How to Get Boomers to Pay for Your Ideas

 

 

How to Get Boomers to Pay for Your Ideas

I am a 53 year-old American Baby Boomer. My generational tribe is at the peak of its ministry influence, making up around 60% of senior pastors. But we all know what comes after the peak. In fact, one of us turns 60 every 7.7 seconds as of New Year’s Day 2006. Outside of vocational ministry, we are also at the peak of our influence in the economy. Seventy-eight million of us comprise an enormous pool of consumers and, with retirement beckoning, are about to come into some discretionary time, some of which we will spend managing the largest transfer of wealth in human history—the handling our parents’ estates...

 

No matter what anyone thinks of Boomers (and there are things not to like) a lot of future ministry is going to depend on convincing us to pay for it. To be blunt, we have the money—for now. In my frequent (two yesterday) conversations with younger leaders, the issue of how to fund everything from church plants to Christian community centers comes up a lot. Many of them seek out grant funding common in the non-profit sector.

I want to suggest some ways to resource your ministry in the Boomer Sector. In other words, if you know how to talk to us, we will write you checks. Here are some suggestions for speaking the “heart language” of Boomers:

1. Tap our leftover idealism: We set out to change the world, believing that a combination of “power to the people” and rock and roll would create a world in which we could “imagine” things being very, very different. We were going to fix everything. That idealism is still in us. With Boomers you can talk the language of transformation because our longing for it is still there. Don’t just tell us about a new church; tell us how that ministry will change its community.

2. Point us forward: Our tribe tends to believe that it is special in some way, especially when it comes to issues of power and control. Yet a Pew Research Center study finds that we have turned out to be very conventional people. This discrepancy is creating a crisis of integrity in our latter years. The ordinariness of our lives is like a sharp pain in our collective side. With Boomers talk the language of the future because we want to hope there still is one for us. Don’t just ask us to cover operating expenses, help us to understand how what we are doing leaves a legacy.

3. Ask for a lot: Changing the world is a pretty big thing. Boomers have always liked to think they were involved in groundbreaking initiatives. Most of us are a lot less interested in small scale ideas. In other words, we will do things to save a rainforest, but aren’t likely to plant one tree. We will build a counseling center, but won’t make peace with our youth pastor. With Boomers talk the language of scale because involvement in big things makes us feel important. Don’t bring us little ideas; help us to feel we are involved in something huge.

4. Help us feel cool: We remember the world before computers and so we feel the pressure of our rapidly declining grasp on what’s going on. The sense that we are losing control (which we love) makes us afraid, and frightened people tend to clamp down harder. Putting this issue in our face is a mistake if you want things from us. With Boomers talk the language of resourcing because we want to help those who help us keep up with things. Don’t put us in situations where our declining relevance comes into higher relief; supply us with resources that might assist to stay connected.

5. Recruit other Boomers: We tend to think that other people like ourselves have things figured out. Younger people make us suspicious unless they have learned to imitate our style. That’s because it’s hard for us to believe that anyone could be as good at what we do as we are. With Boomers talk the language of our tribe by asking other Boomers to champion your cause. Don’t bring us ideas that our peers don’t find appealing; help us to see the idea through Boomer eyes by hearing a Boomer speak to it.

For Discussion:

1. Boomers may have most of the money, but are they going to be willing to part with it soon enough to resource the future of the US church?

2. Can anyone relate an anecdote that confirms or denies one of these suggestions?

About the Author:  Earl Creps has spent several years visiting congregations that are attempting to engage emerging culture. He directs doctoral studies for the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri (http://www.agts.edu).  Earl and his wife Janet have pastored three churches, one Boomer, one Builder, and one GenX. He speaks, trains, and consults with ministries around the country. Earl’s book, Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders, was published by Jossey-Bass/Leadership Network in 2006. Connect with Earl at http://www.earlcreps.com .