I know we seem hard to reach, distracted, and arrogant–and honestly, sometimes we are. But maybe you can appreciate some of what gets our attention. We are a recklessly passionate generation, who longs to know Jesus and change the world.
A Millenial longs for:
1. Honesty. We would rather you be a wreck and honest than polished and plastic feeling. Be a broken sinner and we will forgive you and like you better for it.
2. Depth. Don’t give us feel-good, shallow theology. We want to know God, every dimension of Him. Not just the things about Him that go down easily. We want to attack the dark, hard stuff about suffering and justice, too. Don’t hide God from us. Don’t water Him down.
3. Mentors. Even though sometimes we act like we don’t need help, we actually want a deep connection with the generation above us. We want mentors, even if we are questioning the way the generation above has done things. We still long for you to pour into us. Don’t let our passion for different things push you away. We need you.
4. Reckless Faith. We want to be challenged to live for something bigger than ourselves. We actually believe the verses that say, “Die to yourself . . . to this life,” and we’re willing to do it. Give us a God worth dying for and point us toward His mission on this earth, and we will flat sell out to Him.
5. Impact. Let us change the world. Don’t hold us back. Empower us. Believe in us. Pour into us. Care about the things we care about. We know you want us to be happy and comfortable. But we actually want to live uncomfortable for the sake of others. We want orphans to become ours and tribes and neighbors to know Jesus, we want smaller houses so we can have a bigger impact. Don’t be afraid of losing us to another country. We see our lives as short and we see them as already lost.
6. Jesus. We actually are starting to get our heads around the gospel–who Jesus was and is and what He wants for us. That’s why we want all of the above. He is wrecking us. It isn’t a list of do’s and don’ts that we obey, it is a person who we would do anything for. His grace is captivating us. We’re starting to lose our religion and find Jesus and He is changing everything.
I think it is urgent we build bridges between the generations. We need each other.
