25 Is the New 45

“This is the way we’ve always done it, and we’re going to continue to do it this way!” That’s the culture of the church and the baby-boomers have done NOTHING to change that, in spite of all our high hopes WE had when WE were 25.

A couple of thoughts for the church about young leaders, from a young leader:

Allow us to lead. Give us authority as well as responsibility; we’re often given the latter without the former, which only leads to everyone being frustrated. Listen to our voice, even when it’s wrong and needs guidance. We won’t mature until someone is willing to hear us.

Evaluate competency, not age or experience. There are plenty of gifted leaders in their 20s, and equally plenty of mediocre or poor leaders in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. Look at maturity, teachability, and gifting over and above age. Understand that leadership doesn’t equal “loud extrovert” or “program director.”

Mentor young leaders. Have a paradigm that looks at high school students, college students, and young adults through the lens of leadership and discipleship. Be willing to take the time to pour into young people, facilitating and drawing out their strengths and passions.

My two cents.

You nailed it on that comment Joel. Well done.

I think you are right, they (or should I say we) do not have to wait, but it might take them (us) that long to figure out what we want to do.

I had a friend ask me yesterday how I figured out what I want to do at such a young age? I had no clue what my answer was nor did I know that I was doing what I wanted to do. It sure seemed to him that I had found my sweetspot, but I didn’t feel that.

Your musings are interesting though. And I agree, you do not have to wait any more, the time is now.

I do often wonder if many in older generations view this shift as a bad thing. They may think that most 20-somethings are not able to lead well. In fact, Zuckerburg does come off as an extremely immature man, while being very smart and shrewd. So even though culture has generally shifted, it doesn’t mean everyone within culture welcomes that shift as a positive thing.

i don’t make it into the 20-somethings field anymore.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccckkkkkkkkkkk!!! this post makes me want to cry

God always called the young folk. joseph & david were about 13 when God called them. samuel was a boy when God first called him. mary was a teenage mama. and Jesus..well He was 30 when He rocked the world.

there’s a pure naivety and passion that can be found in the young… a passion that takes Jesus at His word. that’s why He loves using the younger generation because they dont have much to lose and are willing to be firebrands. the older you get, the more responsibilities you have (like a wife, children, etc)..so you can’t be as “radical” as you once were.

this should also teach us (30′s & 20-somethings) and remind us to not overlook the teenagers and the youth of today. we should do our best to mentor, impart biblical disciplines and show them love.

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tyler Braun. Tyler Braun said: New blog post on 20-somethings changing the world and how it effects the local church: http://bit.ly/fI1o3W [...]

well, i’m definitely a huge advocate of the passion our generation carries. not only so – but we’re a generation of dreamers and i like to push people into “going for it,” no matter how old or young you are. our adventure starts from birth and our epic life – is meant for now…which means that if there’s something you want to do, to accomplish- do it. don’t wait, don’t calculate – go for it.

i say all that to note that the church (as a whole) needs to push their young their people in creativity and active living more often. there is definitely and explosion of churches trying to do that – but there are still many –both churches, parents, and others– who’s generations still push working up the ladder. certainly there is some value in that – but Patricia is right: look at our biblical heroes: all under the age of 35 – and some great men/women who lived to be very old and con’t with what they started so young.

i know that i am where i am – b/c my youth pastors (who are now great friends, mentors and family to me) pushed me into living a “limitless life.” he and his wife are now at 40 and they’ve been youth pastors, business owners, – he’s a film maker, producer, a play write and an published author. – this is the kind of life i am inspired by -a dream that pushes me to accomplish great things now…and it’s possible.

i think it would become more possible for so many more young people with the right mentors and elders to help them. young people are caught in the middle of churches that don’t encourage to live adventurous – but then are lost w/o any guidance and development of those dreams when they have nothing…so it’s a catch 22 and they need a balance of both – so they can accomplish great things

I think it obviously warrants that we challenge them to do more and to do it when they’re younger. I heard Gabe Lyon (unChristian guy) talk about how his son wanted to help kids in Africa. So they raised funds from people and went and bought legos (and gabe made up the difference) and put a handful of pieces in ziploc bags. then they sent them over to africa with a friend of his. Here you have a kid in elementary school, way younger than 26, changing a part of the world.

Good thoughts, Tyler. I ask, tongue in cheek, isn’t this the same generation that refuses to move out of their parents homes? They practically brag about it!

I am glad there is opportunity to succeed no matter one’s age, but I sure hope people don’t hang their hat on this. Rather like buying a lottery ticket, I think. For every Zuckerburg out there, I have met hundreds (if not thousands) of startup folks that can barely afford a pack of Top Ramen. It still takes a helluva lot of hard work to succeed, it’s not just handed out freely.

That said, I love entrepreneurial thinking and effort and hope it continues in all ages!

Now get off my lawn, you darned kids!

All great points Matt. That is one overlooked thing about my generation. Many want to change the world, few want to put in the sweat.

I think America in general considers anybody over 30 as old.

I got an offer for an AARP membership discount the other day and I’m not even close to 45!!

I personally think often times an extra strand of gray hair symbolizes an extra ounce of wisdom and experience…

(by the way I have two strands…so I’m two ounces smartier than some of y’all).

Yonas…if that’s the case, than I’ve got many, many ounces of wisdom and experience on my head, and I’m not even 30 yet!

Good post, Tyler. I’m not sure if, historically, it’s all that unique that people our age are doing big things that we think are normally only done by older folks. But I do think it is more noticeable these days, most notably because we live in a culture that, especially since the 1950s, has been actively attempting to prolong adolescence and delay maturity – so we’re delaying marriage, taking longer to finish up college degrees, living with our parents for much longer, as Matt said above. And so our culture has this idea that you won’t really do anything big until you’re mature enough, which is in your 30s or 40s.

Another factor that’s worth considering, I think, is one that James Davison Hunter addresses in his book, To Change the World. He notes that cultural changes are usually not the effort of one person, but are the result of one person doing whatever it is he does in a cultural milieu and context that creates the conditions he needs for his change to be effective. So, Luther, for instance, didn’t cause the Reformation on his own, but there were all kinds of conditions that made it possible – the political scenario of the day, a population fed up with the abuses of the Catholic Church, the Renaissance and the recovery of Greek and Hebrew studies, and so on.

All that being said, I don’t think that should discourage us from taking on leadership roles and make concerted efforts to do something to make the world a better place!

I hope the implication of my second paragraph was obvious, but I meant to add that part of the success of guys like Zuckerberg is that they live in a time and cultural context that made their work possible. Same with guys like Tomlin, and so on.

I understood what you were getting at there. I think you’re onto something and definitely “young” people have made an impression on history before, this isn’t totally a new thing. At the same time there aren’t really any barriers to someone young doing something significant anymore. In some ways the internet is the great leveling of the field.

I also agree with what you are saying about taking advantage of a cultural need. Zuckerburg took advantage of a society that wanted to use the internet to stay connected. He gave them a way.