Put Down the Skinny Jeans Before Someone Gets Hurt

Let’s be honest. Skinny jeans are not for everyone.

We want to speak the language of millennials. We want to show those millennials that we’re just like them! I even bought a pair of cool, thick-rimmed Warby Parker glasses to convince myself that I wasn’t pushing 40. Turns out my dad has the same pair.

It might be time for us to consider the possibility that doing good ministry with these 89 million people involves something more than style, graphic t’s, pour-over-fair-trade-single-source-locally-roasted coffee, “contemporary worship”…and of course, skinny jeans.

There’s no shortage of information about millennials. Countless studies have given us countless snapshots of the typical millennial while reminding us (as Eric Drew did here) that there is no such thing as a typical millennial. If this inundation has left you overly informed, under-inspired, and not much further down the road toward a thriving millennial ministry, take heart, because there is at least one thing that we can say for sure:

Millennials are human beings.

It’s true. Despite whatever poll you’ve read lately insisting that millennials are part droid or incapable of real human connection – millennials are human beings who crave the very same things that we all crave – things like meaning, love, acceptance. That’s pretty good news for those of us who weren’t made for skinny jeans. As a human, I know how to engage with another human, to show genuine interest in who they are, and to love them warts and all.

The point is, we’re all better equipped to minister to millennials than we realize. Be you. That’s already enough. Whether “you” is a nice turtleneck and cardigan or some graphic cat t-shirts. Just be you. Sin boldly. My guess is that your friendly, neighborhood millennial would love to spend a few minutes with somebody who is actually comfortable in their own skin.

Simply put, it’s time to move from knowing about millennials to knowing millennials. I think we would be surprised by how much we learn in spending an hour together. Even if we are not wearing skinny jeans.