LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 105

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CONVENTION ESSAYS AND REACTIONS
said Columbine killer Dylan Klebold on a videotape made
the day of the massacre. “I don’t like life very much.” Few
peers would understand his horrible actions, but more than
a few share his sense that this troubled life and unforgiving
world leave much to be desired. Just a few more things …
Be aware as well that the Millenials do not tend to trust
adults. That sounds similar to the attitude of Boomers in
the ’60s who were suspicious of the establishment. But not
trusting anyone over 30 back then included not trusting
survivors of the Depression, World War II veterans, and
couples in four-decade marriages. The lack of trust today,
as one observer puts it, “is derived more from the fact that
many of today’s ‘establishment’ were the architects of societal breakdown. … The Millenials, in one sense, have good
reason not to ‘trust’ adults.” Skepticism shields them from
disappointment. You won’t be disappointed if you don’t expect anything from unreliable adults in the first place.
Millenials also tend not to trust religion. They are quite
often interested in spirituality but not organized religion.
As filmmaker Kevin Smith responded when his movie
Dogma was accused of ridiculing the Roman Catholic
Church, “I’m not saying the Church is bad, just that God is
better.” Theirs is a faith that tends to be eclectic, fluid, in
motion. They are open to investigation of divergent faiths,
assorted paths to God, and often recoil at exclusive claims
about truth. Described as “Postmodern Pilgrims,” they are
on a journey to collect varied life experiences the way that
preceding generations sought to collect various things.
So what is the basis for confidence that this fragmented,
distorted, suspicious, drifting community of young people
will become the next “Greatest Generation”? Author and
generation-cycles watcher William Strauss, the man who
first dubbed this generation the Millenials, believes this
will become the next “civic” generation. Strauss observes
that Boomer parents have finally begun to protect children
from the abortive social experiment they themselves
launched a quarter century or so ago. Boomer parents
lament not raising their children as well as their own parents raised them. Strauss says, “This parental concern of
the repentant Boomers, together with a clarion call of national concern will imbue the Millenials with a team spirit
and sense of purpose and civic resolve to overcome severe
problems.” The environment of public cynicism and the absence of heroes that this generation has inherited will produce in them a yearning for real heroes. “They will be the
heroes,” Strauss says, “ You watch.”
I don’t know about the sociological speculation, but I am
watching. I am watching, very closely, as a parent and as
an educator. I am looking at the generation of young people
who are supposed to be looking up to my generation, and
to me, and I am impressed. I am impressed by their needs.
I am impressed by their deeds. I am impressed by the
numbers of students who need to seek out professional
counseling on our campus because of the emotional and
psychological baggage they carry from their dysfunctional
upbringing—they are looking for help. I am impressed that
hundreds and hundreds of them on our campus participate
in service-oriented activities that require significant personal sacrifice because they want to help others. They will

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be heroes, you watch, these children of the next great “civic”
generation.
But, the church, our church, needs to do more than just
watch. Every day of this “year of the child,” and every year
of this millennium of our Lord, we need to nurture them
with the Good News about Jesus. It is Good News that this
fragmented, distorted, suspicious, drifting generation needs
most of all. Their needs for trust, for purpose, for direction,
for support, for friendship, for meaning find resolution in
the suffering Savior, Jesus Christ. Their need for forgiveness and grace in an unforgiving world finds an answer in
the loving, living Lord, Jesus Christ. Mark this because
here is what is at stake for the church: faith focused on
Jesus Christ, faith anchored in Jesus Christ, will help
transform young heroes into heroes of faith. I have been
watching; it is happening! If the young people that I am
privileged to serve among on my campus are any indication, it is happening as we speak.
Parents, as always, will have a shaping impact. Friends,
as mentioned, will influence each other—in this generation
perhaps more than any other. When both family and
friends are involved and active in the Christian faith, there
is a more inviting environment for the church’s ministries.
When both family and friends are unchurched, the challenge is enormous. But, with a loving God and a powerful
Gospel, the church faces no obstacle that is insurmountable. The Good News of Jesus transforms unsuspecting heroes into heroes of faith. It is happening.
What makes it happen? One key for the church is an engaged, relevant catechesis. This is no secret, though it is
often downplayed or overlooked. Luther understood it well
enough when he thought about the young people to whom
he preached in his sermons. When parish visitors returned
with reports about how the people, including the young people, did not grasp even the rudiments of the faith, it troubled Luther greatly. Following the historic model of the
church, he encouraged catechesis. Subsequent parish visitations revealed that this work had to be ongoing. The Good
News about Jesus, the message of the Gospel and all of the
essential articles of the faith, required consistent and constant review and reflection. The same vigilance is necessary today.
But to be effective today there must be something else
as well: stories—your stories. Interestingly, in an age when
young people are very skeptical of “truth claims,” one form
of truth they do respect is the “story.” They value others’
authentic experiences and are willing to listen and learn
from them. Tell stories. Tell your stories of faith and life in
Christ, the stories of your parents and grandparents and
great-grandparents. These are stories that will communicate THE STORY—the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
As part of His catechizing of His disciples, Jesus told them
stories. We would do well to follow that pattern.
Have you ever seen the feature on the Tonight Show
called “Jay Walking”? Host Jay Leno walks around and
asks folks off the street very basic questions about history
or politics or contemporary life and culture—the answers
are ones that it is presumed everybody should know. I suppose what makes the feature funny is that people do not
know, they do not understand. Yet I wonder what a cate200l Convention Proceedings