Spiritual Formation 6/14/2021 2:01:00 PM Shannon O'Brien

Generation Z: Are you Zoomer-ready?

The Oxford Dictionary announced that "Zoom" was one of the words of the year for 2020. I know for me and our Lipscomb community, we all had to adapt to becoming "Zoom-ready" and "Zoom-friendly," making sure our appearance and surroundings were ready for video conferencing. As I learned to do this last summer, another question came to mind for me as I prepared for the COVID year back on campus, am I "Zoomer" ready? Meaning, am I ready to shepherd the hearts of Generation Zoomers, nicknamed Gen Z?

In seeking to answer this question last August, I learned that Gen Z are all people born between the mid-to late 1990's to early 2010's; these are the current young adults in their early twenties all the way down to rising 5th graders. Gen Z is more digitally connected than any, and has been able to access knowledge from the internet all of their life. With this, they are one of the most knowledgeable generations, and don't yet have the wisdom that life experience can provide. Gen Z needs healthy mentors to help them discern knowledge (filtering facts), grow in wisdom (discerning what to do), and navigate understanding (meaning).

So let me ask you, are you Zoomer-ready?

To help you adapt to becoming more "Zoomer-ready" and "Zoomer--friendly" I offer four things that I had come to use as guidelines in shepherding the hearts of our Gen Z college students:

1. Clarity - Offer Gen Z clarity when you can.
Gen Z desires and desperately needs clarity in the midst of so many tensions in our culture. We as the elder generation(s) can healthfully help them to discern reality over perception. Don't assume they are on the same page as you. If you are leading, coaching, or teaching Gen Z, help them know your goals and help them set their own. They are exhausted (as are we), the more we can help them focus their energy effectively, the better for them and your team.

2. Truth - Help them know what Truth is.
The world is discipling all of us in what is relevant. Disciple means to be a learner. We as Christ followers are called to make Disciples of the Way... and Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We need the Church (the body of Christ) who are speakers & leaders, teachers & coaches, parents & mentors to disciple with conviction, clarity, compassion, and relevance. If you are not sure how to do that, ask people from your spiritual formation team, or church ministries to help you to do that. If you would like us to help you learn how to do that, email us and we can connect with you. This coming Fall of 2021 I will be offering a seminar in helping parents and coaches learn how to utilize spiritual formation through the platform of sports. If you would like more information on that, please feel free to email me at storbrien@lipscomb.edu.

3. Tangible Community: Help them to connect at a deeper level.
Gen Z (along with the rest of us) need real and tangible connection with others. Teams and friendships have been interrupted in 2020 more than ever in recent history while having the greatest technological ability to be connected & entertained. Jesus came IN PERSON to help people connect with Him. He is God incarnate, and sent us His Spirit which now dwells in each Believer. To "know" God (See John 17), is to know Jesus, and to know Jesus is to know God. In John 17:3, Jesus prayed for all people to know Him, and in the Greek, this word know in verse 3 means to "experientially know" like one would have through first-hand experience.

Through coaching and teaching, more lives are impacted when discipleship happens in healthy small groups and 1 on 1 meetings rather than large stage events. As leaders, coaches, and teachers, when we allow team relationships to be more important than team results we operate in greater Kingdom work. This does not mean results shouldn't be pursued, but where the energy is focused makes a difference in what can be both/and like Jesus' ministry on Earth.

4. Macro Empathy vs. Micro Empathy
"To put it another way, this generation seems to be growing up with an abundance of macro-empathy (care for the world), but they lack micro-empathy (care for the face in front of them)." - Tim Elmore, Growing Leaders

We all know the reality of this in our world, and this next generation (along with yours) is sovereignly in place for such a time as this. Jesus had both macro and micro empathy. Jesus came to redeem Creation and to provide a pathway to intimately knowing our Creator. For the separation of sin to be mended, Jesus had to be sacrificed and resurrected so that we all could know God first-hand. God cared to not only redeem a fallen and broken world, but too, He cares deeply about every single person in this broken world.

Generation Z will benefit to see older generations of Christ followers walking out an authentic life in Christ. They will benefit to see unity in diversity and fellowship amidst contrasting opinions. Jesus came to dwell amidst creation to help the created see and trust Him. Gen Z will benefit to witness older generations modeling love, patience, kindness, goodness, joy, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Martin Luther King Jr. said he reminded his listeners, "If you can't do great big things, you can do small things in a great way." It is important to encourage small scale empathy, and effective role playing on our teams. Help the students see the goals they are to aim at, and help them see a purpose in it that is larger than themselves and to pursue it with greatness. When you care about the larger picture in Gen Z's life, and they feel like you personally care for their future world, their personal development, and the well being of their soul eternally, lives will be impacted for the Kingdom of God because you were Zoomer-ready and Zommer-friendly.

Sources:
Tim Elmore, Growing Leaders, https://growingleaders.com/blog/how-to-help-gen-z-develop-empathy-in-personal-relationships/?mc_cid=3c1eb29a4b&mc_eid=40c179af21

Forbes,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrycollins/2020/11/23/zoom-zings-into-the-oxford-dictionary-words-of-the-year/?sh=d540f2aa4659

Strongs Concordance, John 17:3 "to know" Greek Lexicon,
https://biblehub.com/greek/1097.htm

John 14:6
https://biblehub.com/john/14-6.htm

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Generation Z: Are you Zoomer-ready?