Pearls of Wisdom in a Postmodern Spiritual Culture

I want to be honest with you. I am no saint! God has called me, and I have responded to His call – though reluctantly – to minister to young adults. I have little to no experience that prepares me for this, other than that I was once, a long time ago, a twenty-something headed down a dangerous road without a spiritual anchor. It was on that dangerous road that I acquired the pearls of wisdom I now share with the young adults I lead.

I do not even have the experience of raising children of my own to fall back on. The bible reveals to us over and over that God does not call the prepared, He prepares the called. This being the case, I have been studying up on the emerging adults (ages 18-30) to gain an understanding of how to effectively reach them with the pearls of wisdom I have gained along my life journey.

I really like the way Scot McKnight describes the average young adult in the Leadership journal published by Christianity Today Intl. He says the overall trend is best described as “self in a castle.” They have followed the trend of the boomers, busters and genXers, becoming more self involved with each successive generation, and more than any generation before them, they have been confronted with endless possibilities and choices in every aspect of their lives. Their entire lives they have been presented with limitless choices at Toys R Us, hundreds of TV channels, an entire aisle of breakfast cereal in the grocery store, Super Wal Marts, unlimited calling & texting, always a new possibility to explore and a new technology emerging.


This affords us an amazing opportunity to reach this generation where they live…in cyberspace! To keep this emerging generation interested in their spiritual growth, we will not be successful relying on the traditional methods the church has grown accustomed to. We need to plaster our pearls of wisdom in the places they will be exploring, and we need to present them in fresh new ways. It has to be interesting, edgy, unexpected, and relevant to the world as they see it. And we need to get busy because this is the next generation of Senators, Governors, Congressmen, and Presidents.

So what pearls of wisdom do you have to offer the young people of today? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone to make your church a welcoming place for young people who are seeking God? Will you encourage your elders to attend contemporary worship services (even though they may prefer the traditional service) because God still expects them to be great leaders and role models for these emerging adults? Will you give new forms of worship, like christian drama, comedy, and contemporary spiritual hip hop and rap music a chance to succeed in your worship environment?

This is a generation that can easily turn from God if we do not find a way to share both the biblical, and our personal pearls of wisdom with them, in a way that will capture their interest and attention. Our wise elders grew up in a time when things did not change at the pace they change today. We need to encourage more willingness to change our approach to ministry if we are to win this generation and make disciples for the transformation of the world.

In Luke 10:2 Jesus tells us, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into His fields.” This is my prayer.

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