Quite the title, isn’t it? Yes, The Promise of Despair: The Way of the Cross as the Way of the Church by Andrew Root has quite the suggestive title, but that is part of the point. This is a book about death, in both a literal and symbolic sense. Death is not limited to people […]
Teen 2.0 by Robert Epstein
A psychologist makes you question every assumption you have about adolescence.
Book Review: Relationships Unfiltered by Andrew Root
Relationships Unfiltered: Help for Youth Workers, Volunteers, and Parents on Creating Authentic Relationships by Andrew Root is a condensed and popularized version of his groundbreaking first book Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry: From a Strategy of Influence to a Theology of Incarnation (read my review here). Just a look at the subtitles reveals the shift in […]
From Eternity to Here Blog Tour
Frank Viola is promoting his latest book, From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God, on a multitude of blogs today. I have chosen to review the book, but others are featuring guest posts or posting an interview with Frank. To see a full list, scroll to the bottom of this post. Frank […]
Book Review: Effective Youth Ministry by Roland Martinson
Rollie Martinson’s book Effective Youth Ministry: A Congregational Approach offers a snapshot of leading youth ministry thought from the past. Published in 1988, the material contains both timeless foundations for youth ministry alongside some now anachronistic suggestions for implementation. Though he is currently Academic Dean at Luther Seminary, Martinson was Professor of Pastoral Care and […]
Book Review: The End of Christendom and the Future of Christianity
I just finished another book I have to read for class, and this time it is Douglas John Hall’s The End of Christendom and the Future of Christianity. I believe this class is more skewed towards ecclesiology, so I assume the instructor assigned this brief book (it’s only sixty-six pages, and has small pages at […]
Book Review: Strengths-Based Leadership
Quick Summary: Strengths-Based Leadership includes a code to take the StrengthsFinder inventory, the exact same one you take when you purchase StrengthsFinder 2.0. Strengths-Based Leadership teaches you how to lead with your strengths and how to lead others depending on their strengths. It also gives overviews of all the different strengths. Because of this, Strengths-Based […]
Book Review: Enough by Will Samson
I’m quite conflicted about this latest book by Will Samson, Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess. It has all the makings of a great book, including a forward by Shane Claiborne and blurbs by Brian McLaren and Matthew Sleeth. The structure and premise of the book are quite promising: Samson attempts to use eucharistic […]
Book Review: Tell it Slant by Eugene Peterson
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I think just about everyone needs to read Eugene Peterson, especially if you are in professional ministry. He speaks with a wisdom and levelheadedness that few possess. Especially for those of us wide-eyed, idealistic, naive, young youth ministry types, his perspective is a necessary balance. Tell […]
Best Youth Ministry Books: Youth Ministry 3.0 by Mark Ostreicher
Yesterday I finally read Youth Ministry 3.0 by Mark Ostreicher, and since I’m one of the latecomers to the conversation I won’t summarize the book too much. Marko has linked to tons of reviews on his blog if you are interested in more in-depth summaries. If you are fairly in-tune with a lot of the […]