People in Print - Christianity Today

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS

“The Baby Bust”

by William Dunn

American Demographics, $39.95

Reviewed by Jackson Crum,

pastor of small groups,

Lakeland Community Church,

Holland, Michigan.

In April, Kurt Cobain, 27-year-old lead singer of the alternative-rock group Nirvana, pressed a shotgun to his head and tragically ended his life. Some called Cobain “the John Lennon of the MTV generation.” His music, life, and even his death symbolized the angst of a generation without dads, jobs, and hope.

Kurt Cobain’s generation–those born after 1964–has been dubbed the “baby busters.” That, actually, is one of their more flattering titles. They’ve also been called the “doofus generation” and the “nowhere generation” (mostly by snobbish baby-boomer journalists and sociologists). The buster label stuck because their numbers are smaller than the almost 80 million baby boomers who preceded them. “Generation X” and the “13ers” (the 13th generation since the Revolutionary War) are their two other popular names.

According to William Dunn, author of “The Baby Bust,” this generation consists of 41 million Americans born between 1965 and 1976 (plus 3 million immigrants). If they were a nation, they would be one-and-a-half times the population of Canada. (Other analysts, however, include Americans born through 1983, which would bring the tally to more than 60 million.)

Up front, Dunn, former writer for USA Today and the Gannett News Service, admits his bias–he’s a baby boomer. But he wants to correct the buster stereotypes–lazy, hopeless, directionless–trumpeted by the baby-boomer media.

“I find baby busters [are] overindulged in some respects,” he writes, “and not in others, but clearly underrated as a group, paid too little attention to, and definitely misunderstood.”

Dunn divides his book into three sections: That Was Then; This Is Now; and That’s the Way It’s Gonna Be. In the first section, Dunn lists six forces that unexpectedly drove down birth rates in the 1960s and 1970s, including divorce, abortion, and birth control. Hence, the baby bust.

Regarding divorce, he writes, “Liberalized divorce laws, including no-fault divorce and incompatibility claims, opened the floodgates. Marriages, previously held together only by tough laws, suddenly dissolved.”

In addition, the busters are the first generation of latchkey kids. With both parents working, they often came home after school to an empty house. Consequently, they had to grow up faster and deal with life situations they were ill-equipped to handle.

“The latchkey experience,” Dunn writes, “has undoubtedly made these children more independent and self-sufficient at an earlier age than previous generations.”

From spending habits to values, Dunn sketches the portrait of the average baby buster. “The Baby Bust” is an outstanding introduction to the millions of Americans now entering adulthood. Dunn writes, “Busters are quietly taking up their places in the real world. They’re your new colleagues at work, the new crop of doctors, the young police officers you pass on the street, the entrepreneurs coming up with the latest hot ventures. A buster may one day be your boss.”

How can churches reach them?

A NEW GOSPEL TRANSLATION

Pastors would be wise to emulate Bill Clinton, who targeted the busters by going on MTV during his election campaign. The busters responded to Clinton’s attention by voting for him en masse. As former President Bush found out, they won’t be ignored.

In reaching busters for Christ, here are two spheres for pastors to consider:

* Program for busters. Five years ago, the college ministry I led began to attract twenty-somethings who were a year or two out of college. They resisted going to the singles ministry, because it consisted primarily of older singles. Repeatedly I heard, “I don’t feel comfortable with them,” “We don’t have a lot in common,” and “They are not my generation.”

So we targeted this group. What started as a small group of frustrated busters turned into a community of several hundred. The lesson: busters are not boomers, and, as Dunn points out, they don’t want to be treated as such. Busters have their own needs, dreams, and concerns.

As one buster put it, “Don’t think we’re the continuation of the babyboom generation. We’re not.” Busters, for instance, are getting married even later than boomers, and many will not marry at all (one-tenth of all busters, Dunn predicts).

Small groups may be the most effective strategy to connect with the emotional needs of busters. Small groups provide the care and relationships busters say they crave. They want a place to share their similar life experiences, build platonic relationships with those of the opposite sex, and talk with peers “who have more in common than a pitcher of beer.”

* Preach to busters. Many of today’s preaching pastors are baby boomers. Naturally, they illustrate from their own experiences. That won’t always cut it for busters, who need to hear the gospel afresh in their dialect.

Take the family, for example. A large percentage of boomers grew up in two-parent families. But many busters grew up with stepparents, stepbrothers and sisters, and custody battles. While pastors must continually hold up God’s standard, they need to be sensitive to the vacuum in which many busters were raised.

In this American Demographics book, Dunn has done much of our homework. Though writing for marketers, his profile of busters will help pastors translate the gospel into the language of the young and the restless.

MAKING THE RIGHT MOVE

“Red Light, Green Light”

by John Cionca

Baker Books, $11.99

Reviewed by Ron Klassen,

general director,

Rural Home Missionary Association,

Morton, Illinois.

Every pastor has experienced “Monday Morning Gloom” or “Post-BoardMeeting Syndrome.” In those moments, we often ask Is it time to move on?

The decision to move is complicated enough during the tough times, but what about when times are good? Once, while in a stretch of ministry contentment, I received a phone call about a new challenge. I was happy to stay but excited to move. Now what?

With “Red Light, Green Light,” John Cionca, professor at Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, helps pastors keep these decisions on an objective plane, forcing us to consider criteria for staying or moving. Restlessness alone, he says, is not a reason to move, while job enthusiasm is a reason to stay.

“The degree to which enthusiasm or discouragement is your daily experience,” he writes, “indicates how appropriate a move might be.”

Cionca’s thesis is that God gives pastors a double green light when to move on: “The ‘green light of fit’ with a calling church, combined with the ‘green light of freedom’ to leave one’s present ministry . … “

Cionca devotes several helpful chapters to 36 guiding signals–family well-being and future possibilities, for example–obtained from extensive research. He generously sprinkles each chapter with real-life anecdotes and concludes with questions to help you analyze your situation.

It would be a shame if this book were read only by those considering a move. One of the best chapters discusses an annual pastoral assessment, complete with a useful questionnaire to work through with your church board.

Whether or not they are contemplating a move, I give all pastors the green light to buy this book.

REAPPEARING JEWEL

“The Renewal of Sunday Worship”

edited by Robert E. Webber

Star Song, $49.99

Reviewed by Roger Barrier, pastor,

Casas Adobes Baptist Church,

Tucson, Arizona.

A decade ago, Robert Webber, professor of theology at Wheaton College, traveled to Minnesota to lead a workshop on worship. At its conclusion, a pastor commented, “I love these new ideas. But I have no way to take them home to my church.”

That simple comment “started the ball rolling,” Webber says, on the massive, seven-volume “Complete Library of Christian Worship.” “The Renewal of Sunday Worship” is the third volume in the series.

The opening section of this volume details the worship practices of more than sixty Christian denominations, ministries, and fellowships, including Adventist, Roman Catholic, and Vineyard. As I read page after page, I realized that despite what some in my congregation tell me, there is no one right way to worship God. With my Southern Baptist experience, I never considered that the worship expression of Christian America was so varied and blessed.

Our worship leader was overwhelmed with the content and scope of “The Renewal of Sunday Worship.” “Nothing like this,” he said, “has ever been compiled.”

Pastors will benefit from chapters such as “What Is Worship Renewal?” “Styles of Worship,” “Styles of Preaching,” and “Resources for the Service of the Table.”

Ministry around the Lord’s Table, for example, struck our worship leader and me as a neglected area in our tradition. “Because an important aspect of receiving the Communion,” write the authors, “is the personal ‘yes’ said to the death and resurrection of Christ (for me), careful consideration should be given to the manner of reception.”

Webber and his contributors provide more Communion ideas than we can incorporate in a month of Sundays. Here are just three:

— Have the people come “forward to receive the bread and wine”

— “Give the bread and wine to each person by name”

— “Touch the hand of the receiver as the bread is placed in the palm of the hand.”

“The Renewal of Sunday Worship” will give any pastor or worship leader new ideas for leading others to the throne of God so they may worship.

MORE THAN BUDDIES

“Community That Is Christian”

by Julie A. Gorman

Victor, $12.99

Reviewed by Karen K. Hiner,

freelance writer,

Spokane, Washington.

Have your attempts at small groups fizzled?

Julie Gorman, assistant professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, may explain part of the reason why. According to Gorman, Christian theology today–especially in the Reformed tradition–emphasizes personal faith rather than commitment to the community of believers. The American ideal of rugged individualism fuels this tendency.

In “Community That Is Christian,” Gorman calls the church back to “God’s more equitable order of individual-in-community.” She outlines what constitutes true community and offers practical help on handling conflict and creating small groups.

“Never attempt to build community from nothing,” advises Gorman. She suggests focusing on what you already have before you present a new vision for the future. As part of your preliminary investigation, look for three kinds of hidden agendas:

— “Sacred Cows,” traditional ways of doing things that must not be tampered with. Be sure you recognize them, because they will not change no matter what you do.

— “Mine Fields,” sensitive emotional issues inadvertently caused by past programs and not easily forgotten by those offended. Defuse “Mine Fields” by showing how new programs will be structured to avoid the same problems.

— “Tattered Dreams,” nostalgic longings for programs no longer effective. Use the good in these dreams to build the new.

The distinctive feature of Christianity, says Gorman, is the difference Jesus makes in the interpersonal relationships of his followers. Every program should be evaluated by asking, “How will this develop or enhance community among the people of God?”

THE INVOCATIONS OF WARRIORS

“Churches That Pray”

by C. Peter Wagner

Regal Books, $15.99

Reviewed by Rubel Shelly, minister,

Woodmont Hills Church of Christ,

Nashville, Tennessee.

Peter Wagner has finally written the book intended to be the first in his Prayer Warrior Series. (It winds up being the fourth.) It doesn’t come too soon for the American church.

“Churches That Pray” calls local churches to a high level of prayer. Specifically, it calls pastors to “make the transition from rhetoric prayer to action prayer.” The book is a welcome emphasis when some churches seem to emphasize church growth rather than spiritual depth.

The final five chapters call for the church to pray in the wider community through praise marches, prayer walks, prayer expeditions, and prayer journeys. Wagner believes such public displays can bring “repentance and unity” as the church comes out of hiding. (He does not explain how prayer marches avoid becoming prayers “to be seen of men” that Jesus condemned.)

The book also offers practical guidelines for starting prayer ministries and even helps with planning a prayer meeting. “The first 10 to 15 minutes of the hour,” Wagner writes, “should be spent in singing the prayers.”

His examples of vibrant change through prayer are inspiring, though some will stretch readers’ credulity. Pastors, though, should not shut themselves off from this book’s larger value. If any local church is to become a place of salvation for sinners and security for saints, prayer will be critical. We must exhibit (without becoming exhibitionists) faith in the power of God to hear and answer prayers.

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