Theologian, social commentator and Southern Baptist minister Russell Moore has appealed for a stop to "millennial bashing" amid the backlash against a young employee of Yelp who complained about her low salary. The post garnered a slew of negative feedback on social media along the lines that millennials are selfish and entitled.
In his blog, Moore said he could relate to the rants because he often hears the same type of criticism being lodged against Millenial Christians by the older generation of the faithful. However, based on his personal experience of working with the younger set, he said that people should not be so quick to judge them.
He said that the styles of the Gen X and the Baby boomers may not be the same as the Millenials but this does not mean that they are not as devoted to their faith as their elders.
"Most of the Millennial-age gospel Christians I know are far more theologically rooted than their parents' generation. Most of them are far more committed to reaching outside of Christian subcultures to share the gospel with people not like them. Would some of them rather discuss theology than evangelize? Yes, just as many in the last generation would rather discuss evangelism than evangelize," he explained.
The pastor said that it is unfair to subject them to "millennial bashing" because it is but natural for every generation to see the following generation as inferior to theirs.
"Let's stop the Millennial bashing, in public and in private. Let's thank God that he has given us a vibrant, gospel-focused, Christ-following next generation. We can have lots of differing opinions on the finer details of eschatology, but, when it comes to the more immediate future, we should all be pro-Millennial," he appealed.
For his part, Pastor Brandon Smith, who himself is an older Millenial, agreed with Moore's position.
"I'm an older Millennial who's spent most of my ministry & life w/ peers & younger Millennials--@drmoore is spot on," he posted on his Twitter account.
