"Dear kids,

"You know how every generation has a catchy name? Gen X, The Me Generation, The Pepsi Generation, whatever. You know what yours is going to be? Generation Repeat. Why, you ask? Because everything about your culture, with the exception of some emo songs, is stolen from us. And by "us" I mean people old enough to be your parents. People who actually are your parents (and it is with creative liberty that I refer to 'generation' here as anyone coming of age in the 80's, 90's or 00's.).

"I know it's not your fault. You can't help it if the marketers, PR guys, and TV heads put out entertainment and fashions that act as the call of the siren for you. You can't buy or like what's not out there and I'm sorry your choices are so limited. I think it's up to you, the kids who are being spoon fed this regurgitated crap, to come up with your brand of cool.

"We never stole from other decades. You didn't see us suddenly showing up for prom in flapper outfits or hanging out at the arcade with a pack of cigarettes rolled up our t-shirt sleeve. You even stole swing. Who the h--- would think to repeat something like that? Blame Brian Setzer all you want, but you bought the records, you danced the dances.

"Since the 80's ended, it's been nothing but pop culture on repeat. You had your bellbottoms and tie-dye shirts. A million TV shows dedicated to going down on the past like an old boyfriend you're trying to win back. That 70's Show. That 80's Show. We Love the 70's. We Love the 80's. We Love the 90s? Are we going to be nostalgic for the future next?

"When I walk through the local mall and I feel like I've reverted back to 1976. I went through this once, why are you forcing me to do it again? The haircuts are straight out of my high school year book. The t-shirts are all Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. The girls are wearing Hukapoo shirts and tube tops, the boys constantly flitting the hair out of their eyes, looking for all the world like Matt Dillon in Over the Edge. Even your emo music and punk fashion isn't new. Hello? Is this Dashboard Confessional? Morrisey called, he wants his act back. And if you see Good Charlotte tell them Black Flag wants to kick their a---s.

"You're even stealing our movies. You tried out Rollerball and Planet of the Apes and when they failed, you went for the jugular. Bad News Bears. Longest Yard. Amityville Horror. That's our stuff. And your predilections for eating up anything that came from a culture 20 years ahead of yours is what's feeding the entertainment and marketing industries, it's what's making them hungry for more, more, more. That's why they are remaking Poseidon Adventure and that's why REO Speedwagon has reunited. That's right folks. It's your fault Poison is still touring. Stop buying into the whole 'retro is cool' thing and they'll stop throwing our leftovers at you. But, no. I think you're content to listen to 'The Song Remains the Same' as if you're the first one to hear it. I think you're content to wear those ridiculous handkerchief skirts as if it's a blazing new fashion. Oh, and while I have your attention: Jessica Simpson in Dukes of Hazzard? ...what an abomination that is, and I've only seen the video.

"To be fair, I can see why you want to rip us off. I mean, what do you have? Does your generation really want to be known for R. Kelly's five part 'Trapped in the Closet?' Are you going to spend your 20 year reunion looking at pictures of a pregnant Britney Spears or reminiscing about Paris Hilton's sexcapades or cracking up at pictures of your old boyfriend sporting a Gotti Brothers headband? If this is all you've got, then it's no wonder those Def Leppard CDs are still flying off the shelf. It's no wonder you are buying Transformers toys and wearing vintage Journey t-shirts and playing vector-based Atari games on a $2,000 computer.

"Maybe I should be happy. Perhaps I should even be proud that my son is obsessed with Zeppelin or my daughter has an affinity for John Hughes movies. Maybe her Hukapoo shirt and his Outsiders style hair cut are a testament to the fact that their parents' entertainment reigns far superior over what new products are available to them today.

"Still, it's kind of sad. Years from now all of your pop culture memories will consist of either crappy horror movies and faux punk bands, or remakes of old movies, re-masters of old CDs, re-issues of old video games and re-stylings of old fashions. We'll be watching a marathon of I Love the 00's and at some point we'll realize that it's just I Love the 70's, with some news footage edited in.

"I'm afraid it's too late to save your generation. But that doesn't worry me as much as you think. After all, you're doing us a favor. We can borrow your music. Save money by giving our kids old clothes we have stuffed in the attic. Kick your a---s in video games. Laugh at your punk rock. Recite more lines from Airplane! than you. And make you insanely jealous by saying things like 'Yea, I was at the first Lollapalooza.' Or 'Oh geez, saw Zeppelin live six or seven times.' Or 'I have an original Burger King Jedi glass. No, I didn't buy it on eBay. I got it a Burger King the day it came out, babe. I was THERE.' What will you have to tell your kids? 'That's right, we were there for the Reunion of the Eagles Concert to Commemorate 20th Anniversary of the Farewell Eagles Concert!'

"Go ahead, be Generation Repeat. It's kind of working out for us, after all. "

Depending on your age, this rant will be received differently but still with some chuckles, some ire, and some pondering. Throughout the sarcasm you know the message is true. This is Generation Repeat.

To further add to this Generation Repeat, USA Today (October 6, 2005) just ran a Life section front page article on all the '80s nostalgia Hollywood will be forcing on us. You can look forward to movie versions of Dallas and Miami Vice. John Travolta, another '80s repeat will be playing J.R. Ewing. The Transformers, Voltron, and The Smurfs are getting makeovers so new fans can be made out of the children of the children of the '80s. And the joked on VHI series I Love the '80s has a third installment, I Love the '80s: 3-D. That's right, you can watch your '80s memories with 3-D glasses on.

Is there any creative originality out there anywhere?

Back in 1990, film director John Waters (Cry-Baby, Hairspray) wrote a backpage article for the special edition Newsweek issue to kick off the last decade of the Twentieth Century. Waters wrote, "Sex, drugs and rock and roll all seem so old hat. Who would have ever thought you could die from sex? It was much more fun when you only went to hell. In the old days, the most curious rebels took drugs to think more; now the stupidest ones take them so they don't have to think at all.

"...Stop being so rebelliously lazy. Here's how to horrify me so it will work. Start off by making it cool to be poor again, the only way left to be un-American. You shouldn't want to be rich, you should want to embarrass the rich. Don't move to New York or Los Angeles; stay home and scare the neighbors. ...The uncoolest thing in the '90s will be racism. My generation will pretend to be liberal, while still thinking the same stupid racist thoughts. Expose us by reversing the usual negative cliches and watch all the phony, politically correct parents see red. ...Since you can't have promiscuous sex anymore, consider yourself lucky. No sex makes you more nuts and that's good. Besides, you didn't get to think up sex in the first place, so why bother? ...Yeah, yeah, yeah, they took drugs in the '60s. So what?! Then they all became alcoholics and addicts. And now, even worse, you've got to listen to how they overcame their addictions.

"See? It's easy to get a rise out of us old farts. You're finally on to something new--a dawn of devious teen behavior to mock the millennium. Get moving!"

As I mentioned in previous Pair of Cleats, Wild Frontier was birthed from a specific call on my life and a nagging gut feeling that youth ministry could be done better. This John Water's article was written in 1990, the same year Wild Frontier was launched. I read and re-read this John Waters editorial many times during those first years of Wild Frontier with hope. Yet for many, many reasons (including marketers and near-sixty- year old musicians who still want to make money) we have Generation Repeat.

From that USA Today article: "There's a point where you stop caring about new music and start caring about things from a point in your youth. We're most impressionable when we're 12 to 24 years old, so that what we wore, what we watched, what we listened to has greater import at the time, when you had yet to be distracted by things like jobs and families." This is from Michael Hirschorn, VHI programming vice president and the one responsible for giving us I Love the '80s.

As youth workers we totally agree with that statement. We know about this impressionable opportunity. This is why we spend time to make powerful, God-centered memories with our youth. But are we giving them a rehash of our faith that was important to us when we were ages 12 to 24 or are we giving them a fresh perspective on faith so they can make their own memories and spiritual markers?

Are you enabling Generation Repeat? Take some time to re-evaluate your personal youth ministry. Ask yourself these questions:

• Are you needlessly repeating things of previous decades?
• Does anything your youth ministry do remind you of something on repeat?
• What is the purpose for your retro look, whether it is your personal wardrobe or the decor of your youth room?
• Are you searching your gut with the Holy Spirit for new things?
• Are you searching your gut with the Holy Spirit's help to bring youth into their own relationship with Jesus that will sustain them for their life journey?

In your soul searching, let me encourage you to read this book that I just love. It is Holy Wow by Jeff White. Jeff White is one creative guy and he passes on tons of tips to help you brainstorm into your own unique creativity.

Perhaps this generation will get a rise out of old farts for doing the right things. We are seeing glimpses of it among today's teens with the increases in volunteerism and the reactions to the tsunami and hurricane disasters. We are also seeing it with the increase of short-term missions.

Go ahead. Inspire your teens.