If your name begins with a title, I don’t trust you. If that offends you, I’m sorry, but it’s not entirely my fault—it’s how I was raised. Presidents are above the law, doctors bow to Big Pharma, CEOs champion social (media) justice, and pastors rock sneakers and sheep’s clothing. What was once an indication of integrity now feels like a cue that the spotlight’s on, the performance has begun, and I won’t be enjoying the show.
And it’s not just me. My generation, Gen Z, has been labeled “the most skeptical generation,” and for good reason. We grew up with front-row seats to the rise and fall of public figures, exposed not in history books but in real time. Scandal after scandal taught us to expect the worst as trusted authorities were unmasked like Scooby-Doo villains—revealing the greed, corruption, and hypocrisy lurking beneath their carefully crafted personas. (And they would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling Twitter kids!)
The result? My generation is reluctant to trust anyone in authority. A 2023 Gallup poll found that 50 percent of Gen Zers have “very little” trust in Congress, and only 3 percent have “a great deal” of trust in the news and the presidency. Even institutions like the church—once a cornerstone of societal trust—are faltering, with Springtide Research Institute reporting that Gen Z rates the church as a 4.9/10 regarding trustworthiness.
The message from my generation is clear: Your title won’t earn our trust. But this raises a question: Why trust the “Son of God”?
Gen Z Skeptic vs. Jesus
When I began studying the Gospels, my questions were deeply influenced by the leadership failures I’d witnessed—yet Jesus passed each test.
Did Jesus schmooze the wealthy and influential? No. Jesus went out of his way to pursue the people society ignored. His guest list included not kings or high priests but tax collectors, lepers, sinners, and children. He didn’t spend time with the elite to boost his reputation—he spent time with the broken, the marginalized, and the unimportant. Jesus’s ministry was marked by compassion for those with nothing to offer him in return (Matt. 9:10–13; Luke 5:12–16).
Was Jesus a cult leader manipulating his followers? Not even close. Cult leaders demand unquestioning loyalty, isolate their followers, and prey on people’s vulnerabilities. Jesus did none of that. When the rich young ruler walked away, Jesus didn’t chase after him or try to manipulate him into staying (Matt. 19:16–22). When a man hesitated to follow because he wanted to bury his father first, Jesus simply told him the cost: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead” (Luke 9:60). Jesus didn’t coerce; he was honest about the difficulty of following him and let people choose for themselves.
Scandal after scandal taught us to expect the worst as trusted authorities were unmasked like Scooby-Doo villains.
Did Jesus change his opinions for public approval? Nope. Jesus didn’t shift his teachings to gain followers or avoid controversy. When his hard teaching about eating his flesh and drinking his blood offended many, the crowds walked away (John 6:66). Instead of softening his words, Jesus turned to his disciples and asked, “Do you want to go away as well?” (v. 67). Jesus wasn’t interested in saying what people wanted to hear; he was committed to speaking the truth.
Was Jesus an egomaniac seeking praise? At first glance, Jesus’s call to follow him might sound self-serving. But his ministry is nothing like the ego-driven leadership I’ve seen so often. Jesus didn’t seek attention for himself; he often avoided it. When crowds wanted to make him king, he withdrew to pray. When he healed people, he frequently told them not to tell anyone. Jesus’s leadership wasn’t about inflating his image but about serving others.
Jesus: Trustworthy Leader
The Gospels reveal something striking: Jesus isn’t like the leaders I’ve grown up distrusting. Where worldly leaders often chase power and fame for personal gain, Jesus led differently. He critiqued the religious elite for their hypocrisy (Matt. 23:27–28), called the king a “fox” for his schemes (Luke 13:32), and refused to use political power to assert his authority, declaring, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).
Jesus isn’t naive about the world’s brokenness—he sees the selfishness and corruption in human hearts (John 2:25). And yet, instead of avoiding the mess or exploiting it, he steps into it with humility and compassion.
Jesus is a leader worthy of my trust.
Call for a Trustworthy Church
Sadly, the same can’t be said of his church. My generation’s trust in the church is sitting at 4.9/10, and honestly, I get it. Too many Christian leaders have failed to live out the trustworthy leadership Jesus modeled. Too many have chased power instead of service, image instead of integrity, performance instead of truth.
But if I’m being honest, the problem isn’t just out there—it’s in me, too.
I despise showy, power-hungry leaders, but following Jesus has exposed those same tendencies in my own heart. I care about the poor, but I’m too eager to broadcast my good deeds. I value honesty, but I idolize transparency just as much as earlier generations idolized respectability. I call out empty leadership, yet I crave the spotlight too. We say we want humility, but we chase influence. We claim to admire servant leadership, but we follow the loudest voices. We long for something real, yet we’re just as consumed with our own image as those before us.
At the same time, our own skepticism is exhausting. We’ve spent years rolling our eyes at institutions, questioning authority, and tearing down everything that doesn’t meet our standards. But what happens when tearing down isn’t enough?
We’re tired of being cynical. We want to believe in something again.
We’re tired of being cynical. We want to believe in something again.
That’s why millions tuned in to the Asbury Revival—because we wanted to see if something real was happening. It’s why people are drawn to Forrest Frank, who sings about Jesus with the kind of joy that doesn’t need to prove anything. And it’s why “my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” made a comeback in college sports this year.
We may be skeptical of institutions, but we ache to trust in a story again. And in truth, Jesus is the story every generation needs.
Jesus is already trustworthy. The question is—are we willing to trust him?
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