Reaching High School and College Students in an Age of Cynicism

1. xenos summer institute Reaching High School and College Students in an Age of Cynicism

2. we are losing our kids Josh McDowell, The Last Christian Generation “In past years, between fifty-five percent (55%) and sixty-six percent (66%) of churched young people have said that the church will play a part in their lives when they leave home. Now only thirty-three percent of churched youth say that…

3. we are losing our kids Josh McDowell, The Last Christian Generation Many have estimated that between sixty-nine percent (69%) and ninety-four percent (94%) of their young people are leaving the traditional church after high school … and very few are returning.” (13)

4. we are losing our kids

5. we are losing our kids David Kinnaman, unChristian One of the primary words this group used to describe their impression of Christians is “hypocrite.” According to his research, 84% of young outsiders personally know a committed Christian but just 15% thought the lifestyles of those Christ followers were significantly different from the norm. (48)

6. we are losing our kids Thom Ranier, Essential Church: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts Perhaps most startling is the gravity of how many exit the church and the pace at which this exodus is occurring… Shock does not begin to describe how we felt after reading the research results.

7. we are losing our kids Thom Ranier, Essential Church: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts The church is losing the generational battle. Not only are we losing our nation to the ways of the world, but we are not winning our own children in Christian families. Multitudes are dropping out of the church. (14)

8. we are losing our kids Jean Twenge, Generation Me (34) Weekly attendance at “religious services” • High school seniors: 26% • High school seniors in the south: < 33% • 18-29 year olds: 18%

9. we are losing our kids

10. millennials and xenos The Millennials are here (1980-1994) We have seen success 1997: <200 students, ~6 home groups 2009: >1200 students, 61 home groups

11. millennials and xenos Get Millennials grounded in Biblical truth while helping them get a vision for God’s plan for their lives

12. Major Barriers in Today’s Culture

13. I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands Acts 17:22-24 Our Understanding of the Culture Guides Our Approach Paul Immersed Himself in the Culture These Two Observations Inform One Another

18. pervasive cynicism

19. pervasive cynicism • Cynicism of People On Saturday I went shopping with my teenage daughter. I needed a dress for a party the next week. I saw a very attractive dress, black, a daring cut, and with silver sequin. I was very excited until I tried it on. Dejectedly I had to tell my daughter that I just couldn’t take it. It just wasn’t me. My daughter responded with gentle mockery, “But Mom, that isn’t the point. With that you dress you would really be somebody.” -Kenneth Gergen, Saturated Self “We are only bundles of desires and the mask worn to satisfy those desires. There is no unique essence of who I am that is durable over time. I am the product of countless accidental factors in my culture and individual experience. I am fluid. I do not struggle to find or discover myself. I choose to invent myself. This is no cause for despair but for relief and exhilaration. It is exciting. I am free to project what images I want into the world to make the world work the way I want.” -Dick Keyes, Seeing Through Cynicism

20. pervasive cynicism • Cynicism of People • Cynicism of Institutions (i.e. Government, Family, and Church) Cynicism Towards the Church Marriage Government

21. pervasive cynicism • Cynicism of People • Cynicism of Institutions (i.e. Government, Family, and Church) • Cynicism Toward Knowing Truth: Postmodernism

22. fallout of postmodernism: pragmatism

23. fallout of postmodernism: pragmatism • Pragmatism Directs People’s Lives Without Having To Consider Truth

24. fallout of postmodernism: pragmatism • Pragmatism Directs People’s Lives Without Having To Consider Truth • The Consequences of A Pragmatic View of Truth Looking To God To Meet Felt Needs A Dwindling Interest In Apologetics

25. application • We need to be transparent • We need to be charitable to opposing views

26. application • Avoid gimmicky approaches to reaching students • We need to teach and preach apologetics Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you -1 Peter 3:15 Since then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. 2 Corinthians 5:11

27. application • Avoid gimmicky approaches to reaching students • We need to teach and preach apologetics • Personal investment is the only way to reach students effectively

28. wreckage: hyper individualism “You are special” The number of psychology and education journal articles devoted to self-esteem doubled between the 1970s and the 1980s. Journal articles on self-esteem increased another 52% during the 1990s, and the number of books on self-esteem doubled over the same time. – Jean Twenge, Generation Me, 53

29. wreckage: hyper individualism “You are special” Over 9000 books were written about self-esteem and children during the 80s and 90s. Fewer than 500 books were written on the subject during the 70s. – Winograd & Hais, Millennial Makeover, 79

30. wreckage: hyper individualism “You are special” By the mid-90’s, ‘the average GenMe college man had higher self-esteem than 86% of college men in 1968. [women were higher than 71%] …

31. wreckage: hyper individualism “You are special” A 1997 survey of teens asked, “In general, how do you feel about yourself?” A stunning 93% answered “good.” of the remainder, 6% said they felt “not very good,” and only 1% admitted they felt “bad” about themselves.

32. wreckage: hyper individualism “You are special” Another survey found that 91% of teens described themselves as responsible, 74% as physically attractive, and 79% as very intelligent. (Twenge 52)

33. wreckage: hyper individualism “You are special” One children’s book, first published in 1991, is called The Lovables in the Kingdom of Self-Esteem. “I AM LOVABLE. Hi, lovable friend! My name is Mona Monkey. I live in the Kingdom of Self-Esteem along with my friends the Lovable Team,” the book begins.

34. wreckage: hyper individualism “You are special” On the next page, children learn that the gates of the kingdom will swing open if you “say these words three times with pride: I’m lovable! I’m lovable! I’m lovable!” (Twenge 53)

35. wreckage: hyper individualism

36. wreckage: hyper individualism “You are special” Many school districts across the country have specific programs designed to increase children’s self-esteem, most of which actually build self-importance and narcissism. One program is called “Self-Science: The Subject Is Me.” (Why bother with biology? I’m so much more interesting!)

37. wreckage: hyper individualism “You are special” Boomer children in the 1950s and 1960s gained self-esteem naturally from a stable, child-friendly society; GenMe’s self-esteem has been actively cultivated for its own sake. (Twenge 55)

38. wreckage: hyper individualism Application? Critique and resist the world’s approach to self-esteem Replace that by teaching God’s perspective on identity and significance

39. wreckage: hyper individualism “You don’t need anyone’s approval” [A journalist who began teaching classes at a community college:] Students seemed uncomfortable with the idea that he knew more than they did, and even with “the idea that my knowledge and skills were important or even relevant.”

40. wreckage: hyper individualism “You don’t need anyone’s approval” Student after student balked when he corrected their essays, several complaining that his comments were “just your opinion” (Twenge 28)

41. wreckage: hyper individualism “You don’t need anyone’s approval” One teacher always announced: “‘I have some expertise and you have some expertise. My job is to facilitate this process. And please call me Beth.’ The message: We are all equals here. I might have a Ph.D. and years of experience, but that doesn’t mean I know any more than you…

42. wreckage: hyper individualism “You don’t need anyone’s approval” Classrooms are increasingly structured for teachers to be “facilitators” rather than authority figures. Lecturing is frowned upon; “collaborative learning” is in.” (Twenge 29)

43. wreckage: hyper individualism “You don’t need anyone’s approval” Yet often a strong bond with their parents At the University of Georgia, students who get frustrated or confused during registration have been known to interrupt their advisers to whip out a cell phone, speed-dial their parents and hand the phone to the adviser, saying, “Here, talk to my mom,”

44. wreckage: hyper individualism “You don’t need anyone’s approval” Yet often a strong bond with their parents says Richard Mullendore, a University of Georgia professor and former vice president, student affairs,… The cellphone, he says, has become “the world's longest umbilical cord.” – Shellenbarger, Sue. “Tucking the Kids In -- in the Dorm: Colleges Ward Off Overinvolved Parents.” Wall Street Journal 28 July 2005

45. wreckage: hyper individualism “You can be anything you want – just work hard and put your mind to it!” Material affluence is very important • 1967 – 45% of college freshmen said it was important to be well-off financially. In 2004 this climbed to 74%

46. wreckage: hyper individualism “You can be anything you want – just work hard and put your mind to it!” Material affluence is very important • College kids spend 2.6 billion a year decorating their spaces, about $1200 each on average.

47. wreckage: hyper individualism “You can be anything you want – just work hard and put your mind to it!” Material affluence is very important • The average HS couple spends $800 on their prom night, up from $300 5 years ago (Twenge 99)

48. wreckage: hyper individualism “You can be anything you want – just work hard and put your mind to it!” High levels of anxiety and pressure on self

49. wreckage: hyper individualism Howe and Strauss, Millennials Rising, 172

50. wreckage: hyper individualism “You can be anything you want – just work hard and put your mind to it!” So in this world where essentials like housing are so astronomically expensive, what messages has GenMe been fed? Save your money? Feel lucky to have a house even if it’s not a mansion? Of course not.