Last week we gained clarity on our grandparenting role and surveyed some spiritual practices for fulfilling it. To be most effective in carrying out our role, however, there is a huge and important piece that impacts our work that must not be overlooked. As we grandparent, it is essential that we consider what is happening in the broader cultural context. Understand that our job would be difficult enough if the only obstacles we faced were our grandchildren’s own sin nature and independent thinking. But this is not the case. The cultural pressure surrounding our grandchildren creates context. The truth is that we are carrying out our God-given responsibility in a culturally loaded moment, one that adds complexity to our calling.
And here’s the thing. We are immigrants to this brave new world, constantly moaning aloud and shaking our heads at how dramatically things have changed. Yet, our grandchildren are not. Indeed, they are natives!
In his talk, Truth, Technology, and Identity, John Stonestreet of the Colson Center speaks to grandparents about this vitally important reality while challenging our thinking about our cultural moment and sharing four major cultural shifts.
The Story vs. The Moment
It is imperative that Christians learn to view the current cultural moment through a Christian lens, recognizing that the cultural context is not the whole story. The challenges of the moment define the time and place in which we live. They are our context – the WHEN and WHERE. They are not the WHAT.
The WHAT does not change. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, and God has given us the text (His Word), which gives us His agenda for His creation.
The challenge we face is that God’s agenda must be lived out in our context. We must learn to think about the challenges of our cultural moment as Christians – considering the whole story.
The bottom line is that every generation, every believer must find ways to make connections between God’s Word and His world. Including grandparents!
Four Major Shifts
THE DROWNING OF TRUTH IN NOISE
We’re living in the Information Age, a shift as significant as the Industrial Revolution (a shift which, by the way, occurred over decades and completely changed the way we saw life).
The major development of the Information Age is the smartphone (which we might note is equal to the development of the printing press). Since 2007, with the rise of smartphones, the way we think has been rewired—moving from linear to nonlinear thought.
This era is marked by constant access to information, which can be mistaken for wisdom, and is filled with competing ideas and authorities, raising questions about who to trust.
Remembering that our grandchildren do not know a world before 2007, one of the most important things we can do is to help them grow in discernment.
Discernment is the ability to recognize and choose what is true and genuine over what is false. In today’s culture, key concepts like love, truth, and freedom are often mis-defined, making clarity essential. Amid the noise of competing voices, we must offer more than just information. By asking thoughtful, probing questions—like Jesus did—we help our grandchildren engage deeply and think critically about what they believe.
BEING ALONE TOGETHER
Another reality of life in today’s culture is that technology is constantly present.
Author, Sherry Turkle, an MIT professor and expert on technology and identity, has explored the impact of technology over decades. Her early work predicted that computers would become central to how we live and explore identity. Initially optimistic, her later work, Alone Together, reflects concern—warning that technology is replacing real human relationships.
Nearly twenty years after the introduction of the smartphone, I don’t think anyone needs to be convinced about its constant presence in the lives of our grandchildren. Devices have become an added appendage. Eyes are glued to screens. Real-time, face-to-face conversations have become almost nonexistent.
The antidote to this shift? Relationships!
If grandparents prioritize meaningful, undistracted connection—through establishing dedicated “together” time, forcing eye contact, and setting up tech-free sacred spaces like the car, dinner table, and bedroom—they can make a powerful impact on their grandchildren in today’s digital age.
PERPETUAL ADOLESCENCE
In his talk, Stonestreet shares that the concept of a “teenager” is a modern invention. Historically, children transitioned directly into adulthood through rites of passage. What began as a brief transitional phase (ages 13–18) has now extended into the 20s and beyond. Often called Peter Pan Syndrome or Failure to Launch, this shift reflects a culture of low expectations.
There is an antidote to this shift, but like the others, it requires time and intentionality on our part. The antidote to low expectations is setting high expectations. This can be done by investing our time in our grandchildren, surrounding them with positive masculine role models, and engaging in intentional conversations.
IDENTITY AFTER CHRISTIANITY
Sharing the final of these four major shifts, Stonestreet asserts that the most fundamental shift we have undergone in Western culture isn’t just about changing views on morality, but is a deeper shift in how we understand the nature of reality and what it means to be human. In other words, it’s easy to see shifts as a change in our view of morality, but we need to understand that any moral shift we see is the fruit not the root. It’s the consequence not the cause.
We are now living in a time where our understanding of what it means to be human has been completely lost. This shift affects debates around identity where behaviors are now framed as core identities creating generational communication challenges and reflecting a broader cultural identity crisis. To engage meaningfully, moral conversations with our grandchildren must be rooted in discussions about human identity, not just right and wrong.
The antidote to this shift is IMAGO DEI, which emphasizes the need to reclaim a theology centered on the body and human identity. It calls for a renewed understanding of what it means to be human, rooted in the concept of being made in the image of God. This includes not just teaching the next generation how to act, but more importantly, instilling in them a deep understanding of who they are.
Conclusion
All things were created by him and for him.
Colossians 1:16
Colossians 1:16 tells us that grandparenting was created by God and for God. This is an important point for all Christian grandparents to understand because everything God creates, including grandparenting, he creates for a reason.
Our reason – to pass a spiritual legacy to our grandchildren. In this work, we are to partner with parents to raise the next generation to know God, to love Him, and to serve Him.
Certainly, our job is not easy. However, by learning to think about the challenges of our cultural moment as Christians – considering the whole story – we can be more effective in our God-given role.
