Kenda Creasy Dean
Biography
Kenda Creasy Dean wrote Practicing Passion, and co-wrote The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry and Delighted with others.
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Children & Youth
“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.”
Work, Money & Leadership
“Befriend turns the common view of nonprofits as service providers on its head, insisting instead that nonprofits are agents of friendship—a practice that strikes at the heart of Christian discipleship. Sharing her own journey as a theologian and nonprofit leader, Jana Struková offers much practical wisdom and theological reflection on the nonprofit sector. For those who see their pastoral callings expanding beyond the church walls—and indeed, for anyone concerned about our increasingly fractured, friendless world—Befriend is essential reading.”
Church Leadership & Ministry
“A compelling addition to the literature on both youth ministry and Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker reads like the labor of love that it is, introducing Bonhoeffer as a fellow pastor who shares your passion for young people's journey of faith and your conviction that Christ's church should receive youth without using them. Andrew Root is at his best here, warmly introducing us to an old friend who we didn't know knew us so well.”
Evangelism & Missions
“Sam George has compiled a breathtaking array of essays on one of contemporary Christianity’s most underreported stories: diaspora communities, far-flung from home but not from faith. For the communities represented in these pages, this book offers the gift of being seen. These pages breathe life into stale narratives of decline, reminding us that God is afoot. This book is hope in full bloom.”
Church Leadership & Ministry
“Phillips is a devastating storyteller. Do Something Else is resplendent with stories of hope unearthed from the 'dry bones' of mainline churches--which, as it turns out, are less dry than we think. Written with grace, humility, and profound respect for people who struggle with changes in their churches, Phillips is a devastating storyteller, introducing us to pastors who are exploring new ways to be the church without losing their theological britches. But the story that wouldn't let me go was Phillips' own, interwoven almost incidentally among the others. With disarming honesty, Phillips lets us glimpse the holy nitty-gritty of pastoring ordinary people who somehow become radiant in his telling. This is a gem of a book--I could do nothing else but keep reading.”
Exploding Stars, Dead Dinosaurs, and Zombies
Science & Faith
“Once again, Andrew Root comes to the rescue of youth leaders trying to 'keep it real' with young people. If the title alone doesn't stop you in your tracks, its basic premise should: instead of fearing the scientific knowledge that permeates young people’s world, churches should embrace youths' God-given curiosity to question, explore, and investigate the world God made. Exploding Stars, Dead Dinosaurs, and Zombies helps youth leaders bring science and theology together as conversation partners, not sparring partners. This book will change what you talk about in youth ministry.”
Science & Faith
“Eyes of the Heart is one of the most discussable books I've read in ages. This book is intended for parents, pastors, and anyone who cares about young faith--but trust me, it is a book that all of us in the church should sink our teeth into.”
Church Leadership & Ministry
“Faithful Futures is absolutely essential reading for youth ministers, parents, senior pastors, and anyone else who cares about young people and faith. With grace, wisdom, and a welcome dollop of common sense, Packard reframes the research we’ve been (mis)reading about young people and religion and offers up a refreshingly readable and surprisingly useful book. (Pro tip: Don’t skip the spot-on practical exercises from Packard’s cofounder, Megan Bissell.) If you read only one book on youth ministry this year, this should be the one.”
Church Leadership & Ministry
“Welcome to the book that put family-based youth ministry on the map. Mark DeVries--as only he can do it--points out that the task of nurturing faith belongs to the family, not the youth group, and the sooner the church becomes an 'extended' family for young people, the better chance youth have of becoming mature Christian adults. With the wisdom of a pastor, the insight of a theologian, the sympathy of a parent and the humor of your favorite youth counselor, Family-Based Youth Ministry makes gracious, thoughtful ministry look second-nature. If only we had all read it sooner.”
Foundations for Youth Ministry
Theology
“Writing with the lens of a theologian, the heart of a pastor, and welcome doctrinal breadth, Dean Borgman has provided a field book of pastoral theologies that take seriously the social systems shaping the lives of adolescents—never mind that Borgman knows more about youth culture than anybody alive. This book is a significant step toward the long-awaited conversation about theology and youth ministry in postmodern culture.”
Ethics, Culture & Social Issues
“Gifts Glittering and Poisoned is an astonishing read--and an interdisciplinary tour de force that establishes Chanon Ross as one of the most exciting practical theologians of his generation. Dense and delicious as chocolate lava cake, this book begs to be savored, line by unexpected line, as Ross reveals his unflinching gift for seeing our contemporary reflection in the ancient Roman culture of spectacle. Gifts Glittering and Poisoned is a dizzying and exhilarating ride through pagan metaphysics, Augustinian views on the demonic, Abercrombie and Fitch, ecstasy, vampires, Coldplay, exorcism, American politics, and the Eucharist's power to turn human consumption on its ear. These pages left me breathless, convicted, and hopeful. Prepare to be amazed.”
Christian Living
“Written for what Martin Luther King called ‘the fierce urgency of now,’ Love Your Neighbor is a master class on integrating the inner work of spirituality with the empirical work of science for the sake of coming together in a divided world. Timely, nuanced, refreshingly practical, and blessedly compelling, Love Your Neighbor is your church’s very next read.”
Church Leadership & Ministry
“Elegantly written and brimming with gentle, direct wisdom, Mission Rift has the clarity and urgency of a crystal bell. It will be on church leaders' desks for decades to come. I'll be using it in my classes, effective immediately.”
Presence-Centered Youth Ministry
Children & Youth
“Make no mistake: Presence-Centered Youth Ministry is about God's presence, not ours--which right away puts Mike King's approach to youth ministry in a class of its own. King transcends 'liberal/conservative' stereotypes by putting ancient spiritual practices at the heart of our ministry with young people--practices that center us in the presence of God. If you're not won by the teenagers you meet in these pages, you'll be won by the glimpses of how King's own ministry helps youth 'practice the presence of God.' If Brother Lawrence had been a youth pastor, this book would have been his favorite resource.”
Prayer & Spiritual Formation
“I loved this book! Being with Kara Root in these pages is a pure gift. Part spiritual director, part kitchen-table friend, Root gently unzipped every article of anxious faith I own and left my "worry time" self on the floor. Every chapter was a flood of relief. Don't reach for this book. Receive it.”
Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry
Children & Youth
“Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry establishes Andrew Root as a seminal voice in a new generation of youth ministry scholars. Fresh, wise and disciplined, Root exposes the sand on which much 'relational youth ministry' of the late twentieth century has been based, and recasts the church's ministry with young people in the Christology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In so doing, Root injects youth ministry with both a needed missional direction and a welcome theological humility. Drawing on 'real life' relational ministries, Root offers concrete practices that reestablish youth ministry's footing in the suffering love of God in Jesus Christ. Andrew Root is poised to lead the field in rethinking youth ministry as a practical theological discipline, and this book is a breathtaking step in the right direction.”
Children & Youth
“Saying Is Believing establishes Amanda Drury as a new and compelling voice in practical theology, a pacesetter for a generation of scholars convinced that the way we form young people's faith profoundly affects our own. Drury quickly nuances and moves beyond the commonly cited research on teenagers' religious inarticulacy; a natural storyteller, she makes theologically rich analysis easy to digest, and serves it alongside generous portions of practical wisdom for helping young people learn to speak their convictions. Saying Is Believing is less about problems than solutions, which makes it a must-have resource for anyone who takes young people's faith seriously.”
Church Leadership & Ministry
“Winsomely written, achingly honest, and fearlessly hopeful. Root's analysis of divorce as an ontological--not just a sociological--crisis for children is dead-on, as is his advice for congregations who must name and address this soul-splitting reality. With his incomparable ability to blend story and theology, Root delivers a beautiful and wise book that is for anyone touched by divorce.”
The Church and the Crisis of Community
Church Leadership & Ministry
“Who knew Karl Barth had so much to offer small-group ministries? The Church and the Crisis of Community goes light-years beyond any small-group book I have read, inviting the reader into actual congregations as they seek to address Americans' longing for community through small groups. With abundant concrete examples, profound theological wisdom, and powerful theoretical insight, Theresa Latini establishes herself as a fresh, powerful new voice in practical theology — and a wise companion to those leading congregations in a culture craving communion. The church will be learning from Theresa Latini for years to come.”
Christian Living
“I am undone. Maybe it's because Mark Yaconelli is the best storyteller of his generation, or because these pages are so achingly honest, or because somehow this guy just has my number—but whatever the reason, this book made me 'softer, more open, more human.' The Gift of Hard Things is a book of dazzling grace, a slice of holy ground, as life-giving as water in the desert. Take your shoes off and drink up.”
NOTE: Only includes books currently in our catalog; not necessarily a complete list.
How Youth Ministry Can Change Theological Education -- If We Let It
Editor
Discipleship & Christian Education
Children & Youth
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