The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry
Andrew Root, Kenda Creasy Dean
IVP Books, 2011, 240 pp., $18.00

The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry sets out to navigate through the world of theology in relation to youth ministry, and nails it on the head! Andrew Root and Kenda Creasy Dean are great at showing the need for practical theology in youth ministry, as well as how a youth worker can provide students with help in such need. At times, you may feel a bit lost regarding the vocabulary and theories discussed; but the authors always bring you back to application in youth ministry. I wouldn’t advise going through this book with your students; it serves more as a catalyst for youth workers and lay people to elevate the ministries to which God has called them.
–Paul Grodell, Director of Student Ministries, Journey Community Church

There is no question that there has been and is a movement within youth ministry in North America that is pushing youth workers toward a more theologically rooted approach to youth ministry. While many youth ministries and youth workers have yet to adopt this approach and understanding fully, it is clear that youth ministry must be rooted first in a theological understanding. Too often youth ministry happens out of personality, program and talent rather than theology. Seeing youth ministry as a theological endeavor or task requires a lot of effort and can be intimidating. It is much easier to play “Chubby Bunny” or watch a teenager vomit after consuming some food concoction than to reflect on the purpose and meaning of games in our youth programs. Do the games we play actually build up our youth and our youth group communities, or do they demean and distract us from coming to the cross in our moments of victory and pain?

In this way, Root and Dean offer a reflection on ministry that is theologically rich, especially compared to most youth ministry resources today. Practical theology as a practice is gaining momentum in a variety of contexts and theological camps. Whether we are able to recognize it, we as youth workers are all practical theologians and are practicing practical theology. The question is whether this practice is well thought out, intentional and healthy. This book offers a look at a variety of key aspects of youth ministry that we as youth workers often face in ministry without much reflection. Some of the most helpful, practical, theological reflection on youth ministry I have been able to consume can be found in this book. There is no question that this book will be helpful to any youth worker in almost any context.

While this book is helpful and needed in North American youth ministry context, I also felt as though something significant was missing from this book. In the last chapter as Root evaluated various thinkers in practical theology it came to light. While this book is accurate, helpful and theological, at times (perhaps other than the sections where the chapter includes a focus on a theology of the cross) it seems to lack deep Christological reflection and says little about the value and role of Scripture in a practical theological approach to youth ministry. I would put this book in the category of “strongly encourage to read” and would challenge all youth workers not only to approach the work we are called to do using a practical theological approach, but to also read this book through the lens of practical theology.
–Marcus Carlson

The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry by Andrew Root and Kendra Creasy Dean, takes an old concept and revitalizes its meaning to fit today’s upcoming generation. It offers not only great ways of how to incorporate theology to empowering growth of youth programs but also helps shape and change the view of youth workers, to encourage them in knowing their roles are vital to the church and to those they impact. This book should be highly recommended to new youth workers, as well as experienced youth workers trying to reenergize the importance and view of what youth ministry has to offer. Anyone looking to alter the attitude toward youth ministry and make it no longer the stepping stone into real ministry but who is striving to realize its legitimacy should take the ideas from this revolutionary book and apply them to their weekly lessons.
–Randi Marie, youth intern, looking forward to youth ministry

Also, click here to read another review by Benjamin Kerns on his blog AverageYouthMinistry.com.

As a youth pastor in the trenches for 17 years and one who is continually forming a scope and sequence of teaching that is centered on theology beliefs and theological living, this book is a breath of fresh air. Root and Dean do an extremely thorough job of laying down the foundation in the first half of the book, then build a solid place in the second half of the book for us as youth workers to live in. In addition to the well-written content of each chapter, I truly appreciated the “Discussion and Reflection” exercises at the end of each chapter, as well. They force the reader to take much-needed time to stop, breathe, soak it in and apply it. This book is what I have been thinking and living in ministry, but now I actually can read it and see it in black and white. I highly recommend this book to any youth ministry professional, while seeing this book’s content as almost too much for the average volunteer to handle. I definitely will use this book as the basis for team training but will do it in bite-size pieces. This book (in my opinion) should be on the required reading lists of every college with a youth ministry program. I wish this book was handed out my first day of introduction to youth ministry!
–Dan Istvanik Jr., High School Youth Pastor, Surge Student Ministries, Berean Baptist Church, Mansfield, Ohio

The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry by Andrew Root and Kenda Creasy Dean is a breath of fresh air for those of us within youth ministry who like to think and dig deeper than many youth ministry texts allow. The book challenges youth ministers and those who care about the ministry with youth to remember we ultimately are participating in a task assigned to us by God: the task of making disciples. We must all remember to ask how the practice of youth ministry intersects with the actions of God in the world. This book clearly asks this question by exploring the reason for theological praxis within the discipline and then applying theological praxis to specific aspects of youth ministry such as mission trips, camping ministries, sexuality and confirmation. Every youth minister could use this book in order to ask the necessary questions. All youth ministers also should find time to use this book with their volunteers, slowly going through each chapter and engaging in the activities provided at the end of each chapter. The second half of the book where Root and Dean apply theological truth to the practice of youth ministry easily can be transferred to the daily task of assisting youth on their journeys to holiness.
–Joel Jackson

The recent movement toward thinking theologically about youth ministry began as an effort to ensure that what students were taught in their youth groups was consistent with historically Christian teachings and fostered life-changing responses, rather than simply planning healthy events to keep kids out of trouble. More complex lesson plans and a greater degree of comfort with questions was a healthy start, but recently several books have been published that call for rethinking the reasons for doing youth ministry, as well as the specific methods we use to carry out that ministry.

Andy Root laments the fact that “youth workers keep abstraction and adolescents in distinct corners”; and in his new book The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry (with Kenda Dean), the authors present a deeper vision of youth ministers. To Root and Dean, youth ministers are practical theologians working through their teaching and shared experiences to expose students to complex questions about God’s nature and what God is doing in the world. To do youth ministry as practical theologians, Root and Dean suggest, means studying God’s nature and the story of God’s interaction with the world and modeling our own stories and work on God’s.

Youth ministers will find a number of useful starting points for personal reflection, group discussion or strategic planning of a youth ministry in this book. Taking many common parts of a youth ministry’s events calendar and applying a practical theology model to them, Root and Dean show how mission trips, camping excursions, mentoring programs and “the sex talk” point to Christian life as more than rules or simple teaching points, but as a particular way of seeing the world around us, and imbuing the events, crises and questions of our students’ lives with godly meaning.

The book is more philosophical than practical; specific plans for applying the ideas it describes to particular ministries will have to arise from group discussion, so topics and techniques for this are provided at the end of each chapter. Be ready for a long swim through deep water with The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry.
–Isaac Arten, Youth Minister, Episcopal Church of St. Michael St. George, Saint Louis, Missouri.

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