Jonathan Pearson
Chicago: Moody Press, 2014, 128 pp., $11.96
Chicago: Moody Press, 2014, 128 pp., $11.96
I must confess, when I realized the author was a millennial, I doubted the depth of insight someone so young could offer. I was schooled. Who better than a millennial to speak to the attributes of that generation? Pearson won me over with his honesty and vulnerable look at his own generation. Each of the eight chapters he includes considers a shift from a negative characteristic of leadership to a positive one. The eight negative characteristics reads like an unfair, stereotypic description of the millennial generation: entitled, unreliable, dissentious, conforming, proud, passive, selfish and premature. As much as Pearson argues these are shifts that need to be made by young leaders, as a baby-boom-leader, I don’t believe this list is exclusive to young leaders. Still, Pearson doesn’t shy away from courageously calling millennial leaders to shift from entitlement to honor, unreliable to consistent, dissension to cooperation, conformity to integrity, pride to humility, passive to passionate, selfishness to love, and premature to patient. The last chapter was personally the most indicting (I am still shifting), and the first shift was a powerful call to honor those around us. Honor and civility seem to be rare, including within the church. The illustrations and anecdotes in the book are cutting-edge, and Pearson uses numerous biblical leaders to support the eight shifts. Each chapter ends with social media options and Shift-Shaper application ideas for the reader to consider. Although targeted for young, millennial leaders, the principles in Next Up: Eight Great Shifts Young Leaders Make are timeless.