Download or read book Awakening Youth Discipleship written by Brian J. Mahan and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Youth ministry has increasingly lost touch with its origins in the way of Jesus and the social practices intrinsic to Christian discipleship, and has instead substituted layers of Jesus talk, middle class values, fun and games, and doses of warm fellow-feeling. Awakening Youth Discipleship articulates the history of this domestication of youth and ministry. Mahan, Warren, and White tell a story of the ways in which our society has colluded to shape a domesticated adolescence. The authors believe a Christian response to this challenge must be multilevel, addressing the problem at three levels--society, church, and individual. The authors propose reclaiming practices of discernment that both engage congregations in social awareness and involve individuals in discerning fuller vocational opportunities than those allowed by popular cultural norms.

Download or read book Awakening Youth Discipleship written by Brian J. Mahan and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Youth ministry has increasingly lost touch with its origins in the way of Jesus and the social practices intrinsic to Christian discipleship, and has instead substituted layers of "Jesus talk," middle class values, fun and games, and doses of "warm fellow-feeling." Awakening Youth Discipleship articulates the history of this domestication of youth and ministry. Mahan, Warren, and White tell a story of the ways in which our society has colluded to shape a domesticated adolescence. The authors believe a Christian response to this challenge must be multilevel, addressing the problem at three levels--society, church, and individual. The authors propose reclaiming practices of discernment that both engage congregations in social awareness and involve individuals in discerning fuller vocational opportunities than those allowed by popular cultural norms.

Download or read book Awakening Youth Discipleship written by Brian J. Mahan and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Youth ministry has increasingly lost touch with its origins in the way of Jesus and the social practices intrinsic to Christian discipleship, and has instead substituted layers of ""Jesus talk,"" middle class values, fun and games, and doses of ""warm fellow-feeling."" Awakening Youth Discipleship articulates the history of this domestication of youth and ministry. Mahan, Warren, and White tell a story of the ways in which our society has colluded to shape a domesticated adolescence. The authors believe a Christian response to this challenge must be multilevel, addressing the problem at three levels--society, church, and individual. The authors propose reclaiming practices of discernment that both engage congregations in social awareness and involve individuals in discerning fuller vocational opportunities than those allowed by popular cultural norms. ""Awakening Youth Discipleship is a terrific, troublesome, hopeful book, offered with characteristic thoughtfulness by three prophets in our midst. Drawing from decades of teaching and research in youth ministry, Brian Mahan, Michael Warren, and David White make a provocative case for youth ministry that practices, as Daniel Berrigan puts it, ""the upside-down hermeneutics of Jesus Christ."" Awakening Youth Discipleship topples many of youth ministry's most sacred cows, and offers strategies that help young people (and the rest of us) resist the deformative power of consumerism. These views are seldom voiced in youth ministry--but our ability to reflect Christ to and with young people absolutely depends upon hearing them."" --Kenda Creasy Dean, Associate Professor of Youth, Church, and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary and author of Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church (Eerdman) and Youth and the Church of ""Benign Whatever-ism"" (Oxford) ""Brian Mahan, Mike Warren, and David White invite us to engage in an increasingly rare and dangerous spiritual practice: thinking. Why do we define teenagers by what they consume? Why does youth ministry feel like a finishing school for the middle class? Who profits from keeping teenagers nice? Where would Jesus shop? Like Jesus, the authors walk us up the steps of the sacred temples, tune our ears to the clink of the money-changers, and then show us how easily the tables are flipped. Awakening Youth Discipleship is a necessary read if youth workers are going to expose the sanctified greed, passionate advertising, and soulful materialism that keeps all of us, young and old, from entering the freedom of Jesus."" --Mark Yaconelli, author of Contemplative Youth Ministry ""Brian, David, and Michael have given us a real gift, a pearl of great price. As a father, a teacher and a consultant, I only wish I had this book years earlier. If, as Rahner said, the church of this century would be a church of mystics, these three guides prove that they are the right people to help us navigate the 'culture tricks' so that we're mindful of pouring new wine into new wineskins. This book is a significant contribution for all interested in formation, Christian discipleship and everyday life. This book is also a great read! It made me smile often."" --Michael J. Downey, Australian Youth Minister, author of Digging Deep: Fostering the Spirituality of Young Men ""For those of us in youth ministry, this book offers a mirror of sorts. And, as with any good mirror, it offers us an opportunity for reflection. To be honest, if you read it carefully and with an open mind, you will probably be forced to see some facets of the current youth ministry identity that aren't very flattering. They write honestly, thoughtfully and without condescension, but in these straightforward essays I heard the sounds of some sacred cows being butchered, the tough questions of a thorough Cross-examination (yeah, that Cross), and what I believe were the sounds of my chair as I squirmed a bit. The writer of Proverbs reminds us that 'Faithful are the woun

Download or read book Dreamcare written by David F. White and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2013-05-21 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dreamcare: A Theology of Youth, Spirit, and Vocation helps parents, youth workers, and congregations cultivate purpose and vocation in youth and young adults. Recent findings disclose a pervasive sense of purposelessness that threatens young adults' health and well-being, and also the common good. The good news is that research shows all young people also have an often hidden sense of purpose that can be noticed, named, and nurtured by parents and communities. This volume supplements research with findings from Emory's Youth Theological Initiative (YTI), which identifies four pathways--desire, joy, compassion, and responsibility--by which young people discover a sense of purpose. Growing from research at YTI, this volume provides concrete suggestions for how Christian communities might engage young people in practices to cultivate a sense of purpose, including narrative resources by which to make theological sense of their impulses of desire, joy, compassion, and responsibility.

Download or read book Teaching Outside the Box written by Andrew Zirschky and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2017-10-17 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rather than tweaking the ways youth ministers communicate the gospel, Teaching Outside the Box, explores five distinct approaches to forming youth in the faith—approaches that open youth to experiencing the implications of the gospel in new ways. We’ll start by providing a new take on the instructional approach, and then introduce four additional approaches that are likely new to readers: community of faith, interpretive, liberation, and contemplative.

Download or read book Reign written by Clayton Ross and published by . This book was released on 2019-04-15 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reign: Awakening a Young Generation to King Jesus is a student ministry curriculum designed for use in youth camps, youth retreats, DiscipleNow Weekends, church Bible classes, discipleship groups, and family studies. The curriculum includes four small-group Bible studies and four personal devotionals to accompany the studies. Reign immerses teenagers in a study of a facet of Jesus Christ that has received little attention. That facet is Christ's majestic glory and preeminence as He reigns from the throne of heaven. Through this study many teenagers will see and embrace Jesus in a way that is entirely new for them. They will reflect on His preexistence with triune God, hear Him speak creation into existence, see announcements of His glory in the Old Testament, observe the cross as the high watermark of Christ's supremacy, watch Him rise from the grave and ascend to heaven, celebrate as God the Father enthrones the Son at His right hand, and join the heavenly throng in singing, "King of kings and Lord of lords!" The Reign study directly confronts what many leaders believe is the primary shortfall of teenagers in the church today--a me-centered faith some call Moral Therapeutic Deism. Church teenagers do love Jesus, but they tend to see Him as a nice friend or even a mascot. They keep Him in the background of their lives, with one exception. When they face some problem or obstacle, they fully expect Him to show up and poof their troubles away. He is relevant only when He is making their lives happier and problem free. The antithesis to "It's all about me" is the truth "It's all about the glorious King Jesus." Teenagers who understand, embrace, and follow Christ as supreme move from "Jesus is my mascot" to "Jesus is my Monarch." Titles of the Four Small-Group Sessions Session 1: Little Jesus in My Pocket Session 2: Who Jesus Is Today Session 3: Christ Enthroned Changes Everything Session 4: Waking Up the World to Christ Reign: Awakening a Young Generation to King Jesus is a study that could not be more timely. For the glory of the Father and by the power of the Spirit, it is time to rivet the eyes of teenagers on the majesty of their King.

Download or read book Youth Ministry written by Malan Nel and published by AOSIS. This book was released on 2018-12-01 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book aims at contributing to the scientific and academic discourse as regards to the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of youth ministry. Too often, youth ministry has been approached from a mainly practical point of view, almost asking how we keep young people off the streets. Its methodology has often not included the theological and theoretical presuppositions that lie behind this ministry. Previous scientific reflection has been determined by a one-dimensional and almost exclusive point of view. In comparison with existing literature, this book does not focus so much on the ‘how’ of youth ministry. It innovates a different approach. The book challenges the existing exclusive approach and develops an inclusive, congregational and missional understanding of and approach to youth ministry. From a particular perspective on the understanding the main objectives of Practical Theology, the author endorses the so-called movement of ‘what is supposed to be going on’. He adds the outcome of an empirical round table discussion with some 16 leaders in this field on the descriptive and interpretive movements within the subject field: what is going on and why is it going on? The book will form the standard for any new research with regard to youth ministry. The book’s contribution lies on the level of sound theological reasoning and argumentation (supported by many scholars) for an inclusive congregational understanding of ministry as an integral part of every congregation being missional in being and doing. Youth, children, adolescents and emerging adults, are just as integral a part of every congregation within which they live and serve.

Download or read book How Youth Ministry Can Change Theological Education If We Let It written by Kenda Creasy Dean and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2016-03-29 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1993, forty-nine theological seminaries have created opportunities for high school students to participate in on-campus High School Theology Programs (HSTPs) that invite them to engage in serious biblical and theological study. Many of the young people who take part in these programs go on to become pastoral or lay leaders in their churches. What has made these programs so successful — especially given the well-documented “crisis of faith” among young people today? In this book thirteen contributors — many of whom have created or led one of these innovative theology programs — investigate answers to this question. They examine the pedagogical practices the HSTPs have in common and explore how they are contributing to the leadership of the church. They then show how the lessons gleaned from these successful programs can help churches, denominations, and seminaries reimagine both theological education and youth ministry.

Download or read book Created in Delight written by Timothy L. Van Meter and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2013-03-20 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Created in Delight challenges the church to take seriously the relationship of human beings with the earth and their fellow creatures. It challenges communities of faith to construct youth and young adult ministry through an ecological hermeneutic. Van Meter includes narratives from his youth work and teaching as well as ecological theology and an exploration of contemporary ecological concerns. He challenges youth and young adult ministers to seek their own formation through practicing hope in resistance to despair as they engage ecological questions in partnership with young people. The book concludes by asserting that cultivating curiosity, compassion, resilience, wisdom and other virtues is essential for the continuing health of young people and faith communities.

Download or read book Nurturing Faith written by Fred P. Edie and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 439 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Faith left on rocky soil withers. But faith nurtured in the good soil of Christian teaching, formation, and mentorship grows to maturity and yields thriving community. Educational ministries are so often where this happens—where the desires of the human heart are shaped toward a love for God, a love for one’s neighbor, and a love for the world. In this comprehensive guide to educational ministries in the twenty-first century, Fred Edie and Mark Lamport explore how church leaders and others involved in Christian education can nurture a robust, cruciform faith within their communities. When discussing strategies and goals, Edie and Lamport consider a range of contexts and a variety of related fields that might give insight into educational ministry: theology, pedagogy, philosophy, social science, and more. Those working with any age group—children, adolescents, and adults—will find a relevant discussion of key underlying theological themes, a guide to concrete practices, and indispensable help in navigating shifting cultural dynamics. Exceedingly practical and consistent with the teachings of the gospel, the wisdom in this book will speak to all who long to foster discipleship in their church, school, or missional community. Key Features A “Road Map” at the beginning of each chapter concisely introduces the chapter’s topic and essential themes. Sidebars throughout the text provide deeper insight into particular important or nuanced concepts. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter facilitate further reflection, especially in conversation with others. Suggestions for further reading are provided at the end of each chapter for those interested in exploring the chapter’s ideas in greater depth. Concluding the book is a series of afterwords from experts in the field of Christian educational ministries: Martyn Percy, Almeda Wright, Craig Dykstra, Kirsten Oh, Elizabeth DeGaynor, and Thomas Groome.

Download or read book Consuming Youth written by John Berard and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2011-01-04 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today’s relentless, consumer culture—dominated by popular media’s emphasis on bigger, better, and more, and catering to teenagers every want and desire—is leaving our youth adrift in a sea of conflicting messages. Messages that every youth worker must be able to decode and redirect away from the material world towards helping young people become who God created them to be: givers instead of receivers, servers instead of consumers. Consuming Youth is for any adult who recognizes that following Jesus means leading young people through the pitfalls of consumer culture, helping them discover vocation—where their great gladness meets a world's great need, and unleashing the kingdom of God on earth.

Download or read book Almost Christian written by Kenda Creasy Dean and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-16 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the National Study of Youth and Religion--the same invaluable data as its predecessor, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers--Kenda Creasy Dean's compelling new book, Almost Christian, investigates why American teenagers are at once so positive about Christianity and at the same time so apathetic about genuine religious practice. In Soul Searching, Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton found that American teenagers have embraced a "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism"--a hodgepodge of banal, self-serving, feel-good beliefs that bears little resemblance to traditional Christianity. But far from faulting teens, Dean places the blame for this theological watering down squarely on the churches themselves. Instead of proclaiming a God who calls believers to lives of love, service and sacrifice, churches offer instead a bargain religion, easy to use, easy to forget, offering little and demanding less. But what is to be done? In order to produce ardent young Christians, Dean argues, churches must rediscover their sense of mission and model an understanding of being Christian as not something you do for yourself, but something that calls you to share God's love, in word and deed, with others. Dean found that the most committed young Christians shared four important traits: they could tell a personal and powerful story about God; they belonged to a significant faith community; they exhibited a sense of vocation; and they possessed a profound sense of hope. Based on these findings, Dean proposes an approach to Christian education that places the idea of mission at its core and offers a wealth of concrete suggestions for inspiring teens to live more authentically engaged Christian lives. Persuasively and accessibly written, Almost Christian is a wake up call no one concerned about the future of Christianity in America can afford to ignore.

Download or read book Transformission written by Michael S. Wilder and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2010 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For youth ministry, and mission programs, a book exploring the boom in short-term mission work among U.S. teenagers and how best to support this movement of God.

Download or read book OMG written by Roland D. Martinson and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Most contemporary young people operate far enough from Moses’ moral compass that it never occurs to them that “OMG” (“oh my God,” in teenspeak) has anything to do with the Ten Commandments, much less that it breaks one of them. After all, the phrase is a nearly ubiquitous adolescent throw-away line...Yet Christians should hear the phrase “oh my God” differently. Youth ministers, parents, teachers—anyone who has ever loved an adolescent—know that “OMG” can be a prayer, a plea, a petition, a note of praise, or an unbidden entreaty that escapes our lips as we seek Christ for the young people we love." from the book Using six lens the authors detail current practices and tease out underlying questions as youth ministry becomes more self-consciously aligned with practical theology. Contributors include: Kenda Creasy Dean, Mike Carotta, Roland Martinson, Rodger Nishioka, Don Richter, Dayle Gillespie Rounds, and Amy Scott Vaughn.

Download or read book Networks for Faith Formation written by Steve Emery-Wright and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2017-05-19 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The spiritual formation of young people can often focus on encouraging their personal spiritual practices, and perhaps linking them to a local youth group. While both are important, Networks for Faith Formation argues that a far wider set of relationships are needed to help faith grow. The aim of Networks for Faith Formation is to describe and commend eight key networks, relational bonds that nurture and nourish faith. The eight networks are "bedroom practices" (personal faith), church, family, friends, mentors, small groups, events and gatherings, and mission and service. The description of each network draws on biblical studies, practical theology, and the social sciences, and practical ideas for helping young people engage with such networks are included throughout the book. In a context where some overlook the complexity of spiritual formation, Networks for Faith Formation is an important resource for church leaders, youth ministers, and parents seeking to help young people grow in faith. Since relational bonds are key for people of any age, it can also help all within the church understand the need for relationships in spiritual growth.

Download or read book Four Dead in Ohio written by Johanna Solomon and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Special Issue of Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change reflects upon global student and youth activism 50 years after the shooting of student activists protesting against the US wars in SE Asia at Kent State University providing the needed space for the narratives of those who have fought, and continue to fight, for change.

Download or read book Roots written by John C. Cavadini and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2022-07-21 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Youth evangelization is one of the most challenging tasks of the church today, and this book faces that challenge head-on. Roots: Catholic Youth Evangelization in a Post-Pandemic World features essays written by leading scholars in the fields of philosophy, theology, psychology, sociology, pastoral ministry, medieval studies, and ecology. In this timely volume, scholars tackle tough issues presented by contemporary culture while engaging the ripe fruits of the 2019 apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Christus vivit. Readers will be treated to a variety of themes, including beauty, belonging, hope, political theology, cultural analysis, vocational discernment, ecclesial strategies, and the history of Catholic youth ministry in the United States. By approaching the general topic of Catholic youth evangelization from diverse angles, the precise nature and demands of ministry with young people in a postmodern context are illuminated. This volume promises to provide ample insights for church leaders active in the field of pastoral care of youth from an interdisciplinary perspective. Readers can be assured that they never will think the same about youth evangelization after encountering the rich contents of this book.