“Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture: Bridging Teen Worldviews and Christian Truth” by Walt Mueller

In his book, “Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture”, Walt Mueller invests a whole section to analyzing the emerging generation mission field (he calls the Millennial Generation or Generation Y), the second to grow up in a world driven by the emerging postmodern worldview. He provides some excellent insights:

· “For them the world is filled with questions, but very few answers. The cries rising out of their deep hunger and thirst are loud, very loud, if we listen, we’ll hear it in their music, books and films. We observe it in their choices and behaviors. They long to be “meaningfully connected to life.” But the complexities of their world have made it difficult for them to hear the good news – at least in the way the church is now “spreading” it – in a timely and understandable manner.” (18/19)
· We must listen….”we aren’t listening, and we don’t even know it!” (19) Kids do not feel heard. “The cost of losing our ears is great. Whoever takes interest and listen with both ears will be given the privilege of influence. God’s people are typically surprised not only to learn that our young are not listening to us but who they are listening to.” (25)
· “While all teens struggle at some level, teens who lack a distinctively biblical foundation and the security of a strong home face greater difficulty. Our world is populated by increasing numbers who bear the ugly marks of relational breakdown.” (20)
· Mueller points out that if we listen to the artists/songs that youth are listening to, we will hear their pain and disappointment. “Adults often fail to see such expressions as cries resulting from teens’ unmet hunger and thirst for God.” (22)
· Influencers have changed…no longer is the family, school, or church influencing teens’ lives. Influencers today are the media’s influences followed by friends/peers. “Youth and electronic media are dependent upon each other.” (26)
· “For young people, especially those who don’t already have a place to belong, media can serve as an escape from the cares, concerns and pains of life. The media gives them a voice that frees them from social neglect and the resulting silence. It can serve as a form of lament, much like the biblical psalms. At times it serves as a form of protest against victimization and oppression. For some it can actually become an addiction. And, of greatest importance to our discussion, media can serve as religion, especially where the church seems to have little or nothing to say.” (27)
· Our youth are hurting. Kids are hardwired to want to connect. “The desire for connections – human and divine – is undeniably present.” (37)

· “Adolescence is a crossroads. It’s a time marked by overwhelming change, numerous questions and a search for answers. Not sure which directions to take, the emerging generations are presented with confusing messages and options. Usually, the signposts they choose to follow are the most attractive, loud and convincing in response to their unspoken teenage cry of “Show me the way.” The choice is made easier when they see their peers moving en masse in one direction.” (80-81)
· The millennial generation (born after 1982) attributes are shaped by living in a rapidly changing world. They have common marks such as a lost sense of right and wrong, living without a moral compass. According to Mueller we may continue to see a rise in behavior driven problems and violence. Another mark of this generation is the cultural diversity, and the crumbling of racism and prejudice. Pluralism and tolerance all mark this generation, especially with a new openness to cultural diversity. Broken relationships also dominate and mark this generation. “Many of the Millennial children will never live in a home with both biological parents.” (94) They are media saturated, experience – and feeling-driven. Suspicious of truth, overwhelmed with options, live in a globalized youth culture, pervaded by violence, pushed, hurried and frazzled, materialistic, despairing and hopeless….and most important….crying out for redemption.