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Almost Christian – Kenda Creasy Dean

The Center for Youth Ministry Training has a lengthy, informative review of Kenda Creasy Dean’s provocative book, Almost Chrsitian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church. Here’s an excerpt:

Four characteristics tend to accompany consequential faith in teenagers

Dean names four characteristics (or cultural tools) that occur with regularity in those whom the NSYR found to be highly devoted. First, teens with consequential faith tend to have “a creed to believe” and were able to articulate their beliefs about a God who was both personal and powerful (71). Second, teens with consequential faith tend to have a “community to belong to”—they find identity within their congregations and have a significant number of adults with whom they can speak about issues of faith and life (73). Third, teenagers whose faith makes a difference in their lives evidence a “call to live out”—they understand their lives as being oriented by a divine vocation on behalf of others rather than being oriented to pursuit of self (75). Fourth, consequential faith seems to come attached with a “hope to hold onto”—a belief that their lives are caught up in a larger story that’s “going somewhere” because it is guided by God (77).

Read the whole thing. Or check out Michael Horton’s audio interview of Professor Dean (she’s a professor of Youth, Church, and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary).

May 17, 2013 in Culture, Practical Ministry, Theology, Thriving at College | Comment

Signature in the Cell – Stephen Meyer

The ground-breaking work on Intelligent Design by Stephen Meyer, Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, is currently available for only $2.99 in the Kindle store. Not sure how long the deal will last. The description and a blurb:

Named one of the top books of 2009 by the Times Literary Supplement (London), this controversial and compelling book from Dr. Stephen C. Meyer presents a convincing new case for intelligent design (ID), based on revolutionary discoveries in science and DNA. Along the way, Meyer argues that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution as expounded in The Origin of Species did not, in fact, refute ID. If you enjoyed Francis Collins’s The Language of God, you’ll find much to ponder—about evolution, DNA, and intelligent design—in Signature in the Cell.

May 14, 2013 in Culture, Practical Ministry, Thriving at College | Comment

Preparing for the Future in the Age of Facebook

The opening of my guest post on the Desiring God blog:

The regular use of our minds — thinking, reading, studying, analyzing — is a necessary means to loving God in this world. God gave us a Book, and he ordained that insight into its message be given by means of focused mental effort (2 Timothy 2:7; Ephesians 3:4; Acts 17:11–12) combined with supernatural illumination (2 Corinthians 4:4–6; 1 Peter 1:23). We should become attentive readers even if only to see the glory of God in the pages of Scripture and to be equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

But the use of our minds is a critical means to loving God in a wide variety of secular occupations, too. Intellectual effort can take many forms. Some read books, others “read” equations, still others “read” historical, financial, or scientific data. But the goal for Christians is the same: Using the mind to fan the flame of worship toward God and service towards neighbor (Luke 10:27).

What does the highest paid public employee in every state have in common?

They work in higher education—80% of them in athletics.

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For the record – I work for a private university.

HT: American Enterprise Institute

May 12, 2013 in Culture, Thriving at College | 2 Comments

What Do You Think of Me? Why Do I Care?

Edward T. Welch writes:

“There is nothing wrong with wanting love. It would be positively inhuman not to want it. The problem comes when we desire it too much–when our desire for love becomes the center of our life–which, when you think about it, makes us the center of our own lives. The problem is when we want to be loved more than we want to love. If only life could be a little bit less about us.”

This book is thematically similar to Welch’s When People Are Big and God is Small and ideal for 15-25 year old readers. Check out the endorsements, table of contents, and introduction.

May 11, 2013 in Personal, Practical Ministry, Thriving at College | Comment

The Universe Next Door – James Sire

If you’re still looking for high school graduation gifts, particularly for students interested in philosophy, theology, apologetics, or global studies, a classic book you might consider is The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog, now in its 5th edition (with over 300,000 units sold). While this book was first published in 1976, many updates have been made along the way (including new chapters on postmodernism and Islam). If you’ve seen a previous edition, note that this 5th edition, released in 2009, is considerably longer than previous versions.

May 10, 2013 in Culture, Personal, Practical Ministry, Thriving at College | Comment

Truth For Life ‘Staff Picks’ For College Student Reading

I was deeply honored to see that Thriving at College once again made the list of Truth For Life’s ‘Staff Picks’ for College Student Reading. They write:

Do you have a young adult, college student or prospective college student in your life? The new series, Lessons For Life, features Alistair Begg teaching university students the pitfalls of real-world dangers, namely jealousy, laziness and temptation. Alistair uses humor and relevant examples to navigate a young audience through the value of friendships, generosity, and a sustained devotion to Christ.

Lessons For Life Volume 1 and Volume 2 can be downloaded free of charge by the busy young person in your family, or can be heard anytime, anywhere, throughout May on our app for mobile phones.

To supplement this essential series, the staff at Truth For Life recommends the following practical books any college student will find pertinent and readily useful.

Check out the full list.

May 5, 2013 in Practical Ministry, Thriving at College | Comment

5 Tools Needed to Reach Today’s Teens

Cameron Cole, Director of Youth Ministries at Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, and the chairman of Rooted: Advancing Grace-Driven Youth Ministry, articulates five tools needed to reach today’s teens:

1. Knowledge about the canonization of Scripture.

2. Developed theology of sexuality, particularly homosexuality.

3. Ability to teach the Bible in the greater context of redemptive history.

4. Theological, not only moral, understanding of sin.

5. Understand adoption as an element of salvation.

See his post for an explanation of why each of these is vital in our day, along with recommended reading.

May 3, 2013 in Culture, Practical Ministry, Thriving at College | Comment

Christian Colleges and Student Debt

Leigh Jones, writing for World magazine, highlights the rising student loan default rates for graduates of Christian colleges. The good news is that many of these institutions are taking steps to promote financial literacy among incoming students and to help graduates stay on top of their payments. Read the whole thing (may require login).

April 27, 2013 in Culture, Thriving at College | Comment

John Piper and Mark Noll on the Life of the Mind

Jonathan Parnell:

Last fall Mark Noll and John Piper converged to discuss this topic. In an event hosted by Bethlehem College and Seminary and the MacLaurin Institute, Noll and Piper, authors of Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind and Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God respectively, each presented a lecture and interacted with questions related to the mind and Christian scholarship.