Millennials, Job Satisfaction, and Decision Theology
"Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?"
I remember hearing these words, during more than one occasion, on my freshman dorm floor. When I was in college,paramilitary parachurch groups like Campus Crusade for Christ and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship made regular house calls to the wings of Sullivan Hall and other residences at the University of Wisconsin, to see which freshmen had made an active decision for Jesus Christ. Choosing in the affirmative, as conveniently described in their brochures, meant heaven and eternal life. Refusing to choose in the affirmative meant, well, an eternity in an afterworld with a rather severe global warming problem. I imagine that their efforts did result in quite a few decisions for Jesus - how else do you explain such tenacity in the face of so many slammed doors and snide remarks? I was never one to slam the door - but when I knew the Bible Badgers had come a-calling, I knew it was an opportune moment to make a break for some Babcock Dairy ice cream.
It is worth pointing out that these door to door collegiate evangelists were not some outside religious group. These were not the haggard and disgruntled street preachers that stood outside the Mosse Humanities Building and accosted students through a megaphone for their sinful ways. These Gospel go-getters were my fellow students - often very friendly 18-22 year olds who lived down the hall, who I sat next to in power lectures, who I studied next to at Memorial Library, but who I (usually) did not see out at State Street Brats late on a Saturday night.
I have often reflected on what has made their "decision-based" Christianity so compelling to a generation that, overall, is leaving organized religion in droves. While my Millennial generation may be largely turning away from the church, we are mostly turning away from the mainline protestant and Catholic denominations. "Evangelical Protestantism" actually gained over three million American adherents from 2007 to 2014, many of these gains coming from the younger generation. And while the "evangelical" label is a rather vague and nebulous term, it is often used to describe a religious viewpoint that emphasizes individual conversion (decision) and faith commitments based on a literal reading of the Bible.
So what makes decision theology and conversion so compelling to the younger generation?
Perhaps this can be answered in part by what Millennials expect out of their careers. According to a 2014 study by the University of North Carolina, Millennial professionals put twice as much importance on "meaningful work" and a "sense of accomplishment" than Baby Boomer or Generation X professionals. Curiously, they value "high pay" far less than the previous generations, and are far more willing to take a pay cut to move into a profession with more meaningful work or opportunities for a sense of accomplishment. This likely explains why Millennial professionals are so seemingly restless - we change jobs more frequently, we stay at jobs for shorter durations, and in so doing, we draw the ire of human resource organizations everywhere. According to Gallup, 60% of Millennial professionals are actively pursuing a job change at any given moment.
My generation is a generation of vocational ramblers - always seeking a sense of accomplishment and purpose. When we do not find it, we cut ties and run to the next opportunity, many of us intentionally leaving a perpetual foot out the door as we take our first step in the door. But maybe this nomadic career style is less about an aversion to inertia and more about the generation's inability to find the very things we profess to value. In a post-2008 economy, with stagnant wages and college graduates working at jobs far below their skill level, it has proven more and more difficult to find purpose in the workplace and to sustain a sense of self-accomplishment. As companies add free snacks to attract and retain Millennial talent, perhaps they would do better to look at how they can meaningfully include Millennials in working towards a socially impactful mission, vision, and purpose.
Connecting the workplace to the place of worship, could the younger generation simply be seeking the same things from church they are looking for in the office?
Conversion theology offers a tangible, concrete, and visible indicator of accomplishment and purpose. When someone assents to a Campus Crusade salvation tract, they have just done something - something they see as meaningful, something they think earns them the love of God. When a young believer is baptized into the Mormon faith, or joins Jehovah's Witnesses, they feel a sense of merit that they have struggled to find in their 9-5. Such a decision gives their lives new purpose in a way that free snacks in the company kitchen can never deliver.
Conversion, perhaps the backbone of many evangelical theologies, fulfills this need for accomplishment in a way that more sacramental, communal theologies of mainline and Catholic churches cannot. Decision theology may well flourish in the years ahead, as denominations like mine struggle to find their way. Ultimately, it is the task of Millennial mainline theologians to bring forth a church that offers opportunities for purpose and accomplishment - while raging against the nefarious idea that God's grace and love is contingent upon our own accomplishments, actions, and decisions.
Ryan Panzer is a Badger, a Lutheran, and a corporate trainer. He is focused on purpose and accomplishment but stubbornly thinks God loves us even when we feel purposeless and useless. Preaching Sunday, April 8th and April 22nd at Spring Prairie Lutheran Church in Deforest, WI. @ryanpanzer on Twitter.
I remember hearing these words, during more than one occasion, on my freshman dorm floor. When I was in college,
It is worth pointing out that these door to door collegiate evangelists were not some outside religious group. These were not the haggard and disgruntled street preachers that stood outside the Mosse Humanities Building and accosted students through a megaphone for their sinful ways. These Gospel go-getters were my fellow students - often very friendly 18-22 year olds who lived down the hall, who I sat next to in power lectures, who I studied next to at Memorial Library, but who I (usually) did not see out at State Street Brats late on a Saturday night.
I have often reflected on what has made their "decision-based" Christianity so compelling to a generation that, overall, is leaving organized religion in droves. While my Millennial generation may be largely turning away from the church, we are mostly turning away from the mainline protestant and Catholic denominations. "Evangelical Protestantism" actually gained over three million American adherents from 2007 to 2014, many of these gains coming from the younger generation. And while the "evangelical" label is a rather vague and nebulous term, it is often used to describe a religious viewpoint that emphasizes individual conversion (decision) and faith commitments based on a literal reading of the Bible.
So what makes decision theology and conversion so compelling to the younger generation?
Perhaps this can be answered in part by what Millennials expect out of their careers. According to a 2014 study by the University of North Carolina, Millennial professionals put twice as much importance on "meaningful work" and a "sense of accomplishment" than Baby Boomer or Generation X professionals. Curiously, they value "high pay" far less than the previous generations, and are far more willing to take a pay cut to move into a profession with more meaningful work or opportunities for a sense of accomplishment. This likely explains why Millennial professionals are so seemingly restless - we change jobs more frequently, we stay at jobs for shorter durations, and in so doing, we draw the ire of human resource organizations everywhere. According to Gallup, 60% of Millennial professionals are actively pursuing a job change at any given moment.
My generation is a generation of vocational ramblers - always seeking a sense of accomplishment and purpose. When we do not find it, we cut ties and run to the next opportunity, many of us intentionally leaving a perpetual foot out the door as we take our first step in the door. But maybe this nomadic career style is less about an aversion to inertia and more about the generation's inability to find the very things we profess to value. In a post-2008 economy, with stagnant wages and college graduates working at jobs far below their skill level, it has proven more and more difficult to find purpose in the workplace and to sustain a sense of self-accomplishment. As companies add free snacks to attract and retain Millennial talent, perhaps they would do better to look at how they can meaningfully include Millennials in working towards a socially impactful mission, vision, and purpose.
Connecting the workplace to the place of worship, could the younger generation simply be seeking the same things from church they are looking for in the office?
Conversion theology offers a tangible, concrete, and visible indicator of accomplishment and purpose. When someone assents to a Campus Crusade salvation tract, they have just done something - something they see as meaningful, something they think earns them the love of God. When a young believer is baptized into the Mormon faith, or joins Jehovah's Witnesses, they feel a sense of merit that they have struggled to find in their 9-5. Such a decision gives their lives new purpose in a way that free snacks in the company kitchen can never deliver.
Conversion, perhaps the backbone of many evangelical theologies, fulfills this need for accomplishment in a way that more sacramental, communal theologies of mainline and Catholic churches cannot. Decision theology may well flourish in the years ahead, as denominations like mine struggle to find their way. Ultimately, it is the task of Millennial mainline theologians to bring forth a church that offers opportunities for purpose and accomplishment - while raging against the nefarious idea that God's grace and love is contingent upon our own accomplishments, actions, and decisions.
Ryan Panzer is a Badger, a Lutheran, and a corporate trainer. He is focused on purpose and accomplishment but stubbornly thinks God loves us even when we feel purposeless and useless. Preaching Sunday, April 8th and April 22nd at Spring Prairie Lutheran Church in Deforest, WI. @ryanpanzer on Twitter.
I caught a couple sentences about millennial from a Ted talk last year. The speaker mentioned how we articulate what we're hoping to get out of work, "I want to sit at a bean bag chair," instead of what we're actually looking for, "I want to see the value of my work."
ReplyDeleteFor those in search of a mission, a crusade would be quite appealing. This question reminds me of: For which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and walk”?
Is it easier to get your peer good-and-saved or to walk with them? (I know this is radical, but you may even join your peers at State Street Brats, because ministry happens in life's gaps.)