Troy Lyndon’s Blog

Years ago, Gertrude Stein coined the phrase “Lost Generation” to refer to those who came of age during World War I. Borrowing from her, I use the term to refer to today’s young people, from their teens through their twenties and even into their early thirties. These folks comprise Generation Y (also called Millennials) and the tail end of Generation X. What they share, among other cultural similarities, is that they are natives of the digital world. They are “lost” in the biblical sense that a great many of them do not know Christ.

Please understand, I’m not using the label “Lost Generation” as some type of doomsday predictor. It’s not as if this group is hopeless. I’m not writing them off — far from it.

On the other hand, I do hope this label will grab attention. Why? Because the historical indicators point to something quite concerning: the Lost Generation may be the last population segment in American society before Christianity is marginalized to the point of death. Take a look at what has happened in Western Europe with the formation of a post-Christian society. That is what we face tomorrow in the United States of America if we don’t pay attention to the urgent spiritual neediness of the Lost Generation. We could become a secular nation.

Am I alarmist? Exaggerating?

Josh McDowell tells us that we are losing between 50 percent and 70 percent of our churched youth to the world before they graduate from high school. George Barna has found that one out of two professing Christian freshmen will renounce their faith before they graduate college. Worst of all, only about 4 percent of the Lost Generation consider themselves Christian. This is the spiritual reality for the Lost Generation.

If we have a sincere burden to reach this generation with the gospel of truth, how can we continue in ministry without recognizing our ineffectiveness? If what we are doing were working, the numbers would tell a different story. But they don’t.

So the danger is real. Biblical Christianity will lose its transformational role in American culture unless, by the grace of God, we reverse the spiritual tide of this Lost Generation. And that reversal starts with really getting to know the generation.

Culture Study

A well-known elder statesman of Christian ministry recently said that our youth are “illiterate” and that’s why we have trouble reaching them. Actually, they just speak a different language. So, like any missionaries, we must learn a different language as we engage a different culture. When it comes to ministering to the members of the Lost Generation (I’ll call them “LGs”), we must immerse ourselves in their world to learn the slang, nuances, and inflections of their postmodern language and lifestyle. Here are a few notes to start with.

• Balance. LGs inherited the “work hard, play hard” ethic of their parents. However, LGs also experienced the devastating effects of workaholic self-focus. Therefore, LGs strive for a more balanced, selfless, relational lifestyle. For the Lost Generation, living life means more than work and advancement. It now means a wide variety of hands-on activities, adventurous pursuits, escapist entertainment, and authentic relationships.

• Leadership. The Lost Generation places little value on traditional institutions or chain of command. Just because you are older and wiser does not mean you merit trust. For LGs, respect must be earned, not merely expected. Leadership is no longer positional but relational.

• Relativism. LGs feel they have escaped Mom and Dad’s inconsistencies by embracing moral relativism. As crazy as it may sound, moral relativism has become so ingrained in LG culture that it’s now treated as the “objective” standard for values clarification. Today, moral relativism means that one person can “Just do it,” while another can “Just say no,” and these are equally valid moral decisions. Moreover, friends and peers can peacefully coexist and accept their equally valid differences. It’s no longer a matter of right and wrong; it’s a matter of personal choice without judgment.

• Spirituality in general. Although LGs are skeptical of “organized religion,” they’re more open to spirituality than their X-gen and late-Boomer parents. Generally, LGs reject a purely naturalistic-materialistic world in favor of a more relational-spiritual version. Although LGs vocalize newfound enlightenment in this area, it’s actually packaged in bite-sized media wrappers. Bullet points and sound clips have replaced the ancient texts and ageless discussions. It’s spirituality without accountability and relativism without rules. LGs select a few items from the spiritual buffet that seem to mush together nicely on their personal plates.

• Christianity in particular. The “Christianity” label has lost much of its theological meaning for the Lost Generation. At best, it’s an innocuous catchall phrase—this is a “Christian nation.” At worst, “Christianity” equals hypocrisy, judgment, intolerance, and lobbying muscle. The current generation has nothing against Jesus, just against the political machinery that’s been created in His name. Thus, what are seen as meaningless rules and rituals are being exchanged for personal peace and redemptive relationships.

What, Then, Will We Do?

From a biblical perspective, some of the characteristics of LGs are encouraging. Others raise concerns. But even those that seem like trouble might provide an opening for ministry. For example, the way that LGs are exchanging meaningless rules and rituals for redemptive relationships creates a perfect opportunity for Jesus to work in their lives…if He’s asked.

So let me conclude with a few questions I just can’t get away from.

How can our hearts not break for our youth?

Why haven’t we shown up in mass media to battle for the hearts and minds of this generation?

What are we going to do to introduce the Lost Generation to the One who can save them…before it’s too late?