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, … [Read more...] about Almost Christian – Kenda Creasy Dean
Practical Ministry
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 … [Read more...] about Signature in the Cell – Stephen Meyer
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 … [Read more...] about Preparing for the Future in the Age of Facebook
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. … [Read more...] about What Do You Think of Me? Why Do I Care?
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. … [Read more...] about The Universe Next Door – James Sire
Are 80% of Unmarried Evangelicals Unchaste?
The short answer is that it depends on what you mean by an evangelical. Christianity Today has a nice infographic on this oft-quoted figure. Three take aways: 1. If you call yourself an evangelical but don’t go to church or hold evangelical beliefs, you’re also unlikely to stay chaste. 2. Evangelicals who infrequently read the Bible were 70 percent more likely to have been recently sexually active than frequent Bible readers. 3. Evangelicals who attend church less than weekly were more than twice as likely to have been recently sexually active than weekly attenders. For … [Read more...] about Are 80% of Unmarried Evangelicals Unchaste?