Where’s Bart Simpson When You Need Him?: The Next Generation Gap

Orginally published on Monday, May 07, 2007 at 6:55 AM
by Earl Creps

Sitting with a group of twentysomething leaders at lunch last week, Janet and I had the chance to hear their perspective on what it’s like to lead the even younger. In this case, four people on the trailing edge of Generation X (born 1965-1983ish) were in charge of around one hundred and forty students on the front edge of Generation Y (born 1984-2002ish). We had heard and read that these Millennials (or Mosaics, or nothing if you don’t like labeling) related better to Boomers like Jan and me than to their own older brothers and sisters. But we were not prepared for how stressful leading Millennials seemed to be for the X’ers with whom we shared designer salads that day. Their issues with the very young adults (VYA’s) whom they were to disciple sounded something like this...

1. Follow-through: almost no amount of instruction seemed sufficient to persuade their Millennials to accomplish simple tasks, like picking up a can of paint at the hardware store.

2. Compartmentalization: tearful assent to obeying God was achieved frequently but was just as frequently followed by disobedience, with no thought that this might be a contradiction

3. Selective attention: the VYA’s under their charge seemed capable of concentrating intently on media, text messages, and fashion, but suddenly tuned out when non-entertaining activities were discussed.

4. Parenting: moms and dads of the VYA’s were increasingly becoming an intrusion on the ministry, attempting to shield their children from anything perceived as negative—like a Gen X leader who actually wanted them to do things.

This lunch dialogue offered some confirmation of what we had been told to expect but had seldom seen up close: the legendary Boomer vs. Builder generation gap may pale in comparison to the strain that is accumulating between Generations X and Y.

Some differences between the two groups are obvious:

1. Television: one media commentator, for example, noted that Beverly Hills 90201, which premiered in 1990, may have been the first fully GenX program. The equivalent for GenY would be Dawson’s Creek, which was not even in the top 25 of the shows most watched by Xer’s.

2. Personality: let’s skip the bulleted list of generational traits and talk about how these generations fare on standardized personality tests. One study among medical students found that representatives of the two generations had quite dissimilar scores on 10 of 16 traits.

“Millennials scored higher on warmth, abstract reasoning, emotional stability, rule-consciousness, social boldness, sensitivity, apprehension, openness to change and perfectionism. Gen X’ers scored higher on self-reliance,” reports a journalist from a Seattle newspapernewspaper.

So maybe what we’re seeing is simply the difference between the groups on the “self-reliance” dimension? Or, could the frustrations of the Xer leaders stem from the extension of adolescence into the late twenties or even early thirties? So is a 20-year old member of a small group today more like an 17-year old used to be?

In any event, there are some areas of convergence that could suggest platforms on which the generations might try to understand each other: “When you look at the Top 10 shows among Gen X viewers and the ratings winners among the core of Gen Y viewers age 12-17,” writes one reporter, “only two names repeat – ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Family Guy,’ both animated shows on Fox.”

If the Simpson’s can pull this off, surely we can.

About the Author:  Earl Creps has spent several years visiting congregations that are attempting to engage emerging culture. He directs doctoral studies for the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri (http://www.agts.edu).  Earl and his wife Janet have pastored three churches, one Boomer, one Builder, and one GenX. He speaks, trains, and consults with ministries around the country. Earl’s book, Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders, was published by Jossey-Bass/Leadership Network in 2006. Connect with Earl at http://www.earlcreps.com .

 

 

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