Right now, my mind is working overtime to make a connection. It's still in the "vague and hazy" stage, much too early to write about it publicly, and yet that's what I'm about to do. Writing helps me see connections, so I'm going to unfurl the words from my brain and see what comes of it. Feel free to stick around and watch.
- No matter how optimistic and grateful I am, our world seems to me to be violent, sick, hurting, hopeless, messed up.
- Jesus is the answer. He is our hope.
- Christians know that Jesus is the answer.
- Christians are known for what we stand against, not what we stand for. We are not seen by the masses as people who have found the cure to "the malignancy of the soul" (I'm quoting Kathie Lee Gifford here, who hit it out of the park in her tribute to Billy Graham on the Megyn Kelly show).
- Billy Graham has died. The most well known voice of the gospel, the most respected messenger of the good news of saving grace, is gone. I don't see anyone ready to step into his place.
- The next generation, called Gen Z, is the first completely digitally native generation in the history of the world. They have never known life without the Web, iPhones, social media, and universal connectedness.
- They know how to mobilize support for their cause, as evidenced by the survivors of the Parkland shooting.
- They know how to communicate and use technology to their advantage.
- Some of these Gen Zers--many of them--know the hope of Christ. They've found Him, they believe Him, they're all in with Him.
- Many of these Christian Gen Zers have been raised by very intentional parents. My parents didn't have to be intentional. They grew up in a society where "everyone's basically a Christian," and they assumed that was true as I was growing up. That wasn't the case, but evidence to the contrary was not strong enough to drive them to intentional discipleship. If we were "discipled" at all, it was by Oprah and Judy Blume.
- Gen Zers have grown up in a much less "Christian" world. Not only are Christian views not the norm, they're pretty much considered the enemy of the norm.
- As a result, many Gen Zers have grown up being taught to know, explain, and defend their faith in a way previous generations have not.
- Jesus is captivating.
- God gave us the Holy Spirit and left us in charge of captivating others with the good news of Jesus.
- Are Christians living out a captivating faith? Are we holding out the good news to those who are hungry for it? Or are we distracted by political issues and our own internal squabbles?
- Will the next generation be different? Will they be able to communicate the hope of Christ, leveraging technology and global connectedness, armed with a deep knowledge of biblical truth, in a way no one's ever seen before?
- Will there be not one "Billy Graham" in the future, but a connected, mobilized, hope-offering network of millions?
God is leading me to pray about all of this. To pray for my children, of course, but also to pray for their friends, and to pray for the hundreds and thousands of kids who are pre-teens, teens, and young adults right now. I pray for a new, special outpouring of the Holy Spirit to fall on them. I pray they will be courageous, confident, and captivating in sharing the Good News. And I pray for revival like this world has never seen before, revival that would make Billy Graham stand in awe.
If you can see some connections in all of this, will you pray with me?
