There Arose a New Generation
By Pastor Ethan in Pastor's Column on April 8, 2024
My generation, Gen Z (born approx. between 1995 and 2010), can broadly be described as lost and confused. They are a generation primarily raised by smartphones, social media, and therapists, where they are taught that truth is subjective, God is an illusion, and their existence is simply a happy accident. They are told children are a burden to be sacrificed on the altar of self-advancement. They have been force-fed a delusion society calls ‘identity’ and encouraged to mutilate their bodies in pursuit of this delusion. In short, my generation is a generation that does not know Jesus Christ. They are sheep without a Shepherd. The result is not a generational ticking time bomb; instead, it is a full-scale nuclear meltdown, complete with far-reaching effects that, if left unchecked, will result in disastrous, unforeseen consequences.
The youth are the future, and like Lenin, we have sold our future to the devil.
To be clear, Gen Z is not a lost cause. Far from it, they are a tremendous battleground opportunity the American Church has largely abdicated to the cultural spirit of the age. The spiritual forces of wickedness in our world recognize the truth of what Vladimir Lenin once said, “Give me just one generation of youth, and I’ll transform the whole world.” The youth are the future, and like Lenin, we have sold our future to the devil. So, two questions arise: How did we get here? and What can we do?
The how is simple, though it requires honest self-examination. The book of Judges can be summarized by the phrase, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Jdg. 17:6 NKJV). But how did a people who experienced the mighty presence of God save them from Egypt and lead them through the wilderness come to reject Him wholesale? The answer can be found at the beginning of the account:
“There arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.” Judges 2:10 NASB95
Gen Z is a generation who does not know the Lord or the work He has done for America. The result is a culture where everyone lives ‘their truth’ and other lies. But who was responsible for equipping this generation? Who was it that raised them? Who was it that instilled in them their values, or lack thereof? Failure, it would seem, does not solely lie with Gen Z; it lies with every preceding generation before them. While they search for answers, which our godless culture readily supplies, we sit back and complain that the world has gone to hell in a handbasket.
The necessary response is also simple, but it requires action from spiritual muscles that the American Church and most parents have let atrophy. It requires husbands and fathers to assume their God-given role as spiritual leaders. It requires parents who want nothing more than to be a faithful link in the generational chain, passing down that which is good, true, and beautiful. It requires the Church to equip leaders who stand firmly on the inerrant Truth of God’s Word, which alone can supply the answers my generation so desperately craves. As for the leaders presently rejecting the authority of Scripture, we must confront them, desiring to see them return to the truth. If that fails, we must not hesitate to remove these cancers from their positions of authority in the Body of Christ.
The fate of our future, the next generation, depends upon our response. We must not shy away from any pain or discomfort we may experience as we act. It is necessary to push us into the hands of the living God, Jesus Christ, who desires nothing more than to hear His people cry out to Him for help. As is seen in the period of the Judges, whether we commit to action or inaction, He is faithful to respond. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote, “The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.” The choice is ours: will we fail or rise to meet the test?
