New Voices: By and about young adults

In his book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell examines how we as humans make split-second decisions, many times unconsciously. Gladwell gives many real-life illustrations of the effects of our split-second decisions. One such illustration is the story of how Warren Harding came to be president of the United States.

Harding looked like the ideal leader—tall, dark and handsome. He had a presence that exuded charisma, confidence and strength. People’s first impression of Harding led them to the conclusion that he was a good leader, which eventually landed him in politics.

He quickly climbed the political ladder, all based on his appearance and presence, with no regard to merit. Ultimately Harding was elected president and, according to many historians, was the worst president the United States had.

The “Warren Harding Effect” is an example of how our split-second decisions can have negative results. Harding’s good looks and apparent charisma were so powerful in people’s first impressions that they never looked below the surface to see what abilities (or lack thereof) he actually had. In looking back over my post high school years, I think the church struggles with the Warren Harding Effect.

I am not suggesting the church is guilty of selecting only tall, dark and handsome leaders. It is not appearance but age that can be so enchanting for the church—the Young Adult Effect.

It is common knowledge that many young adults are not coming back to their home churches or attending churches at all. As a result, young adults that have chosen to be a part of a church body are seen as a big catch. Young adults in the church are always the first ones to be asked to work with the youth and are frequently asked to share their perspective on committees, issues or the future of the church. I see this happening in the local congregation and the national church.

Before I go further, I want to make it clear that having young adults tapped on the shoulder for ideas and responsibilities in the church is not a bad thing. It is great that the church is making an intentional effort to hear and work with young adults. I have been overwhelmed and am appreciative of the opportunities I’ve been given. The church has the difficult task of being intentional about listening to and empowering young adults while at the same trying to avoid some of the dangers of the Young Adult Effect.

There are two dangers of the Young Adult Effect I want to expound on. The first is that even though it is great to be appreciated as a young adult, it can at times be a disturbing trend. Just as Harding had no business being president of the United States, I fear some young adults are being asked to do things they are ill-equipped to do.

Just because someone is under the age of 30, does that mean they are going to be a better youth pastor, youth sponsor or Sunday school teacher than a middle- or golden-aged person? No. Just because a person is under the age of 30, does it mean their cutting edge or radical opinions are any more important than a middle- or golden-aged person’s opinions? No.
I repeat, it is great to give young adults responsibilities and listen to their thoughts, but please do so because they have proven to be responsible and have good things to say, not simply because they are under 30.

The second disturbing aspect of the Young Adult Effect is that when young adults are seen as a big catch, higher expectations are placed on them than on the rest of the congregation. Young adults are expected to work with the youth; young adults are expected to be the driving force behind anything new and exciting in the church. Young adults are expected to give up their time to do service or mission work. It seems that once you have a mortgage, a family and are approaching middle age the church hands out an exemption to all these opportunities and passes the torch to the younger generation. I fear God does not hand out this same exemption. The call of Christ to follow him in sacrificial ways is for all people, regardless of age.