In recently putting together a presentation, I stumbled on some notes I made last year from research I was reading on GenZ. This is just in outline form and some of it I will incorporate into writing here.
What we need to cultivate in GenZ according to research by Barna Group and Impact360.
- Move beyond perceived connection to real connection.
- Move beyond what I want to hear to what I need to hear.
- Move beyond “us vs them thinking” to embracing the third option.
“God’s third option invites us to honor that which we have in common, the presence of his image in every person we meet.” Miles McPherson from his book The Third Option
- Move beyond false tolerance to true tolerance.
False tolerance is the view that tolerance equals agreement. True tolerance is the view that all people are equal, but all ideas & behaviors are not equal.
My take on this is that the needs expressed in these are (roughly speaking):
… for genuine embodied relationships.
… for shifting from feelings-based thinking to truth-based thinking.
… to approach everyone as image bearers.
… to value all persons and appreciate diversity of opinion.
These four could help us undermine critical theory, intersectionality thinking, and other rapidly spreading ideas that actually work to divide people.
Further:
In Springtide Research Institutes recent national study, they found that:
“Nearly 1/3 of young people say they have no trusted adults in their lives.”
“35% say they have no one to turn to when they feel stressed.”
“Nearly 40% have no one to talk to and feel left out.”
“45% feel as if no-one understands them.”
Springtide researchers assert that “The presence of just one trusted adult in the life of a young person cuts severe isolation in half.” And that we need to work to help young people feel noticed, named, and known.
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