Goodbye Generation

Book review | Goodbye Generation
Author: David Sawler | Reviewed by Stephanie Hung

Goodbye Generation is a discussion on the reasons why so many young people seem to be leaving the established church in Canada (for Canadian Salvationists, it is related to the ongoing Young Adult Retention Survey currently in place in the Territory). The author, David Sawler is a former youth pastor now planting churches in Nova Scotia. The book is aimed at those in any kind of ministry in the Western church - primarily Boomers and those in Generation X (born prior to 1982), and concerns the current youth and young adult generation, known as “Millenials”.

Apart from the introduction and conclusion, each chapter examines a different reason why youth decide to leave the church. These reasons are not prioritised, but general discussion and a biblical response is suggested for each. Some youth are rejecting the church due to reasons that can be attributed to misconceptions and popular theory, e.g. questions/issues in the bible, ‘life being better without the guilt’, or ‘false advertising’ done by Christians.

Some leave because they’re not receiving what the church is meant to provide, e.g. discipleship, or a demonstration of God’s love. Others simply want to be more than just a spectator and have failed to find the opportunity to participate.

When such an issue affects people on a large scale, it is easy to think that the cause must be insurmountable theological issues or questions that no preceding generation has considered. A strength of Goodbye Generation is that the responses to each point are simple, and somewhat anticlimactic. (i.e. “That’s it? I could’ve explained that to them!”) The common thread running through many of the chapters is the lack of meaningful relationships through which the necessary answers can be made available to youth seeking them.

Communication, however, is a major weakness of Goodbye Generation. Grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and repeats of text abound - and these distract from the content significantly. The writing style is awkward, and could use a thorough proof-reading. To add to this, the long-winded chapters tend to drag after a while.

If it weren’t for the important issue at the heart of the book (that churches are apparently losing young adults at an alarming rate) this book could easily be dismissed on style alone. If high school students are penalised for verbose and sloppy essays, why not a book that is being sent out to all major denominations in Canada?

A bonus DVD is included with the book, showing two short films for further information. One size fits all is a look at some new and different expressions of church in Canada, and Misplaced - a publication of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, shares sections of interviews with young adults detailing their thoughts on church.

As a presentation of research, Goodbye Generation falls quite short. There is no reference as to how the study was conducted, or the parameters and range of the research, so it comes across as a bit sensationalistic, regardless of the familiarity of the issue. However, it does start to offer a balanced look at some of the issues, and once you dig through the excessive verbiage, there are some good biblical perspectives. As a conversation starter, it has done its job, but for further thought and more widespread use, a publication with more clarity is needed, along with some solid research and more professional presentation.

After all is said and done, a section from an interview in the Misplaced DVD held my attention:

“Don’t get your information about the world through books or through me - I’m not going to tell you what the needs are of this generation.

I encourage you to go into the world and actually find them and just really start talking and dialoguing with people and being open to what they believe, and just see what it is that they need.

I’ve learned so much more from talking to my friends at dinner or at the bars than I have from reading a book about statistics about this generation.”

Sound advice.

Reviewer: Stephanie Hung was born and bred in Brisbane, Australia and loves Solo, meat pies and 30 degree dry heat. Interestingly, she currently lives, works and ministers in Canada, where she counted only three days all summer when she wasn’t wearing a sweater. High points in her life so far include graduating from university with a degree in Physics/Astrophysics, hanging out with youth in the SAGALA groups (similar to scouts) of South Queensland, and freezing for a year in Canada while doing the Ignite Gap Year at 614 Regent Park. She currently attends Corps 614, and likes most kinds of sports; reading, drawing, and being useful as she works through all that Jesus stuff.

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