Generational Narcissism - A Few Brief Thoughts

Found this today. Thanks to Padraic Ingle for sharing it originally.

http://www.immersejournal.com/immerseblog/whats-your-theology-of-development/

A very good article. In my own ministry, I have certainly found this to be case. I preached last Sunday, not on the issue of narcissism, but particularly on the issue of entitlement. Perhaps they are two sides of the same coin. My assumption has been for many years that current teenagers/young adults did not start developing an undeserved sense of entitlement (or narcissism) on their own. It's not as if this started somewhere around 1990 out of the blue. They've been taught this behavior. I have found one of the best ways to combat these issues is not by whining about it, but by structuring ministry in such a way that it doesn't feed into the narcissistic/entitlement tendencies. You have to say, regularly, "This is not about you!" Most important, I believe, is that you don't build little kingdoms of young people. I was at a church a while back with absolutely wonderful space in their facilities for Youth. I'll admit, I was a bit jealous. The youth of that church had an entire wing to themselves! Who wouldn't want that? I'm not so sure it's healthy, though. I had the opportunity a few years ago to pursue building a new youth facility across the street from the church I currently serve. I rejected that proposal because I didn't think giving the youth that kind of separation would be healthy for their development. Instead, we ended up remodling space inside our main building. Our current Youth Room is fantastic, but it also requires our youth to be engaged with the rest of the congregation. Multi-generational ministry is critical. A healthy youth ministry will always bleed into a larger program of life-long formation. Young people grow into more responsible adults (and are more willing to take responsibility) when they are forced to interact with people older than them. As an interesting caveat to this, the current generation of millenials tend to get along really well with elderly folks. Is it because they have similar views on what it means to belong to something? To serve? To give? For whatever reason, mentoring possibilities are very rich when paring these two generations together.

Reflections on Steve Jobs

So I readily admit that this came out a bit cheesier than I had envisioned in my head. I think I would recind this entire article, except I'm sure it's already on it's way to print, so I might as well make it official and post it for all to see. So, yeah, I made a knee jerk comparison between Abraham and Steve Jobs. Yes, I realize now that he was a Buddist. What can I say? I should have shelved this one for a few hours before hitting send. Enjoy.

I was saddened to find out this week that Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computer, had died of cancer. He was 56 years old. I have no idea if he was a man of faith (though I generally assume people in positions like his are not), but I think there is something quite faithful about this man as exemplified in his life. Admittedly, I’m a bit sentimental about his passing. I feel like I grew up with Steve Jobs, alongside the personal computer, the internet, cell phones, and mp3 players. There are a couple things I take from the life of Steve Jobs that I think really do intersect with the Christian life in positive ways.

            Firstly, Steve Jobs was a visionary. Lately, I’ve been reading through the book of Genesis again. The story of Abraham is a fascinating one in which a man of unexceptional means is raised up to be a part of something so much bigger than himself. God spoke to Abraham and said, “Look up at the stars and count them. As many stars as there are in the sky, so shall be the number of your descendants.” The Christian life is very much about dreaming big dreams. We do not look upon the world simply as it is, but we look upon the world as that great work that God is doing. We are going someplace, and the dreams that we have in relationship to our God are so much bigger than anything else we ever could have dreamt alone.

            We need to dream big and see the possibilities for the future. There is so much brokenness in this world today; it is easy to simply throw up your hands and say, “I’m done! I have nothing to offer here!” With the hunger, war, violence, and deep-rooted sin that infects all of humanity, what can we possibly do? The number of Christians continues to decline in this country, and we are under greater and greater pressure to do more with less. But much like the prophets of old, there is a vision of a new day, a better world in which darkness truly turns to light and salvation is realized in our midst.

            So, yes, people like Steve Jobs can teach us something in this regard. Dream big dreams, not small ones. Look up at the stars, and try to count them. The possibilities are endless. The visionary, Steve Jobs, showed us how to find that imaginative spirit given to us by our creator and use it to inspire countless millions to strive for the greater things, to love the beauty of the infinite, and to never settle for good enough.

            Secondly, Steve Jobs showed us how to accomplish great things through the everyday and simple. Various people over the years have reflected on how intelligent Steve Jobs was, but always with the addendum that he surrounded himself with people even smarter than him. His real genius was in his ability to organize other people. If there was a job to be done, he never believed he was necessarily the one to do it, but his job was to find the person who could do it better than anyone else. He was an expert organizer who knew how to work in the midst of people in the everyday, common things. He built relationships; he encouraged young minds; he put teams together; he saw the simple, daily tasks as paramount to the overall mission of the company.

            So, too, we Christians know that it is most often in the simple and the mundane that we find the fruit of our mission. St. Paul reminds us that we are gifted individually yet for the interworking of the entire body. And through our daily labors, the Spirit of God is pulling us together to accomplish that goal which is in Christ Jesus. It doesn’t take a burning bush to change the world. It takes faithful people who are willing to engage in the simple things, everyday with conviction and commitment.

            I believe that the world lost a great figure in Steve Jobs. My prayer is for the repose of his soul that he may find the light of eternity. May we all give thanks to God for the gifts of vision and simple work.

Grace and peace