Studies show that authenticity is one of the highest cultural values for Gen Z.1 Despite this, our students live in a world of inauthenticity, whether through fake news, fake social media posts, or AI-generated images. Surrounded by these fakes, Gen Z is developing a greater filter for discerning reality in a world of artificiality.
The church established by and following the one who is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) should stand out as a beacon of truth in an artificial culture. Often, however, a breakdown occurs between the truth we proclaim and the lives we live. This inconsistency can cause Gen Z to dismiss the church and walk away from their faith.
As a 1990s kid, I remember hearing Brennan Manning’s words ringing out from one of my favorite Christian CDs: “The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”2 Manning was addressing the disconnect we often experience between belief and action.
“Practicing what we preach” isn’t just a good preacher’s phrase. It is a question that every generation of students must wrestle with, as they consider themselves and the imperfect followers of Jesus such as their youth ministers, parents, and those who sit next to them in the pews. As youth ministers, how can we help our students discover the authentic perfection of Jesus while surrounded by people who often fail to represent him well?
Jesus Is the Only Perfect Example
There is only one who successfully lived the Christian life, and he did it so well that they named it after him. Speaking of Jesus, John writes, “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Peter concurs, writing that Jesus “committed no sin, neither was deceit in his mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22).
If our students are looking for perfect examples of Christians, Jesus is the only one to whom they can look. Jesus came as the perfect one to rescue all who are imperfect. He lived a spotless life in the place of us sinners’ lives. He died on the cross and rose from the dead so that he could exchange our broken lives for his perfect life. Now, Jesus has gifted his followers his perfection by grace. Christians are fully sanctified and seen as perfect in God’s sight because of Jesus. But this new life of living like Jesus in sanctification is something all followers of Jesus are still growing into.
Christians Are Works in Progress
Our students need to begin by debunking the myth of the perfect Christian. Expectations are a large part of the perceived hypocrisy in Christians’ lives. Often, people forget that Jesus is the only perfect one while we are still works in progress. The Holy Spirit is at work in his church, but we won’t look entirely like Jesus nor be completely authentic in our lifestyle—matching our actions with our beliefs—until heaven.
In Philippians, Paul writes to the church to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work according to his good pleasure” (2:12b-13). God is at work in us, closing the gap between who Jesus died for us to become and who we currently are. Our students need to understand that Christians are all works in progress.
Church Is a Gathering of Imperfect People Following a Perfect Savior
I have a pastor friend who often says, “We are not looking for perfect examples but living examples.” As a church, we are living examples of people struggling with what it looks like to follow Jesus in our moment in history. As we live together in community, we live as imperfect people seeking to follow a perfect Savior.
Since this is the environment of the local church, there is a great need for repentance. So we confess to one another when we fail to follow Jesus. We repent when our sermons and our lives get out of sync. We are honest when we fail to love our neighbors. And we repent when we put our way ahead of God’s way. In our repentance, we are reminded how much we need Jesus and his grace, not just for our salvation but for our transformation.
Students need to understand that a healthy church should be characterized by repentance, not perfection. Christians need the gospel as much as unbelievers do. We all need God to work his transformation in us. We all need to be dependent on the Holy Spirit. And we all need to realize that the church, though imperfect, is the perfect place for our students to seek to follow a perfect Jesus in a more perfect way.
Inviting Teenagers to Follow Jesus
What does it look like for Christians to practice what they preach? Our lives should be marked by repentance and dependence on Jesus to continue to bear forth the fruit of the gospel in us. We are not putting ourselves up as perfect Christians who always look like Jesus. Instead, we recognize that the same gospel that brought us our salvation is the very gospel we need to live out our faith. When this gospel gets divorced from our practice of faith, we show Gen Z a church that the “unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” But by embracing authenticity and pointing to a perfect Savior, we can share a compelling gospel clearly once again.
- Charlotte Trecartin, “Why does Gen Z Crave Authenticity Over Everything Else?” Medium, March 2, 2023, https://medium.com/@chartrecar/why-does-gen-z-crave-authenticity-over-everything-else-6143b2653dd7.
↩︎ - “What if I Stumble,” track 4 on D.C. Talk, Jesus Freak, ForeFront Records, 1995 studio album. ↩︎
If you’re looking for resources to teach the Bible to teenagers, consider Rooted’s Bible-based curriculum, available on Rooted Reservoir.
