to distinguish the evangelical Christian agenda from some of the raw data. 

So with those caveats in place, let's look at what we have now learned about [Gen Z] at this point in time.

My Questions

As I approached the report, I had a few key questions I hoped to have answered: What characteristics will arise? Will they match my experience with [Gen Z] teens and kids? Will technology be the focus of everything or will we be able to move past that distraction to look at the actual people technology is shaping? Will these [Gen Z] kids carry on the Strauss/Howe four-type cycle and carry some of the traits of their great grandparents in the Silent Generation?

I can't say any of my questions was answered completely (and some not at all), but there were some findings of interest and some key themes that arose.

Reclusive & Communal

[Generation Z] has been said to be the loneliest generation on record, and it appears for good reason. Overall, [Gen Z] is less likely to leave their homes, drink alcohol, get their license, and go out on dates than generations before them at the same age. Teen pregnancy rates are down, even rare, but teen suicide and depression greater than ever.

Why? It appears that the over-the-top parenting techniques, commonly referred to as "helicopter" parenting have moved them in this direction. This restrictive but involved form of parenting has created a generation with curated lives, each moment of their day scheduled, and with more homework from educational institutions than ever before.

So, when they don't have control over most of their lives, [Gen Z] seeks out agency and community in the only way they can: through technology and social media. They spend time on social media because they hunger for community and that is the only way THEY can create it.

And the community they seek out? A diverse one. Whereas Millennials embrace and are comfortable with diversity, [Gen Z] expects it. The study showed that they say they find joy in being around people different from them, a shift from previous generations who often express fear and anxiety about being with different cultures.

The Future is the Focus (and that's scary)

One of the most poignant findings in this study is now future-focused this generation is. Personal achievement kept coming up as central to the [Gen Z] identity. And while it's not new for teenagers to be focused on college and considering career, it seems to have spiked with this group. 

Much like their carefully curated childhoods, they are learning to curate their online presences not for the sake of propriety or social inclusion, but because from a young age, they've been told that colleges and future employers will be monitoring their online engagement.

When asked about their role models, the majority of the reasons they chose role models were related to future personal achievement - six of the top ten reasons given were related to career or financial success.

And no wonder this is also the most stressed-out generation in history; in addition to the personal pressures they feel, they are also distrustful of the future in general on a global scale. As far as they know, the world has always been at war, and these kids have greater global awareness than any previous generation. (I know I don't remember having such nuanced opinions about the government when I was their age!)

Spiritual & Don't Know How to be Religious

When it comes to the church, they've inherited an interesting bag. Like Millennials, they are drawn to spirituality, but even more so than Millennials, they don't have the foundation for religious and theological exploration that previous generations had. They're working from a blank slate - and depending on how you see it, that can be a gift or a challenge.

They also appear indecisive at times. They are reluctant to form strong opinions for fear of offending someone. In the end, they tend to end in indecision, and they find it hard to give an answer when needed.

They also don't necessarily feel warm and fuzzy about the church in general. When asked, they chose images that were neutral or judgmental (a cross and a finger pointing over a Bible) to describe the church.

And yet, when they were asked to choose between extremes for their "ideal church," they often chose some pretty traditional images. They chose community over solitude and being in a sanctuary over an auditorium. Unsurprisingly, they preferred a casual, varied experience, but on almost everything else, they were split nearly 50/50: quiet vs loud, traditional vs modern, relaxed vs exciting, performance vs ritual, classic vs trendy. Much like with Millennials, a hip, non-traditional, contemporary church is not the magic bullet for young people of any age. 

As much to Teach us as We have to Teach Them

While there may be some response needed in knowing the lack of conviction and penchant for indecision of [Gen Z], that same characteristic highlights one of their key positive characteristics: empathy. [Gen Z] seems to be able to tap into and anticipate the feelings of others, and they have a great desire not to do harm or offend. They have a high tolerance and low desire to antaagonize; I would say most of our adult generations could learn a few things!

That being said, a lifetime of indecision will not do them well. They need to be given opportunities to practice and skills for critical thinking and discernment. From my experience, when given those tools, they shine brightly! 

While this list is nowhere near the extent of the research from Barna, nor does it even scratch the surface of the intricacies of an entire generation, we are beginning to see the emergence of a new, distinct group in our society, and before we know it, they'll be among our workforce and leading in our churches and our society.

Keep in mind, though, that the youngest of this generation is estimated to be only three years old. This research, even with all the limitations already mentioned, is also limited by the fact that it can only really survey a maximum of about half of the generation.

My hope is we will continue to challenge this generation, and continue asking some of the right questions so that we can not only figure out what makes them tick but also be the best possible mentors and leaders for them, inviting them to participate in a society we choose to create together.

My whole professional life, I've primarily been producing programs. Camps, retreats, workshops, sermons - all of those are programmatic elements that provided content to participants, whether they be retreat guests, campers or church leaders. Often, though, there would be these conversations in between the programming. Follow-up phone calls, chats over a meal, things like that. One pastor nearly knocked me over after a workshop so we could talk more in-depth about his church.

I discovered quickly that for me, those conversations were the best part of it all! I loved helping people take an idea and ask all the right questions to see how it might be applicable to a problem they were trying to solve or a goal they had set for themselves. 

I found out later - that's coaching. 

It's complicated, because the word "coach" has a lot of meanings, the most common of which is in relation to sports. A coach trains, instructs and strategizes for an athlete or team. If a team or athlete wins, the coach gets credit too. We talk about "winning coaches" in addition to winning teams. 

But when we're talking about ministry coaching, it's very different. Coaching is all about the goals of the client. It's all about bringing out the potential already there rather than giving new skills or training. It's about making someone who's good even better. 

If we're going to use a metaphor, it's actually more like having a running partner. Someone who has agreed to travel the same path with you, encouraging you along the way, and helping you ask the right questions as you choose directions, encounter roadblocks and begin to fatigue. 

Recently during a coaching training, a group of us were asked to write a short definition of coaching. Here were the results:

• Coaching is providing accompaniment to help you do what you do best, better.
• Coaching is walking alongside an individual/group as they pursue transforming change.
• Coaching is a mutually agreed upon journey of discerning most faithful steps shepherded by a committed listener.
• Coaching is an intentional process of accompanying, equipping and challenging leaders to dream, design and enact the change they are called to live into.
• Coaching is a journey of partners, marked with creative conversations that inspire and empower a person or group to achieve extraordinary results.

I imagine you can pick mine out among the crowd, but I keep the others in mind as well. It's inspirational to think about what can be accomplished with the right accompaniment. 

So, what about you?

What are you good at, but want to become better?

What transforming change do you want to pursue?

What journey of discernment do you want to begin?

What do you want to dream, design and enact?

What extraordinary results do you want to achieve?

I'd love to help.

Download the complete infographic at http://www.whoisgenz.com/

In my little Generational Theory rabbit hole (if I've never invited you in, give me a minute or sixty sometime and I'll take you on a journey ...), the world has been abuzz for years about Millennials. They're the latest generation we love to hate.

But not for long! "Those darn kids" is about to shift in meaning from Millennials to the generation following Millennials, identified with a temporary placeholder name, [Generation Z]. 

If you've been to one of my workshops on generational theory or intergenerational ministry, you may have noticed that I don't yet present on [Generation Z]. Thus far, the oldest [GenZ]-ers are just beginning to enter college, depending on who is estimating the date range. 

They don't yet know who they are developmentally; it's very difficult to consider generalizing about a generation who isn't even yet old enough to vote! 

But now, there's something coming soon that has me more nerdily excited than a Doctor Who Christmas Special ... 

On Tuesday, January 23, Impact 360 and Barna will release the results of the first official research done on this generation. It's really the generational theory equivalent to the release of a new Harry Potter book, so to say the least I am excited! 

If you're interested in hearing about this firsthand with all us GT nerds, you can sign up to view the simulcast here. 

Afterward, I plan to host some conversation over on my Facebook Page about what they present. I hope you'll come and nerd out with me!