Since our last post gleaned from the great American hero, Bob Dylan, we’ve decided to journey back to 1965 to visit with Brian Wilson and his Beach Boys for a lesson on youth culture.  What, say you, do we have to learn about youth culture today from the 1960’s? Well give this little prophetic piece a listen my squirrelly friend…

“When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)”

When I grow up to be a man
Will I dig the same things that turn me on as a kid?
Will I look back and say that I wish I hadn’t done what I did?
Will I joke around and still dig those sounds
When I grow up to be a man?

Will I look for the same things in a woman that I dig in a girl?
(fourteen fifteen)
Will I settle down fast or will I first wanna travel the world?
(sixteen seventeen)
Now I’m young and free, but how will it be
When I grow up to be a man?

Will my kids be proud or think their old man is really a square?
(eighteen nineteen)
When they’re out having fun yeah, will I still wanna have my share?
(twenty twenty-one)
Will I love my wife for the rest of my life
When I grow up to be a man?

What will I be when I grow up to be a man? (twenty-two twenty-three)
Won’t last forever (twenty-four twenty-five)
It’s kind of sad (twenty-six twenty-seven)

Won’t last forever (twenty-eight twenty-nine)
It’s kind of sad (thirty thirty-one)
Won’t last forever (thirty-two . . .)

In the 1960’s something very interesting was taking place in youth culture and in the hearts and minds of our boys on the beach.  Adult abandonment was digging a trench in the landscape of adolescence.  Prior to the 1940’s youth culture was relatively non-existent.  Teens really weren’t that different from their parents.

By the 1960’s change was in the air, youth culture was well established, and adults weren’t welcome into the trenches of youth culture.  From that point on, the cultural gap between youth and the adults in their communities and families eroded deeper and deeper.

How did this happen?  While the Beach Boys beautifully harmonized about the fears of growing up, they did so without caring adults to help transition them into adulthood. The fears are the same for youth today, and unfortunately, the adult abandonment is even more pronounced.  Youth look to each other to transition into adulthood and as a result sociologists are telling us that adolescence (starting biologically and ending culturally) is growing – ending around age 30.  That’s right, young people are staying young much longer than they should (cue the Beach Boys’ eerie count down to age 32 – prophetic, eh?).

So, what?

If you are an adult, invest in the next generation.  Get into the trenches – it’s wonderfully messy.  Don’t worry about being called a square.  Find a young person and help them transition into adulthood by talking about their fears of growing up to be a man (or woman).

If you are between the ages of 10 and 30 years old – get a mentor for crying out loud! Preferably one whose life is patterned with repentance and faith.  While our generation clamours for mentors, we miss out because we fear rejection when initiating a mentor/mentee relationship with the adults in our lives.  The benefits of growing up healthily outweigh the cost of the occasional rejection – I promise.

Check out GYFM, where we’re all about serving the global church in engaging the next generation with the Gospel.

The research behind some of my statements is contained in the dissertation and teaching of Dr. Eric Larsen (our fearless leader), and a forthcoming GYFM book.