OUR CURRENT POSTMODERN GENERATION
George Barna is a highly respected researcher who focuses on ethical, cultural, moral, and religious trends. During a report about one of his most recent research projects, he was asked what was the biggest surprise he found. He replied, “perhaps the paradox of living in a culture defined by constant change, with a nation of people who admit to confusion regarding purpose, meaning and truth, and yet finding that there has been no real change in the spiritual views and endeavors of the people.
“Layer on top of that the fact that churches have raised and spent more than $500 billion dollars in the past decade to try to influence America’s spiritual life and it seems pretty obvious that it takes more than good intentions and a menu of popular programs to make a dent in the nation’s religious identity and consciousness.”
Recently I visited Henry Blackaby’s website where he described a conversation he and Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade For Christ had a few days earlier. That same sentiment was voiced between the two of them . . . . the fact that particularly the church has really not changed very much. Less than two weeks away from the September 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, neither the populace in general nor the church in particular have made any significant changes from the way they were living beforehand. Oh, to be sure, there were some dramatic changes at first, but those have pretty much gone by the wayside.
We indeed are living in a critical time in history. Few of us really understand just how significant a time this is. We have never been in these particular circumstances before. There has never been a more tenuous and uncertain period in our lifetimes.
Not long ago the church where my father is a member printed some interesting information in the monthly newsletter where was described four successive generations of the Twentieth Century. Particular attention was given to the church members. The four groups were the “Builders” (1920 to 1945), the “Boomers” (1946-1964), the “Busters” (1954 to 1984) and the “Postmoderns” (1984 to present). In contrasting those generations as pertaining to church life, they examined them through eight lenses —- Program Style, Focus, Ministry, Worship, Music, Sermon Style Preference, Support, and what I will call Life’s Slogan.
Here are the conclusions, based to a large extent on a 1997 report by Dr. William McRae and presented at the Billy Graham School of Evangelism at Wheaton College.
Program Style: The Builders preferred a more formal style, while the Boomers looked for Relational programs, the Busters went for Spontaneity, and the Postmoderns of our current society preferred whatever benefited them most and made them feel good.
Religious Focus: The Builders seemed to concentrate on Programs while the Boomers focused on People. The Busters were more community related, and the Postmoderns have a clear focus on themselves, their families, and their close friends.
Motivation to Minister: Builders seemed to minister from a sense of duty while Boomers tended to minister for personal satisfaction. The Busters, on the other hand, did it for the challenge, and the Postmoderns (if they do it at all) minister primarily on the basis of moral and ethical responsibility (but not religious).
Worship Styles: Quiet, respectful reverence was the preference of choice for the Builders while Dialogue and Interaction was the style of the Boomers. The Busters really went for the energetic worship formats, while the Postmoderns by and large prefer a rather shallow or superficial “seeker friendly” style that allows them to be a comfortable spectator who find it easy to leave with little or no sense of personal responsibility beyond the service.
Music: The Builders clearly preferred the old standard hymns and classic anthems while the Boomers liked both the hymns, “Youth For Christ-ish” choruses, and in latter years the scripture songs that began to filter in from New Zealand and Australia. The Busters, however, loved the scripture songs and the praise choruses, much of which focused more on worshipping God than on telling personal experiences. The Postmoderns seem to prefer the praise music of the Busters and primarily melody-less contemporary praise music often with a heavy “rock” theme, and they hardly know any of the hymns or earlier praise choruses at all.
Sermon Style and Content: Builders clearly were fed through strong expository preaching while the Boomers wanted practical “how to” sermons that could be applied to practical everyday life. This was good, but had a flaw in that such approaches often provided little or no solid Biblical truth by which to live. The Busters preferred sermons that focused on issues. The Postmoderns, frequently having little or no Biblical foundation, seem to prefer sermons that entertain, make them laugh, and help them feel good for the next few days of the week.
Financial Support: It seems the builders still fell under the influence of the development of the modern missionary movement of half a century earlier, and they were motivated by missions. The Boomers were more prone to give to people and ministries, whereas the Busters were motivated to give to specific known causes that required only limited tenure. Postmoderns often seem to be motivated to give financially as a means of serving by proxy and see it as both a means of showing signs of loyalty to Christ and/or the church and at the same time as a means of fulfilling one’s obligation without having to really do it personally.
Generational Saying: The Builders wanted everyone to “Be sure” when it came to spiritual matters. Strangely, Boomers quickly abandoned that philosophy and replaced it with “Just do it”. By the time the Busters came along, their theme was simply, “Whatever!”. Postmoderns seem to take that even a step further with “If it feels good, it’s alright . . . so do it.”
A PREFERRED GENERATION:
There’s another generation, though, that needs to surface before it’s too late. I see evidences of it everywhere, and it is one of only a few things that really give me hope for an exciting future for the church. I call it the “Jacob Generation”. Take a look at Psalm 24:3-6. Filled with profound questions, disturbing answers, and tantalizing promise, that brief passage concludes with a heart broken confession.
I must confess that this is not the direction I intended for my letter to you today, but just as I finished writing the above paragraphs, this passage came blazing into my consciousness, and I must share what I feel my heart is hearing right now.
1. The Profound Questions are direct and to the point. “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?” “And who may stand in His Holy place?” The first refers to the place of His majesty and glory, while the second refers to His perfect righteousness and holiness. Who, in heaven’s name, can ever go there? Well, not the average person. Neither the Builder, the Boomer, the Buster, or the Postmodern has a chance; they’re all too caught up in their preferences.
2. Verse four reveals some Disturbing Answers that are clear, abrupt, and uncompromising. If you want to get where God is, you must be a person with “clean hands”, a “pure heart”, and one who has “not lifted up his soul to falsehood (vanity) nor sworn deceitfully”. In other words, as I heard Dr. Stephen Olford so eloquently say some thirty years ago, the one who can come into God’s presence with all its glory and holiness is one who knows Physical Chastity, Moral Purity, and Spiritual Integrity.
You might say, “well, that leaves me out, and most of the rest of us, too.” Were it not for the gracious finished work of Christ which comes to us through repentant hearts, that would be the case. However, we can indeed come on that basis . . . . if we will pay the price.
3. This leads, then, to A Tantalizing Promise in that the writer tells us what God is wanting us to know. If we will come by His aforementioned conditions, there is something wonderful waiting for us . . . . a blessing from the Lord! And Righteousness from the God of our salvation!
That, my friend, is worth whatever price we might have to pay to be a part of the generation that stands in the presence of holy God and lives victoriously on His Hill. Others have done so . . . . Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Paul, John the beloved . . . and others from every generation including yours and mind. But it will require . . . .
4. A broken hearted confession that we are a part of that desperate generation who recognizes that neither the Builders, the Boomers, the Busters, or the Postmoderns . . . . nor any other generation before or to come . . . . will come with any more genuine repentance and contriteness than you and I do. Will you agree with me on that point? Will you join me in declaring, “This is the generation! This is the generation of those who seek Him! This is the generation of those who Seek Your Face, O God of Jacob!”
That is the preferred generation which this world so desperately needs. That is the generation that must rise up in the Church today. If we don’t, all is lost.
Yesterday as I was looking through some things stuck in my notebook, I ran across a quote I had written last June while in Bosnia. It says, “Missionaries and [Bosnian] believers are discovering more and more that any ministry not built on a strong prayer base is bound for disaster.”
Such a base . . . . one described as “a strong prayer base” . . . . can only be found only within the principles as illustrated in this passage of scripture. And, dear friend, if we will meet the conditions, God has promised to visit us. Read on in verses seven through ten and see what David has to say. His heart seems to leap, his feet seem to dance, and his hands seem to be lifted in a royal cheer as he shouts to all who are around him, “Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in!” He goes on to ask, “Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!”
IS THIS THE GENERATION?
Oh, my dear friend! Do you see the situation in which we live? Do you see the solution? Will you embrace the challenge? Will you meet the requirement? Will you cry out to God for His favor? Will you cling only to Him, and let everything else go its own way?
That’s the generation which needs to rise up in our day. A preferred generation . . . . a New Jacob Generation.
I pray that you and I both will be counted among the millions who will make up this new generation. Because of the Fall of man in Genesis, all of life has built within it a downward spiral that leads eventually to total destruction. And that downward plummet will continue in our generation . . . . unless a new Jacob Generation rises up. And such a generation can come to be only by the mighty hand of God. It cannot be done by good theological education, strong denominational strategies, or utilization of contemporary technology. It will take something very different . . . .
It will take the supernatural intervention of God Himself in behalf of His Name’s sake and for His own glory.
As that quote read a moment ago, ” . . . any ministry not built on a strong prayer base is bound for disaster.”
How about it, my friend? Where are we headed . . . . disaster or conquest? Ours is the generation that can make the difference.
May it be so for His glory and for His kingdom purposes.
As God brings us to your mind this week and following, please pray for us during these strenuous times. I look forward to writing you the next seven weeks from outside Richmond, VA.
In His Bond and For His glory,
Bob Tolliver — Rom 1:11-12
Copyright September, 2002
Life Unlimited Ministries