Inside the Soul of a New Generation

Generation X. Busters. The Lost Generation. The Fatherless Generation. These are the catchphrases used to describe that elusive and mysterious generation of 46 million Americans born between 1965 and 1980. More than that, these are our children, our neighbors, our friends, and fellow employees. Tim Celek and Deiter Zander have learned through years of experience that to win this generation of young people, you have to fight harder for credibility, and you have to love harder to overcome their pasts. But they have also found that reaching them is well worth the effort. Inside the Soul of a New Generation offers a fascinating, inside look at the unique forces that shape this misunderstood generation and shows how pastors, parents, and Baby Boomers of every stripe can minister to their spiritual needs. From practical ways to reach out to Busters and build powerful, Buster-friendly churches, to creating a vital community and empowering Busters for leadership, Celek and Zander show that this generation is not only reachable, but has the potential to effect positive changes both in the church and in the world.

Chapter 1Who Are the Busters?Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.Psalm 71:17-18Margaret watched scornfully as Jenny and Jeff laughed, hooted, and hollered as they careened like bearings in a tilted pinball machine across the grounds of the youth summer camp.Normally, Margaret wouldn't have flicked an eyebrow at such activity at the camp kids are supposed to have fun, after all but this brother and sister weren't kids, they were young adults. 'Why don't they grow up and act their age?' Margaret thought to herself.Jenny and Jeff were friends of Margaret and her family. They had grown up in an evangelical home that, like about half the marriages in this country, imploded in divorce. To some extent, Jenny and Jeff had been reeling ever since. Margaret and her husband regularly opened up their home to young people with various hurts and needs, and the guests (usually in their late teens and early twenties) were always quite curious and a bit amazed at what a stable home looked like and how it functioned. Jenny and Jeff were two such onlookers.Margaret accompanied them on their impromptu 'road trip,' a visit to the camp they had enjoyed as children. The nostalgic surroundings unveiled a side of them that Margaret hadn't seen before. It was cute at first, but then she started to get annoyed. She was about to say something, but then stopped short when the realization splashed her like a camper's water balloon: 'They're acting like this because they're going back to a time and place where they felt safe. A time when their world was whole. A time they haven't known since.'Margaret shared that story with us at one of the seminars we've conducted on the so-called 'Baby Busters' (also labeled 'Generation X' by many in the media), and it captures quite clearly some of the problems that the next generation has been quietly grappling with as it comes of age. And that age has been a long time coming.DEMOGRAPHICSWho are the Busters? As we shall see, this group really is more of an attitude than a definitive demographic bracket. And surprisingly, this attitude seems to be shared, in most respects, by both male and female Busters. Buster traits appear to transcend gender. Here's how the generational breakdown looks: Seniors (born before 1925), Builders (1925-1944), Baby Boomers (1945-1964), Baby Busters (1965-1980), and Blasters (born after 1980). Thus, for our purposes, the Baby Buster generation consists of the 46 million people born in the U.S. between 1965 and 1980.Forty-six million is not a small group. In fact, the Busters are the second-largest generation in history after the 72-million-strong Boomers. However, due to the sharp decline in birth rates, which began around 1963, they were named Baby Busters.We use the term Buster because it not only describes the post-Boomer demographic reality, but also because it describes the attitude of this particular generation. When you think of a 'boom,' you think in terms of something that's expanding and moving forward like a 'boom town' filled with potential. That's how many Baby Boomers have always considered their world. But a lot of the Busters see their world as busted, as broken.The Buster generation is the first in many generations that is not inheriting a lifestyle superior to that of their parents, and the Busters harbor a lot of resentment because of that. In many Busters' eyes, the economy has been trashed, leaving an enormous national debt that the Busters will get the bill for. Unemployment among Busters is dangerously near Depression-era levels. The sexual revolution spawned in the '60s is shot through with the ravages of AIDS. The 'tune in, turn on, drop out' drug experiment has twisted into a spiraling cyclone of crack and violence. The 'disposable society' has bequeathed environmental chaos, a land of landfills, and toxic Superfund cleanups. No wonder that U.S. News and World Report dubbed Busters 'The Fix-It Generation.' There's a lot that needs fixing. There's a lot that's busted.Busters, say Neil Howe and Bill Strauss in their seminal book, 13th Gen, have experienced 'the betrayed expectations of a youth world that went from sweet to sour as they approached it.' How sour can it be for some kids in the next generation? Howe and Strauss outline a pretty bleak house in one paragraph:Every day, over 2,500 American children witness the divorce or separation of their parents. Every day, 90 kids are committed to foster homes. Every day, thirteen Americans age 15 to 24 commit suicide, and another sixteen are murdered. Every day, the typical 14-year-old watches 3 hours of TV and does 1 hour of homework. Every day, over 2,200 kids drop out of school. Every day, 3,610 teenagers are assaulted, 630 are robbed, and 80 are raped. Every day, 1,000 unwed teenage girls become mothers.1Those are not ideal conditions for developing the life skills and maturity needed for succeeding in relationships and the workplace. One would think that their elders, cognizant of the difficulties the Busters have faced, would be sympathetic and helpful, but that's often not the case. Increasingly, in the media and in social situations, the Busters are the targets of jokes, complaints, and slanderous comments.How are Busters responding to the busted condition of the world they are inheriting and how do they feel about prevailing attitudes toward their generation? Sometimes they respond with anger. Other times with apathy a shrug of the shoulders and a quiet 'whatever.' But we've noticed an increasing amount of creative thought and energy being directed toward developing new ways of relating, new ways of creating, and new ways of addressing the brokenness that surrounds them. So, although we refer to them as Busters, the future holds the hope that in time, much of their world will be less 'busted' than it is now.