Gen Z: what now… and where do we go from here?
If there was a prize for the number of key people you’ve influenced before you are 18, Greta Thunberg would probably be a strong contender. She has had an extraordinary time in the last year, speaking at major conferences, going to key places, and meeting so many important world leaders. It’s sometimes hard to remember she will only be 18 later on in 2020. She is part of the Gen Z generation.
The large numbers of people born after the end of the Second World War, especially in the US and the UK, caused the phrase ‘baby boomer’ to be popular for a while, quickly shortened to just ‘boomer,’ and usually taken for simplicity as those born between 1945 and 1963. Those coming afterwards were far fewer in number; they ‘stopped the boom’, or ‘busted’ it, and so for a while were called the ‘baby busters’. This is a disparaging title, however, and when Douglas Coupland published his book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture in 1991 his phrase instantly stuck and they became ‘Gen X’ (born 1964 to 1982) from then on.
Lessons from a three-hour church service
It's sometimes said that culture is like a river. To fully appreciate its flow, you need to get in it. I had the privilege of putting this into practice recently when I visited a church with a predominantly Nigerian membership.
Rather than observing from a distance, I got to swim in the stream of their worship. It highlighted several ways in which my own multi-ethnic church values certain things differently. This doesn't automatically mean either set of practices is better or worse. But the customs reveal the creeds underneath. Experiencing the differences first-hand helped me sense what was going on under the surface.