I call it trendy. You call it lazy.

Last October we took our combined middle school and high school ministries to Fall Camp. I was in charge of the programming/skits along with our middle school intern. We came up with a theme and came up with all of the skits. We played two guys looking to find who we are. We had a plan for our final skit where we basically just said that we are who we are: two 20-somethings who loved students and wanted to work in youth ministry.

Then we rapped.

Yes, two white guys rapped on stage in front of 200+ teenagers.

We took the music to the very hilarious Youth Ministarz video, split it up, and rapped the entire thing. If you haven’t seen the video, check it out before we go any further:

There are some things in the video that are still true to this day:

The awkward side hug.
The car wash.
Chick Fil A

However, there are some things that are in the video that are true, but are starting to get a little dated.

On Tuesdays, we have what is called Intern Development. It’s where the two interns and the two pastors get together and work through a book or maybe some Scripture. It was last week in ID that I realized the stereotypes in that video are for student pastors who are *gasp* close to 30.

Us 20-somethings, and I put that only because my boss hates that he’s not a 20-something anymore, have somewhat redefined what a student pastor looks like.

Okay, let’s be honest, we haven’t redefined it, we’ve just made our own cliche’s and stereotypes that are just as silly as the guys who are in their 30’s now.

Without further ado, let’s look at a side by side comparison of five cliche’s that are changing:

Facial Hair: In the video, it says, “I’ve got my gotee…” That is true of the 30-year-olds. For an example, here is the beautiful Chris Jessen from Fall Camp:

The gotee is great but I have noticed it is not the facial hair design of choice for the 20-something crowd. Instead, we choose to go with simply scruff or a full beard. For an example, check out my friends Giuseppe and Zach:

Shoes: The second half of the “I’ve got my gotee” line says, “And my New Balance kicks.” While sitting in Intern Development on Tuesday, Jon and Chris both had their feet propped up and were both wearing New Balances. To further prove my example, I just walked into Chris’ office and took this picture:

The 20-something generation, however, goes away from the New Balances. Instead, we wear Toms or Sanuks or maybe even Vans. Since I showed what Chris is wearing today, it’s only fair that I show what I’m wearing to prove my point – a brand new pair of Sanuks that I got for Christmas:

Place to work from: One of the lines in the video says, “Now it’s over to the Starbucks to work on my message.” Coffee shops are very popular to work from. If my boss isn’t in the office, I know that he’s generally here:

That’s his office away from the office.

On the other hand, the younger generation has opted for one of two other places to work from outside of the office:

We love us our overpriced sandwiches and our burrito shops. Personally, I’m a bigger fan of Moe’s Southwest Grill (Welcome to Moe’s!) than I am Chipotle but you get where I’m going with this.

Clothing: The “older” (and yes, I know, wiser) generation chooses to go with the good ole standard hoodie on days when it’s a little colder outside and they need something more than their t-shirt:

On the other hand, us younger guys tend to lean towards the track jacket or the zip up hoodie:

Worship Leaders: One of my favorite parts of the video is when he says, “Got my worship mix on shuffle as I’m changing lanes. Track 1: Chris Tomlin. 2: Chris Tomlin. 3: Hillsong United. 4: CHRIS TOMLIN!” The guys who are now getting to be in their 30’s had Chris Tomlin as their worship leader. He was their guy.

Chris Tomlin is still awesome. We’ve played Our God more than our fair share of times. However, he’s not our go-to worship leader. We go more towards Hillsong or Hillsong United with some Tomlin thrown in. It’s like the roles have been reversed.

I’m sure there are more but this is getting long so I’m going to end it here. The differences come down to one thing, and I’ll break that one thing down from each generation’s point of view:

20-somethings: It’s a convenience thing. Shaving is annoying so we let the scruff go for a little bit. Plus, when we shave completely we all look 12 and like we could still be in high school and that’s just weird. We go with the jackets because it’s easier to zip something up instead of having to pull it over our heads. Doing that might even mess our hair up and you know we spend time getting it to look perfectly messy. We go with Sanuks and Toms because we don’t have to tie them or wear socks. It makes life so much easier and we’re never searching for the lost sock in the dryer.

Guys around 30: They’re lazy. They can’t even tie their shoes. They spend all their time getting their hair to look pretty and won’t even take the time to shave. Oh, and they’re paying $60 for some fabric on top of a piece of rubber and calling that shoes? They’re crazy. There’s no support in those things. And put on some socks. It’s 35 degrees outside. You’re gonna get sick.

There it is. Those are the differences. Do you have more? What did I miss?