Becoming All Things to GenZ

1 Co 9.22b “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

A recent lecture led to some reading on the sociological phenomenon called GenZ (Generation Z), that is, those born between 1997 and 2014. (The dates are somewhat arbitrary.) Several articles track characteristics of “GenZers,” with the objective of marketing to them, understanding them, educating them, or ministering to them.

I’ll not repeat all the points these articles make, but to summarize briefly, GenZers are very comfortable with digital technology (no life experience without smart-phones, for example), are very independent, very secularized (have little to no framework of a Judeo-Christian worldview), and are ambitious to “make a difference” in the modern world.¹ The GenZer generation is the largest segment of the U.S. population as of 2016, having outstripped the Baby Boom generation with about 24.3% as opposed to 22.9% for us older folks.²

For Christians, one of the puzzles of evangelism is how to reach any generation with the gospel, and even more pressingly, how to reach the current generation. Culture seemingly changes faster than we can keep up. As soon as we think we’ve gotten “with it,” we find we’re at least one step behind. The communication gap is ever present.

Furthermore, Christians themselves aren’t isolated from their culture. No matter that Christian homes provide a counter-cultural environment for their children, nevertheless the forces of culture shape all of us and especially shape our children. I’m reminded of this constantly as I interact with my now young adult children. Surprisingly, the digital culture they experienced growing up gave them a wholly different cultural experience than I had. In many ways, they grew up in a foreign country to mine … and I provided many of the elements of that strange land they inhabit.

With our own young people, first, of course, there is an evangelistic impulse. God forbid that we should lose any of our little ones! Alas, that loss sometimes tragically befalls Christian parents and grandparents. We would see them all born again! However, there is a second impulse, beyond “mere Christianity.” We would also see them become disciples and disciple-makers, reproducing themselves in their children and among the homes and families of local churches where God enables them to serve.

How do we get there from here?

Christians advocate many different approaches. I think we can agree that we should be students of our culture, not as “consumers” for our own entertainment, but rather like the men of Issachar who “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chr 12.32). Understanding will dictate a certain amount of cultural accommodation in order to (hopefully) gain credibility leading to a thoughtful hearing of the gospel and ultimately to growth in grace through discipleship. Accommodation means embracing cultural change to some extent. For some, however, accommodation is wholesale and almost uncritical — adapting so much to the culture that it looks like conforming to the world rather than transforming it. Accommodationists often point to 1 Cor 9.22 as Biblical justification: “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

I ran across an article by Chuck Colson in the CSB Apologetics Bible, commenting on 1 Cor 9.22. In the article, he said, “No human can be indifferent to culture. The key question for the disciple isn’t whether to be involved in culture but how. Since Christ has been exalted as Lord, all culture must be put to use in a way that serves his interests and promotes his glory.”³ Colson is right on this point, and his question is the important question. How do we involve ourselves in any culture in order to communicate the gospel and train disciples?

The issue about how to be involved in culture must involve discernment about the good, bad, or neutral aspects of culture (if there are any neutral aspects!). In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul earlier spoke of his submission to Christ in all his efforts to “become all things.” He said that he adapted towards those without law (i.e. Gentiles), yet “being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ.” Paul clearly wouldn’t compromise his Christianity in order to reach his generation and neither should we. We can’t simply accommodate every aspect of culture or we lose our Christian identity. What good is an evangelism or discipleship that fails to identify with Christ?

Christianity is countercultural in every generation. When Paul preached through the Roman Empire, he contradicted a sexually permissive and perverse culture of idolatry. There could be no accommodation there, but as he considered the culture of his day he also sought to eliminate any needless scruples that might hinder the work. He resisted the imposition of Jewish culture on the Gentiles while at the same time participated in Jewish rituals for the sake of preaching to Jews.

In our times, we will not escape the digital revolution. Computers aren’t going away. This article lives digitally, and nowhere else — you won’t find it in a book or magazine. We are a part of the culture that shapes our GenZer children and grandchildren. Being part of the culture, however, doesn’t mean never confronting the culture.

An interesting observation about our digital children, the GenZers, was that Generation Z doesn’t look to books or elders (wise counselors) to get answers to their questions. They go online. They “google” it, or “ask Siri.” Certainly the vast store of information online is useful and even some of us old Boomers know how to do this. The challenge for evangelism and discipleship, however, is that we are going to call these young people to commit to finding life answers from a book, the Bible. Discipleship in the 21^st century is counter-cultural — as in every century since the cross.

Just as Paul became all things to all men, so we will have to adapt with our times, but not without law to Christ. That distinction is a critical evangelistic point.

Let’s be sure that we aren’t leaning so far into accommodating our culture that we find we can’t confront our culture with the gospel.

Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.

1. There is much more, see the articles cited for more information. [↩]
2. Perhaps there will be someone to pay our social security after all! [↩]
3. Charles Colson, “How Should A Christian Relate To Culture?” in Paul W. Barnett, “1 Corinthians,” in CSB Apologetics Study Bible, ed. Ted Cabal (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1436. [↩]