Generational IQ brings the best generational insights to help you dispel tensions in your family and church community. We may be tempted to wonder, Why can’t we go back to the way things were? Like the young woman going into the dark basement, we can’t go back. But we can turn on the lights.
6 Reasons to Read this Book
1. Generational intelligence will help you understand what’s really going on.
It’s like we’re watching a scary movie in which the girl heads into the dark basement where the bad guy is lurking. We yell at the screen, “Don’t go down there! What’s wrong with you?” Many of us are doing the same to those closest to us, and frankly, it isn’t helping.


2. You will know how to pass on your faith to your children and grandchildren (and what NOT to do if they are prodigals).
Nothing worries parents (or grandparents) like how to pass on their faith to their kids, especially when they get into their twenties and seem to drift spiritually. The reality is 70 percent of high school students who are active in their church will drop out for at least a year between 18 and 23. I’ll show you how to change that.
You may be shocked when you learn why parents’ typical reactions actually push their sons or daughters further from God. I’ll also give you the secrets of what the families who are the most successful at passing on their faith do differently.
My Child is Leaving the Faith - Watch the Video3. You will get into the best spiritual shape of your life.
What difference would it make to your spiritual life if you could see what was holding you back? Each generation absorbs ideas from the times they grow up in that give them unique spiritual strengths and significant temptations. Unless they understand those spiritual vulnerabilities, they will never have as strong of faith as they want.
Here’s the amazing part: the other generations can help you because they can see what your generation can’t about your spiritual weaknesses. I lay out the good and the bad for each generation and give practical ideas to jumpstart your spiritual growth.


4. You’ll learn why other generations think differently about their faith.
Each generation’s mindset about religion is so different from the one before it that many people are confused about how to talk about their faith. They get tongue tied with people who are of a different generation or are spiritual but not religious, even if they are in their family.
I provide a field guide to how each generation thinks about religion—especially Christianity—so you can communicate more naturally and with more grace and impact.
5. You will worry smarter about your church.
Everyday people ask me every day why Millennials and Gen Xers aren’t coming to their church and if Christianity will be around in three generations now that Pew Research Center says the Nones are growing and Millennials are dropping away from church.
But I say the future is bright for the church—if we worry smarter. We’ve been asking the wrong questions and worrying over the wrong things. Christianity isn’t dying, Millennials will come to your church, the Nones are not opposed to religion, and the Baby Boomers can still change the world—if we worry smarter.
You need this book before you jump into another discussion about what your church needs to do for its future.

6. Smart people think it’s pretty good.
Smarter with people
Generational IQ is one of the most thought-provoking, engaging, and useful books I have read on a topic that has never been more necessary than now. Haydn sheds light on why our generational standing affects the way we experience God and relate to others. Over and over, I found myself nodding and whispering, “Ahhh . . . now that behavior makes sense.” This profound book should be necessary reading for all believers. It has truly changed the way I will approach my ministry
– ANGIE SMITH, author of I Will Carry You
Smarter with your family
Filled with practical application, it moves us to an understanding of the Millennial generation that will not only inform our parenting but will help us understand how they view God and the church.
– SHERRY SURRATT, CEO and president of MOPS International
Smarter with your church
I’m confident this book will be helpful as we seek to build a truly multigenerational approach to ministry, outreach, and following Jesus together.
– KYLE IDLEMAN, bestselling author of Not a Fan
In Generational IQ, Shaw provides the intellectual framework necessary to tackle the communication gap between the generations. It is a timely and tailor-made treatment of generational awareness.
– ED STETZER, executive director of Lifeway Research