Editorial: Generation X

*published inthe Pacific Church News, Oct/Nov 1999*

As this diocese celebrates its august past, it makes sense to spend a moment to reflect on the future, and the next generation lining up for leadership in the church: Generation X. An Xer myself, I have spent nine years ministering to other young adults, while at the same time drifting in an out of the institutional church. My ambivalent relationship with the church is typical of many Xers, as they chase the elusive and often mutually exclusive white stags of institutional credibility and transcendent hope.

Optimism and faith do not come easy for this cynical generation. Before Xers were out of diapers, they were faced with fears and uncertainties unknown to any previous generation. Being the first generation to be brought up under the threat of complete nuclear annihilation, they learned to "duck and cover" during bomb drills in kindergarten. They despaired over the fate of the earth while they were in elementary school, watching the statistics on environmental catastrophe grow grimmer as they grew up.

It is difficult to overstate the damage that the Watergate and Iran-Contra episodes did to Xers' trust in public figures. The nightly horror of Vietnam on the evening newscast an apocalyptic shadow over Xers' childhoods. It was very clear that this was no "Ozzie and Harriet" world we were born into. Instead, Xers experienced the world as fierce, dangerous, and doomed.

Given all of this, it is not surprising that Xers are intolerant of authority figures. And while many Boomers can relate to their distrust of authority, they are often impatient with Xers' pervasive cynicism. It is important for Boomers to realize that while they were themselves suspicious of authority, they also believed they could do better than their elders. Boomers criticized those in power, but also held a collective vision for a utopian society that they would bring about. Xers watched the idealistic dreams of their Boomer parents crash and burn in the "Me-Decade" 1980s, and have no comparable idealistic visions. As one Xer put it, "Boomers had a pot of gold at the end of their rainbow. We just have pot."

Elder generations do not help bridge this generation gap by endorsing or settling for superficial portraits of Xers. Conservatives are quick to point to the growing number of Generation X voters as being fiscally conservative. Liberals are equally likely to highlight Xers' concern for social justice. Neither side, however, really understands the underlying feelings and beliefs of Xers, and such portraits only serve to further alienate Xers, and to reinforce Xers' distrust of "the system."
To many Xers, such defining questions as "Are you Christian or Buddhist?" "Gay or straight?" "Conservative or liberal?" or even "Catholic or Protestant?" are meaningless. They are often all of the above, and are impatient with what they perceive to be elders' attempts to label them or to relegate them to pre-existing categories.

Subsequently, elders frequently misread Xers' political ambivalence as apathy, sexual ambiguity as immorality, and lack of involvement in organized religion as unspiritual. Each of these is based on a misunderstanding of the Xer worldview, and labels do little to engender understanding. Instead, those of elder generations need to use every tool at their disposal to understand and help Xers navigate what feels like the most stormy era the world has ever known.

The church can play an important role in healing the woundedness of this generation by accepting Xers where they are. Elders should try to listen, and answer without condescension the very real existential questions Xers struggle with daily. Instead of insisting that community is a top-down construction (a paradigm always doomed to failure from an Xer perspective), churches could work to provide opportunities for small and intimate consensus spiritual communities in their midst, empowering Xers to form meaningful "cell groups" that minister to them in egalitarian and non-heirarchical ways, where no questions are "off limits" and doubt is as highly regarded as faith. If the church can first embrace Xers in ways meaningful to them, they may find that this renegade generation has substantial gifts that the church needs for its own survival.

Unfortunately, Xers' perspectives are often shrugged off and ignored, even when they have been specifically solicited! As one Xer clergyperson wrote to me recently, "I find that the form that takes is usually 'Gee, you young guys are fantastic, we really want to hear from you, you're just the voice we need - hang on now, wait a minute, what did you say? You what? Gosh, I'm sorry, but it actually looks like we can't use your input this time after all'."

Voiceless and invisible, Xers will continue to drift away from our churches, while periodically soaring into their orbits, hoping that "this time" there will be something for them here. How long Xers will be disappointed and discouraged is an important question. With so many gifts to offer - creativity, pragmatism, and ideological iconoclasm among them - Generation X is poised to lead the church into a new era of relevance and cultural rennaisance. But how long it will be before Xers are permitted to exercise their gifts is an open question, and one worthy of our prayerful consideration.

Fortunately, this diocese has an unusal committment to young adult ministry, as you will see in our stories on the "Young Adult Festival" (pps. 30-31). Who knows, with enough support, perhaps the rennaisance can start here. *

John R. Mabry, PhD has facilitated and participated in consensus spiritual communities for young adults in the East Bay for nearly ten years. He is managing editor of the Pacific Church News and editor of Presence: The Journal of Spiritual Directors International. He has just published a full-length article entitled "The Gnostic Generation: Understanding and Ministering to Generation X" available in the May 1999 issue of Presence (call 415/566-1560 to order a back issue). He is currently working on a book on the same subject.