culture | Lee Bezotte

7 Reasons Millennials Are Awesome

Millennials.

Just the mention of them causes some folks to roll their eyes and question the future of our nation once the youngsters are running the place. It seems like a popular past-time to bash those who were born between 1980 and 2000. In fact, you can hardly scroll down your Facebook feed without seeing a blog post or article criticizing them for being entitled, lazy, or selfie-obsessed.

As a pastor who’s been leading Millennials for a while, I have to say I’ve really enjoyed spending time with the next generation. In fact, I’ve made a list of seven reasons why they’re awesome. Check it out.

They’re entrepreneurial. Millennials aren’t stuck in the mindset that you have to get a corporate job with benefits, put in 30 years, and be taken care of by the company through retirement. They’re okay with making less to do what they love, starting new businesses, and carving new paths.

They’re compassionate. I’ve never known a generation to care so much about making a difference in the world. For our camp for abused and neglected foster kids, many of our camp counselors are Millennials and they come back year after year to invest in the lives of their campers. Some have even gone to foster care training so that they can open up their homes to the orphans of today.

They’re flexible. They don’t seem to be stuck in any particular way of doing things. If we make changes at that last minute or adjustments to the way things are done at the church, they just roll with it. I love that we can count on our Millennials to go with the flow.

They’re creative. Growing up, if I wanted to record an album, I had to pay a recording studio huge sums of money to make it happen. If I wanted to be a photographer, I had to purchase an expensive camera and pay to have my pictures developed (while I waited a couple days). If I wanted to make a movie, it would have cost more than a house! Millennials have grown up with affordable technology that helps make all that happen, and they’ve been able to foster those expressions since they were a very young age.

They’re tech-savvy. This goes along with my last point. Growing up with technology, there’s just no learning curve for them. When I was a kid, it was a big deal to be able to set the clock on the VCR without a manual. Millennials are programming virtual reality video games for fun in their spare time.

They’re transparent. I never have to wonder what a Millennial is thinking. I asked one what she though of my book and she answered, “I didn’t think it was going to be that good but I was really surprised.” Maybe not the most gracious answer, but I didn’t leave wondering how she really felt. Growing up in the age of Amazon reviews and social media has taught them to give their opinions plainly and with honesty.

They’re adventurous. This is one of my favorite Millennial traits. Every year or two, I take a foreign missions trip (most of the time to Ireland). I like to take people with me because the experience is wonderful, and has a way of expanding the way you see the world. Besides my mother, the only people who have been willing to go with me are Millennials. They’re okay with breaking their routine, taking time off work, and getting the money together. Instead of immediately thinking about the reasons they can’t, they think about ways they can! It’s an adventure and they’re in!

I’m excited and honored to get to pastor Millennials. I have high hopes for the future and, well, they’re pretty awesome.

To Cross Or Not To Cross

ministry, The Church

Most of you know that I had the honor of starting a new church last September. We’ve experienced some really great things, God is moving in our congregation, and our baby church is growing up fast. It’s been really cool and most of us have the strong feeling that we’ve stumbled on something really special!

When we first moved into the building, we all had to roll up our sleeves and get the place ready. You see, it had been a bar for almost 100 years before we moved in. We painted, put in new carpeting, did some deep cleaning, and of course tore out the bar.

The only thing we didn’t do was hang up any crosses. Come to think of it, there’s not a shred of religious symbolism anywhere. It’s not that we’re opposed to those things. It just never came to mind. In the midst of planning, reaching out to the neighborhood, praying for the sick, and worshiping Jesus, it hadn’t dawned on us that we should have a cross up somewhere.

An older gentleman asked me shortly after we launched why there were no crosses and I just scratched my head and said, “Uh…I dunno…”

My question is… should we have a cross somewhere on our church? Can God use us to bless our city and expand His Kingdom if we don’t have religious symbols? Please let me know what you think and why.

To cross or not to cross? Leave your answer below…

This Needs a Caption

Humor

Some pictures really need a caption. This one from Awkward Family Photos is just begging for one. Please leave one in the comments section. Thanks!

I’m Blessed

Core Values, life

Blessed

I work one day a week for an organization that feeds the poor and homeless. As they walk past me, it’s not unusual to make small talk and ask, “How you doing?” (A question which has become more of a greeting than something that you really expect an answer from.)

What surprises me, when I ask this question, is the number of people who smile wide and answer, “I’m blessed!”

“Blessed“! They have very little. Some of them proclaim that they’re blessed and then sleep in a shelter, not knowing if they’ll have a warm meal or a bed the next day.

Contrast that with the answer I receive from those with plenty, “My back’s been bothering me”, “My son dented my car”, or “Not horrible I guess”.

How is it that those of us with so much can’t see how blessed we truly are?

It’s just something I was pondering and thought I might be able to get some insight from you.

What do you think?

Thanks!! RSS subscribe by clicking here. To get new posts emailed to you click here.

Happy Festivus!

culture, Humor, The Church

Well today is Festivus! Since it’s a time for the airing of grievances, I thought I’d share this with you. I wrote this one a while back on one of my “Christians ruin everything” days. I hope you like it…

Well, Christmas is almost here. Kinda…

Recently, some close relatives of mine decided they weren’t going to be celebrating Christmas any more. Many of the traditions we observe around this holiday were actually borrowed from pagan celebration rituals, such as the tree, the garland, yule log, and so forth. The Mesopotamians worshiped their god Marduk. The Persians had Sacaea. And the Romans celebrated Saturnalia. A few hundred years after the time of Christ, Christians hijacked this time of year to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Quite a strategic move, in my opinion. Everyone’s whooping it up and having a great time. Why not make a major, worldwide cultural shift? Not an easy task and definitely one for the win column if you ask me. Just think, if we didn’t have Christmas, human sacrifices might still be made to Marduk!

It’s unfortunate that, out of something I can only describe as theological exclusivism, so many believers seek to destroy excellent things by trying to dig up what was before. “Celebrating the birth of our Savior and the hope of mankind? PAGAN! Don’t you know that the Romans worshiped Saturn?!!” In the 1600s, the Puritans actually had Christmas banned for a few years. Apparently people were partying too hard and it was time to put the kibosh on all that tomfoolery. One person I spoke to actually used the Puritan ban as a reason for not celebrating this year. What I want to know is, what does this constant probing and criticizing do for a person? Does it make them feel like they’ve one-upped the rest of the Body of Christ? Does it make them feel closer to God? I was listening to one woman rant about how she can’t stand to listen to modern worship music because the words “I” and “me” were used too often and it wasn’t “God-centered” enough. I thought to myself, “Hmmmm…Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see.” You’re right lady. The older songs don’t use “I and me” at all… Let’s just say, I find it hard to see the life abundantly Jesus spoke about in a brand of Christianity that spends so much energy on “exposing the wrong” in everyone elses faith practices.

Maybe I just tend to cling too tightly to Philippians 4:8, “…Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Aren’t those things true of Christmas? Families come together, we bless each other with gifts, we feast together, we reflect on the birth of Christ and how he’s changed our lives. Those sound like some pretty lovely and excellent things to me! After all, it was God who invented holidays. He even made it mandatory for the children of Israel to take time out to feast and celebrate to help them always remember what He had done for them. Isn’t that what Christmas is about? Always remembering the awesome gift that is Jesus?

I wasn’t there in the 300’s when the Pope established December 25th as the day to remember Christ’s birth. I’ve never been to a Winter Solstice, and I’ve never yelled “Jo, Saturnalia”. All that I’ve ever known is the Jesus’ birthday Christmas. It doesn’t matter to me whether he was born in December, March, or February for that matter. All that I know is that a great appreciation swells up in me, this time of year, for the one who shed his deity, laid down his rights, and came to earth as a baby. Luke chapter 2 still moves me to tears, and I love to see the look in my sons eyes as I read it to them on Christmas morning.

As for me, I choose to celebrate. If your special insight and elevated ability to decode the history of this holiday keeps you from being with family members, exchanging gifts, and singing songs of celebration, then…happy Festivus. Enjoy the airing of grievances.

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”