What Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show Reveals About The Next Generation

As I sat there with my family late into the second quarter, disappointed by an underwhelming Super Bowl game, I thought hard about whether or not we would tune into Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show. Even as a youth pastor (and a black one at that), I don’t know Kendrick Lamar’s music very well and felt nervous about what my young children would hear if we tuned in as a family.

To my surprise, what we got was one of the tamest halftime shows in recent history. But, far more importantly, we got one of the most thought-provoking halftime shows of all time. And regardless of where you lie on the political spectrum, there are some significant takeaways for us as youth pastors in light of Kendrick’s performance and the reception thereafter from Gen Z.

Kendrick’s “Boring” Halftime Show Was A Statement, Not A Performance

Again, whether you agree with the sentiments of Kendrick Lamar’s statement or not is not the point. It is important, though, that you understand the components of his message if you want to effectively glean takeaways for shepherding the next generation. Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show was a commentary on at least three things (and, again, these are his viewpoints. I’m simply explaining them):

1) The current administration is a problem. American citizens need to take notice.

There were several elements of his show that expressed this opinion. Samuel L. Jackson, as Uncle Sam, almost sarcastically represented the voice of the government. At one point, Kendrick declared “You chose the right time but the wrong guy,” hinting that those who chose him to be the halftime performer chose the right time in our nation’s history to give the “wrong guy” a platform. The halftime show traditionally delivers good vibes, mellow nostalgia, and eye candy. Kendrick had no interest in any of the three. He wasn’t the right guy for that mission, but from his viewpoint, his voice is reaching people at “the right time.”

2) Black people are still being oppressed and pigeonholed in our country.

Expressed throughout the set was the notion that black people were and are still not being treated equally in our nation. There were zero white performers on the field (a Super Bowl first). The dancers wore red, white and blue and formed an American flag with their backs—symbolizing the ideology that America was built on the backs of black people. Several of “Uncle Sam’s” comments aimed to convey that black people should tone down their culture to avoid seeming threatening.

3) No more sweeping dark secrets under the rug.

Another subplot of Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show was the climax of his ongoing, very public conflict with performing artist Drake. In short, allegations have circulated over the past year or two that Drake has predatorial tendencies toward minors. This has been propagated by several videos of Drake doing and saying questionable things in public spaces and televised interviews with young women in the industry. Kendrick Lamar’s meteoric rise in popularity has come on the back of his hit song Not Like Us, which directly and unapologetically calls Drake out as a predator.

Drake has sued Kendrick and his label over the song, calling it slander. This is why there was great tension in younger and black circles about whether or not Kendrick would perform his hit song at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. If you’re already getting sued, doubling down on the largest platform in America might be counterproductive to resolving the lawsuit, right?

But by going ahead and performing Not Like Us, Kendrick made a statement about the dark secrets of the Hollywood elite:

We call out dark secrets regardless of the consequences.

And in light of all that’s come out about megastars like Diddy and Jay-Z, Kendrick’s fans and an overwhelming majority of the next generation have responded extremely positively to Kendrick’s bold decision.

Why This Matters To The Next Generation

We can all have differing opinions on Kendrick Lamar, his music, his message, and his halftime show. But as if he wasn’t already influential before, Kendrick just solidified himself as perhaps the most influential celebrity in America for Gen Z.

• With the country having just come off the heels of intense, ongoing conversations around race, Kendrick gave a voice to black oppression on the largest stage of them all.
• Under an administration that is openly anti-DEI (a philosophy the next and possibly most naturally inclusive generation greatly resonates with), and with unprecedented changes happening at the federal level, the tone of Kendrick’s show gives sympathizers in the next generation someone with power to rally behind.
• In the aftershock of the #MeToo movement, he has, understanding the consequences, called out an influential, rich, and powerful figure for their alleged harmful acts against children. You can appreciate why the digital natives of the next generation—who frequently encounter online predators—would resonate with someone willing to take that stand.

What We Can Learn And Leverage As Youth Pastors

You don’t have to agree with your students to lead them and shepherd them toward Christlikeness. We are generational missionaries, after all. The overwhelmingly positive reaction to Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show tells us two very important things about the next generation:

1) They value substance over flash.

We’ve been seeing this trend over the past decade in youth ministry. It’s far less important to be the best show in town. What’s far more important is to give them something that matters at youth group. The halftime show “should” be flashy, but this year, it wasn’t. And the next generation LOVED IT. We can leverage that for Kingdom purposes as we build out the structure and culture of our youth group environments.

So when students show up to youth group, maybe it serves them well for us to have put more time and energy into the lesson or discussion than the game. Maybe our events don’t have to only focus on fun. Perhaps serving in the community or experiencing God in nature would be something our students resonate with. Teenagers get all of the flash they can handle on their phones. What they can’t get from their device is something real—something that matters. Let’s create spaces to give them that.

2) They value transparency and integrity.

I’m not making a statement about every aspect of Kendrick Lamar’s personal integrity. I don’t know Kendrick Lamar personally, and neither do you. At the Super Bowl, Kendrick openly exposed the darkness he saw in a figurehead of the industry—at great cost to himself (that lawsuit just became a much bigger problem). Better yet, his integrity-laden transparency took a step toward further protecting them—the next generation. The next generation’s positive response demonstrates that they value that.

We can leverage that by being leaders of transparency and integrity in our youth ministries. We can be leaders who advocate for our students to senior leadership. When we make mistakes, lose our cool, or overlook someone, we can be leaders who own up and apologize. We can, at an appropriate level, share our stories with students so they know we’re not perfect. We can model for them what it looks like to be a work in progress.

We’re ministers. Of course we value transparency and integrity. But the next generation just emphasized with memes, reposts, and shares that they value it too. We can leverage that.

Final Thought: The Next Generation Is Being Called To Wake Up

The imagery of being “asleep” versus “awake” treads on tricky ground. Woke culture has been viscerally divisive among the Church over the past few years. But if we can thoughtfully tread that ground for a minute, I want to leave you with the same thing Kendrick left the audience with at the end of his show. He ended his set with: “Turn this TV off.”

It’s a reference to one of his (pretty vulgar, to be honest) songs, tv off. In it, Kendrick calls his audience to wake up, turn off the distractions, and pay attention to themselves and society around them. Ending the setlist with that line was an intentional call-to-action based on Kendrick’s perspective of the current climate.

Again, whether any of us agrees with him or not is not the point. Let’s agree that one of the most influential voices in pop culture is telling the next generation to wake up, take notice, and participate. Yes, the words “wake up” feel a bit divisive. True, the application points of that call-to-action will differ for different people. But we can leverage his message telling students to disengage from distraction and engage in more meaningful pursuits.

The next generation is being called to wake up. And we can all agree that the greatest thing they could possibly wake up to is Kingdom pursuits. So let’s set aside our differences, disengage from the divisive distractions, and leverage the inherent values of the next generation:

They’re ready for substance.

They want transparency and integrity.

They’re responding to the call to wake up.

Kendrick is one of the most influential celebrities for them. You, however, are the one of the most influential real-life people for them. Find the synergy in Kendrick’s message and bend it toward Kingdom purposes. This is how we effectively preach the gospel to the next generation.

Related Posts

Diversity And Inclusion In Youth Ministry

Handling Conflict In Youth Ministry