?What does it mean to be a Christian?” The speaker posed this question to the audience and immediately, you could see minds start to churn with all the answers – the Sunday school answers, the philosophical answers, the theological answers – and so on.
But the speaker chose to take us in a different direction, a generational one. To summarize, when this question was posed to different generations, they gave vastly different answers.
The youngest generations mirrored the phrases they heard presumably at Sunday school and hopefully at home: “Love God.” “Be kind to people.” “Be God’s child.”
The next generations, tweens and teens, described being a Christian through actions: “Following Jesus.” “Going to church and reading the Bible.” “Believing in God.” “Being a good person.”
The adult generations answers more theologically: “Belief that Jesus the Son of God, that he was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again.” “Someone who has repented of sins and is saved.” “A follower of Jesus, a disciple who believes Jesus is Lord.”
Developmental theorists would tell us that these answers reflect a person’s movement from concrete thinking towards abstract thinking. In James Fowler’s faith development theory, it’s the movement from the Intuitive-Projective Faith stage to the Individuative-Reflective Faith stage. In other words, these answers reflect our growth not only physically and cognitively but also spiritually and emotionally.
Here’s the thing.
We can’t force someone who is in one stage to fully grasp and understand another stage just by pronouncing something to be correct or right or true.
Why is this important?
Since we understand what it means to be a Christian in vastly different ways based on our developmental stages, we simply cannot assume that everyone understands what it means to be a Christian the same way and negate the avenues through which a person lives out their faith.
This has become more and more apparent to me as I work with churches in the arena of connecting generations. I tend to work most directly with adults who are in the later stages of faith maturity and developmental growth. They very much define what it means to be a Christian in theological terms, based on belief systems and doctrinal understandings. It is not uncommon for me to be speaking with a pastor or leader who says something like, “I am all about helping the poor and supporting the marginalized, but I don’t think social justice should be a central focus in the church. We should focus on discipleship and spiritual formation.”
What they are missing in this view is that for an entire generation of people in their church, the work done in social justice movements IS discipleship and spiritual formation. Their definition of Christianity is solidly based in action, in doing, in participating in a hands-on way with the work of God in the world.
When all we offer is classes, programs, meetings, and study groups, there’s an entire generation who says, “Is this really what being a Christian is? Where is the opportunities to do something, to make a difference in this world, to BE a Chrisitan?”
Conversely, some churches lean so far into the works of service arena, that the opportunity to learn and grow spiritually and theologically is all but lost in all of the doing. The chance to learn about God and discuss Scripture together, to grow in our understanding of who God is and what we believe, is valuable and necessary as well.
Like most intergenerational approaches, this cannot be an either/or scenario. We are the body of Christ, together, and therefore, what is means to be a Christian isn’t defined by one generation or one perfect theological response. God is speaking to each of us where we are developmentally and spiritually and as such, we need ways to live out our discipleship in our faith community.
In my denomination one of our core values is “Witnessing to the World” and the description states, “We value an active and loving witness for Christ to all people.” I recently tested my theory about generational responses the first question by asking different generations of my denomination to describe how we live out this particular core value. Not surprisingly, at least to me, many of the adult generations (Gen X & Boomer) said things like “Sharing the good news of Jesus with our friends and neighbors” and “Telling people about Jesus” whereas the younger adult generations (Millennial & Gen Z) said things like, “Serving the poor and marginalized” and “Joining God on mission in the world” and “Speaking up for those without a voice.”
None of these answers are “wrong.” All of these answers reflect generational differences and ways of understanding God and others. But if we only lean towards one side or the other, we are missing the full expression of what it means to “witness to the world.”
What does it mean to be a Christian? My answers have changed of the years as I’ve grown and matured. I’m grateful I had a way to live out what that meant in the various churches I’ve attended. Let’s seek to help each disciple, older or younger, grow in their faith and experience what it means to be a Christian.
ReFocus Reflections Interview Series Debuts September 3 with Kaitlynn Scheiss
ReFocus Reflections features 30-minute interviews packed with practical tips, tricks, and resources on relevant topics for intergenerational ministry. Each episode brings you insights from esteemed guests including biblical scholars, practitioners, and ministers such as Kaitlyn Scheiss, Dr. Carmen Imes, Dr. Henry Zonio, and many more.
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About the Founder of ReFocus Ministry
Christina Embree is the founder and director of ReFocus Ministry. She holds a masters in ministry focused on Children, Youth, and Family Ministry and a doctorate in spiritual formation with a focus on age segregation and intergenerational ministry.
In addition to coaching churches of multiple denominations and traditions all around the globe, Christina serves as the Minister of Generational Discipleship for the Great Lakes Conference of the Brethren in Christ and as Next Gen pastor at Open Door Church in Lexington, Kentucky.
She is widely recognized as a speaker and author in the areas of generational discipleship, intergenerational ministry, and family ministry. As the mother of three children, she is familiar with the challenges of faith at home and pastoral ministry. She along with her husband Luke share a love for the church, their community, and the global work of peace and restoration through Jesus.
Interested in having Christina visit your church, speak at your conference, or coach your team?
Christina speaks on a wide range of topics related to children, youth, and family ministry with a unique focus on connecting generations for discipleship within your church. Her personalized approach allows you to pinpoint the needs of your community and gain the insight that you are looking for. Whether this is a volunteer team training and pastoral staff meeting or a ministerial conference, her experience and knowledge will help you determine the next step forward in creating lifelong disciples.