What is Jesus doing in GenNext?

     We understand from Scripture that all humanity is included through Jesus in the triune communion of the Father, Son and Spirit.  And this means that Jesus, in union with all people, is actively ministering to them, in the Spirit - even when they do not know who he is (and thus who they truly are).

     This being so, a important question is this:  What is Jesus doing in his ministry with humanity? And, more specific to the focus of this blog - What is Jesus doing in his ministry to, with and through GenNext?

     Seeking answers to this question leads us to carefully examine what is going on in our culture. We look for the "fingerprints" of Jesus, even in the midst of a lot of brokenness and sin.

     One of the places I see Jesus at work, particularly in the imaginations of young people, has to do with an emerging care and concern for the environment, coupled with a growing spiritual awakening.  Note, for example, the following press release from the Pachamama Alliance. 

     "More than 12,000 young leaders converged in Washington, DC, for Power Shift 2009, from February 27 to March 2 [2009]. These young activists from every U.S. state and many other nations went there to get further educated and trained, to shine the spotlight on climate change, the need for green jobs, and to lobby and educate to hold our elected officials accountable for building a sustainable, equitable, green economy now.

     "Two powerful Awakening the Dreamer Symposiums [conducted by Pachamama Alliance of San Francisco, CA] bookended this historic gathering, attracting 10% of the participants. The Symposiums grounded participants in the magnitude of what’s at stake, rooted them in the holistic framing of an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, and socially just future, and provided them a powerful context for all they learned, enabling them to be more effective with all they set out to achieve...."

     Only time will tell what becomes of this post-modern awakening to a sharing in Jesus' love for his creation. But I suggest that we need to be aware of what Jesus is doing, in the Spirit that inhabits all people, in the emerging, younger cultures and seek to join him there in ways that meaningfully participate in what Jesus is already doing. That is our calling and privalege.