Craig Kennet Miller is the Director of Evangelism and New Congregational Development and Specialist in Generational Studies for the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He works with a team who explore ministry with seniors, Boomers, ‘Postmoderns’, Millennials and children in the emerging generations. The GBOD Generations web site is worth checking out.
I appreciate Miller’s research-based approach to generational resourcing. Take one of his earlier books, Postmoderns, grounded in his own 1993 and 1995 Spring Break Surveys as well as demographic information from the US Census Bureau. Craig’s interpretation of the Generation X is shaped by his previous work with Boomers but also by engagement in popular culture. Like Beaudoin, he takes seriously the insights provided by artists such as Madonna and Kurt Cobain.
Craig identifies nine culture shifts for ‘Postmoderns’:
1. From Order to Chaos
A chance to test the waters, look for a new vision of hope
2. From the Atom to the Bit
Move to the Digital age – a challenge to make sense out of world awash in information.
3. From One Truth to Many Truths
Many messages from many media.
Three widely held beliefs
a. We have no values
b. Happiness first
c. Time is wide, not long
4. From The War Out There to the War Right Here
Impact and connections between violence, suicide, drug use, and sexual abuse
5. Traditional Family to Multifamily
Effects of divorce, development of dual-earning family.
6. From Job to Task
Career uncertainty, costly education, debt and success.
7. From One Way to Diversity
Racial ethnic diversity, growth in world population, higher birth rate among Asians, Pacific Islanders & Hispanics, growth in multi-ethnic population, growth in immigration since 1965, subculture tribes, haves and have nots, women and equality, sexual orientation, genetic engineering.
8. From Religion to Spirituality
The loss of meaning in the words, ‘secular’ and ‘religious’. Dealing with fear. Healthy skepticism about the church and other religious institutions. Healthy relationships.
9. From Modern to Postmodern Church
A web of inclusion that focuses on discipleship rather than being turned into members. Using the arts in worship, including contemporary pop culture. Importance of team work. Availablity of options. Recylcling of used resources – ‘Ancient/Future’. The implications of hypertext for communication. Deep spirituality. Communication for living.
Books By Craig Kennet Miller
Craig is the author of several books, all published by Discipleship Resources, Nashville, Tennessee.
- Baby Boomer Spirituality: Ten Essential Values of a Generation, 1992
- Contemporary Worship for the 21st Century: Worship or Evangelism?, 1994 (with Daniel Benedict)
- Postmoderns: the Beliefs, Hopes, and Fears of Young Americans Born 1965-1981, 1996
- Encounters with Jesus: A Group Study on Baby Boomer Spirituality, 1998
- Next Church Now: Creating New Faith Communities, 2000, 2004
- Forty-Sixty: A Study for Midlife Adults Who Want to Make a Difference (with Richard Gentzler), 2001
- Now is the Time!: Ministry with the Millennial Celebration Born from 1982-1999, 2003 (video and study resources)
- Making God Real for a New Generation: Ministry with Millennials Born from 1982 to 1999, 2003