Who will be next?
Over the last couple of years, we have seen the face of Christianity change. At one point the “spokes people” for evangelicals were guys like Pat Robertson, Jerry Fallwell, and Billy Graham. The media often looked to these men for sound bites, both good and bad. If you look on the shelves of a baby boomer, you will see names like Max Lucado, Chuck Colson, and James Dobson.
A lot of these guys are dying.
Some of them are dying or have died physically (like Fallwell). Others are dying in popularity, sometimes because they said something stupid or because they failed to remain relevant. We started to see gaps they left form in Christian leadership. This huge opening is quickly being filled by good, godly men (thank God).
This time, it’s different.
While there are a bunch of guys in their 30′s and 40′s (early Generation X) stepping up to the plate, they are not speaking solely to their generation. The boomers really focused on (for better or worse) their own generation. The Gen X guys are speaking to both the older and younger people. Many churches lead by Gen X pastors have boomers and busters as well as Gen Y and the Millennials and their kids (Gen Z). This is not because of some slick marketing campaign either.
This is because of unbiblical agendas.
People do not become Christians because of social agendas. If they did, they would be foolish. They become Christians because Jesus starts to transform their lives. While we are to take care of the poor, the orphans and the widows, these things become secondary to the Cross. Most social justice circles revolve around helping physical needs, not spiritual.
The old guys (not including Billy Graham) centered around the Moral Majority or the Religious Right. These were organizations with strong political aspirations. Others, like Dobson, started organizations with better motives, but became trapped in the fight against pop culture (rock music and Sponge Bob are of the DEVIL!).
People do not really care about that.
There has been a renewed focus on Jesus and His work on the Cross (Damien at Fallen and Flawed wrote an article on this here). People across all generations are sick of the self-help lessons and positive / cheesy culture associated with Christianity for the last 50 years. We have discovered life is not all rainbows and unicorns and it is impossible to fix everything with a 20 minute motivational speech.
Another interesting observation.
The younger generations (X, Y, Millennial) have been looking beyond their own age groups and past the boomers. The current Christians are reading guys like John Stott, Charles Spurgeon, and C.S. Lewis. Book shelves are now lined with books written by dead guys and actual biblical scholars. Wayne Grudem, Bruce Ware, and D.A. Carson are gaining in popularity as they replace Lucado, Colson, and Dobson. Even more interesting is the way our current generations are teaching and writing in the style of the dead guys. Hard truths are presented with biblical backing. There is no sugar coating the Gospel anymore. The guys like Rob Bell, Donald Miller, and Brian McClaron are starting to lose sales to Tim Keller, Ed Stetzer, and C.J. Mahaney. The ambiguous and almost cryptic messages have worn thin.
Christians have found that learning about themselves is less exciting than learning about Jesus.
I am excited to see who comes next.
-Don-
Written by Don
Topics: Misc.