A Preface by David Kinnaman, Barna CEO
I first encountered Ben Windle’s work when I read his digital white paper, “Eight Innovations to Leading Millennials.” It was well written and well conceived, and corresponded to many of the things our research showed were important to Millennials and effective in leading this generation.
When I had the chance to meet Ben and to interact with him about his writing and his thinking, I felt that he represented a voice for younger generations of Christians. As a pastor ministering in Australia, his geographic location gave him a certain distance from the challenges and complexities of the U.S. Church and a kind of fresh, independent but practical perspective on what to do.
As a researcher, I’m often looking at the biggest picture—the 30,000-foot overview of what's happening. Ben is helping to connect the dots from some of the theoretical, changing social dynamics I see to the more practical, boots-on-the-ground experiences of a local pastor. As a Millennial himself, he remains pastoral while also being able to speak from and into the Millennial and Gen Z sensibility.
