Generation X: What Makes This Generation Different?
By Jay Rogers
11/93
The LORD says to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand,
Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet."
The LORD will stretch forth Thy strong scepter from
Zion, saying,
"Rule in the midst of Thine enemies."
Thy people will volunteer freely in the day of Thy power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Thy youth are to Thee as the dew.
- Psalms 110:1-3 -
All over the world, young people are coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ in unprecedented numbers. In nations where there is exponential church growth, such as mainland China and the former Soviet Union, the vast majority of the converts to Christ are children, teenagers and young adults.
Throughout the centuries, reformers and revivalists have interpreted Psalm 110 as a prophecy referring to a great end time harvest among the youth of the whole world. Look out to the horizon in the morning as far as you can see - and there will be the dew blanketing the earth. That is how it will be with this generation. Everywhere you look you will see the youth volunteering freely to serve God as part of an end time army of prophets.
Other scriptures confirm God's promise to bring revival among the youth: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, your sons and daughters shall prophesy ... your young men shall see visions" (Joel 2:28). Moves of the Holy Spirit which characterize revival and spiritual awakening are always most evident among young people. Modern day surveys indicate that up to 85 percent who get saved are converted before age 30, and most people before age 25. Young people are the kindling which helps to set the fires of revival. In every generation, God has been faithful to bring a revival somewhere in the world among young people.
The 'Boomers and the 'Busters
The younger generation of Americans, those under age 30, are different from the generation that preceded them. The popular media have termed these two generations: the Baby-boomers and the Baby-busters. The Baby-boomer generation are the sons and daughters of World War Two veterans born from 1946 to 1962. The Baby-busters are the children of the Baby-boomer generation. Even the secular media have noticed that there is something unique about this generation. The have also been termed "Twenty-somethings" and "Generation X" in popular magazines.
It is no coincidence that this generation has come on the scene at the present time. The whole world is in a state of transition. As we close out the millennium, entire nations are in a state of upheaval. The social, economic and political landscape of the world is fast changing. It is generation that has come of age "for such a time as this."
Generation X
This new generation is comprised of individuals with different ideas, who are as equally bouyed by promising opportunities as they are weighted down with problems. It is this generation, according to many youth experts, who have the greatest potential to attain greatness.
Studies have shown that there has been an explosion of entrepreneurialism by those 30 and younger. They are taking the entrepreneurial route first rather than going to corporate America. Economic adversity defines this group more than any other factor. Campus hiring is down as well as the median earnings for this age group. Necessity is the main reason why they are striking out on their own.
The computer revolution is the prime factor that makes this possible. While the older generation were the first to be brought up around television, Generation X were the first to be brought up with computers. Computers have so changed our culture, how we obtain information, how we do everything we do, that computer illiteracy in our age is akin to print illiteracy of past generations.
Twenty-somethings tend to be more confident in their abilities to work with and develop new technologies. Baby-busters often act like they know more about everything than the Baby-boomers. This aggravates the older generation to no end, because in many respects it is true. Thus they are often perceived to be arrogant by people just a few years older. This perceived arrogance is an unredeemed gifting that will be transformed by God into a boldness to do great exploits. This is a generation set apart by God to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
A World-Wide Phenomenon
The emergence of Generation X is not something confined to American culture, but is occurring worldwide. There is a global network of young people who have been around computers their entire lives. They are able to begin businesses faster and run them cheaper. An above average 20-year-old, who is literate with video, audio and the written word has more potential to change the world than many corporations.
Coupled with the worldwide revival that God has predestined for this generation, their potential to change the world will explode into reality. The people who are chosen for this time will be revolutionaries. Those who are destined by God to be a part of this movement will be on the vanguard of a new era of renaissance and reformation.
Among our generation are some of these rare individuals who have a revolutionary message who can solve many of the world's problems and who can also relate to their generation in a relevant way. This new breed of Christians will be pioneers of new media technologies. They will utilize every new medium available to bring their prophetic message to the entire world.
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