From the Editor Sep/Oct 2017
There has always been a generation gap. Growing up, I never felt my parents understood me, my taste in music (Dad said if it wasn’t classical, it wasn’t “real” music), or my desire to dress like my friends instead of like a refugee from the Old Country.
I’m sure my children didn’t think I understood them. And Absalom probably didn’t think his father, King David, understood him (which psychiatrists no doubt would say led to Absalom’s rebellion).
Today it seems every ministry wants to attract the millennial generation, and every consumer market in America is trying to understand millennials and cater to them.
In June 2015, a New York Times piece titled “Oh, to Be Young, Millennial, and So Wanted by Marketers” began by describing how the makers of the candy Tic Tac invented a special flavor solely to attract millennials. “It’s yet another play in the millennial mania that is overtaking all manner of businesses, and seems to be getting more obsessive by the day,” wrote Hilary Stout. “Not since the baby boomers came of age has a generation been the target of such fixation.”
Who are the millennials? Are they so unlike the rest of us? After all, they are our children and grandchildren, our brothers and sisters, our nieces and nephews. They’re our family. So what makes them different?
The answer is lots of things. Society. Technology. The fact that they were raised by baby boomers who wanted to give their children everything, rather than by traditionalists who embraced the no-frills legacy of the Depression and World War II.
Every generation differs from the one that preceded it. To help us understand millennials and their views on life, church, and Israel, we’ve asked four of them to write for this issue. One is our own Chris Katulka, a Bible teacher and conference speaker for The Friends of Israel and host of our radio broadcast, “The Friends of Israel Today.” Chris holds a Master of Theology degree (ThM) from Dallas Theological Seminary. Another is JD Lemming, the graphic artist who designs this magazine, who also holds a ThM from Dallas. And Nate Hoff, who holds a ThM from Dallas and is a graduate teaching assistant and PhD candidate there.
And, for a woman’s perspective, we asked Bethany McIlrath. Her articles have appeared in many publications, including RELEVANT magazine (a favorite among millennials); and her mother-in-law is my dear friend Nancy, who led me to Christ. (You’ll have to read my book, The Search, for that story.)
So there you have it. To members of all generations, we hope you enjoy this issue!
Waiting for His Appearing,
Lorna Simcox
Editor-in-Chief
