Six Things the Emerging Generation Needs from the Established Generation
There's been a lot of study into how Christian professors integrate faith into their teaching, but a new study examines what the students themselves find most compelling and memorable about their professors' faith.*
The study was done of psychology students at Christian colleges, but I think the results are generalizable to the relationships between established leaders and emerging leaders.
The researchers identified 23 different things that professors do to make the faith real to students. Of these, six seemed to emerge as more significant than the others. I'll list each of these six, followed by questions that the emerging generation of Christian young adults are asking.
Six things the established generation must possess to pass the faith to the next generation:
1. A firm commitment to Christian beliefs
The emerging generation is asking: "Do you really believe this?"
2. Evidence of ongoing process in personal
relationship with God
The emerging generation is asking: "Does this matter to you personally enough that it is a source of constant growth?"
3. A well developed Christian worldview
The emerging generation is asking: "Are there genuinely good reasons for believing that God's worldview applies to every area of life?"
4. Openness to differing points of view
The emerging generation is asking: "Are you defensive or resentful? Or have you carefully listened to others before forming your views?"
5. Richness of Christian insights and wisdom
The emerging generation is asking: "How does an understanding of God's truth enable us to see the world more clearly?"
6. Strength in the unchanging wisdoms of our faith
The emerging generation is asking: "Is your faith just one part of your life, or is it the thing that gives you strength to live in every area of your life?" I'd love to know what you think about these observations. You can e-mail me at jeff@passingthebaton.org*Ripley et. al,
"Pilgrim's Progress," Journal of Psychology and Theology, 2009, v. 37,
n. 1, pp. 5-14
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