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The Last Christian Generation by Josh McDowell
The research on the current generation of young people reveals an alarming they have redefined what it means to be Christian. The majority of our churched young people do not believe Christ is the Son of God, do not believe the Holy Spirit is a real entity, and think 'doing good' earns them a place in heaven. And just as disturbing is the fact that their attitudes and behavior are virtually no different than those of non-Christians. In this defining message of his 40 years of ministry, Josh McDowell strikes at the heart of the problem and offers a clear solution. "We must bring this new generation face to face with who Christ really is," Josh concludes. "They know the facts, but they don't know Him. They are believing distorted views of Christianity." The Last Christian Generation documents the urgency of the crisis but also provides a fresh revelation of the heart of God through seven lifelong responses of a true follower of Christ. Josh makes a ground-breaking case for the need to move our ministries from program-driven to process-driven. It is essential that we reintroduce the real and relevant Christ to our young people. Only then might we hope to ignite the spiritual revolution necessary to reclaim this and future generations for Christ.
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First published March 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 28, 2012
I like that he not only opens your eyes to the fact that there is a problem, but he also gives you ideas on what to do to fix that problem. (Of the youth of today feeling disconnected from the rest of the church.) And he also provides resources for more info. I got this book at a church book give-away (like a book sale, but the books were free). I felt like Josh McDowell really hits on the real reasons why people in my generation & younger are not as connected to church as our parents were at our age & would like us to be. And in my church (Church of Christ), some seem to think that if we just add instrument accompaniment (instead of "a capella" only), that'll fix everything! They should read this book!
March 15, 2023
THE FAMED APOLOGIST CONFRONTS MODERN YOUTH CULTURE
Josh McDowell wrote in the first chapter of this 2006 book, “This book isn’t about casting blame or trying to determine who is at fault for the things that are happening---or not happening---among our young people… It is abundantly clear that our own ‘Christian’ young people are waking away from the church in alarming numbers. And I’m sure you’ll agree that whatever or whoever is the cause, we all want to find a way to keep your generation from being the last Christian generation. In this book, we want to come to grips with the impact of a cultural view of Christianity, truth, reality, and the church that has completely distorted how our kids understand God… We will also examine what it will take to correct their distorted views of God so that we can rebuild the true foundations of the faith within this generation…” (Pg. 20-21)
He acknowledges, “If I hear one dominating and recurring theme among the many church leaders and families I come in contact with, it’s fear… a fear, deep down, that their kids, having been raised in Christian families and having spent their childhood and teenage years in the church, will, nonetheless, walk away unchanged. They fear that they are the last Christian generation and that their children will depart from the true faith. That fear has become a reality. In past years, between [55% & 66%]… of churched young people have said that the church will play a part in their lives when they leave home. Now only … (33%) of churched youth say that!... Many have estimated that between [69% & 94%]… of their young people are leaving the traditional church after high school… and very few are returning.” (Pg. 13) Later, he adds, “We haven’t lacked creative resources or high-impact Christian events over the last decade. We are inundated with books, courses and events… [But] for some reason we’re losing more ground with this new generation of young people than we are gaining.” (Pg. 19)
He states, “It is apparent that here at the beginning of the twenty-first century we face a generation of young people who no longer hold to what most evangelicals consider to be the true foundations of the Christian faith: belief in the deity of Christ, the reliability of Scripture, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus… those three pillars are central, crucial, and indispensable … I must admit I was taken aback when I first learned that some churched young people didn’t see the value in discovering the evidence for Christ’s deity, his resurrection, or for the reliability of Scripture. It forced me and many Christian leaders to re-examine how we were presenting the Christan faith to this generation. Out of that re-examination comes this biblical blueprint to rebuild the true foundations of the Christian faith… What we are calling for is a resurgence of a Christ-centered, God-focused message that is biblical yet real and relevant to today’s youth…” (Pg. 27-28)
He asks, “How could this have happened? How can a generation raised largely in the church and from good Christian homes so misunderstand the essence of Christianity? It is not surprising when you realize that the majority of our young people have not been systematically and sufficiently indoctrinated into the true faith. Instead, they have been indoctrinated by a culture that places a premium on all religious beliefs being equal.” (Pg. 38)
He notes, “Many people involved in youth ministry believe that the rise of electronic media---television, movies, video games, computer games and online services---have made ‘stimulation addicts’ of many teens and have adversely affected their attention spans. Movies and television change images every couple of seconds, and kids’ minds get used to that. As a result, they, at times, find it difficult to focus on any form of content for any extended period of time. Consequently, youth group meetings are often filled with high-energy games, interactive participation, trips, retreats, and all the entertainment imaginable, plus a few minutes of devotions… the frenzy of activity that youth pastors generate … keeps them going, and going, and going. But the question is, ‘going where?’” (Pg. 59)
He observes, “We have an entire generation that believes that the power of faith is in faith alone. They think that sincerity and intensity of the one believing is what counts. When in fact, the power of our belief rests not in us but in the power of the One in whom we’ve placed our trust. Jesus placed the value of believing not in the act of belief but in him and him alone… He is the one with the power to transform us from death to life in him, and when we lead our young people to see faith as the arm that reaches out to receive Christ’s transforming life, we guide them into a dependence on him.” (Pg. 107-108)
He points out, “Do you realize that 3.5 million kids suffer from depression each year in the U.S. alone, and more then 8% of the adolescent population show signs of major depression in any given year?... many teens who don’t struggle with depression, nonetheless, struggle with feelings of rejection, loneliness, and alienation. Many websites, blogs, video games, movies, and musicians exploit such teen struggles… Some believe these parts of teen culture create hopelessness, self-destruction, and violence toward others… Our young people need hope. They need a biblical worldview with a mission in life that will help them weather the storms of adolescence… Our young people need to understand clearly that the God of restoration is calling them to see from his perspective and join him in a mission that literally defines their eternal destiny.” (Pg. 143)
This book will be of keen interest to Christians concerned about young people today.
Josh McDowell wrote in the first chapter of this 2006 book, “This book isn’t about casting blame or trying to determine who is at fault for the things that are happening---or not happening---among our young people… It is abundantly clear that our own ‘Christian’ young people are waking away from the church in alarming numbers. And I’m sure you’ll agree that whatever or whoever is the cause, we all want to find a way to keep your generation from being the last Christian generation. In this book, we want to come to grips with the impact of a cultural view of Christianity, truth, reality, and the church that has completely distorted how our kids understand God… We will also examine what it will take to correct their distorted views of God so that we can rebuild the true foundations of the faith within this generation…” (Pg. 20-21)
He acknowledges, “If I hear one dominating and recurring theme among the many church leaders and families I come in contact with, it’s fear… a fear, deep down, that their kids, having been raised in Christian families and having spent their childhood and teenage years in the church, will, nonetheless, walk away unchanged. They fear that they are the last Christian generation and that their children will depart from the true faith. That fear has become a reality. In past years, between [55% & 66%]… of churched young people have said that the church will play a part in their lives when they leave home. Now only … (33%) of churched youth say that!... Many have estimated that between [69% & 94%]… of their young people are leaving the traditional church after high school… and very few are returning.” (Pg. 13) Later, he adds, “We haven’t lacked creative resources or high-impact Christian events over the last decade. We are inundated with books, courses and events… [But] for some reason we’re losing more ground with this new generation of young people than we are gaining.” (Pg. 19)
He states, “It is apparent that here at the beginning of the twenty-first century we face a generation of young people who no longer hold to what most evangelicals consider to be the true foundations of the Christian faith: belief in the deity of Christ, the reliability of Scripture, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus… those three pillars are central, crucial, and indispensable … I must admit I was taken aback when I first learned that some churched young people didn’t see the value in discovering the evidence for Christ’s deity, his resurrection, or for the reliability of Scripture. It forced me and many Christian leaders to re-examine how we were presenting the Christan faith to this generation. Out of that re-examination comes this biblical blueprint to rebuild the true foundations of the Christian faith… What we are calling for is a resurgence of a Christ-centered, God-focused message that is biblical yet real and relevant to today’s youth…” (Pg. 27-28)
He asks, “How could this have happened? How can a generation raised largely in the church and from good Christian homes so misunderstand the essence of Christianity? It is not surprising when you realize that the majority of our young people have not been systematically and sufficiently indoctrinated into the true faith. Instead, they have been indoctrinated by a culture that places a premium on all religious beliefs being equal.” (Pg. 38)
He notes, “Many people involved in youth ministry believe that the rise of electronic media---television, movies, video games, computer games and online services---have made ‘stimulation addicts’ of many teens and have adversely affected their attention spans. Movies and television change images every couple of seconds, and kids’ minds get used to that. As a result, they, at times, find it difficult to focus on any form of content for any extended period of time. Consequently, youth group meetings are often filled with high-energy games, interactive participation, trips, retreats, and all the entertainment imaginable, plus a few minutes of devotions… the frenzy of activity that youth pastors generate … keeps them going, and going, and going. But the question is, ‘going where?’” (Pg. 59)
He observes, “We have an entire generation that believes that the power of faith is in faith alone. They think that sincerity and intensity of the one believing is what counts. When in fact, the power of our belief rests not in us but in the power of the One in whom we’ve placed our trust. Jesus placed the value of believing not in the act of belief but in him and him alone… He is the one with the power to transform us from death to life in him, and when we lead our young people to see faith as the arm that reaches out to receive Christ’s transforming life, we guide them into a dependence on him.” (Pg. 107-108)
He points out, “Do you realize that 3.5 million kids suffer from depression each year in the U.S. alone, and more then 8% of the adolescent population show signs of major depression in any given year?... many teens who don’t struggle with depression, nonetheless, struggle with feelings of rejection, loneliness, and alienation. Many websites, blogs, video games, movies, and musicians exploit such teen struggles… Some believe these parts of teen culture create hopelessness, self-destruction, and violence toward others… Our young people need hope. They need a biblical worldview with a mission in life that will help them weather the storms of adolescence… Our young people need to understand clearly that the God of restoration is calling them to see from his perspective and join him in a mission that literally defines their eternal destiny.” (Pg. 143)
This book will be of keen interest to Christians concerned about young people today.
February 7, 2016
This book is intended for the "older folk" in churches who have no idea how the young postmodern millennials think. As part of the latter group, the book correctly identified the many differences between the two groups. But sadly, the apologetic arguments were few and thin. There is little likelihood of any of us buying the remedial solutions that McDowell was proposing. He could have either gone down the philosophical or the theological route, but it seems that he intends the book to be read by an audience that has receive little education in either area. I cannot recommend this book.
August 3, 2016
I think McDowell has some good things to say here, but I found the book, overall, to be tedious. I think he could have said what he wanted in a booklet and been much better off.
December 31, 2020
It was ok, but I felt it was too much surface level, and I feel like it pretended to have all the answers. It's true that there are interesting things happening in our culture, and it points out these important issues and some of the shortcomings of the church.
Towards the end of the book it turned into more of a sales plug for the author's website. But there was an interesting description contrasting "event-driven ministry" with "process-driven ministry", with the latter being more goal-based, e.g. to improve folks' relationship with God. Versus more event-driven which is more surface-level and uses gimmicks just to try to get people to show up to church, trying to entertain them, which ends up just trying to compete with the expert entertainers of the world. And those fail because they are lousy entertainers, and provide such shallow services that don't go deep enough to scratch the itch that most folks have.
Towards the end of the book it turned into more of a sales plug for the author's website. But there was an interesting description contrasting "event-driven ministry" with "process-driven ministry", with the latter being more goal-based, e.g. to improve folks' relationship with God. Versus more event-driven which is more surface-level and uses gimmicks just to try to get people to show up to church, trying to entertain them, which ends up just trying to compete with the expert entertainers of the world. And those fail because they are lousy entertainers, and provide such shallow services that don't go deep enough to scratch the itch that most folks have.
March 13, 2017
Although there will be authentic Christians who proclaim God's truths in every generation, Josh McDowell is correct in pointing out that many young people today don't know or follow those truths even though they claim to be Christian. There's a lot of good information in this book about how adults within the church and the family can teach and train their children in the ways of Christ. Even if you don't have kids or teens, the book will help you learn a little about guiding the children that come under your influence either directly or indirectly.
August 17, 2025
Granted, I’m not the target audience of the book and it is 20 years old (and was required to read it for a class that is unrelated to the topic of the book), BUT I did not enjoy this one. There’s a lot of fear mongering about the state of the youth. Then McDowell gives basic solutions about communicating the gospel in certain ways combined with odd tangents about going back to the Hebrew way of learning. There’s some good nuggets and insights here and there, but I wouldn’t recommend The Last Christian Generation to anyone.
December 10, 2022
McDowell is passionate about teaching people how to effectively minister to following generations of Christians, and this book shows that. McDowell gives good, practical advice for Christians who have the responsibility of teaching new generations of Christians. Not so much about to read cover to cover, but a helpful reference book for people in ministry to young people.
December 17, 2010
I received this book as a gift, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading it. I'm familiar with Josh McDowell's work, but the title gave me pause - I was concerned that it would be another alarmist, doomsday treatise. Fortunately, I was wrong on that point. The authors are rightly concerned about the challenges we face in reading teens for Christ, but they aren't inciting panic. They have a plan for meeting the challenge, and it appears to be a good one. They've lined up resources for anyone willing to join in their plan, and they're moving forward in an organized manner.
My only quibble with the book is that I really only got the complete picture for what they were building in the last 50 pages. They started laying the foundation on page 1, but I was well into the tenth or eleventh chapter before I could tell whether they were looking to build a house or barn (so to speak). Maybe that's just my problem, but it means I really need to go back and read it again in order to grok the details.
I recommend this book for anyone in ministry who feels that they aren't as effective as they could (or should) be. Just be prepared to read it twice.
My only quibble with the book is that I really only got the complete picture for what they were building in the last 50 pages. They started laying the foundation on page 1, but I was well into the tenth or eleventh chapter before I could tell whether they were looking to build a house or barn (so to speak). Maybe that's just my problem, but it means I really need to go back and read it again in order to grok the details.
I recommend this book for anyone in ministry who feels that they aren't as effective as they could (or should) be. Just be prepared to read it twice.
September 22, 2023
The Last Christian Generation was a thought-provoking and eye-opening book. One of the biggest things that stood out to me was to see the extent of the difference between how 'kids these days' perceive reality and how my generation perceives it.
Here are a few examples of key concepts and their meaning.
Tolerance - Adult culture: Accepting others without agreeing with or sharing their beliefs or lifestyle choices.
Tolerance - Youth culture: Accepting that each individual's beliefs, values, lifestyles, and truth claims are equal.
Personal Rights - Adult culture: Everyone has the right to be treated justly under the law.
Personal Rights - Youth culture: Everyone has the right to do what he or she believes is best for himself or herself.
Freedom - Adult culture: Being free to do what you know you ought to do.
Freedom - Youth culture: Being able to do anything you want to do.
I knew there were generational differences, but I had not seen it so succinctly expressed.
Here are a few examples of key concepts and their meaning.
Tolerance - Adult culture: Accepting others without agreeing with or sharing their beliefs or lifestyle choices.
Tolerance - Youth culture: Accepting that each individual's beliefs, values, lifestyles, and truth claims are equal.
Personal Rights - Adult culture: Everyone has the right to be treated justly under the law.
Personal Rights - Youth culture: Everyone has the right to do what he or she believes is best for himself or herself.
Freedom - Adult culture: Being free to do what you know you ought to do.
Freedom - Youth culture: Being able to do anything you want to do.
I knew there were generational differences, but I had not seen it so succinctly expressed.
July 11, 2008
I read this because a friend gave it to me as we prepare for a roundtable discussion with other parents at church. It's a very fast read, and I do share some of McDowell's concerns about today's youth, but his analysis of youth culture and postmodernism are too alarmist and not rigorous enough. To some extent McDowell may be conflating our youth's turning away from Modern Evangelicalism with a decline in Christianity. His name is almost synonymous with modern popular christian apologetics: his most popular book was Evidence that Demands a Verdict. So, it's definitely the end of an era: McDowell's era.
To put it another way, I think he is comparing Modernity's best with Postmodernity's worst, a common straw-man fallacy.
To put it another way, I think he is comparing Modernity's best with Postmodernity's worst, a common straw-man fallacy.
August 27, 2012
Cultivating a Biblical Worldview??? Do you have one, do you know what it is? What is Christian Worldview vs. Biblical Worldview? How authentic are you as you live out your faith? Are you living in such a way that causes others to ask you what do you have that I don't have or do you live like the world?
This book is a must own for all followers of Jesus - find out what is happening in the post-modern generation, today's pop-culture and discover what has happened in previous generations to help all of us out so we can truly understand one another. Josh bless you for writing TRUTH!
This book is a must own for all followers of Jesus - find out what is happening in the post-modern generation, today's pop-culture and discover what has happened in previous generations to help all of us out so we can truly understand one another. Josh bless you for writing TRUTH!
April 9, 2012
As a youth leader, this book was very helpful and I got a lot of wonderful pointers from it about how the youth understands the Bible and God in comparison to how I look at those things. It gave me encouragement of how to approach them and teach them Biblical truths so they can better grasp God and His will for them so that they hopefully will be motivated to live fully for Him. I think all youth leaders and youth pastors should read this book.
August 24, 2016
I liked the beginning of this book and thought some of the issues he raised need to be addressed so we do not have the next generation leave the church. Where this book falls short for me is when the solution he pitches is to buy his ministry materials.
June 10, 2010
I've really just started this, but it was recommended and loaned to me by a co-worker.
Read
August 4, 2009This book is a must read for every pastor and youth pastor in America.
June 7, 2012
Excellent book that all Christians should read to see possible future of our youth and how to help them with a Biblical worldview.
February 14, 2014
i like it
August 7, 2013
I use this book in conjunction with Family Driven Faith and Family Shepherds by Voddie Baucham.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews