Religion and Evangelism in the 21st Century

Meet Gen Z Summary and Critique

Introduction

This review focuses on White’s Meet Gen Z, a book about the challenges of evangelizing Generation Z. This review first provides a summary of what the book accomplishes. Then it critiques the work in terms of consistency, text, and usefulness. A conclusion summarizes the situation with Gen Z and what the evangelist (and reader of the work) can do with what White has given them.

Summary

White’s (2017) Meet Gen Z consists of two parts: the first focuses on the reality facing the Christian Church today in a truly post-Christian world and the first generation of that world to come of age—Generation Z. The second focuses on how the Church must respond to the needs of Gen Z. The first part is descriptive, laying out who Gen Z is, what Gen Z believes, what the background of this generations consists of, what defines them, and how they are different from any other generation that has come into existence in the past. The second part provides a solution by arguing for the Church to adopt a countercultural stance to the present post-Christian culture that has given Gen Z zero beliefs and that undermines whatever faith they might be given. It looks at how the Church must speak to a culture and people that sees faith as unimportant. It is mainly apologetic in its approach.

The book concludes with three Appendices that broach different topics. The first appendix looks at how a pastor can address a controversial topic such as gay marriage. The second looks at how to address the matter of the occult, which is of fascination for Gen Z; it gives particular focus to the mapping out of the spiritual world. The third and final appendix looks at how an apologetic bridge so to speak can be built between the Church and Gen Z using the tools that Gen Z uses, particularly science.

The book is basically a tool that can be used to help catechize and convert what is essentially a godless and unchurched generation that does not believe in the utility of Christian faith or belief. The author introduces the topic by making reference to famed Catholic historian Christopher Dawson who questioned a century ago the character of the modern state and the subordination of the Christian soul to that state. A century later and Dawson’s seemingly prophetic words have been justified, as White points out: the modern soul of the 21st century is completely devoid of Christian sensibility, even if nominally he is a Christian. White calls the time now upon us the seventh age in which the very question of what it means to be human is no longer clear. There is no longer any religious affiliation among the nones—Gen Z. The nones—those without any religious affiliation were five percent of the population in 1930. Today they are 30 percent and their numbers are rising.

White goes on to assert that the evangelists of today must adapt to address this new generation because they old ways do not line up with the needs of this new generation. It is not just a matter of getting this new generation re-engaged with a latent faith. That faith is not latent. One must realize that one is preaching the Gospel to a generation that has never heard it. This people are heathens to say the least. One point in particular that summarizes the situation is taken from the film Gravity in which the character played by Sandra Bullock cries that she is about to die and that she wishes she could pray but that no one ever taught her how to pray. That is where Gen Z is at now: it is a generation that has not been taught the first thing about religion.

This is a generation that has to be engaged. Evangelists of today must accept their questions, answer them, engage with them wherever and whenever possible. This is a generation that believes in ghost but does not believe in the redemption of the soul by Christ’s sacrifice and death on the cross. Those two things—that belief and that unbelief—have to be bridged: that is the primary purpose of the evangelist today, according to White.

Critique

The text is very well-written. Paragraphs are not too long, and often times a point is followed up with a terse one-line paragraph that summarizes the situation and allows the mind to keep moving forward without becoming bogged down by too many details. The author makes his point quite well by drawing upon modern cultural texts (like films) and ancient texts, all of which are intermingled together. Ample use is made of statistics and charts/graphs are included to help the reader to visualize the situation as the author wants it to be seen.

There are also good tips along the way for how an evangelist should target his audience. For example, he writes that they should target men and provides this illustration to explain why: “One of the most frequent things we hear from women is, ‘My husband loves this church. I could never get him to church before. But now he comes here even when I don’t!’ And she will go where he wants to go. Get him, you get her. Get him and her, you get the family. It’s as simple as that.”

The book moves quickly in identifying the character of Gen Z, and it moves quickly in naming a few practical steps that the evangelist can take when interacting with Gen Z. To say that it is not a very deep book would be perhaps to miss the point. The author does provide three good examples of how an evangelist might defend the character of God, the truths of the faith, and the humanness of humans. However, the book is merely a stepping stone to what is needed: a much deeper religious conviction and zeal on the part of those who are tasked with converting this new generation. If that work is not undertaken, the Church will surely be in danger of disappearing completely—and then what? Perhaps it is at that point that God will send His seven angels to destroy the world.

The arguments put forward by the author are very compelling and useful. This is a generation that is trapped in sin, sexual sin especially, thanks to the invasive nature of the Internet and the pervasive nature of the pornfield that it has opened up for this generation. That has led to addiction and to an acceptance of sin as good. That is from the devil, the author argues.

Yet where the book fails to make headway is in how to deal with these issues. It is made clear what the problem is. Some examples of how to talk about this things are given. But this is not a comprehensive book in the sense that it can serve as a go-to source for what to do. It is merely meant to be an opening—a window on the current state of the world. There is no mention, for instance, on how to combat sexual sin or sexual addiction. There is no mention of making the novena to St. Boniface of Tarsus. There is no mention of the serious spiritual combat that must be undertaken to address these problems.

The vision presented is harrowing. That is what it is meant to be. However, for one looking for answers, the book comes up light. The book’s arguments are consistent and valid. The explanations for where to go from here are adequate only in the sense that the author shows that one must move towards God and that prayer is needed. Each example of how to evangelize closes with a call to prayer.

But so much more is needed for one to seriously address this issue. That is also clear. The way to do so, to seriously address this issue is what is not so clear. The way forward is only somewhat hinted at. It seems that perhaps such a way forward is really something that must come to each individual on his own, perhaps after some prayer, but even that does not do the dilemma justice. The author is indeed focused on the topic of meeting Gen Z and what the evangelist should consider when going out into the world. The problem is thoroughly explained and justified.

The solution is what needs more focus. The world has not just been de-Christianized; it is actively promoting an anti-Christian worldview. That is what White (2017) fails to really focus on. It is the main weakness of the book. He talks about Gen Z being irreligious, but that is not even really the heart of the matter. The world is being turned into Satan’s playground. Christianity is not just neglected: it is repulsed. The socialism of the past has crept back into the discourse of today’s politics. White even touches on the atheism of today’s celebrities in one of his appendices—the one that answers the question of why one should believe in God. White does a fine job of going through the reasons, starting with creation, and using logic, Scripture, and other evidence to answer the question of faith. However, one could devote an entire separate book to the problem of how to evangelize a world that is not just unchristian but actively anti-Christian.

The anti-Christian aspect of the world today is what needs more scrutiny. White does of course touch upon the various issues that Gen Z faces: it is too wrapped up in tech, and Gen X (the parents of Gen Z) has been too hands-off in raising their children. They have given them far too much independence, and they have not sought to protect their innocence. That has made Gen Z particularly vulnerable to the temptations of the devil—and once snared and devoid of faith as they are it raises many an obstacle for the evangelist of today.