Dr. Ron Sumners
May 23, 2010
Today we are honoring high school and college graduates. I would like to ask them to stand. Now that you are completing high school or college, how do you expect your life to change?
Some of you high schoolers can’t wait to be off on your own; free from parental and church restraints. Because of that some of you will probably make some terribly foolish choices and mistakes. You will long for the protective care of mommy and daddy. I know you think I am an old, unrealistic preacher, but just wait! The rules and restraints were there to protect you; not inhibit you. I hope you don’t discover that too late.
As graduates, you are beginning a new phase, a new chapter in your life. Are you ready?
Prayer
Father, we ask for your presence here today. Place your hand on me as your messenger today. Open our eyes so that we may see your Word. Open our minds that we may understand your Word. Open our hearts that we may receive your Word today. Amen
Almost 50% of my father’s generation was Christian. 35% of my generation (Baby Boomers) are Bible believing Christians. 17% of my children’s generation is Christian and of those born after 2002 only 4% will be Christian! Does that alarm you? It should. Graduates, you leave the safety of a family and church that love you. You have been loved and instructed in the Faith based on Jesus Christ. You are entering a progressively pagan world. What do you carry with you that will protect you from the fiery darts of Satan? What core values do you have that will be your rock in times of temptation and trial?
Scholars and Educators have identified seven generations that currently live in the world today.
First there is the Cyber Generation. These are the young people born from 2002 to the present. They will grow into adulthood in a totally different world than did their grandparents. The technology they will use would have been considered science-fiction two generations ago!
There are the Millennials or Gen Y generation. They are the ones born from 1982- 2001. They have grown up with advanced technology and a global economy and outlook. This generation is a civic generation that is inner driven within the information revolution. This generation’s main goal is to get ahead in life and be more successful than those who lived before them. This generation seems to have a morbid preoccupation with information about others. Unfortunately, for those young people, the economy has not cooperated with their dreams and aspirations!
Many of these folks have the houses, bought with interest only loans, which have been foreclosed on. Their population is estimated at 78 million.
Then we have Generation X or Baby Busters. Generation Xers were born 1960 to 1981. These folks are 29 to 50 years old. That would include many of our members here at Meadow Brook.
This is a reactive generation. Generation Xers are determined to recreate the “American Dream” for themselves. They are mostly educated and well paid for their expertise. They grew up with computers and technology. Many from this generation have careers in the information and technology fields. It is estimated that there are 44 million Generation Xers.
Then there is the Baby Boomers; those born from 1943–1960. We are an idealist generation but now as we get closer to retirement, we are stressed because we thought we had things all figured out, but along the way the rules changed on us. What we thought would be a comfortable retirement is now woefully inadequate and so we discover that we don’t have enough gold for the golden years. There are about 100 million of us. Typical boomers include Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Cher, and yours truly.
Next there is the Silent Generation, those born 1925-1942. About 95% of this generation is retired. This generation holds the majority of wealth in the country. They are hardworking, resourceful folks. They were willing to work hard and save. They adapted to whatever the situation and lived within their means because they had to. Many Baby Boomers are waiting for their parents of this generation to pass away so they will inherit the wealth. This means the wealth will soon be gone!
After that there is the G.I. Generation born 1901-1924. This is the group that Tom Brokaw called “The Greatest Generation.” They held the line against totalitarianism and Communism in World War II and Korea. They fought in Europe and the Pacific to secure our way of life. We owe our existence as a nation to this Greatest Generation. Many of these folks are leaving us every day. The youngest of this generation are in their eighties.
Then, there is the Lost Generation, those born 1883-1900. Many of this generation died in World War 1. The last of this group died in the last decade. If anyone here or anyone you know is 110 years old they are a part of this generation!
The teenagers that are graduating are a part of the Millennial Generation. They have grown up with technology. They can excel at X-box but are not developed as athletes like previous generations. They tend to be lazy and overweight with little motivation to achieve. Why should they be motivated; daddy will take care of it! In their world, there are greeting cards that play Happy Birthday, that contain more computing power than existed in the world before 1950. Most video game consoles have more computing power than the Cray Supercomputer, the most powerful computer in the world in 1976. Access to that computer was only by the most advanced minds and thinkers in the world.
Role models are different for this generation. The icons of this generation are markedly different than those of previous generations, because their popularity is based on style rather than accomplishment. It is a world where Nicole Ritchey, Paris Hilton and the Kardashians are well known simply because they are well known. I can think of no real accomplishment any of them has achieved. The exploits of bored, vapid, mindless, spoiled, silly housewives in Atlanta or New Jersey capture the attention of this generation.
Family stability is different. A huge percentage of this generation is being raised in homes affected by divorce, single parents and multiple “blended” stepfamilies. Go to graduation and see how many graduates have a different last name than their parents.
Most of the parents of this generation are from Generation X. They have spent their time chasing the dreams of success and often this generation was more an obligation and a hindrance than it was a joy! The Millennial Generation has a desire to return to a stable family environment, but they are just not sure how to do it because they have had few role models. Many have felt the pain of the family’s disintegration.
The community they have grown up in is different. We Baby Boomers were very family and community oriented, and still are today. The Generation Xers are about individuality.
Spiritually, 35% of Baby Boomers considered themselves to be evangelical Christians. If current trends continue, only 4% of the Cyber generation, our Grammar school age children, will be actively evangelical. If statistics hold true, several of these bright, intelligent young graduates will abandon the church in the next ten years. Some will never return to the faith of their parents.
Even the Church is different today. It is obvious that traditional church structures are not working to reach this generation. The programs that are successful at attracting this age group depend on big events and pure entertainment to attract crowds. Being incredibly self-centered, they fall for this because teaching about spiritual responsibility and sacrifice for the Gospel is not what they want to hear.
The worship at a traditional church as ours is far too boring and not glandular enough for this generation. As one youth said of our worship a couple of years ago, “Our worship sucks!”
The only real question that I have is will this generation be willing to take the role they need to take in order to stem the tide of secularism and socialism devouring our culture? For a generation who have been petted and spoiled and never had to face the consequences of their actions, because parents have always fixed things for them, I have real reservations about the future.
Josh Mc Dowell states that: 63% of this generation does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God; 58% believe that all faiths teach equally valid truths; 51% do not believe that Jesus rose from the dead; 65% do not believe that Satan is real; and 68% do not believe that the Holy Spirit is real!
McDowell goes on to say in his book, “Our kids are departing from the faith of their fathers and mothers. They believe some different things than you and me. Much of what they believe about Christianity, truth, reality, and the church comes from a distorted view that they have gathered from the world around them.”
The version of Christianity they believe is not built on the true foundations of what Biblical Christianity is all about. Research shows that when young people lack a basic Biblical belief system their attitudes and behavior change; they are 225% more likely to be angry with life than the generations before them. They are 210% more likely to lack a purpose in life; 200% more likely to steal; 200% more likely to hurt someone; 300% more likely to use illegal drugs; and 600% more likely to attempt suicide.
These statistics come from the Barna Research Group, one of the most trusted groups in the world.
I am startled and frightened by these statistics; aren’t you? What they tell me is that when a child lacks a Godly foundation in their life, they are 2 times, 3 times, even 6 times more likely to develop self-destructive lifestyles!
Is there any answer to this dilemma? I believe that there is. What is it? It is a vibrant relationship with the real and living person of Jesus Christ that is to be lived out with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. It is not about what religion you are. I am not a religious person. I am a follower of Jesus Christ! I believe that the Baptist Church is the closest to the Biblical model of the church. However, I understand that my faith is not in this church; but in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Graduates, do you have that kind of relationship with the Lord? If not, be prepared to be tossed around by every whim of doctrine and be prepared to fall for the pitch of the first, smooth, charismatic huckster you come across.
The Apostle Paul said that when a person has a real encounter with the true God, that relationship will transform him or her into a new creature. Each of us needs to embrace God in a whole new way and allow Him to make us new creations.
Graduates, some of you have given only sporadic service to Jesus. Some of you have come to church, usually at the insistence of your parents, and put your brain in neutral the whole time you are here. Don’t feel that I am pointing you out; that is true of many of the adults here today also!
Face your future, whether it is to further education or the work force, with a new creature commitment to your faith is Jesus Christ. You can do that today. It will be the first of many good decisions you will make for the rest of your life, if you make that one first!
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