Generation iY (book review)

I’m going to make a statement about Dr. Tim Elmore’s book Generation iY that I rarely make: This book is a MUST READ for parents and anyone who works with youth!

Yes, a must read. The subtitle of this book is not over-dramatized, but really is an understated truth: Our last chance to save their future.

People who are parents now mostly fall into either the late Baby Boomer or Generation X classification. Our world is so different now than it was when we were kids. The growth in technology use (the “i-world” that Dr. Elmore illuminates so well) makes this generation unique. If we try to parent our kids or mentor Generation iYers using the same techniques parents have used in previous generations, we will lose this generation.

Tim Elmore knows this generation well. He outlines the paradoxes, the marks of (im)maturity, the reasons for their apparent lack of motivation, the incorrect parenting techniques, and the ineffective teaching methods that characterize Gen iY. But Dr. Elmore doesn’t stop at just pointing out all of these things; he gives clear-cut ways we can capture this generation before it’s too late. I wish this book had been available when I first became a parent of a Gen iYer!

If I haven’t made it clear enough already, let me state it again: Generation iY is a must read! The issues are too complex and the stakes are too high for us to miss our opportunity to save the future of this generation.

I am a Poet Gardener book reviewer.

Generation Now

Interbellum, Greatest, Silent, Baby Boomers, Busters, MTV, Gen X, Gen Y, Post-Millennial, Gen Z. It seems we’re obsessed with naming and defining our past and present generations. The “experts” tell us what each generation is motivated by, what they’re thinking, what they dream of, and what they are afraid of. I have stacks of books on my shelf about how to relate to people in each of these generational groups, and I constantly get emails that tell me the newest way to get each generation’s attention.

However, when I look in the Bible I only see two generations: this generation and the next generation. God is not concerned with description, but with action. I love what God said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in THIS generation.

What you and I do in THIS generation reverberates into the NEXT generation.

The most important generation is Generation Now.

Yesterday I discovered something a whole lot easier than reading all of these books and sifting through all of the data to learn about GenNow. I discovered this by accident. I discovered it by fun. And I discovered it was exactly the same way Jesus connected with and related to His GenNow.

All I had to do was hang out at my office.

Throughout the day people saw my car in the parking lot, so they just stopped in. It was a blast! Just as Jesus spent times at parties, wedding banquets, in the market place, and with His friends, I got to know GenNow by simply being with them. We talked, we played music (great jam session!), I got beat in ping pong, we ate pizza, we worshipped God, we threw marshmallows at each other.

Through all of this, I learned what GenNow is dreaming about, laughing about, and worrying about. I also affirmed what I already knew: GenNow is a very special group!

Do you have a family member or friend that you want to connect with more deeply? Follow the example of Jesus: just spend time with them. I did, and it was great. In fact, I can’t wait to do it again and again and again!