Responding Faithfully To Generation X
Why Gen X Rejected The Church en Masse, What It Means to the Future of the Church & What We Can Do About It
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
The story of Generation X and its relationship with the church is not just an academic endeavor, but a very personal one. As a Generation X minister of the church, I am well aware that because of how this relationship has played out, the future of the church is unclear. Who will cover the duties and responsibilities of the church in the next decades if my generational cohort and the ones that come after are unwilling to reengage, because they are unable to see the value in what the church can be when approached with the love that Christ actually did teach and exemplify? How will this affect the lives and morality and souls of our children and grandchildren? Are church closings and consolidations the future, or is there something that can be done now that will introduce a new age to the church, one that will be more akin to what Christ and his apostles desired for it to be? (Taken from the Introduction to Chapter 5)
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The research, writing and analysis in the pages of this work show the story of how Generation X grew-up during one of the greatest periods of technological, social, political, economic and educational change in US history. Included in that story is how the greater percentage of them grew-up in the church, but then walked away en masse. Today, Generation X is the smallest percentage of Main Line and Catholic Church membership, while the overwhelming majority of church membership is made up of an aging population of Baby Boomers and Silent Generation folk. In ten year's time, what will be the state of the church when many of the current membership has passed on to eternal life, or are no longer able to do what it is that they're doing today? Generation X could well be the answer to much of the solution. Generation X is generally at a more comfortable place in their lives and are asking the questions about the meaning of their lives while considering issues of mortality. Yet at the same time, they're having now to care for parents, grandchildren, and for many Gen Xers, their own children still. They're busy and committed, but they're also spiritually hungry. Having had a relationship at one point in their lives, they're not completely foreign to what the church can be, but the ball is really in the church's court. How the church chooses to respond to Generation X could mean life, or church closure. It's a conversation that needs to take place, and that conversation begins here.
About the Author
After nearly fifteen years of working in overseas mission in the Middle East, Christopher Doyle felt called to pursue ordained ministry with the PCUSA. He therefore moved with his family to Dubuque, Iowa where he attended the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, graduating in 2009. Once he began to lead worship services in Iowa, he quickly saw the obvious that there were few if any folks sitting in the pews on Sunday mornings from his own generational cohort of Generation X. It was trying to grasp an understanding of this that lead him to focus his doctoral dissertation project on examining what and how this situation came about and what the church needs to do to rectify it.