Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World

In the words of 1970’s rock musician Steve Miller, time keeps on slipping into the future. As the parade of generations keep passing by, philosophers, sociologists and theologians desperately seek to make sense of what is happening with the inhabitants of planet earth. James Emery White, in this hopeful complement to The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated, maps out an accurate diagnosis of current American culture, offering practical advice to churches desiring to impact the up-and-coming Generation Z. Because of the rapidly changing culture, the Western Church seeking to engage and reach this group needs to study them in the same way they would in preparation to impact a culture across the ocean. The same language may be spoken, but beliefs, values and goals need translation. Like the Old Testament leaders of Issachar, today’s church must read the signs of the times and let wise conclusions inform plans to touch, reach and engage.In chapters one through three, White gives the bad news first. He describes the current state of American culture through the lens of history, and statistical data. Chapter one explores historic turning points, colored by rapid social changes in morality, politics and religion. Citing a number of historians and social commentators the claim is made that we now live at a major hinge point of post-Christian thinking and living that will require the Western church to adapt its strategy. Research on the “nones” reminds us that they are both the largest and fastest growing religious category in the United States. The author explains how forces of secularization, privatization and pluralization have pushed the “squishy center” of nominal people toward a secular mindset which indicates no religious affiliation.Chapter two offers a fascinating description of Generation Z, born during the years of 1995-2010, comprising a quarter of the United States population. They are described as; 1) Recession marked—deeply worried about the present, 2) Wi-Fi enabled—the internet-in-its-pocket generation, absorbing a daily average of nine hours of media, 3) Multiracial—the most racially diverse generation ever, 4) Sexually fluid—acceptance equals affirmation, their greatest value being individual freedom, and 5) Post-Christian—the first generation raised in a post-Christian context.Chapter three addresses some of the alarming trends of under-protective parenting which has led to the disappearance of childhood, and a tendency for this generation to grow older at a younger age. Because of the ever-presence of media influence, “who they see is who they want to be” with pornography and MTV providing the soundtrack for life (56). Generation Z is parented largely by “nones”, those claiming to be spiritual, yet not religious, without labels or affiliation. The daunting task ahead involves helping this generation bridge the gap between vast amounts of information with little wisdom to apply it, and few mentors to assist.Chapters four through eight are where the good news begins. He moves away from analyzing the problem toward actual solutions. Based on the new realities the church now faces, he maps out a new approach toward making an impact, in spite of the difficulties. Chapter four reminds us that “no conversation about reaching anyone, much less Generation Z, can proceed apart from the church”, which he defines using theological terms; one, holy, catholic and apostolic (74). He reviews some of the negative recent history of the church, noting that such movements as Fundamentalism and the Religious Right incurred more damage that good. A truly counter cultural church will not retreat into personal piety and good works, but diligently live out the Christ life, refusing to give up on influencing the post-Christian culture.Chapter five speaks to the voices granted to the church in communicating gospel truth. He describes the prophetic voice, which carries an admonishing tone to return to God, the evangelistic voice, which seeks to build bridges across cultural divides while calling people to a relationship with Christ, and the heretical voice, which distorts the gospel to the culture. In balancing these three voices, White challenges leaders to never jettison scripture in favor of using “self-fulfillment and self-satisfaction as the ultimate apologetic” (94). He urges the church not to capitulate to culture, allowing it to shape the message more than Scripture. The key to effective communication of the Gospel truth is translation rather than transformation.Chapter six addresses the need to rethink our strategy for evangelism based on the new reality of people’s receptivity and readiness to hear and receive the Gospel story (a one to ten scale). Therefore, evangelism becomes less an event, and more of a process, requiring churches and Christ followers to move from an Acts 2 proclamation approach, to an Act 17 apologetic approach. At Pentecost, Peter assumes basic religious foundations requiring little more than persuasion and a nudge to ‘close the deal’. His listeners were likely an eight on the readiness scale. On Mars Hill, Paul assumes spirituality without religious knowledge, beginning from a philosophical base in the context of what sounds like a relational conversation. The souls gathered on Mars Hill represent more of a two or three on the readiness scale.Chapter seven zooms in on the apologetic needed to reach Generation Z. Because of their spiritual illiteracy, they do not know what the Bible says regarding the issues over which they are deeply passionate. The resulting deep spiritual hunger drives them to fill the vacuum with exploration into the paranormal, spiritism, and the supernatural. White believes that these and other hot issues need to be addressed with biblical honesty. In this delicate venue the way we share the truth becomes as important as what we share.The final chapter of the book is extremely practical. White gives the six strategic decisions his church has made in order to reach Generation Z. In summary they are: 1) Be cultural missionaries—focus on translation of the Gospel message rather than transforming it, 2) Skew church young—hire, platform and acknowledge young people, 3) Target men—consider them in terms of music, message, vocabulary and style. “Get him, you get her. Get him and her and you get the family” (149), (4) Prioritize children’s ministry—if a ‘none’ family attends your church it could be a deal breaker, 5) Cultivate a culture of invitation—give people tools (and a reason) to invite their friends, 6) Disciple your mission—develop your discipleship around who it is you are trying to reach.The appendix offers additional practical examples of how Mecklenburg Community Church addresses hot topics like homosexuality, the supernatural, and the existence of God. These are issues of high relevance for Generation Z that can prove attractional and deserve treatment from a biblical perspective.Since White’s paradigm stems mainly from pastoring in a mostly white, suburban, upper middle class community, some would suppose that he adopts the homogeneous unit principle as a method rather than a demographic reality. Whatever the case, the evangelistic fruitfulness of his church speaks that he has definitely hit a nerve. Most churches today are getting smaller and older while “Meck”, the abbreviated church name, is getting larger and younger. They have reached a younger and younger demographic for the last five years running. White shares the secret sauce of their growth is being on mission. They adopt an outward focus on the unchurched that moves past projects like cleaning up the school-yard to strategically changing the way you communicate on the weekend.It is true that his particular approach to reaching Generation Z may have limited application to multi-cultural settings, or poor communities. Yet his approach seems highly effective at reaching unchurched young people in Charlotte, North Carolina. Basic strategy encourages churches to determine the makeup and receptivity of their community then develop their approach for outreach. Most mega churches have become effective by focusing on one niche of the population. While smart church methodology remains open to whomever God brings through the door, it must be adapted to the culture of each community. No matter how politically incorrect the homogeneous principle looks, the fact remains, that people are more comfortable and connect better with people like themselves. The principles of effective evangelism remain transferable to any setting whether homogeneous or multi-cultural.The strategy described by the author would qualify as a “seeker model”, although the label has become increasingly unpopular. Some conclude that he is advocating a watered down version of biblical truth to soften the message. However the sermons given at Mecklenburg Community Church are anything but lightweight. While the messages I have sampled are not deep expository Bible studies, they never scrimp on the prophetic voice he urges and never dodge the difficult passages. The messages contained in the appendices are honest, biblical and worded in a way that both a believer and unbeliever can understand.Critics of the seeker approach claim that churches are over focused on felt needs. Yet White replies, “If we are going to talk to someone and listen to someone and learn from someone [about how to build a church], let’s talk, listen, and learn from those who have not been Christians, much less churched. After all, they are the true mission field.” (147) Rather than design the church with a pop-psychoself help approach, White suggests working hard to translate the message not transform it.The author claims the lengthy catalogue of diagnoses and labels given to age groups should be discarded. “Drop everything and start paying attention to Generation Z, which now constitutes 25.9% of the United States population.” (37) Many books on the state of American culture do a thorough job of analyzing and diagnosing the increasing challenges of doing church effectively. Some passionately decry what is wrong with the church today yet leave the reader hanging, with discouraging bad news, offering few hopeful solutions. White presents a number of intelligent and practical suggestions concluding with an inspiring challenge to accept the call to become a church led by aggressive leaders who sacrifice the pleof the already convinced, to translate the Gospel to a rapidly changing unchurched culture.I believe that Meet Generation Z should be required reading for any Christian leader who seeks to connect, reach and disciple the upcoming people group among their own population. The mission field is here and the time is now.

This has been a game changer for me. Whites does a good job to bring you into why this generation matters and how different it is from the generations before it. He also points out that the characteristics that Mark Gen Z can be seen in previous generations. This is key to understand people living in this day in age. Great great book. Cant say enough about it to people are around me.

First, this is a great book for examining past and current Christian cultural trends, tendancies, goofs, and wins. My undergrad degree is in Sociology, so I very much appreciate that discipline being applied to Church culture. There is insight to be gained in this book. Also, Mr. White does not compromise on Biblical truths, nor does he withhold grace; any accusations of outright un-Christian commentary here regarding Gen Z is simply false. Chapters 1-7 are especially necessary and beneficial to the Body of Christ (that is, the Church). As our nation has shifted from Christianity being front-and-center to a pluralistic society (under the deceptive "Coexist" banner), many churches have been sidelined trying to figure out how best to reach the up-and-coming generations.While Mr. White and his church, Meck, lean more towards what I would consider the 'seeking-friendly' vibe, it is clear in this book that his passion and vision is for luring the unchurched on a Sunday morning - a vision underpinned by his methods. I have sat under his ministry at Meck in the past and this passion is in clear focus. But this book was clearly written for the Believer, the Church, and those with some Biblical literacy. Anyone else reading this book would likely think he was being harsh, though nothing could be further from the truth when one encounters his ministry in conjunction with the book (as I have) and understands God's hearts and methods Biblically speaking.Personally, I love this book. Nonetheless, I could only give it 4-stars because of Chapter 8... Mr. White spends so much time prior giving his reader insights into how to reach Generation Z, only to insult his most likely readers (MIllennials/ Church-goers) at the end. And, as others have mentioned, the end does read as if he is sharing a church business plan and saying that his way and his passion are the only ways to serve God and Gen Z appropriately (which is most unlikely - also Biblically!).This book frustrated me. I was so inspired and comforted by the first and main portion of the book and, then, ready to hurl it out of the nearest window at the last. When will we all learn to just trust God with our bit instead of trying to fancy it up and justify ourselves? God has clearly given Mr. White a passion to reach out to the younger generations. That is awesome. And, again, his insights in this book are worth noting! But it only speaks to the pride of humanity to then turn and insult those whom God has given a different part, a different gift, to play. If every church were like Mr. White's, I would never go again. I just can't. Yes, we are called to evangelize, but I still have yet to see scripturally where the gathering of the saints isn't supposed to be about the equipping and comforting of the saints (rather than entertaining the lost-and-sampling). But I'm sure this is an argument he has encountered endlessly, due to his own passion - no doubt, the reason for his pointed attacks at the end of the book.

Loved this book from beginning to end. Extremely well researched with great data points. But better yet, it's very practical and action-oriented, particularly the three sample sermons at the end that clearly illustrate how Pastor White uses his knowledge of this rising generations to connect and inspire belief in God and willingness to follow Christ.I tell everyone about this book and cannot say more. It is worth every penny.

Great stories and illustrations that drive home excellent points. The three sermons at the back of the book are worth the price alone.

As a youth pastor, I have been looking into Gen Z for a while now, trying to understand the culture and how to best reach this largest and most post-Christian generation. Meet Gen Z, is GREAT! Not only are we introduced to the generation, but James Emery White walks the reader through some really practical steps in understanding how to reach our Gen Z'ers. Far from simply entertaining Gen Z, White shows his heart in that he offers up ideas with how we can share the gospel, disciple, and work through apologetics with this largest cross section of our society. Church leaders must read this book and seriously consider how they are attempting to be and share Christ in a growing, Christ-less culture. Read, Meet Gen Z!