Pew Generation

The Baby Boomers and The Younger Generation are very different. Let me try to highlight one of the ways that we differ with a quick example.

Baby Boomers are a theater seat generation. In their church services, they each want their own designated spot. They want a defined area all to themselves. With theater seats, you know what to expect. Nothing can conquer the impenetrable walls of your mighty armrests. The seat is yours. It is comfortable, predictable, and it is all yours.

But our generation – The Younger Generation – we are a pew generation. We want to be connected with people. We want to be close to people. We like squeezing in an extra person in the row. We like sitting close to our spouses, children, friends and family. We like the opportunity that pews provide: opportunities for community, for sharing, for connecting. We are a pew generation.

This is our generation.

Eisley

I saw this picture in the newspaper for a weekend entertainment thing. I really enjoy this band, but I had never seen a picture of them before. But their picture - coupled with their music - is a perfect example of this generation.

Honestly, it's nothing I even know about Eisley that shows why their represent this generation. I mean, I don't really know anything about them. I know that they have fun, inventive music. I think that they are really themselves. And I see from this picture that they like to have a good time in community while being themselves (or at least the photographer staged them to look that way... if so, he or she did a great job).

But, really, that is part of our generation, too. We don't have to vet someone to know if they belong or not. We dont' have to get out our judgment metal detectors to find something wrong with someone. As long as I know that Eisley is being themselves, having a good time being themselves, promoting community, and doing what they love - that is more than enough. They just really struck me as being a snapshot of what our generation is all about.

And a picture allegedly says a thousand words, so I will just stop writing here.

This is our generation.

This Is Our Generation...

This younger generation is different than all the rest. We are just a completely different generation. But we are not different in that we want to rebel like the Gen Xers. We are not so solid and resolute like the Greatest Generation. We are not so inventive and personal as the Baby Boomers. But we are different in this sense: we combine all the best aspects from the prior generations and mold it into our own intricate community.

This generation can be defined in the groups of people hanging out in the coffee shop, browsing on the internet, talking with their diverse group of friends about what’s going on in Africa. We can be defined by our independent concerts in small venues where groups of people with nothing necessarily in common get together to form a dedicated and uplifting community. This generation can be defined by the way we are committed to social justice for every person in the world, the way we seek a genuine and passionate relationship with God, and the way we have blown up the status quo. This is our generation.

Another great thing about our generation is that we cannot be defined so simply. We cannot be put into a specific box. We have so many parts, so many personalities, and so many facets: and that is one of the things that makes this generation great. This little web site is going to explore this generation. It is going to try to be a voice for this generation. It is going to be for this generation.

This is our generation.