How to Reach Baby Boomers

With all the fuss I've heard lately about trying to reach Millennials, Gen Z, etc, I was thinking about how we might reach the Baby Boomers in our communities with the same philosophy of ministry that we use to reach Millennials. (And of course, pardon the verbal irony.)

(1) Sing old songs of the church. Everyone knows the new ones are watered-down anyway. Since they are an aging generation, make sure you sing aged songs. The worst thing you can do is make them uncomfortable by singing newer songs. Who likes to sing songs they are unfamiliar with? Or you could take a cue from Sonseed's great worship band.

(2) Flannel boards and chalk boards are a must. The church is seeing the Boomer generation continue to decline in attendance and participation. The message never changes, but the method has. If it worked for the Boomers before, why did we stop? Did we get tired of winning the Baby Boomer generation? I say: "Bring back flannel boards and hymnbooks." (Digital is overrated.) Why not have "leisure suit Sunday?"

(3) Refer often to Boomer cultural moments. Feel free to question the Apollo moon landing as a Hollywood stunt. Make arguments against the Vietnam war for the hippies you might be trying to reach. Revisit the civil rights arguments (on either side depending upon your Boomers). Make frequent references to the Lawrence Welk show.

(4) Give them positions of leadership & power. Want them in the church? Give them something to do. Stop letting the young people have all the leadership positions. Want Boomers back? Give them some power. After all, most church income comes from this age bracket.

(5) Preach hard... about the sins of others. Boomers will support you taking a stand against those who sin in different ways than they do. Just do not step on their toes. Check out every survey that comes out about what they care most about morally and preach on it!

(6) While the craze for Millennials might be Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and other social media; Boomers like advancements like the use of telephones and cassette tape players. There is no MP3 player or Spotify play list that beats watching the two little wheels of a cassette tape turn! Heard of an 8-track? Put your sermons on cassette tape to draw them in to listen again.

(7) Have the Pastor dress in bell bottoms, a Leisure suit, and/or have long side burns/ afro. Nothing says you are welcome to a Boomer than their era fashion styles being show-cased by the Pastor. (Nothing alienates a Boomer more than a pastor wearing current fashions.)

(8) Integrate 50's, 60's, and 70's cultural fads into your ministry slogans. For example: "Make Christlike love not, war." "Jam with the church serving Daddy-O since 33AD." "The Old Man wants to make you Righteous!!" "Off the Hook in more ways than one!" Also throw in terms like groovy, bummer, split, mellow, and gnarly to season your sermon and make it relevant to the Boomers you are trying to reach.

(9) Steer clear of denominational affiliation. Boomers have been anti-establishment since Kennedy was assassinated and Armstrong landed on the moon. The quickest way to scare them away from finding a home in your church is to find out you are actually part of a denomination. Hide this fact at all costs.

(10) Most Baby Boomers are quickly approaching that scary time of their life called 'retirement.' Preach often and with emphasis on tithing as a means of retirement. We do believe God provides for us. Make many references to a tithing person as a fulfilled person.

So, it is your choice. Will you choose to loose the Baby Boomers?

Coming soon: How your church can reach Generation Z.

Note: Please keep in mind that orienting the church around the perceived preferences of any generation seems a bit ridiculous. Navigating cultural shifts and changes across time is difficult. It takes wisdom and the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

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Artificial Intelligence and Relationships

In recent years it seems that there are more and more things that make genuine relationships difficult. Ironically, social media can do more to damage or prevent relationships than it does to foster them. In an ever-increasingly technologically connected world, it seems like more and more people are relationally disconnected.

More people are seeing therapists than ever before, but mental health still seems to be in decline. Certainly COVID19 pandemic isolation contributed to much of this, but so have other factors. I believe that many people, who are seeing therapists, really just need authentic relationship and accountability with someone else. In our disjointed and isolated cultural context, we are starved for caring, loving (non-romantic) relationships.

Now comes artificial intelligence (A.I.). As all technology advances there are both people bemoaning advancement and also those embracing it without consideration of the long-term price tag. Already there are projections that many people will lose their jobs due to AI. This should not be surprising as every technological advancement eliminates the need for some job previously done by a person. It is inevitable in some ways, though unfortunate for those who must re-train for a new occupation.

One ethical issue is the involvement of AI in the church. Some are having AI write prayers and sermons claiming that it is espousing truth and right on target. They are not considering that even AI has biased instilled from its programmers and "big tech" is anything but supportive of holiness and biblical truth. However, AI can be a helpful tool to do research for a sermon, locate a passage of Scripture, define words, locate biblical places on a map, create sermon slides/images, or even gain illustrations from news media. All these things obviously need to be verified outside of AI, but it can be a helpful tool. AI, however, is no replacement for the work of the Holy Spirit.

While there are no doubt great advantages and usages of AI as a tool for us to be more efficient or find information more quickly, it can also be used by some to replace things in our lives that will harm society long term. Already some social media companies, like Meta, have introduced fake profiles that are actually AI without recognizing them as such. In other words, some people, who may believe that they are interacting with a real person, are in actuality interacting with an AI account.

A search for artificial means of relational satisfaction is not something that is necessarily new. Pornography has long been a counterfeit replacement for authentic marital relationships. Even secular society is discovering the harm of this reality. The problem lies in the fact that people are searching for relational or sexual satisfaction without responsibility or obligation upon themselves. "I want something for nothing." "No strings attached." All these things sound good to those searching for satisfaction without commitment, but it is a shallow promise fraught with painful consequences (both short term and long term). 

Will AI serve as the next iteration of these counterfeit relationships? While lust is a driving force for pornography, what if that is compounded by the desire to dominate another "AI person" or to always insist on your own way (an antithesis of love)? After all, AI can be trained to do and say exactly what you want it to. It won't ever disagree with you, it won't ever be in a bad mood, it won't ask anything in return, it never requires you to sacrifice your time or resources, and it won't ask you to give anything in return. To some, that seems like an ideal relationship, but it is a hollow promise of fulfillment and satisfaction devoid of authentic love. In a world that has already perverted the word love, we can easily slip into an even more self-centered definition. 

Relationships that are fulfilling are not found in receiving gratification of every desire. Fulfilment is found in committing yourself to someone despite the cost. Relational fulfilment is fidelity in the face of other choices; even those that could be more sexually fulfilling. Relationships that have meaning require sacrifice and commitment over a long period of time. When you remove the relational price tag, you make the relationship little more than a cheap counterfeit trinket.

I hope we refuse to sell ourselves to the emotional and relational bankruptcy that is found all around and commit anew to live lives of commitment and sacrifice for the sake of real love. May we practice hospitality and accountability as we endeavor to be the body of Christ in the world today.

So what do you think?

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Is Your Body a Temple of the Holy Spirit?

20 Signs You are in a Dying Church 

Is Life Constantly Hard for You?

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