The Bible in Transmission – Spring 2019

Spring/Summer 2019

The Bible in Transmission A forum for change in church and culture

Editorial

Chine McDonald Chine McDonald is Media, PR and Content Lead at Christian Aid.

Sometimes it is hard to be a Millennial. My generation has been characterised as the snowflake generation. Author Fay Weldon, in a Guardian interview in September 2018, described as ‘jobless, homeless and childless, unlikely to reach Millennials full potential’; ‘the most despairing generation ever conceived’, who are raised by ‘stupid, careless, smug parents’ who fuel narcissism so that their ‘see themselves as centre of the universe’.

I beg to differ. This generation is full of entrepreneurial spirit. Having grown up with technology and social media, the world is smaller and more connected to us than it was to our parents. We aspire to change the world, to stand up for tolerance and against injustice. Maybe this is true of the Millennials you know. But the problem of characterising a generation is that we resort to generalisations. Is it really true to say that those born within a certain bracket of years all display the same behaviours? Clearly not, but it is evident that socio-cultural contexts help to shape human actions and thought. Chris Auckland writes about the economic and political environment that has led to the positive aspects of Millennial behaviours on page 26: ‘We are in crisis; the system is letting us down, and no one is listening. That is why we are the John the Baptist generation, because we are shouting in the wilderness to warn you of what is to come, because it is going to be so much worse. We are not the outliers, we are the warm-up act.’ It is a stark warning to which those who lead churches must pay attention. Because despite the problems of generalisation, one of the things that

seems true of this generation is that they do not think about faith in the same way as their parents or their grandparents. Many just do not think about faith at all. And that is a problem for us as the Church.

I first read David Kinnaman’s You Lost Me: Why young Christians are leaving Church … and rethinking faith1 a few years ago, while working for the Evangelical Alliance. We were concerned with the seeming exodus of people in their 20s and 30s from UK churches. While children’s and youthwork in many churches were thriving, many found numbers dwindling in early adulthood.

Many of the young people who had grown up in their churches left faith once they got to university.

Statistically speaking, you were more likely to have survived the Titanic than to have seen your childhood faith survive into adulthood. We felt that we could not just sit back and let a generation go missing from church. We wanted to find out why they were missing and how we could get them back. Kinnaman’s You Lost Me provided some of those answers. Although based on observations of US Millennials, it pointed towards an overarching narrative of socio-cultural factors which were similar to those in the UK. Christianity to Millennials was often seen to be hypocritical, judgemental, boring and irrelevant.

While these views present challenges to mission among Millennials, in this edition of Bible in Transmission, Kinnaman points to something I find even more concerning: ‘The most common millennial response to religion in general and

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Christianity in particular, is neutral or none at all,’ he writes. This is according to a study sponsored by Bible Society and CODEC, which found that just 41 per cent of UK Millennials have a net positive view of Christianity and the Bible. At least any evangelist might know where they stand with the one in seven who have a negative view of the Christian faith. Apathy is much more difficult to tackle.

The exploration of the unique challenges of black majority churches’ engagement with Millennials on pages 16–18 once again reiterates that while there are overarching themes when it comes to reaching 20s and 30s, there are also particular cultural challenges. In his fascinating article, Jason Shields explains: ‘One of the biggest shifts the BME Church is encountering is the increase in black consciousness of Millennials. The history of Christianity and its involvement in slavery has been a particular sticking point as many black Christians attempt to reconcile their Christian faith and the history of the Church.’ As a Nigerian-born British Millennial Christian, this is something I have had to tackle in recent years – extricating my faith from the notion of whiteness and Englishness. This article gives real insight into the different ways that churches are reaching Millennials and how those black and minority ethnic Millennials are in turn reimaging their faith.

When thinking about mission and Millennials, it can be easy to become despondent – to focus on the challenges of reaching this generation and the socio-cultural context which might make this more difficult. I hope you will be struck by the gutsy defence of his generation in Chris Auckland’s article because I too believe there is so much to admire in this generation.

This is also a generation that cares greatly about the world around them. In Matthew van Duyvenbode’s article, which explores ‘Millennial Catholics in England and Wales’, we see how this age group emphasises the expectation of helping others. In the 2017 survey, 21% ranked ‘helping others’ as their top aspiration, more important than lifestyle options such as ‘having close friends’, ‘being happy’ and ‘living in a safe environment’. Overall, it ranked as the fifth most likely aspiration. This is according to a study called Complex Catholicism launched in June 2018. But this was not just a mark of being in the 20s and 30s age group. It marked a shift in the emphases from those Millennials surveyed in 2009, for whom the expectation of helping others ranked as their ninth most likely expectation. Whether in fact this altruism is merely aspirational rather than something mirrored in their behaviours is another matter.

One of the key ways in which we are to help shape Millennial behaviour, perceptions and attitudes to the world around them, as well as their theology, is to help them better engage with the Bible.

When I sat on the Bible Society board, this was

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one of the questions that I found most pressing.

Does reading the Bible only in bite-sized chunks, on our phones detract from the overarching narrative of the biblical story? Does it lead to a picking and choosing of Bible verses that match up with how we want to live our lives and mean that we are more easily able to steer clear of those passages that make us uncomfortable? In his article, David Ford asks how the Church in Britain can help digitally savvy Millennials engage more meaningfully with the Bible. His piece draws on the aforementioned research commissioned by the Bible Society and undertaken by the CODEC research centre in 2017.

One of the key themes that emerges from these pages is authenticity. In her discussion of the place of social media and other digital technologies in the life of the Church, Hannah Stevens reminds us of the importance of the physical presence of open and accessible authentic communities that provide opportunities for spiritual growth.

Pete Wynter, in his article on the Church and its mission, makes the same point: ‘if the church cannot learn to speak with authenticity it will not communicate in an intelligible language to Millennials.’ He argues that the culture of the Church needs to change, that leaders need to learn to become more vulnerable if they are to communicate with authenticity.

We hope that in the following pages, you will be encouraged, equipped and inspired in your mission to Millennial Christians. This edition has been designed in the hopes that it inspires food for thought and helps you look at things in a new way. It is packed with insight, as well as research.

In reading through, you will notice that there is not a set definition of what counts as a Millennial.

Sociologists and cultural cultural commentators fail to agree on when the Millennial generation begins and ends. Some argue that the Millennial generation started as early as 1975, while others claim it ended as late as 2002. For the purposes of these articles it is best to think of this generation as those in their mid-20s to mid-30s – those who came of age around the millennium.

In reading through the articles, I hope that rather than feeling like all is lost and that the challenges of reaching this generation are too great, you will be inspired to do even more to welcome them home. As David Kinnaman writes: ‘Even now there are seeds of hope germinating in the cracks, breaking through in places such as the UK, Ireland, Australia and the USA. What we find confirms what Christianity’s long history records: the roots of faithfulness often sink deeper in anxious, unsettled times. Faith can grow even – and sometimes especially – in the darkest of places.’

Getting to know the next generation

David Kinnaman David Kinnaman is president of Barna Group and of Barna Global.

Portions of this essay are based on his forthcoming book Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon (releasing September 2019 from Baker Books) and on You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church … and Rethinking Faith (Baker, 2011).

In my work as a social researcher, I have interviewed tens of thousands of tweens, teenagers and young adults in the USA, the UK and around the world.

Using a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods, my company, Barna Group, examines the spiritual journeys of young people.

With each new set of findings, I become more convinced that the next generation is living in a new technological, social and spiritual reality.

Transmission of faith from one generation to the next relies on the messy and sometimes flawed process of young people finding meaning for themselves in the traditions of their parents, through relationships and revelation. But what happens when the process of relationships and the sources of revelation change? What happens to the transference of faith when the world we know slips out from under our collective feet? We have to find new processes that make sense in our new reality.

Regardless of our age, we must commit ourselves to understanding our culture today in order to be effective translators of faith to the next generation.

We must come to grips with the challenges and with the opportunities for the gospel to advance.

With that goal in mind, let us get to know the next generation together.

Cultural character We often consider our region or city or neighbourhood to be something like a backdrop, the setting against which our – and the other, minor characters’ – lives play out. However, what if we envisioned culture as a character in the story

of a person’s faith formation? In a play or musical, the set is usually secondary to what the actors say and do, and we have a tendency to think the same about the ‘set’ of our lives. Those who make claims like, ‘There’s nothing new about the church dropout problem’, or ‘Young adults will return to church when they get married or have kids’ perceive culture as a mere backdrop that makes no impact on the thoughts, feelings, relationships and choices of the characters.

Yet the society we inhabit – the prevailing attitudes, the collective values, the assumptions about human purpose and flourishing, even the tools we use – is more like a character in, than the setting of our lives. There is a big difference, for example, between growing up in certain regions and growing up in others in terms of how that socialises us towards or against faith.

Identification with Christianity is decreasing with each successive generation. In a study with Tearfund, Barna found that the percentage of UK ‘Nones’ – the religiously unaffiliated – is on the rise: Nones are 16% of the Elder generation, 26% of Boomers, 35% of Generation X and 40% of Millennials.

As Millennials and Generation Z come of age, religion overall is playing a smaller cultural role than in generations past. According to the 2015 British Social Attitudes Survey, reported on by British Religion in Numbers (BRIN), 37% of young Millennials and 31% of older Millennials say they did not have a religious upbringing. On top of that, only a minority of those who affiliate with 5

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Christianity connect with a congregation on a regular basis: just 18% of Anglicans, 40% of Catholics, and 34% of other Christians attended church once a month or more.

Irrelevance is a key word for this generation when it comes to faith, truth and church. Not only does Christianity stand in direct contrast with many of the beliefs and attitudes of Millennials and Generation Z – on the existence of objective morality and spiritual truth, for example – but the practise of the faith, especially as part of a Christian faith community, seems to many young people simply not to be relevant. It does not seem to have a bearing on their real day-to-day lives.

We live in a time and a culture characterised by scepticism about Christianity and the Bible.

Hyperrationalism and pop-culture atheism undercut belief. A majority of non-Christian youth and young adults are indifferent to the appeal of following Jesus. They reject organised religion altogether, especially claims of an exclusive faith like Christianity. Many view the Bible as a book of oppression that is harmful to the minds of its devoted readers. In some culturally influential places, young Christians encounter condescension or downright hostility from their peers, their instructors and social elites.

The most common Millennial response to religion in general and Christianity in particular is neutral or none at all. In a study sponsored by Bible Society and CODEC, Barna found that fewer than half of UK Millennials (41%) have a net positive view of Christianity and of the Bible, yet only one in seven has a negative view (15%).

Unsurprisingly, Christians are most likely to look favourably upon Christianity, at 70%. The group least likely to see Christianity favourably are the Nones, 20% of whom have a positive view and 23% of whom have a negative view of Christianity; the majority are somewhere between the two, saying either they do not know what their feelings are towards Christianity (7%) or that they have a neutral view (50%).

Institutional alienation The next generation is sceptical about the institutions that have shaped our society and, while they retain a guarded optimism about the future, they see themselves creating that future mostly disengaged from (or at least reinventing) the institutions that have thus far defined our culture.

Few institutions are immune to the impact of the next generation – from media to music, from the workplace to education, from politics to the Church.

The generational churn at play within the religious establishment is, in many ways, part and parcel of the alienation affecting every segment of society.

Complementing, or perhaps exacerbating, their sceptical streak are shifting cultural expectations about sexuality and gender identity. Not only are younger generations collectively supportive of 6

those who identify as LGBT, but they are also more likely than older adults to personally express some level of sexual fluidity or non-binary identity. As far as Generation Z is concerned, when it comes to gender expression and sexual orientation, there is no norm – and that can be deeply unsettling. If even your own body cannot reliably represent you to the world, is anything trustworthy?

Today’s young adults and teens are not growing up in a vacuum. Like all generations, they are being raised in a culture deeply influenced by its predecessors; in this case, the most significant shaping generation is the Boomer cohort. The choices Baby Boomers made with regard to family, church, politics, business, and other institutions have had a domino effect into the emerging generations. Whatever the intent of Boomers’ changing relationship with institutions, Millennials and Generation Z are putting their own uniquely pragmatic stamp on their connection with family, adulthood and institutions.

Each generation since the Boomers has taken a longer, more circuitous, path to adulthood.

For many reasons, some of their choosing and others not, many of today’s young adults are postponing the complete transition to adulthood.

This transition is characterized by five key developmental tasks: leaving home, finishing school, becoming financially independent, getting married and having a child. In 1960, 77% of US women and 65% of men had completed all of these tasks – had become adults – by age 30. In the most recent estimate, just 46% of women and 31% of men had completed the transition by the time they reached 30 years of age. In the UK, the percentages are even lower.

Think about that: ‘Settled by 30’ used to be the normative, typical pattern of young adults in the 1960s. Now that path represents a minority among today’s young adults.

As much as anything, this cultural change bares the gap between church and the lives of today’s new generation. Most churches and parishes are simply not prepared to minister to or disciple those taking a non-traditional path to adulthood; they are most capable of guiding and helping the traditional marriage- and career-stabilised young adult.

There is both good news and bad news for the Church with regard to young adults’ and teens’ alienation from what used to be normative in our society. The bad news is that, where congregations and parishes are structured to meet the needs of the ‘old normal’, it will be difficult for young people to find a meaningful place. The good news, however, is that the Church is uniquely called to be the community of God – and true, authentic community banishes isolation, loneliness and alienation, and replaces them with love.

What will have to change about how we ‘do church’ in order to ‘be the church’ in the new cultural norm?

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Access and anxiety Those in the emerging generation are often referred to as ‘digital natives’, especially compared to their predecessors – we who, for the most part, are latecomers to the technological revolution.

Older adults use digital tools, but even those of us attached at the palm to our smart phones are much less comfortable, much less conversant – as if we are learning and then speaking a second language. Millennials and Generation Z, on the other hand, are native to the globally connected digital world. They have been raised with these technologies in full supply and that reality is facilitating new patterns of learning, relating and influencing the world, as well as changing the way they think about church and Christianity.

Technological access allows them to experience and examine content originating from nonbiblical worldviews, giving them ample reasons to question the nature of truth. It generates extraordinary distractions and invites them to be less linear and logical in their thought processes.

It empowers them to think as creators, not just as consumers of media. It also makes them both more connected and more isolated than generations before them.

Screens are profoundly changing the human experience.

The reaction of many young people to cultural acceleration and increasing complexity is a low-level anxiety that never really goes away, and that occasionally ratchets up to high-level anxiety. Three out of five young adults tell us they are ‘stressed out’; seven out of ten say they are ‘concerned about the future’. In Barna’s comprehensive study of Generation Z, the generation coming up after Millennials, anxiety is a recurring theme, especially related to things like education, career, money and relationships.

Personal devices feed the part of our brains that loves instant gratification. They give us a jolt of digital dopamine dozens, if not hundreds, of times a day. We love our memes. Have a funny thought to share with a friend? Hoping you have received a new Instagram or Facebook likes since the last time you checked? Worried about your grades? Wonder how your stocks are holding up? Your device invites you to live in the hyper-present. Whatever your brain is thinking right now can appear on the screen glued to your hand.

No one can begin to fully understand or accurately predict how our world’s digitisation will shape our collective lives, much less how it will affect the next generation. Some have compared the proliferation of these new technologies to the invention of the printing press, which democratised access to ideas and, in many ways, enabled the rise of science, capitalism, modern political theory and so much more. One of the catalysts of the Reformation, Martin Luther, even described the printing press as

‘God’s highest and extremist act of grace, whereby the business of the gospel is driven forward.’

Hundreds of years from now, when believers look back on the early twenty-first century, will today’s unprecedented technologies of access – the digitisation of virtually all human knowledge, media and relationships – be seen as an act of God’s grace, driving the gospel forward? What kind of evangelists will these young digital natives be?

In a recent study to examine the what, when and how of faith-sharing in the age of screens, six out of ten Millennials told us that ‘technology and digital interactions make me more careful about how and when I share my faith’, and that ‘people are more likely now than in the past to see me as offensive if I share my faith.’ Two out of three said that people nowadays are so busy with their screens that they ‘are more likely to avoid real spiritual conversations’. Of course, screens can make sharing faith easier – but those who use them in that way are an exception to the rule.

Discipling the next generation More than a decade’s worth of research with nearly one hundred thousand teens, young adults, parents and church leaders reveals how young faith can mature and thrive in cultural exile. Even now there are seeds of hope germinating in the cracks, breaking through in places such as the UK, Ireland, Australia and the USA. What we find confirms what Christianity’s long history records: the roots of faithfulness often sink deeper in anxious, unsettled times. Faith can grow even – and sometimes especially – in the darkest of places.

Remember Jesus’s parable of the sower, in which a farmer scatters seeds on various kinds of ground?

It illustrates the spiritual receptivity or resistance of the human heart, reflecting a range of possible responses to the good news of God’s Kingdom.

Through many centuries, this story has been used as a sort of growing guide to help Christians diagnose the condition of the soil they are working with and then provide suitable light, proper pruning and beneficial care.

As in that ancient story, today the soil of many hearts is rocky, dry and dusty, or filled with thistles and weeds, stifling what really matters. The ageold questions of being human remain unasked, shriveling like neglected seedlings. Deep spiritual longings, which ought to be lovingly tended and skillfully cultivated, are choked to death by binge television, immersive gaming and social media scrolling. If we are not vigilant and intentional, technology glitzes and blitzes our days so completely that we never get around to pursuing the deeper things of life.

We believe this generation wants and needs more.

We believe the abundant way of Jesus, the family of God called the Church, and the ancient call of Christian mission can answer the stifled longings of this anxious age.

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How can the church in Britain help Millennials engage with the Bible?

David Ford David was part of a team of researchers from the CODEC research centre (St John’s College, Durham University) who over the past few years have been exploring the impact of digital culture upon Bible engagement.

A digital revolution is taking place and its effects can be seen in the lives of many in Britain. For instance, where computers were once limited to industry and academic centres, by the 1980s they had reduced in size and PCs were commonly available. The shift continued and in the 2000s smartphone technology became popular. Thus, computers moved from warehouses, into homes and then into our pockets.

Those who were born into these changes are called ‘Millennials’. They are young adults who were born between 1981 and 2000, many of whom will not remember life before computers or smart phones.

As a Christian, one of the questions I have asked is: how can the church in Britain help these digitally savvy Millennials to engage meaningfully with the Bible? What follows begins to provide an initial answer. I will draw upon data from a large project commissioned by Bible Society and undertaken by the CODEC research centre in 2017. As part of that, the polling company ComRes surveyed 1,943 British digital Millennials. That is, young adults living in Britain who were aged 18–35, owned at least one digital device and made use of social media at least weekly. The survey asked over a dozen questions exploring their stance towards, use of, and social media engagement with, the Bible. I am going to concentrate on four questions and their related responses because they begin to answer the question above.

I have purposely cherry-picked data from this survey and in doing so am in danger of over-simplifying a complex phenomenon. Moreover, I go on to discuss four main categories of digital Millennials:

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the non-religious; those from a religion other than Christianity; non-churchgoing Christians; and churchgoers. Each of these groups represents a wide spectrum of affiliation and practice that is not captured by the survey. The discussion that follows focuses on the data produced and they provide one lens through which Millennials’ engagement with the Bible can be considered. There are other factors that have not been taken into account. For instance, Millennials are said to be highly relational, therefore what follows should be considered along with insights from others. Finally, all surveys have an inherent weakness of people providing more socially acceptable answers and that is also the case in this instance. Bearing in mind these qualifications, what is presented is nonetheless robust enough to provide a clear, if tentative, indication as to how digital Millennials can be encouraged to engage more with the Bible.1

Non-religious Non-religious people made up about half (48%, n= 931) of the total sample of digital Millennials.

When asked how often they had engaged with the Bible, in any setting, over the last year about two-thirds (69%, n= 647) indicated they had never encountered the Bible. A fifth (22%, n= 204) engaged with it one to four times in the last year and 9% (n= 81) engaged with it on a regular basis (i.e. monthly or more often).

When those who did engage with the Bible yearly or more often (31% of the sample) were asked the

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religious person is likely to read but the life that is being lived by their Christian friend or relative.

The values, attitudes and lifestyle adopted by the Christian all communicate something of God. One of the challenges for the Church is to communicate the Bible’s story by faithfully living it out.

reason for their engagement, the top responses were: • • • • • •

31% I was at a special church service, 21% I don’t know 6% for comfort 6% for guidance 6% for studies 6% attending a regular church service

Other religions

When asked the location of their Bible engagement, the top responses were (don’t know was not available as a response): • • • • •

Those young people belonging to a religion other than Christianity made up 14% (n= 267) of the Millennial sample. Just over one third (38%, n= 101) did not encounter the Bible at any point in the last year, 15% (n= 41) engaged with it one to four times in the last year and just under half (47%, n= 125) did so on a regular basis.

34% at a special church service 18% at home 9% at school, college or university 8% in hospital 8% whilst sightseeing at a church or cathedral

A minority of non-religious people engage with the Bible. When they do it is more likely to be infrequently and because they are attending church for a special service such as a funeral or Easter service. The significance of this will be raised later. For the moment I will focus on the majority (69%) of the non-religious cohort who do not come across the Bible at all.

Those who had engaged with the Bible at least once in the last year were asked why they had done so, the top responses were: • • • •

13% I don’t know 11% for comfort 10% for inspiration 10% I enjoyed reading it

NOTES 1. If any reader would like to know more about this research and its findings, a short booklet is available from Bible Society (www.biblesociety. org.uk) and CODEC (www.dur.ac.uk/ codec), and a more extensive book is being published as well (Ford, Mann and Phillips, The Bible and Digital Millennials, Routledge, forthcoming).

2. Talking Jesus, p. 17, available to download at https:// talkingjesus.org/ research/

When asked where they usually engaged with the Bible, the top responses were:

How do you engage these people with Scripture?

• 21% at home Well, I would suggest that non-religious people • 15% in hospital are more likely to bump into Christians in their • 12% at a special church service day-to-day lives than they are the Bible. The recent • 12% sightseeing in a church/cathedral Talking Jesus research concluded that two thirds (67%) of non-Christians know a practising Christian The majority (62%) of young adults from a (someone who prays, reads the Bible and attends religion other than Christianity are engaging Non-religious religions Non-churchgoers Churchgoers are, ofOther course, differences church regularly).2 There with the Bible, just under half (47%) doing so Don't know 17 25 between the percentage of 31 non-Christians in the regularly.

When they do, it can be for personal Read a physical copy 20 of the Bible 13 27 26 population and levels of non-religiosity amongst reasons (like seeking comfort or inspiration), and Listened to the Bible 16 being read 15 14 Millennials. Nonetheless, allowing for a degree they are more likely to read it in a private setting Searched for a Bible 16 verse or25 passages on 15 a digital24device of disparity, non-religious young adults are more (such as at home and in hospital) using a digital Read Bible using digital 13 device 22 25 likely to know a practicing Christian than they are device. to engage with the Bible in the course of a year.

Therefore, it is not the physical Bible that a non-

The type of Bible format used

Read Bible using digital device

13

22

Searched for a Bible verse or passages on a digital device

16

Listened to the Bible being read

16

Read a physical copy of the Bible

25

15

20

Don't know

Non-religious Non-churchgoers

15

20

24

14

13

31 0

25

27

26

17

25

40

60

80

Percentage Other religions Churchgoers

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How can they be further encouraged to engage with Scripture? Well perhaps there is a need for digital Bible formats that are specifically designed for those of other faiths. Bible agencies, churches and missionary organisations have been eager to translate the Bible into the heart languages of many around the globe. What may be lacking is a similar drive to provide easy access to a digital Bible that is culturally and religiously framed to facilitate its meaningful engagement by those of other religions.

• • • •

32% at a special church service 28% at home 10% at a regular church service 8% sightseeing in a church or cathedral

Of the three groups considered so far, the majority (50%) of this one engage with the Bible a few times a year, typically at a special church service.

This could be a baptism, wedding or Christmas carol service. The church should therefore make the most of these opportunities to engage these people with the Bible. The Scriptures

Why churchgoers engage with the Bible 16

15

14

14 11

12 10

10

10

An important part of being a Christian

At a regular church service

8 6 4 2 0 To inspire me

To be closer to God

For comfort

Percentage

The survey also indicated that churchgoing Christians were particularly positive about the sacred texts of other faiths. In Britain there may therefore be a common respect and valuing of each other’s religious texts and this could be used as a platform for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation. Much as Scriptural Reasoning groups already bring Jews, Muslims and Christians together to read sacred texts, this could be expanded and diversified.

Non-churchgoers Whilst 35% of the sample identified as Christian, just over half of those (53%, n= 362) did not go to church on a regular basis and so were labelled non-churchgoers. Over one third (39%, n= 141) did not interact with the Bible at any point in the last year. Half of them (50%, n= 182) did so between one and four times in the last year and a smaller proportion did so on a regular basis (11%, n= 40).

When asked why they had engaged with the Bible, the top responses were: • • • •

26% they were at a special church service 13% for comfort 11% don’t know 9% to inspire me

When asked where they had engaged with it, the top responses were:

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should be at the heart of these services, with thoughtful consideration given to how the reading is undertaken and the passage preached (if appropriate). For example, setting the scene of the text (i.e. highlighting its wider literary and historical contexts, or how it fits into the Bible’s grand-narrative) would help an audience that is unfamiliar with it. As too would using a modern version and addressing questions which nonchurchgoers might ask of the passage. This is an opportunity for the Bible’s message to be communicated in a relevant way to those who are not regularly encountering it. Additionally, it is not only this group whose main Bible interaction takes place in these settings, but it is also the case for some of the non-religious young adults as well, as was highlighted earlier.

Churchgoers Of the entire sample 16% were churchgoers, which is just under half of the Christian group (47%, n= 319). A very small minority (2%, n= 6) had never engaged with the Bible in the last year, a slightly larger percentage engaged with it one to four times in the last year (7%, n= 22) but most did so on a regular basis (92%, n= 293).

When asked where they had engaged with the Bible, the top responses were: • 34% at home • 23% at a regular church service

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• 8% in hospital • 8% on a journey Churchgoers engage with the Bible on a regular basis (92%) and seem to value it, in that they do it for inspiration or to be closer to God. Home and church are the two places where they are most likely to engage with the Bible and they use both digital and paper technology.

The data presented so far concerns the main reason, location or format through which Scripture was engaged. However, the survey allowed people to indicate not just their top responses (which I have presented) but they could choose two others as well, ranking them second and third. Taking these other responses into account, churchgoers’ Bible engagement is seen to be multimodal: 63% said they interacted with the Bible at home and 57% indicated at a regular church service; 53% made use of a paper Bible and at least 60% made use of a digital format. This may mean that some people predominantly engage with the Bible at home and others in a church setting, and similarly that some are paper Bible users and others digital. However, it is also possible that people are engaging with the Bible in various contexts through different formats, and factors such as ease, convenience, purpose and habit play a part in where and how the Bible is engaged.

In order to be contemporary some churches have digitised a lot of their service. For churchgoing

digital Millennials however, there has not been an overwhelming swing towards digital Bible engagement. These tech savvy young adults are perhaps aware of the limitations of the digital technology they use and whilst digital Bibles are certainly popular, they continue to value the paper one as well. Churches should not rush to get rid of their pew Bibles and leaders should not necessarily assume that reading the Bible off their smartphone will make their reading more relevant.

A multimodal approach that is sensitive to the place and function of different Bible formats is perhaps the best way forward.

Conclusion Therefore when thinking about what ways the Church can help digital Millennials engage with the Bible, the data from this survey demonstrates that: for non-religious young adults the main ‘Bible’ they will read is in the words and actions of those Christians they know; for those of a religion other than Christianity, digital Bible formats may be the most appropriate; for non-churchgoers those special occasions which draw them to church are their key opportunity; and churchgoers are probably using different Bibles in different contexts, and this needs to be appreciated. There is therefore no blanket solution that applies to everyone in this generation, but sensitivity, love and wisdom are required in order to enable Millennials to meaningfully engage with the Bible.

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Millennial Catholics in England and Wales

Matthew van Duyvenbode Matthew van Duyvenbode is cofounder of Camino House, and author of Complex Catholicism: The lives and faith of young Catholics in England and Wales today available at https:// cymfed.org.uk/ wp-content/ uploads/2018/06/ ComplexCatholicismTypology.pdf

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In 2016, Pope Francis announced his intention to hold a global Synod of Bishops in the autumn of 2018, focusing on the theme of young people.

Formally entitled Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment, the 15th synodal meeting provided an opportunity to gather Catholic bishops, leaders from other Christian traditions, expert advisors in youth ministry and young people themselves to focus on the reality of life for youth across the world. Designed to understand more fully the challenges and opportunities that young people face at the start of the third millennium, as well as to reflect on how the Catholic community can engage more meaningfully with youth, the pre-synodal work gathered evidence on a national and regional basis as well as consulting with young people on the themes and structure of conversation at the synod itself.

Some years earlier, I had been part of a crossorganisational team who had undertaken Mapping the Terrain, a significant piece of strategic research on young Catholics in England and Wales, which had helped to shape the underpinning priorities of the newly formed Catholic Youth Ministry Federation (CYMFed).1 In anticipation of the opportunity to provide robust evidence to support discussions at the global Synod, and to help open up conversation around some of the nationallevel themes which a global synod simply cannot address, we embarked on a 12 month project to repeat the original research project eight years later. We wanted to update the available data and to identify any potential shifts in beliefs and behaviours over this period. This updated research,

entitled Complex Catholicism, was launched in June 2018.

How we conducted the research The core question guiding our research was, ‘What do the lives and faith experiences of young Catholics in England and Wales look like today, and how does this differ from in 2009’? In this study, we choose to focus on the experiences of 15–25 year olds, matching a comparable cohort we surveyed in 2009, and similar to the global survey conducted by the Catholic Church.2 During September and October 2017, we conducted an online survey of 1,005 young people who were born between 1992 and 2002, who could be described as ‘late Millennial Catholics’.3 Our method allowed us to use an almost identical survey, with a small number of questions updated or revised from the original 2009 study. Whilst the purpose of the research was not to track the demographic picture of the group, we found a roughly similar picture of geographical spread and ethnicity, albeit with a comparative increase in the proportion of those living in London (rising from 17% to 23%) and those who would describe their ethnicity as either ‘Asian’ (6% vs 3%) or ‘Mixed’ (6% vs 4%).

Complex Catholicism One of our key findings from this research is that young Catholics do not necessarily identify themselves as such.

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Learning from both practitioner experience and from our 2009 work, we did not require survey participants to self-identify as Catholic/Roman Catholic in order to participate. All possible participants were asked about their religious identity. We regarded those 15–25 year olds who selected ‘Catholic/Roman Catholic’ (who made up 60% of our sample) as ‘Self-identifying Catholics’.

However, for those who did not actively identify as another denomination or faith group, but said ‘I do not describe myself as any of these things’ or ‘I do not know/I am not sure’, we asked a follow up question about whether they came from a Catholic family or attended a Catholic school. We regarded those who affirmed this link (who made up 40% of our sample) as ‘Non-identifying Catholics’.

Most parents, educators or those who engage in youth ministry might not be surprised to learn that those who are happy to identify as Catholic may not carry through with the behaviours, beliefs and outlook which would traditionally be associated with being an active Catholic: • Only a fifth of this group say ‘Going to Mass regularly is important to me’, whilst over half say, Catholicism APOLOGISTS • Tend to be younger • Describe the Church as compassionate, empowering, friendly, passionate • Most comfortable of the the three groups talking about their beliefs with friends and family

• 20% say that they attend Mass at least monthly (with half of these claiming weekly attendance).4 • In total, half of non-identifying Millennial Catholics say they attend Mass at least irregularly.

• Nearly two-thirds of this group can also identify having had a spiritual experience, over half say that they pray, and only one quarter say they don’t believe in a divine being.

Throughout the survey, we monitored the responses of these two groups and where they differed strongly from one another, we make this clear. However, the key thing to note is that religious identity for Millennial Catholics is a complex and varied mix of self-description, belief, participation, cultural heritage, behaviours, ethos and morality.

Apologists, abstainers and assimilators If self-described identity is not necessarily a clear barometer of ‘catholicity’ for Millennial Catholics, we began to look for other trends within the data which might help understand what it means to be Catholic for Millennials.

CENTRE OF GRAVITY ABSTAINERS • More likely to talk with somebody from church about a big decision • Describe the Church as bold, compaigning, dynamic • Most likely to say their closest friends are religious

‘I consider myself Catholic, but it is not especially important for me to go to Mass regularly.’

• Another fifth would say, ‘I am not religious, but my personal values and decisions have been influenced by being Catholic.’

• Nearly 40% of these self-identifying Millennial Catholics avoided the term ‘Son of God’ in describing Jesus, instead opting to describe him as either ‘a very holy person’, ‘a very wise person’, or ‘an ordinary person’.

• Only 37% of self-identifying Millennial Catholics say that ‘following Catholic guidelines about their personal lives’ was an important factor in being Catholic.

Meanwhile, those who were reticent about describing themselves as Catholic but hailed from a Catholic family or go/went to a Catholic school displayed surprisingly high levels of religiosity despite their ambivalence about the label ‘Catholic’:

Society ASSIMILATORS • Most likely to to say having close friends is a life aspiration • Describe the Church as authoritative, conservative • Most concerned about gender inequality and racial / sexuality discrimination

NOTES 1. See www.cymfed. org.uk 2. National/Regional Catholic Bishops’ Conferences were asked to promote a global survey for 16–29 year olds and/or collect similar information contextualised for their own localities.

3. We recognise here that some people may refer to part of this cohort as Gen Z, but also note that there is no consensus about this delineation yet.

4. It is important to observe that only a fraction of these sit within an age bracket where attending Mass regularly at Catholic school may have a bearing on their response.

5. Cf www. synod2018. va/content/ synod2018/en/ fede-discernimentovocazione/ final-documentof-the-synod-ofbishops-on-youngpeople--faith-an. html

Within the survey, we asked a number of attitudinal questions about the intersections between Catholicism and contemporary British society. Examining the responses to these questions using in-depth data analysis, we discovered three distinct groupings, who seemed to align based on their views on where they found the ‘centre of gravity’ for navigating life: The first group place greater emphasis on Catholicism as their centre of gravity; they believe in the Catholic religion as a force for good, and do not think Catholics should keep their religious views to themselves to avoid hurting other people’s feelings. We have called this group Apologists.

The second group look neither towards Catholicism nor society as their centre of gravity – or perhaps look towards both, but do not try to integrate these views. They disagree with the Apologists and think that Catholics should keep

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their religious views to themselves. They also say that if you are part of the Catholic religion, you should follow all of its rules and teachings, but are mixed about whether the Catholic Church is a force for good. Owing to their relative ambivalence about the public nature of faith, we have called this group Abstainers.

The third group place greater emphasis on Society as their centre of gravity. They are strongly positive that Catholics can follow parts/teachings of different religions at the same time, and are deeply negative about Catholics seeking to try to convert others to Catholicism. Because they look to their social context as a starting point for thinking about faith, we have called this group Assimilators.

Our research indicates that these three groups of Millennial Catholics are roughly equally sized, though if you were to visit an average Catholic parish, you would tend to find more Apologists and Abstainers amongst the 15–25 year olds, as the Assimilators are far more likely not to attend Mass regularly. Interestingly, the summary of the official research conducted by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) in preparation for the Synod (the ‘mega youth poll’) spoke of two groups similar to Apologists and Assimilators, but did not identify a third ‘Abstainer’ group. We suggest this is because this group would be far less likely to engage with the self-selecting survey method adopted by CBCEW. An emerging question for all those engaged in pastoral ministry might be how we should best attend to the voices and experiences of those who are more muted about their faith, though this faith may be deeply treasured.

Aspirational altruism Part of our research looked at the hopes and aspirations of Millennial Catholics, as well as their social engagement.

Similarly to their counterparts in 2009, young Catholics in 2017 aspired ‘to be happy’, ‘to be married or have a partner’ and ‘to have close friends’ as their top priorities. However, offered an identical list of options to select from, the 2017 group ranked ‘to help others’ far more highly than the 2009 group, with 21% of them seeing this as a top aspiration in their lives (vs 12% in 2009, reflecting a shift from ninth priority aspiration to fifth priority aspiration).

When our questions shifted in focus from aspiration to expectation, this emphasis on helping others was echoed. In 2017, Millennial Catholics most expect to help others, above all other lifestyle options, including ‘having close friends’, ‘being happy’ and ‘living in a safe environment’. Again, this reflects a shift from 2009, where participants had ranked ‘to help others’ only as their fifth most likely expectation.

This language of altruism or ‘helping others’ seems to resonate more amongst Millennial 14

Catholics in 2017 than in 2009, both in terms of aspirations and expectations. Yet, asked about their charitable activity over the past 12 months, there is no evidence of a parallel increase in having helped others through direct or indirect charity engagement. Indeed, the percentage of young Catholics sponsoring someone who took part in a charity event over the previous 12 months in 2017 was 30% (compared to 54% in 2009); and the percentage taking part in a charity event in 2017 was 25% (compared to 35% in 2009).

In an increasingly challenging and uncertain economic climate, and following an extended period of cutbacks to youth services, the challenge for those engaging in work with Millennial Catholics may not be about cultivating a spirit of altruism, but instead finding new ways to meet their aspirations in this area, without placing additional financial pressures on potentially vulnerable young people.

Millennial Catholics, spirituality and the Bible As a sacramental tradition, the spirituality of Catholicism is often viewed through attendance and participation in Mass. Three quarters of the Millennial Catholics we surveyed say that they are attending Mass, at least irregularly. Across the whole group, males were more likely to attend Mass than females (82% vs 71%), but on visiting an average Catholic parish, this might not be so apparent as the majority of Millennial Catholics are female.

Around three quarters of all Millennial Catholics said that they had personally had a spiritual experience. One question within the survey offered a list of 14 options to help participants describe these experiences. Analysing these responses, it seems that these young people are using four distinct types of language to articulate their experiences: • Some use traditional trinitarian language, including ‘a sense of the presence of God’, ‘awareness of the Holy Spirit’, etc.

• Some use language of nature and connectedness, including ‘a feeling that you are at one with nature and the universe’, ‘a sense of being part of something bigger alongside others’, etc.

• Some use supernatural language, including ‘feeling as if somebody or something were trying to communicate with you’ or ‘something spooky or supernatural’, etc.

• Some use liminal language, including ‘a sense of the presence of an angel’, ‘a sense of the presence of somebody who has died’, etc.

Around half of Millennial Catholics tend towards more traditional trinitarian language in describing their spiritual experiences. Whilst parents, educators and youth ministers might find this use

Spring/Summer 2019

of language reassuring, it is important to note that in comparison with those using other linguistic modes to communicate spirituality, this group are also less likely to pray on their own, and are more likely to never talk about God or religion with friends or family. Whilst for some of them, ‘conventional’ trinitarian language may helpfully articulate a present reality, it seems for others it might point to a distance between themselves and a prior spiritual encounter.

Asked about their current spiritual practices, Millennial Catholics emphasise personal prayer/ meditation over reading the Bible or other spiritual writings, talking about God with friends or family, and praying with family members.

Four per cent of all Millennial Catholics say that they read the Bible daily, with a further 10% saying they read the Bible a few times a week. Here, as you might expect, there is a strong overlap with other behaviours, with almost half of weekly massgoers saying they read the Bible at least a few times a week (outside of church), whereas almost 70% of those who attend Mass irregularly say they ‘never’ read the Bible. Here, we could enter into the longstanding debate about whether Bible reading supports other faith practice or vice-versa; but it is clear from the data that there is some intrinsic relationship between the two, and that dialogue between massgoing Catholics and Christians from other traditions around the Scriptures could be an opportunity for mutual upbuilding.

Content, style and themes explored in the Bible steered and SHAPED BY YOUNG PEOPLE THEMSELVES.

Following the Synod in October 2018, the summary document invited Catholics and the wider Christian community to ‘walk together’ by the side of all young people – not just those currently engaged with the church.5 Whilst an inclination might be to focus on categorising young people into those who are within the Christian community and those who are outside the Christian community, our assertion is that Millennials tend to subvert some of the rules we may seek to apply to these categories. In doing so, they challenge us to view each individual with inherent dignity and sophisticated (sometimes complex) multilayered approaches to life and faith. As we look to the future, there are certainly challenges ahead in terms of articulating a clear and compelling call to Christian discipleship; but there are also signs of hope awaiting nurture and accompaniment, sometimes in highly unexpected places.

Over the course of this article, I have attempted to summarise some of the most relevant key findings from the Complex Catholicism research. You can find a summary report of these findings and other areas which complement and expand these points at www.caminohouse.com. Here you will also find a tool we have developed to help people navigate the findings and apply them using 12 ‘types’ or characters who symbolise major groups of Millennial Catholics we found through the research.

32 colour pages featuring Bible-based advice on issues affecting young people today

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about the Bible and how young people can apply it to their lives

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Transmitting faith Black and minority ethnic churches and the Millennial generation

Jason Shields Jason Shields is a trainee Pastor at King’s Church London.

The UK has had a rich history of black and minority ethnic (BME) church congregations and their growth has been something of a talking point in recent research. However, our interest in this article is in gaining an insight into the ways in which the BME church in the UK communicates the gospel to its Millennial generation. We will explore how those born between 1981 and 2000 are discipled and nurtured, specifically looking at the intergenerational transmission of faith and practice, and its implications for Millennials today.

There are a number of BME churches in the UK who are making a concerted effort to tailor programs and resources to their 20–30 year olds as intentionality is vital to their retention and flourishing. This action exists against the backdrop of large swathes of Millennials leaving the church because they deem it to be irrelevant, backwards or resistant to change.

In 2016 the Evangelical Alliance commissioned a report called Building Tomorrow’s Church Today1 with the aim of recording and observing the views and experiences of young adults in the UK church.

They were particularly interested in the variances between Millennials from BME churches and white majority churches. Things like financial giving, Bible reading and belief in the inerrancy of Scripture were higher in BMEs. An insight into the BME church may uncover some of the reasons as to why this is the case.

When we consider the BME church in Britain, it is important to recognise its diversity as it encompasses many different traditions, theological positions and cultural expressions. It is by no means

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homogenous and therefore although we will see an element of commonality in the perspectives of 20–30s, there are also clear differences as each church background and community has its own story, history and narrative.2

Communicating the gospel to Millennials in the BME church Hearing the perspectives of Ayo – a minister in training at a predominantly West African church in Greenwich, South London called CLF3 – helped me understand how the gospel is communicated to Millennials. In his late teens and early twenties, Ayo’s experience of church and the communication of the gospel was very much associated with what he called ‘encounter meetings’. As part of the Pentecostal tradition, for him the emphasis was on experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. The gospel was not always the focal point of such meetings so he did go on a journey of discovering faith. A journey of questioning with the hope of finding out who God was, what that meant for his life and how his life would change as a result.

Since coming to CLF, he has found that the message of Jesus is very much the focus and his peers benefit from a good balance between word and spirit. There is an emphasis on topical preaching which is not necessarily contextualised for young adults, but as they are considered as adults in their own right, they are ‘fed’ in much the same way as the rest of the congregation.

It was interesting to note from speaking to black Christians from a variety of BME church

Spring/Summer 2019

backgrounds, that there seemed to be a gap between the youth and the adults which encompassed the 20–30s, although they were seen as adults. There are some BME churches that have successfully engaged their 20–30s in a way that meets their unique needs, but on the whole that gap still needs to be filled by the majority. One church in London, run by Pastor Kunlé Oyedeji, seems to be engaging Millennials in a new way.

His congregation, which has an average age of 30, receives contextualised gospel communication which is relevant but not diluted. The tenets of the gospel are shared and sermon lengths are significantly shorter than they are in traditional black churches. There is often time at the end of the sermon to ask questions and discuss the message in groups of three or four. The language is accessible and examples used are down to earth and relevant to the congregation. The vision of the church is to live significant lives through relationship with Jesus Christ, connect with others and contribute to society.4 This sense of vision and mission give a sense of identity.

Discipleship and nurturing To get an insight into how Millennials are discipled and nurtured in BME churches, I had a conversation with another leader, Hurraine, who comes from a predominantly Caribbean Pentecostal church in Croydon. His experience of church and discipleship involved a rigorous exhortation to a life of prayer, study of the Bible, fasting and attending church and prayer meetings. His reflections on the environment that allowed for effective discipleship and nurturing resonates with many black Millennials who are either in BME churches, have moved to other church settings or have even left the church altogether.

The overwhelming consensus was that discipleship was a key component of the black church and foundational to its functioning and sense of community and faith. However, it is important for us to clarify what we mean when talking about discipleship, especially as we are dealing with crossgenerational communication. The great commission gives us the biblical framework for making disciples.

In Matthew 28.19–20 we understand that the process of disciple-making involved an inauguration of sorts.5 An immersing into the life of the Godhead which resulted in the constitution of a new identity – one which is born from the rescue mission of God and sealed by the taking on of a new name – child of God. But it does not stop there. It continues as the new believer who is a student, pupil and learner is taught to obey the teachings of Christ. From that understanding, there is a clear differentiation between a churchgoer, someone who just believes in God and a disciple.

Although Hurraine liked the level of accountability, he often found church quite restrictive. One challenge for him, which was by no means unique, was the cultural-heavy approach to both respecting his seniors and still being seen as a child despite

being in his late 20s. This disconnect between being an adult in general society but being treated as a child in church was deeply problematic, and for him, it meant that his ideas, plans and goals of making aspects of church life more relevant to Millennials often fell on deaf ears. Being caught in a chasm between youth and adulthood was a precarious

live significant lives through relationship with Jesus Christ, connect with others and contribute to society place to be and went in the face of affirming a sense of identity which is so crucial – especially for a young black man. It became evident that what he was encountering was a situation where he was receiving the practical activities that disciples are called to undertake – the spiritual disciplines that were necessary for the life of faith and following Christ, but ‘teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you’ (Matthew 28.20) delivered little more than the ingredients necessary for the life of a disciple.

The recipe for success was shrouded in a veil of mystery. Swept into the ether of intergenerational aperture. Fanciful as it may sound, this was a real and prevalent phenomena. The rhetoric of scriptures such as ‘there is a balm in Gilead’ was often used when someone was in need of healing or a situation was complex and hurt was present, but its origins date back to the African American spirituals. The song with this title provided an oppressed people with a way to cope with impending violence, which was often physical, social and economic but also had huge physiological impact. The collective unity of a body of people supporting, encouraging and singing, bolstered ideas of self-worth as closeness to each other and closeness to God strengthened the mind, body and soul.6 Of course, in the biblical narrative the prophet Jeremiah is crying out to God because of Israel’s dire situation due to them turning from God – their ‘perpetual backsliding’ the word says (Jeremiah 8.5). Sickness is all around them (Jeremiah 8.22) and there is no peace. The evident feeling of helplessness comes across strongly as God pronounces judgment. In the inverse, the spirituals reflected a time when many black people felt just like the people of Israel. Worn down, destitute and consigned to a perilous struggle, but their hope fuelled creative imagination and ultimately faith in Jesus, the ultimate balm. Jeremiah’s plea became a robust God-confidence in the spirituals. Of course, most Millennials may not have understood either the biblical interpretations or the reinterpretations from the spirituals and therefore like many passages often quoted to the ‘youth’ in the black church, they lacked translation and only a partial message was communicated even though the motives were good.

NOTES 1. You can access the full report at https://www. eauk.org/currentaffairs/media/ press-releases/ giving-mentorshipand-finding-aspouse-are-keyconcerns-forchristian-youngadults-reveals-newreport.cfm 2. P Thompson, Challenges of Black Pentecostal Leadership in the Twenty-First Century (London: SPCK, 2013).

3. CLF Greenwich’s website can be found at https:// www.clfgreenwich. org 4. Cornerstone Church’s website can be found at http:// thecornerstonechurch.com 5. Scripture references are from the ESV version Matthew 28.19–20.

6. C Ellison, M Musick and A Henderson, ‘Balm in Gilead: Racism, Religious Involvement, and Psychological Distress Among African-American Adults’, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 47.2 (2008), pp. 291–309.

7. M Emerson, Divided By Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).

8. You can access material and media at http:// www.jendella. co.uk/2018/02/blackchristian-confused/ 9. You can access material and media at https://www. premiergospel. org.uk/Woke-andChristian

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NOTES 10. R Beckford, Jesus is Dread (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1998).

11. You can access an article about them at https://www. thegospelcoalition. org/article/9-thingsyou-should-knowabout-black-hebrewisraelites/ 12. You can access full report at http://nclf.org. uk/wp-content/ uploads/2015/10/ Black-ChurchPoliticalMobilisation-FINALWEB-Apr15.pdf 13. Ibid.

To say that is the sum total of the ways in which discipleship takes place in BME churches would be disingenuous, especially as discipleship is routinely understood by members of the church as foundational. Minister Ayo from CLF is a recipient of solid and intentional discipleship and nurturing.

Structured programs such as Bible courses and cell groups provide an orientation into the Bible and way of life as a disciple. Although these structured approaches are not age specific, there is something about black church culture and the way in which people are referred to as brother, sister, uncle

we are witnessing a mass exodus from the black church among Millennials or aunty that communicates a strong sense of family. Rather than merely a hierarchical structure, what is often felt a sense of community, inclusion and safety and such an environment bodes well for intergenerational engagement, structured discipleship and discipleship by proxy.

The intergenerational transmission of faith One of the biggest shifts the BME church is encountering is the increase in black consciousness of Millennials. The history of Christianity and its involvement in slavery has been a particular sticking point as many black Christians attempt to reconcile their Christian faith and the history of the church.7 There have been a number of conversations on various social media platforms and organised discussions which seek to address the question of whether Christianity is a ‘White man’s religion’,8 and many of those who are socially conscious or ‘woke’ have actually left church altogether.9 Those who remain in church have criticised the black church for only engaging in social action and not social justice. There is a rise in demand for a politicising of the gospel to include a social dimension that will usher in the Kingdom of God in a way that challenges dominant power structures of oppression, especially for black people in Britain and globally.

This is not a new phenomenon as black theologians such as Robert Beckford have long been campaigning for the black church to become socially conscious and regain a prophetic voice, and theological framework that is interested in holistic liberation in this world as part of God’s redemptive work – a political theology.10 With the lack of engagement from black churches in this conversation, we are witnessing a mass exodus from the black church among Millennials and there has also been a rise in converts to Islam and the Hebrew Israelites – a socially conscious religious sect.11 The launch of the Black Church

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Political Mobilisation manifesto in 2015 by the National Church Leaders Forum (NCLF),12 which involved many key leaders of BME churches in the UK was the first of its kind. It called the black church to mobilise and tackle the socio-political issues in our society and re-evangelise a Britain in which Christianity and church attendance is declining. Such focus and intentionality is unprecedented, and although the black church has long been involved in activities such as prison ministry, homeless initiatives, youth crime and gang involvement work, to name but a few things, this coordinated approach of seeing political engagement as ‘a mandatory part of the Christian faith’, can only be of benefit to a Millennial generation who want to see change.13 Again, when we consider the intergenerational transmission of faith and practice, there is no doubt that the apostolic teaching from Titus 2 about older men and women teaching younger men and women is widely understood. The passing on of a legacy and key understandings of what it means to be a godly man or woman were handed down but, of course, there have been translation challenges. More modern BME churches, like Cornerstone, who do not have a significant older contingent, definitely have the remnant of the ‘old school’ faith: a life devoted to the Scriptures, service to others, prayer and fasting remain of high importance, and the visuals and use of social media help to bring things into the twenty-first century. Organisations like street pastors, which was founded by Reverend Les Issac OBE, have seen some of those in their 20–30s begin to engage and take to the streets to care for, listen and dialogue with those in urban areas usually during unsociable hours. Such initiatives provide Millennials with an outlet for their faith, and the generosity and willingness to serve is definitely a trait of the older generation that was handed down.

Conclusion There seem to be growth spurts coming from black leaders who have grown up in the BME church but are able to communicate to their own generation in new ways using social media platforms to engage in ministering to the Millennial generation. Ayo, Susan Deborah and Ify Alexis, to name a few, are black leaders who were steeped in the black church tradition but are tech savvy, socially aware and have a desire to gather and build communities of faith that operate outside of the church walls, despite still being very much connected to a body of believers.

The question remains as to whether the evolution of the black church will be birthed from young black leaders who have taken the genuine community, intimacy and fire for God from their black church traditions and reinvented and reimagined the forms and outworking of the gospel in contemporary ways.

Church in a digital age

Hannah Stevens Hannah Stevens is Sales and Promotions Assistant at Bible Society and studying for an MLitt in The Bible and the Contemporary World at St Andrews University.

Most Millennials are at home in the digital world.

We have grown up with it. We are ‘digital natives’.1 It is not surprising, therefore, that a study by Barna Group reveals that a large proportion of Millennials who are practising Christians use the internet to explore their faith. The study showed that 59% of practising Christian Millennials say they have searched for spiritual content online. A huge 70% read Scripture online. What is interesting for churches is that over half (56%) of these engaged young adults have searched online for a place of worship, indicating that the internet is an important channel for reaching potential new members.2

digitally, for example by setting up private group chats. Social media can be used to introduce people from disparate circles of life to a group, such as a youth group or house group. This can be an easy and non-threatening way to introduce someone to a church group before they make an appearance physically. On the other hand, social media can allow users to connect more with people they would only know from within a group context, and so can allow friendships within a church group to grow stronger. It can also offer a form of protection from negative comments, as members control who can be involved in group chat.

Many churches are already using digital tools to increase awareness online – having church websites and social media pages is now quite normal.

Social media can also be used to organise events, fundraising campaigns and do online Bible studies.

It seems most churches promote their upcoming events and speakers using social media.3 Of course, the benefits of using the internet in this way include the ability to reach a broader range of people than would otherwise be available, creating more awareness of the church in online communities.

It is also easy to keep church members informed about dates and times of events, what is happening in the church calendar and what celebrations are coming up. Questions that visitors or members may have about the church can be easily answered, and people can be notified with information rather than having to seek it out.

Problems with digital platforms

Churches can also encourage members to connect with each other and those outside the church

However, there are limitations to using digital tools both as a platform on which to market the church and to build relationships upon. Churches should be wary of the first impression they may make.

The quality of online materials such as websites are important; as Millennials frequently encounter high volumes of information online, they are skilled at deciding quickly whether what they are exposed to is worth their time, and may be easily put off by kitsch or cheesy media.4 It is therefore important for the layout of digital content to be intuitively accessible, and easy to navigate around.5 So, a well presented, informative and engaging user interface is important for reaching Millennials, whereas one that is badly presented or difficult to use may leave a worse impression than noy having one at all. Having said that, it is also important to think about what is being communicated by a church’s absence online to a generation who are 19

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NOTES 1. K Moran, ‘Millennials as Digital Natives: Myths and Realities,’ available at www.nngroup.com/ articles/Millennialsdigital-natives/ 2. ‘How Technology is Changing Millennial Faith,’ Barna Group, www. barna.com/research/ how-technology-ischanging-Millennialfaith/ 3. According to one 2017 study, almost 85 per cent of churches use Facebook, though only 15 per cent use Twitter and Instagram. See ’10 powerful statistics on Church Social Media Use,’ https:// blog.capterra.com/ church-statisticssocial-media/ 4. ‘Millennials adept at filtering out ads,’ www. emarketer.com/ Article/MillennialsAdept-FilteringAds/1012335 5. ‘How Millennial Search Behaviour Impacts your Digital Strategy’ www. targetmarketing mag.com/article/ how-Millennialsearch-behaviorimpacts-yourdigital-strategy/all/ 6. N Baym, Personal Connections in the Digital Age (Cambridge: Polity, 2015).

7. S Turkle, ‘The Flight From Conversation’, The New York Times 22 April 2012.

8. See www.digitalchurch.co.uk/ online-church-arewe-robbing-peopleof-a-god-designedcommunity/

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so open with each other, and expect others to be open online too. To digital natives it is strange, almost a sign of untrustworthiness, to be digitally absent, almost as if an organisation is not making itself accessible, whereas presence and ease of access to information about a church can help Millennials feel positively about it.

Perhaps a more serious problem with social media usage to build relationships is that, although it is intended to connect people more closely, social media has sometimes been linked with rising levels of loneliness and isolation.6 Although there is opportunity to connect more frequently and with a broader scope of people, the worry is that those interactions are often shallow and result in a connection lacking the depth of one formed through face-to-face conversation and time spent together. Furthermore, people can feel compelled to answer messages and respond to tweets, which can consume a lot of time and detract from the interactions they are having with the people physically around them. As the generation currently burgeoning into adulthood and parenthood, Millennials are under a lot of scrutiny. We can perhaps see parallels between the stereotypes that Millennials are labelled with and the alleged problems with increasing digital presence in society. Many people believe that life online has decreased Millennials’ tolerance of being involved in deep, vulnerable conversation and replaced it with a false sense of connectedness at distances we can control. We have a new way of ‘being alone together’ by being absorbed in online messaging rather than offline presence.7 Some churches therefore worry about encouraging more focus on social media, and want to resist a cultural transition toward making church activity increasingly digital. ‘Online church’ services are an example of the digitisation of church and are becoming increasingly popular, so that people can watch services online as they are happening. They may also record services, Bible studies and other events and upload them to YouTube or Facebook so that others can watch them later. One concern is that the ability to view church services online may encourage people to be less committed to actually coming to church on a Sunday. The convenience of simply being able to turn on the computer rather than leave the house may dissuade people from being physically present in church. This brings us back to the problem of online tools being linked with isolation and loneliness. Even if online participants have the chance to post comments and ask questions, they may not get the same level of interaction with other members of the church.

Just as one can be physically present but seemingly absent because one’s attention is on the internet, one can be digitally present but perceived as absent to other members of the community who are physically there. This leads churches to question whether by providing online experiences of church

they are depriving young people of the community that is needed to grow a strong church.8 However, I think that the fear of this happening should not eclipse a church’s willingness to provide for those who are constrained from coming to church. Of course, the primary aim of this is greater inclusivity – making services available online

Millennials will be attracted to authentic communities and opportunities for spiritual growth means that those who are not able to be physically present with a church on a Sunday still have the chance to listen and engage with weekly teaching and worship. For these, the chance to listen to the sermon is something they could not otherwise have.

As Bailey-Ross points out, polarised views about the impact of the digital world on our social abilities are often expressed in both the media and in academic research, but the majority of internet users report both positive and negative effects from their online experiences.9 Most people are able to ‘blur’ their online and offline lives in the sense that experiences online inform and cohere with their experiences offline and vice versa, rather than online interactions dominating and overshadowing offline ones in terms of importance. Critically, a study by LifeWay Research found that only 1% of people interviewed said they would prefer to watch a sermon by video over a live sermon.10 Many people who do view online sermons, treat them as supplementary to Sunday services, which helps them integrate their faith into weekday life.

Having said that, it is valid to be wary of overemphasis on the digital life of the Church to the neglect of physical fellowship. The value of physical presence is modelled by Jesus himself, who became incarnate in order to be with us in the flesh. We must fully grasp the importance of Jesus’ physical presence: when Jesus went to be with people in their house, such as when he visits Zacchaeus’ home in Luke 19.1–10, it was a sign of his favour. As we see in Luke 24.39, Jesus felt it necessary to allow people to see him as present after his resurrection, as this satisfied the desire for evidence of who he was and what he had done. Jesus understood the value of what physical presence communicates: it communicates that the one who is present values those around them and is willing to meet others’ needs. It is therefore important for us likewise to keep in view the encouraging message that physical presence communicates something about our relationship with the community. However, Millennials themselves, at whom much of the digital activity is aimed, are concerned about this. They recognise that there is value in simply

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chatting at the end of church, in hanging out and exchanging thoughts, feelings and prayer requests.

There is value in the cups of tea and after-church pub meals shared together. They recognise that genuine relationships are not only built by shared experiences but by shared conversations about those experiences. So, how else can churches empower Millennials to be the solutions to the problems outlined above?

Engaging Millennials through involvement In this section I will focus on how churches can engage young people healthily using digital tools.

As a generation who have been encouraged to engage in discussions and engage in activism, to Millennials the word ‘engage’ does not just mean to show interest or take enjoyment from something.

Millennials in general like to be active for the causes they believe in. Millennial Christians want to express their faith actively, by participating in the activity of the Church. So, in a sense, maybe what we should be thinking about is what Millennials can offer to the Church.

Churches that are worried about the balance between their physical and digital attendance rates can attract those who are engaged online to be part of the church community in person by emphasising the benefits of them doing so for the community, rather than just the individual. It is true that there is something deeply encouraging about gathering together and being able to interact tangibly with other members of the Church. There is no harm in reminding people that their very presence can contribute to this effect in other people. Churches can encourage them to take up roles, whether it be as a welcome team member, a set-up volunteer or a mentor to someone from another generation. However, it is important that churches can do that without being belligerent towards those who need to stay at home while attending a service. We should be wary of quickly jumping to the conclusion that those who are not able to be physically present do not value their communities, as value can be expressed in other ways, too.

The opportunity for greater involvement is attractive to Millennials, and can be incorporated into a church’s digital strategy. As I outlined earlier, there is a need for church digital content to be of a high standard. There are plenty of Millennials with strong digital design skills, who are able to create user-friendly content themselves. Why not utilise them, thereby benefitting the Church and giving Millennials the opportunity to engage by reaching other people? Even if this is not in an official ‘role’ capacity, churches can still encourage Millennials to promote church events and invite others using social media themselves. Invitation to church activities needs to happen at the personal as well as the organisational level. Without a prior connection to a church, most people would not respond to

generic Facebook promotion for their events.

However, if they were personally invited by a church member (in real life or online) they would be much more likely to respond. As consumers, Millennials are highly influenced by the opinions of their peers.

Before they invest in an experience or product, they want be as sure as possible that it will be a ‘positive interaction or beneficial purchase’ so they will check social media to see what their peers have said. It would make sense for a similar trend to apply when it comes to attending a church.11 This is indicative of a desire for authenticity and transparency when it comes to what communities have to offer.

Online interactions between people on social media do not have to be shallow, and can consist of more than just emojis, memes and selfies. If there is intentionality in online interactions, they will be as relationship-building as face to face ones. Churches can encourage those who are digitally engaged to use online platforms as a means of ministering to people by hosting deeper conversations. By ministering I mean sharing the gospel and meeting the needs of others, including answering their questions and satisfying their desire to be involved.

9. C Bailey-Ross, ‘Living in a Digital Culture: The Good, the Bad and the Balance Between the Two’, in The Bible in Transmission (Spring 2016), p. 16.

10. ’10 powerful statistics on Church Social Media Use’.

11. www.target marketingmag.com /article/howMillennial-searchbehavior-impactsyour-digital-strategy/ all/

Training new ministers is a crucial aspect of the biblical model of discipleship. Millennials can be given ministerial opportunities to develop their own faith-based content, organise events, manage the social media account, etc. Even if a young person does not have permission to officiate, the digital world offers a separate yet related sphere in which they can minister. For example, my boyfriend has had success in managing a Facebook group dedicated to answering the more puzzling questions about the Bible and is currently working on developing an app, specifically aimed at enabling Christians to connect and share testimonies. The app will categorise testimonies and enable the community to search for them. Creating a digital space where younger ministers can begin giving sermons is also a great way of helping them become leaders.

Conclusion Making church services digitally accessible, and putting effort into creating user-friendly social media pages, websites and content sends a positive message about a church’s openness and accessibility to Millennials. Investing in people in their twenties and thirties and enabling them to contribute to the culture of the church is important, and this can include appealing to them to engage with the church’s online life. If, offline, a church community is supportive, full of dynamic interactions and willing to hold discussions and take on board new ideas, then its digital life will reflect that. This way, Millennials will not only be attracted by the digital tools of a church but also drawn in by the sense of authentic community and by opportunities for spiritual growth.

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Millennials, authenticity, the Church and its mission

Pete Wynter Pete Wynter is a curate at Holy Trinity Brompton, London, the Director of the Leadership College London and the founder and trustee of UK charity Onelife Leadership.

We live at a mission critical time. There are seismic changes happening in culture and the Church must rise to the challenge of speaking a language that can be understood by the emerging generations. Paul’s famous quote of becoming ‘all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some’ (1 Corinthians 9.22b, NIV) carries fresh impetus for much of the UK church, as we face the reality of missing generations attending and being involved in church.

One of the principal desires of the Millennial generation and therefore a primary language is that of ‘authenticity’. Charles Taylor coined the phrase and descriptor of the cultural moment we find ourselves in as ‘a secular age’ and that the chief need is ‘authenticity’. In a recent Financial Times article, the CEO of France’s largest food group said Millennials no longer desire bigger and more wellknown brands but rather, ‘They want committed brands with authentic products. Natural, simpler, more local and if possible small, as small as you can.’1 Against this background, how can we as church leaders also encourage and challenge Millennials in our communities to thrive and be all that God has made them to be?

It may seem simplistic to define it, but authenticity is more than being ‘rootsy’. When a group of 25–30 year olds were interviewed about what they valued about their churches they replied, ‘Things like integrity, transparency, honesty, grace and truth.’

Every ounce of my church leader being wants to reply, ‘Well sure, all church leaders preach that stuff!’ However, in the same piece of research the

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journalist found that, ‘Millennials are asking church leaders who they are … far more than they’re asking what they’ll do.’2 So the challenge begins not with how are we going to expertly contextualise the gospel for a generation dependent on wifi and good coffee, but rather how prepared are we to be vulnerable, authentic and honest leaders for people desperate for relationship?

Some of the values of the Millennial generation Character trumps competency Millennials are more concerned with who a person is over what they can achieve. A small example of this is found in reality-TV singing shows, where success is dependent not necessarily on the technical ability of the contestant but on their story.

Another small example is the influx of coffee shops, tea rooms and real ale serving pubs that tell the story of how the company started, why it started and the narrative of the production chain. It may be a small thing, but it is a glimpse into the desire for the real person behind the product. For church leaders, this may mean allowing people to preach and make mistakes, lead services and slip up, lead worship and break a string and not be punished or sidelined because character is what matters most.

Millennials want to see the reality behind the closed doors before they trust the competency on display.

Budgets matter less Whilst money is important, for the Millennial generation, it is disheartening and disempowering

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for plans, dreams and visions to be quashed because of insufficient funds. A grassroots program, a social action project or an event is far more life giving if it has been the accumulative work of many people rather than a polished event with maximum finances behind it. This is partly to do with the ‘can do’ attitude of Millennials, but also to do with a ‘make it happen’ approach. How much do you involve the Millennials in your plans and dreams? Although it may mean thinking outside the financial box, using their passion and ideas, may bring about a brand new way of thinking about local mission and evangelism. If they can engage in the process they will engage in the desired outcomes. Too many Millennials are put off by slow institutional approaches where they hit a stifling mass of red tape. We need to find ways of involving them in things that make tangible differences.

Relationships matter more This may seem obvious to pastors but never underestimate the time you spend with people. We can too often think that our congregations will know us well enough, be persuaded by our leadership ability and love Jesus more due to what we say from the pulpit. Unfortunately, this is not the case!

You may have Millennials in your congregation because other people brought them but they will stay if they have a relationship with you. I would recommend under-promising and over-delivering on this front. How about putting in your diary a few lunches every three months and also keeping the list of those people and occasionally sending a text for a quick coffee? Those moments, both planned and spontaneous, will preach more sermons and teach more courses than years of ministry. However, we cannot possibly have 1-2-1 meetings and build meaningful relationships with every person in our congregation. Accessibility in lieu of availability is essential. How rushed and busy, distant or aloof are you? Or do you make time for incidental conversation, preach with a smile, lead as if leading family rather than a business meeting?

Relationship has become the primary currency for committed involvement. Gone are the days when people committed to church because they wanted knowledge or societal structure. If they connect then they will stay. If they get behind the masks they will commit.

Change is good To someone in the mid-twenties to mid-thirties age bracket, change is not a bad word. If the denomination you are in enjoys tradition, be prepared to understand the ‘why’ behind it but also try and find areas that can be changed.

One instance of this is the rise in popularity for the ‘groups’ model of midweek discipleship opportunities. In the ‘groups’ model, one may commit for just a term and the group may involve something around a hobby, a subject matter, or a mission initiative. The appeal is that the

commitment is low but more importantly, change is an option. Consider how you approach change in your ministry and where possible, invite the Millennials in your congregations to be the change agents needed for a new project.

What this means for the ministry of the church?

Now we have given a broad brush-stroke approach it is worth honing in on four areas of church-life that will be affected by the Millennial generation.

Preaching An emphasis on story in your preaching requires greater engagement and reflection on culture and society. Are you studying, spending time with and reading about the emerging generations?

Relevant story does not mean a departure from biblical exegesis. Jesus was the quintessential story teller. On occasions he gave direct teaching (like the sermon on the mount), but when faced with a crowd more often than not he told culturally relevant stories to lead people into relationship with God, Luke 15 being a great example of this approach. The stories Jesus told challenged and provoked worldviews, and our stories should be no different. Millennials are looking for challenge as part of their ability to embrace change. Focus on crafting the questions you ask more than the answers you give. Clarity and teaching are certainly needed, but a good question will help to lead someone into discovering truth, and if they discover it they will own it more than if they are told what to believe from the front. Once again, Jesus modelled the art of great questions that forced engagement from his audience: ‘Who do you say I am?’; ‘Whose image is on this coin?’; ‘Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?’

NOTES 1. www.ft.com/ content/092711786f29-11e8-92d36c13e5c92914 2. https:// careynieuwhof. com/5-thingsMillennials-arelooking-for-in-achurch/ 3. S Chrostek, The Kaleidoscope Effect: What Emerging Generations Seek in Leaders (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 2017).

4. https://aleteia. org/2017/10/18/ hey-pastors-want-tobring-us-Millennialsback-to-church/ 5. Brené Brown became a New York Times best seller and most watched TED talk presenter because she tapped into the generational desire for vulnerability. See her Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead (London: Penguin, 2015).

In recent months I have noticed greater response and feedback from sermons that contain a powerful story. The danger being that you can tell a great story with very little biblical context and people listen more than when you focus on simply expounding the words of Scripture. We must not avoid story in favour of being more purist in our exegesis, but we must learn the art of story that communicates deep truths from the Bible.

The most powerful stories paint vivid pictures (craft your adjectives), are from your experience (increasing authenticity), contain emotional connection (use ‘feeling’ words) and ultimately bring hope, inspiring minds to be set on things above (Colossians 3.2).

Story is not only helpful in a wider church sense, it is also fundamental to preaching to a Millennial generation. Where the likes of Steve Jobs dominated the business world with his masterful narratives for selling technology for many years of a Millennial’s working life, storytelling rather than lesson giving is key when preaching. When preaching, do you place the passage in its context, using story to paint a vivid picture? How do you 23

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cast vision, using objectives or telling a narrative of ‘what could be’?

Authenticity Where in previous decades, the church leader has needed to adopt a guru-teacher like role whereby the congregation learn from being told right doctrine and orthodoxy, now, because of the availability of university standard information at your fingertips, the Millennial generation is not seeking a how-to guide to Christian life. Rather,

if the church cannot learn to speak with authenticity it will not communicate in an intelligible language to Millennials twenty to thirty year olds seek someone who will walk the journey with them, fully aware of the potential pitfalls and failings, honest in the struggles and heartbreak (keeping in mind the importance to preach from our scars and not our wounds). Apart from that, what is required of you, as the leader, is not to be a carbon copy of your favourite leader but authenticity. ‘The best way to engage Millennials is to be as unique as they are,’ says Scott Chrostek.3 Serving Millennials, more than many other generations, want to make their mark on the planet. They have been brought up with an empowered worldview, and genuine possibilities to make a real difference to those around them and the world in which they live. This poses a challenge to the local church. How are our churches places where people can make a real difference? If your church is simply a ‘turn up and turn out’ event, then the capacity to make a real change is limited. This may result in a turn in your priorities. We serve so that people will encounter the love of Jesus. A wonderful by-product is that people feel more connected to a community if they serve within it. In an interview about why she left church, a woman in her late twenties responded, ‘We want more. We want more than the caramel macchiato that we can get anywhere. We don’t need the Church to give us access to what is “cool.”

We have more access to that than we can consume.

We want what is true. We want what is beautiful.

We want access to it in consistent terms which we may not understand, but can learn through practice.

We want access to meaning that goes beyond what is cool, or what’s trending.’4 Giving Millennials a compelling vision will provide a language that released them to serve.

Discipleship The principle challenge to any church leader working with Millennials is the area of discipleship.

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This is not because Millennials are more difficult to disciple, it is simply because we have to unlearn some old habits: (a) course-led discipleship, in the main, is a poor substitute for 1-2-1 or very small group discipleship, walking through Scripture and life issues together; (b) the student-master relationship often used in discipleship needs to be replaced with a student-student relationship – we are all still learning, but taking someone on the journey you’re on, that is discipleship. Millennials want peer to peer relationships with people who they also know have greater wisdom and experience; (c) discipleship is an end in itself. Pastors have often used discipleship to mentor those they identify as having potential. However, to meet this generation’s demand for authenticity, if pastors truly believe discipleship is intrinsically valuable, then mentoring must be offered to all, with no guarantee of return. It is important to note that Millennials desire relationship with grandparent/parent figures and a dissolved structure where the pastor is not the centre of discipleship but responsible for a network of mentoring relationships.

Lastly, when it comes to discipleship, challenge is desired. Whether it is memorising Scripture, fasting, serving radically, or giving sacrificially, for a Millennial generation, challenge is a driver and may be your greatest ally when discipling people.

Consider who you disciple, how you do it and why you do it? Are these authentic choices? Is there any un-learning you need to do?

The final challenge If the church cannot learn to speak with authenticity it will not communicate in an intelligible language to Millennials. Perhaps this has been the key reason for their absence. If this is true then the implications for those in leadership of the church are challenging. A new breed of authentic leaders are needed, because the culture of a church is so often determined by its key leaders. Authenticity requires vulnerability – something that does not always come easily, and many of those in older generations can find this more difficult. Vulnerability is not just a personality trait, but a learnable skill, so before resigning yourself to an inability to be vulnerable ask the question, ‘Am I willing to embrace this journey of growth?’ Cultivating that vulnerability will significantly increase your ability to communicate with authenticity, and if you can achieve that then Millennials will begin to re-engage.5 Do not get too comfortable though. Close on the heels of the Millennials are the first generation to have gone through adolescence with a smart phone in their hands. One device, yet the implications have huge cultural and missional consequences for the church. We cannot afford to delay, it is time to engage.

The John the Baptist generation

Chris Auckland Chris Auckland is a Programme Officer at Bible Society, leading on social action and holistic mission orientated projects, partnerships and activities, with a particular focus on prisons, migrants and refugees, mental health and trauma, and society at large.

I have lost track of the number of times I have been called a snowflake. It is usually because I am taking a moral position that is on the ‘too much’ side of effort, so a simple retort to ‘stop being a snowflake’ ends any need to engage with the argument at hand. That term, snowflake, seems to have gained traction in the past few years, connected to the rise of Trump and the alt-right both in the USA and across the world, and has increasingly become synonymous with Millennials. Whilst we have been given worse labels, none have stuck as well as snowflake. Indeed, today we are broadly known as the snowflake generation.

I am sure the term is intended to somehow diminish us as safe-space seeking, applause-banning liberals, but I do not mind it. I prefer to think of us as the John the Baptist generation, people in their twenties and thirties who want to hold old authorities to account and work for a better future.

We are a voice in the wilderness of the postpostmodern world and we are trying to warn you about what is to come.

Respect The intergenerational dynamic between Millennials and Baby Boomers frequently revolves the theme of respect. Respect for your elders, respect for what they have experienced and recognition that we are ungrateful for what we have – that, unlike them, we do not have to strive for anything.

It was a recurring theme in my childhood that my late father, a peak Baby Boomer, would quote the

Ephesians 6.1–3 to me, usually when I was offering a dissenting opinion he did not want to hear: ‘Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth’ (KJV). He tended to forget verse 4 (‘provoke not your children to wrath’); perhaps that did not support his argument quite as well.

This passage in Ephesians is clearly a reference to the commandment, ‘Honour thy father and thy mother’.1 For Jesus, it seems, this honour equates to loving and providing for parents, even into adulthood. In the Gospels, Jesus chastises those who do not provide for their parents by claiming what they would have given to their parents is instead ‘devoted to God’.2 Jesus even goes so far as to quote Isaiah (29.13) ‘these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, [but] their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote’ (NRSV).

Throughout Christian tradition this has been taken further, and within Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant teaching it is widely held that this relationship between parent and child is reflective of the relationship between humanity and our divine Father. For John Calvin, the role of the Father is sacred and bound with the role of God ‘the dishonouring of parents redounds to the dishonour of God Himself, nor can anyone despise his father without being guilty of an offence against God’.

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Transmission

NOTES 1. See Deuteronomy 5.16 and its parallel in Exodus 20.12.

2. Matthew 15.3–8 and Mark 7.9–12.

3. Fr RD Andrews Available, ‘Honor thy Father and Mother’ available at http://www. orthodoxytoday. org/articles7/ AndrewsParents.php 4. www.ons.gov.uk/ peoplepopulation andcommunity/ wellbeing/articles/ lonelinesswhat characteristics andcircumstances areassociated withfeeling lonely/2018-04-10 5. www. mentalhealth.org. uk/a-to-z/s/suicide 6. www. mentalhealth.org. uk/a-to-z/s/suicide 7. J Twenge, iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy— and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood (London: Atria, 2017).

8. C Barr, ‘Who are Generation Z? The latest data on today’s teens’ in the The Guardian 10 December 2016. Available at https://www. theguardian.com/ lifeandstyle/2016/ dec/10/generation-zlatest-data-teens

But what does this honour look like? John Wesley helpfully provides a breakdown of what this honouring should look like, which is broadly consistent with the catechism of the Catholic Church. In his Notes on the Bible, Wesley suggests that this honouring takes the form of an inward esteem that is outwardly expressed, an obedience to their lawful commands, a submission to their rebukes, consideration of their advice, direction and consent, and endeavouring to bring them comfort.

Similarly, for Father Andrews, a Greek Orthodox priest writing in Orthodoxy Today, in a biblical sense honouring our parents is not about blind obedience. Rather, it is about forgiving them, being grateful for what they have done, caring for them and how the conduct of the child reflects on the parents: ‘every time we do something good, just, pure, holy, we bring honour to our parents.’3 For me this boils down more simply to ‘honouring’ being about love and respect. But respect is mutual isn’t it? I remember being approached by a family member at my own wedding a few years back and being asked, ‘What are you up to now?’ At the time I was a careers adviser, specialising in those most distant from the workplace. When I said this there was an awkward pause, followed by, ‘How can you advise anyone? You don’t know what work really is.’ My age and life experience, particularly that of ‘not knowing what hard work is’ (a phrase frequently aimed at Millennials), somehow rendered me unable to support vulnerable people into work. But, more specifically, I was not worthy of respect, or at least my knowledge and experience was not.

Life experiences He was right on some level, my life experience at 27 (as I was at the time) was drastically different to his when he was a similar age. He was already married, a homeowner and on the career path he would follow for the rest of his working life. I, on the other hand, was only just married and was stuck in the trap of privately rented housing. I had no idea what I wanted as a career, or even if that idea existed anymore.

Millennials are more likely to get married later in life, to remain living with their parents and to delay major career decisions. Is it any great surprise though? In the 1980s it would have taken a typical household in their late 20s around three years to save for an average-sized deposit, today it takes around 19 years. As a result, Millennials are half as likely to own a home at the age of 30 compared to Baby Boomers at the same age. A recent Resolution Foundation report found one in three Millennials in Britain will never own their own home. Equally, when we see divorce rates spiking among our parents, and job satisfaction so low, is it any wonder we delay making these decisions until later in life?

This, however, has led to a mental health crisis among Millennials. By marrying later we spend more time alone, with young people aged between

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16 and 24 feeling more lonely than any other age group.4 Being stuck in privately rented housing, or living with our parents, and delaying career decisions, we’re more likely to have concerns about debt and future prospects, leading to severe mental health problems. Suicide is the leading cause of death among people aged between 20 and 34.5

we are staring at the potential collapse of our social security and welfare system as we know it That for me is the crux of the problem. Just as Deuteronomy implies a one-way system of biblical teaching – ‘teach them to your children, and to their children after them’ (Deuteronomy 4.9, NIV) – our intergenerational dialogue is rooted in a one-way system of respect. Our desire to stand up, to be heard, to expect recognition and demand respect is rooted in our lived experience of being the first generation to be worse off than the one before. We are labelled as snowflakes because, supposedly, we do not have a sound amount of life experience or have never had to strive for anything. However, that is simply not the case and an ounce of mutual respect from those that look down on us would acknowledge that. We are in crisis; the system is letting us down, and no one is listening. That is why we are the John the Baptist generation, because we are shouting in the wilderness to warn you of what is to come, because it is going to be so much worse. We are not the outliers, we are the warm up act.

Welfare and society The experience of Millennials has been born out of a time when welfare and social security has been in a state of flux. Our Baby Boomer parents and relatives are living through a period of unprecedented spending on welfare and social security. Around £264 billion is spent on welfare, 34% of all government spending. The majority of this, 42% or a staggering £111 billion, is spent on pensions, with a further £10 billion on elderly care payments. This represents a fraction of what was paid into the system by those now receiving it. This has put pressure on other areas, including health and particularly the NHS, with mental health provision a particular worry, alongside policing and early intervention programmes. The number of people in mental health crisis being detained by the police rather than being given access to mental health services is of huge concern. Just 27% of people who died by suicide between 2005 and 2015 had contact with mental health services in the year before they died.6 Despite promises of increased funding, the wider issues facing the NHS exacerbate the crisis. While funding has increased, mental health funding is not ring fenced, allowing

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the NHS to use the funding to plug other gaps.

Research by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found that in England 62% of mental health trusts reported a lower income at the end of 2016–17, when taking inflation into account, than they had in 2011–12. There have also been real terms cuts in funding for mental health trusts in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Is that sustainable? In an interview in 2012 with the Financial Times Angela Merkel said, ‘if Europe today accounts for just over 7% of the world’s population, produces around 25% of global GDP

Millennials are waiting to be heard, willing to work to make a difference and has to finance 50% of global social spending, then it is obvious that it will have to work very hard to maintain its prosperity and way of life.’ This, in political speak, roughly translates as ‘this level of spending cannot carry on’. We are staring at the potential collapse of the social security and welfare system as we know it.

This is important because the next generation will need it far more than we ever did. Jean Twenge has highlighted that the perfect storm of lifestyle change, technological development and parenting styles, has created a generation that is at huge risk of mental health crisis: ‘rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed since 2011. It is not an exaggeration to describe iGen [Generartion Z] as being on the brink of the worst mental-health crisis in decades.’7 This is evidenced by a study published in the British Medical Journal that found there had been a 68% increase in self-harming among 13 to 16 year old girls between 2011 and 2014. Depression among teenagers has rocketed to 70% in the last 25 years, and suicide among girls and young women aged 10–25 years is up 19%.

Technology and social interaction are a primary cause of this increase. The prevalence of social media and its insidious nature of it sees children’s sense of self-worth relentlessly degraded by cyberbulling, hyper-curated images of each other’s lives, and the number of likes they have got on Instagram.

Access to news via social media is also causing spikes of anxiety during major global events. Emily Cherry, Head of Participation at the NSPCC said in a Guardian interview, ‘Online, they [young people] are seeing quite adult-focused news and phoning ChildLine really fearful for themselves and their future.’8 This generational disparity is playing out in our crime rates too. Last year, 2018, is likely to be the worst in 10 years for the numbers of young people in England and Wales killed by knife attacks. The West Midlands has recorded the highest number of

youth knife deaths in 40 years. There has been an 11% increase in offences involving possession of a knife or offensive weapon by young people since 2012, and though custody rates for young people are continuing to fall, the reoffending rate among young people is a staggering 42.2%, compared to 28.2% among adults (at the end of 2016–17).

Not only is mental health deteriorating in our young people, but increased violence in our cities is inflicting trauma on communities and young people.

That is the perfect storm in which we will find ourselves in the coming years, increasing rates of mental health problems alongside decreasing support and social security from the state. That is why we need to change the dynamic around intergenerational dialogue. Most senior leaders across all sectors are Baby Boomers. If we can change the narrative, and actively listen and respect each other, then together we could make a difference in our society and be witnesses to the truth of the gospel. After all Millennials are socially active, more likely to volunteer than any other generation, and more likely to attend churches with a strong focus on social action. We just need senior leaders in churches to hear what we are trying to say and to help us make a difference.

Churches and organisations like Bible Society will shape what is to come for Generation Z and the generations that follow. Churches will be crucial in providing support to communities as government services are increasingly scaled back, and they must be ready. In 2019 Bible Society will be developing two new initiatives to address emerging crises in our communities. We will be introducing a contextualised trauma healing programme to address severe trauma experienced by communities, including crime, sexual violence, domestic abuse and loss. Trauma healing is a model of contextual Bible reading that offers a holistic approach to healing individual traumas and those experienced by communities. We will also be rolling out a new grants programme to work with churches and mission activists to deliver significant change at home or in communities. This requires churches to be ready to work with us to make change happen.

Conclusion So that is the challenge. Millennials are not the Snowflake generation, we are the voice in the wilderness warning you of the significant change that is coming and challenging you to be ready.

We are here, waiting to be heard, willing to work to make a difference. All it takes is to listen to each other and to work together with mutual love and respect, as a parent has for their child, as God has for us. After all, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 18.3–4, NRSV).

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