Authenticity
There is a great paradox at work in today’s culture relative to the value of authenticity. Without question one of the values of the NextGen (or Millennials, or Gen Y) is authenticity.
With their increased exposure to the broader world and the availability of instant information via the web, the NextGen can sniff out fakes with relative ease. Corresponding to this worldliness is a strong sense of irony. While they are committed to social values and participation, they exhibit less trust in authority and a sense of ironic aloofness.
In Søren Kierkegaard’s master’s thesis, On the Concept of Irony, he argues that leaders must avoid giving the same old pat answers to contemporary questions in order to facilitate the growth of the individual. He writes that we must master “the art of taking away” because he saw the problem of his generation as too much information rather than too little.[1] (Sound familiar?) Perhaps this concept explains the paradox described earlier.
With some reticence I quote one of our former students who told us what she was looking for in a boyfriend: “Someone who drinks a little, cusses a little and loves Jesus a lot.” Boomers who are reading this may be a bit shocked, but it captures perfectly the mild cynicism-the irony-of the NextGen. Above all, they say, be real with me.
As I think about Jesus’ way of being in the world, I think he understands.
[1] McDonald, William, “Søren Kierkegaard”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2009 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed).
About the author, Jeff Terrell
