Millennials Need to the Old Now

Blog: Millennials Need to be Old Now

MILLENNIALS NEED TO BE OLD NOW

May 6, 2024

by Mitchel Plaisted – A Millennial

According to the Pew Research Center,”anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is considered a Millennial.” This means that by the end of this year (2024), the youngest Millennial will be 28 years old, and the oldest Millennial will be 43. With this in mind, I find it interesting that most media and press I encounter still treat Millennials as part of “the youth.”

I believe there are two primary reasons for our seeming refusal to see Millennials as a generation of “adults.” The first is the reluctance of the older generations to let go of power. The second is the incompetence of Millennials. I also believe that if the underlying issues causing this phenomenon are not addressed, the consequences for civilization could be catastrophic(usatoday.com)(pewresearch.org).

MINISTERS ARE AGING

This train of thought was brought to mind recently when reading the April 20th issue of the Langstaff Letter. The point about the age of ministry leaders caught my attention, and I started to look into the study. As I read through the referenced article by Ministry Watch, I noted the title: “Over Half of Christian Ministry Leaders are Over Age 60 – As ministry leaders age, succession planning is key.” In fact, the majority of the text was about the importance of “succession planning.” The author (Roberts) made the case that for ministries to continue operating, they need to begin planning how to pass the work onto the younger generations.

To me, it seems that transferring responsibility to the younger generations is perhaps not happening at a healthy rate. The same Ministry Watch survey found that of the executives of the top 1,000 Christian ministries in the USA, not only were over half of them over 60, but over 90% were over 50, and 0% were between the ages of 31 and 40. This means that according to Ministry Watch, there are almost no Millennials leading the top 1,000 ministries in the nation(ministrywatch.com).

CONGRESS IS AGING

This is not only an issue in the Church. We can know this by looking at the age of our political leaders. Before 2000, the average age for the US Senate was largely below 60 years old. However, since then, we have seen a steady rise, up to 64 years old for our current Senate. This is part of a rise in median age that has been happening since the 1980s. There have also been similar changes in the House of Representatives, although their median age has remained lower than the Senate (nbcnews.com).

HOLDING POWER

It does seem as if the older generation is holding on to power. If you look at the last five presidents of the United States, all but one was born in the 1940s. Yes, for the last 30 years, we have only had one president who was not born in the 1940s (britannica.com). The most recent was 78 at his inauguration. This is in contrast to the preference of most Americans that a President be in their 50s, according to a Pew Research survey (pewresearch.org). It is also interesting that, over the history of our country, most of our presidents were in their 50s when they were inaugurated. However, this trend of 1940s presidents will not likely change this year as both probable candidates were born in the 1940s. Unless something unexpected happens, a younger generation will not take up the presidency for another five years.

INCOMPETENCE AND BLAME

Some Millennials may disagree, but I think it is safe to say that we are a self-described incompetent generation. Just look at the rise of the word “adulting.” It has become a popular word among Millennials (and Gen Z) to describe doing “adult things.” Apparently, millennials view doing adult things as a foreign concept, and the activity needs its own word (theconfusedmillennial.com). I do believe that the older generations have held on to power longer than in the past. I also believe that part of the reason is that the younger generations are largely incompetent.

I think a big part of why Millennials are incompetent is that they are reluctant to take up responsibility. Perhaps it is because of how fast technology is changing the world, making it hard to know how to build a stable life. Perhaps it is because being a victim is praised in our current culture. Perhaps it is something else. Regardless, until Millennials learn to take responsibility, they will remain incompetent.

Even if I am wrong and Millennials are not incompetent, it is clear that they are not achieving the milestones of stable jobs, marriage, having kids, or home ownership at the same rates as previous generations. Some may blame the Millennials’ incompetence or failure to thrive on past generations. After all, Millennials were raised by older generations, and the society that they are having such a hard time navigating was in part crafted by the leaders of the past. Others may blame the Millennials for not listening to the wisdom of their elders. After all, we have come a long way from smashing things with rocks. Civilization is pretty cool, and the ways of our forefathers helped get us here. Perhaps if the Millennials had taken heed of what worked before, they might be better off today (forbes.com)(msn.com)(nas.org).

At the end of the blame game, I find two truths.

Most of the statements of blame in both directions are probably at least somewhat true.
Focusing on mistakes that others or our past selves have made will not improve the present or the future.

WHY THIS MATTERS

So, a generation is taking a bit longer to figure out how to be adults. So what? Well, the truth is that it will have serious consequences for the future. There are things that are better to do when you are younger. Learning, for example. It is much easier to learn when you are younger. In the past, we treated High School as a place where the youth would learn a bit of everything and then begin a career or head to college with a specific path in mind after that. Today, I meet more and more young people who have no clear path. It is okay if you do not know what you want to do with your life at 18. However, it is not conducive to a flourishing society if the majority of our young people have no idea until 28. At that point, there is less neuroplasticity to aid in learning the skills necessary to follow that path (psychologytoday.com)(brown.edu).

Another thing that is harder when you get older is having children. This is due to both fertility as well as the energy required to raise children. A healthy society should be conducive to the bearing of children during our population’s 20s (medicalnewstoday.com).

Marriage is also extremely important. According to Statista, only 44% of Millennials were married between the ages of 23 and 38 (statista.com). This number was over 50% for the previous three generations and up to 81% for the Silent generation (pewresearch.org). If you think the elderly care shortage we have faced in recent years is bad, just wait until the mostly unmarred Millennial generation is 75 years old, likely alone with no family to care about them.

For the sake of understanding, I have referred to Milennials as “the younger generation.” However, as the youngest Milennials will be 28 years old this year, we need them to stop being young single people and become married couples with kids, a job, and the wisdom to flourish. We need Milennials to stop being youth and become old people. The future of civilization depends on it.

WHAT WE OUGHT TO DO

We need to address this crisis by first putting aside the blame game. A debate over how much the parents or the kid’s fault is will not help. We should rather do what we can to come together and remember what our goals should be. Notice that I say “goals should be,” not “goals are.” That is because there is ultimate truth. The true God of the Bible is very real, and any truly flourishing society will have His truth and the core of its value structure. In fact, the way we will put aside blame and accusation is to remember that we all answer to someone higher. Namely, Jesus Christ. We should not think of comparing ourselves to one another, but rather, we should press on doing everything as unto the Lord. There are, however, some practical things we can do on the earthly front.

The old guard can start by being intentional about passing on what is important. This means identifying what is important. Stuff and way of life can be cool, but more important is wisdom. Without wisdom, stuff will be squandered. Without wisdom, the traditional way of life will be rejected. Your children probably do not want your life. They probably want to know how to make a good life. This is something you can help them know. Also, make sure to let the youth find their own way of applying the wisdom you give them. The world is different today and living out the eternal principles or truth and wisdom may look slightly different today than when you were starting out.

The new guard can start by intentionally gleaning what is important from the old guard. Do not ask for a free ride or a list of things to do that will result in a reward. Rather, heed the wisdom of your elders and strive to live in a way that remembers what is good. As you find the path ahead, remember to honor your father and mother. They were not perfect, just as you will not be. Honor them. There is much you can learn from them. Do not be so self-righteous that you reject the good you can learn because you disagree on a few things. Take responsibility for yourself. Live your own life. Do not live the life of your parents. However, they can guide you. From them, you can learn how to live a good life. Do not reject their wisdom. Be hesitant to stray from the ways of the past. There is typically a reason things are the way they are. Make sure you have a good reason to modify the world before you change it. Even then, do so slowly so that you might have time to correct if you are in error.

Let both young and old be in unity as we strive to fulfill the command of our God to ” be fruitful and multiply.”
Let us go forth pursuing the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Let us take responsibility for our own choices and honor our elders. Let us both freely offer our wisdom and give those who hear it the space to learn.
Let us not fight but work together.

For we all live and die. We are not above one another. We are all creation. We all ought to worship our Creator. By the grace of our Lord, it is time that Millennials took responsibility for living out this command to be fruitful and multiply. It is time for the rest of us to begin treating them like they might be successful.

RESOURCES

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/02/23/millennial-years-age-range/11151046002/

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/

https://ministrywatch.com/over-half-of-christian-ministry-leaders-are-over-age-60/

https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/118th-congress-age-third-oldest-1789-rcna64117

https://www.newsweek.com/average-age-congress-senate-older-ever-before-1823840

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joe-Biden

https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-W-Bush

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bill-Clinton

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barack-Obama/Politics-and-ascent-to-the-presidency

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/10/most-us-presidents-have-been-in-their-50s-at-inauguration/