Baby boomers and the Adventist Church

Several weeks ago I was talking with my wife when suddenly I realized that she wasn't listening to me. I stopped talking and asked her what the problem was. She told me to listen to our 5-year-old son. He was pointing a stick at a spot on the wall and jabbering. The only thing I understood were two words: "baby boomers."

When he realized that we were looking at him, he got embarrassed and stopped. Diane said to him, "Bret, what is a baby boomer?" No response. So I joined in. "Bret, what is a baby boomer?" Giggling, he replied, "A baby... that booms."

The next day I was at the seminary. One student asked me, "Gary, just what is a baby boomer?"

The age of the baby boomers began with the end of World War II. As soldiers returned home to their wives and sweet hearts, statisticians expected an increase in the birth rate for the next few years. But none of them was ready for the baby explosion that occurred and lasted not for two or three years but for nearly 20.¹

The number of births in 1946 was more than 3 million, hovering at that level until 1964. During this period more than 75 million babies were born. Not until birth control became widespread (particularly in the mid-sixties, because of the Pill) did the birthrate decline. This baby boom is the largest generation in North American history and has had a major impact on the way society thinks, acts, and believes.

I am aware that many Adventist ministers don't belong to the boomer generation. But most of their audience do. Therefore what I share here may help us all better serve our churches and reach out to a generation with vast evangelistic potential.

Not all alike

Baby boomers are not all alike. Within this generation of 75 million there are conservatives, moderates, and liberals; Blacks, Caucasians, Hispanics, Asiatics, and Native Americans; females and males; those born in 1946 and those born in 1964. In fact, sociologists split the boomer generation into at least two parts: old-wave boomers, born between 1946 and 1957; and new-wave boomers, born be tween 1957 and 1964. While there are significant differences between them, some factors hold true for enough of them to provide a generalization about the generation (even though one can readily find exceptions).

Boomers were born in a time of relative prosperity. Housing was reasonable, and interest rates were low. During the boom years the American dream was a house in the suburbs, two or three kids, two cars, and a television set.

In 1959 my family lived in a house with three bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, a dining room, a kitchen, a full basement, and an attic. Our house sat on a one full acre of land, and my parents' house payment was $86 per month. We had a television set and a 1957 Oldsmobile 98 (a pink one). My dad was a tool-and-die worker and brought home around $150 a week. We weren't rich, but we were fairly comfortable. Most boomer families were in similar circumstances: average and middle-class.

Because there were so many of us, schools and hospitals were stretched to their limits in the United States. As the boom progressed, more schools were built than at any other time in American history. Many high schools even went to a split shift. One group of students went to school in the morning, a completely different group in the afternoon.

The boomer generation is the first in which nearly every member graduated from high school. More than half went to college and nearly half of those graduated.²

Baby boomers are also the first television generation. They grew up with Leave It to Beaver, Ozzie and Harriet,The Lone Ranger, Bat Masterson, Bonanza, Captain Kangaroo, Lassie, and The Mickey Mouse Club. Millions of boomers were still impressionable young people when they watched the assassinations of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy. The boomers saw news clips of American soldiers in Vietnam, and the My Lai massacre. Television galvanized them into action and let them know that they weren't the only ones who wanted the war to end.

Protest marchers

Each generation has its own emphasis in communication. For boomers the primary communication medium was mu sic, specifically, rock and roll. A combination of gospel and Black rhythm and blues gave baby boomers a vehicle with which to express themselves. This music was a language that the previous generation strove in near futility to understand. Rock and roll ranged from the mellow voice of Pat Boone to the carefree tunes of the Beach Boys to the sultry crooning of Elvis Presley to the British invasion of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. There was also the protest music of Peter, Paul, and Mary, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, and others.

Baby boomers, especially the first wave, were the generation of protest marches on college campuses, communes in Haight Ashbury, and the Woodstock festival the granddaddy of all rock concerts.

The baby boom generation is the first generation to live in almost constant fear of nuclear disaster. During the cold war of the fifties and sixties, baby boomers went through disaster drills in school, listened as adults discussed plans for bomb shelters, and wondered if they would even have a chance to grow up.³

They are also the first really mobile generation. When they became old enough to drink, many had their own cars, and those who didn't had ready access to one.

All these factors had their impact on the boomer psyche how they viewed the world and how they should live in it. These things made them extremely independent. Some would say they grew up too fast. Perhaps that's true. If you're not sure you're going to have a chance to grow up, you're tempted to cram as much as you can into a shorter lifetime.

Boomers grew up with their basic needs met, so they had time to question the meaning of life and the inconsistency of their adult role models, and time to experiment with alternative lifestyles.⁴ Drug use became widespread. In their search for a deeper level of existence, they often ended up on bad trips or dead.

Boomers were and still are concerned about equality. The civil rights movement fueled their imagination of a just society. President Johnson's vision of a "Great Society" held out promise of a fair America. In their idealism, baby boomers joined the Peace Corps by the thousands. Adventist baby boomers initiated and first filled the ranks of the student missionary program.

Now the first wave of baby boomers are 45. Many of them have families. They are in their careers. They are moving into positions of power. They are becoming the authorities. And they're often uncomfortable with that. You see, they have questioned authority all their lives. And now that it's in their hands, they're not really sure what to do with it. So we see them trying to give it away. Boomer executives tend to be delegators, not just with responsibility but also with authority and power.⁵

Boomers want to make their own decisions. One can offer help and advice (if it's asked for, of course), but don't try to tell them what to do. If you do, they'll often do the opposite of what you want. Boomers like choices.

Impact on the church

Now, how does all this impact our ministry and the Seventh-day Adventist Church? ⁶ As the church ministers to this generation, it would do well to keep in focus how the baby boomers relate to the church.

To begin with, boomers have little or no institutional loyalty. They do not care about brand names. If another company offers a better product, they will switch without blinking an eye. And that includes churches. Boomers could care less what brand name is on the sign out front. In fact, they often prefer an unbranded church, one that's not affiliated with a denomination. Boomers don't like lots of rules and regulations. They tend to be issue-oriented and need-aligned.

If they are married, they will look for a church that has good child care and interesting programming for the kids. If single they will look for an ongoing, topnotch singles' ministry. Female boomers will look for a church where their talents will be appreciated and where they will not be required to stifle those talents so as not to outshine the men. Boomers are into support groups of all kinds: A A, Al- Anon, abuse, gay/lesbian, divorce, grief, widowed, dysfunctional family, the list goes on and on.

Second, baby boomers are into excellence. Contrary to the yuppie image the media has given them (by the way, only about 5 percent of the entire generation might qualify as yuppies), most of them do not live in expensive condos, eat Grey Poupon, own Cuisinarts, and drive BMWs. Yet, even though they might live on shoestring budgets, most have expensive tastes.

Third, boomers prefer churches that speak well of the God they serve⁷ To attract boomers, churches must have a sanctuary that is clean, neat, well laid out, and attractive. Simple elegance captivates them. They want quality sound systems. Squeaks, hiss, and static in the PA system may drive them out the doors.

They also want services that are alive and exciting. They would find the celebration churches attractive. Boomers grew up with technology. They want the church to use it for the glory of God.

Fourth, boomers want pastors who can preach conviction without authoritarianism. Their pastors must be intelligent, authentic, and articulate, and at the same time be able to reach the heart and know how to apply the gospel to felt needs.

Fifth, boomers tend to be nontraditional. They are not afraid of change. If something is not working, they will quickly dump it. They will not hold on to something just because it has the authority of age behind it. And they're willing almost too quickly to try new ideas, concepts, and methods.

Finally, they ask questions. Lots of them. Hard ones. This bothers some people. Boomers will not accept as valid the answer "Because the church says so." They want an intelligent faith. They are not afraid of discussing issues of faith like the age of the earth, a woman's place in the church, traditional church standards, church authority, etc., and they expect the church to dialogue with them. If church leaders come down heavy-handed, they will simply leave. And many have done just that.

On the other hand, many boomers have remained. And as more and more move into positions of leadership, the church will change. Some changes will be healthy. Some may be unhealthy. Some will fix things that need fixing. Some will fix things that aren't broken. As someone has said, change is never easy; it is often painful; and it is always inevitable.

The baby boom generation will continue to change both our society and our church. How far the change will go and what will be the ultimate result remains to be seen.