Spiritual, Not Religious

In this episode of Spiritual, Not Religious, Shawn Winburn, Mollie June Miller Bachman, and cohost James Henry sit down with Dr. Tanita Maddox (Young Life’s National Director for Generational Impact and a Gen Z researcher) to explore insights from her book What Gen Z Really Wants to Know About God. With warmth and humor (including a memorable “Ghostbusters of hot chocolate” backpack), Tanita shares how her decades in youth ministry led her to realize Gen Z isn’t “harder” so much as living in a different world—marked by anxiety, suffering on constant display through digital media, and a pervasive low-trust culture. The conversation centers on why Gen Z’s questions—like “Is God good?” “Do all people matter?” and “What is true?”—must be heard through their lived experience rather than answered with quick clichés, emphasizing the need for presence, humility, and genuine listening. Tanita and the hosts unpack “contextualizing the gospel” as an unavoidable (and necessary) practice, critique the church’s tendency to rely on “high-trust” assumptions in a low-trust era, and reflect on how Jesus models love over being “right.” The episode closes with practical encouragement for welcoming Gen Z—making space for doubt, taking small relational risks, and trusting that God can handle honest wrestling—along with ways to connect with Tanita and the podcast team.