EMQ » January–March 2021 » Volume 57 Issue 1
By Andrew Root
Baker Academic, 2020
240 pages
USD $22.99
Reviewed by Cory Seibel (PhD, University of Pretoria), a pastor at Central Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta.
An initial glance at this book title may give one the wrong impression of its focus. By the book’s conclusion, however, readers will have newfound clarity not only about the play on words contained within its title but also about the nature of youth ministry itself.
Root adopts a unique approach by structuring his material in the form of an extended parable, the story of his “nine-month journey to figure out what youth ministry is for” (x). According to Root, this book provides him opportunity to think in new ways but also to further develop ideas he has written about previously.
His narrative depicts contemporary youth ministry as plagued by confusion regarding what it “is really for” (xii). He identifies parents’ conceptions of the good life and how this affects their children as a key challenge. For parents, protecting children so that they can discover their identities and find happiness has become the “highest moral good” (31). “Finding their thing” (47) is now deemed essential for adolescents to construct their identities and thereby gain authentic happiness. Root cautions that this emphasis on happiness ultimately fails to deliver. Furthermore, it fosters a hedonistic distortion of our understanding of faith and marginalizes and instrumentalizes youth ministry. Youth ministry has yet to arrive at an adequate response to this reality.
For Root, the solution lies in the intriguing claim that youth ministry is “for joy” (xiii). Joy is found when we die to our pursuit of happiness by following Jesus to the cross, live in and for him, and experience the transformation he offers. Noting that identity building is “indelibly related to narrative” (162), Root suggests we should prioritize inviting youth to develop an identity in Christ by taking the story of Christ as their own. He proposes creating space for intergenerational story sharing to occur. This enables youth “to dialogue, doubt, dissect, and ultimately try on” the stories of those whose lives have been transformed “in and through the narrative pattern of cross and resurrection” (176). Root desires to see adolescents given space to interpret and evaluate stories, including their own, in the context of friendship groups spanning generations. As, through cross and resurrection, they come to interpret the events of their lives as “events in God’s own story” (200), adolescents will discover a joy that is “broader and richer than happiness” (220).
Root’s narrative is engaging and strikingly honest in tone. At several points, he infuses it with penetrating historical accounts that shed fresh light on our current realities. He also displays his adeptness at weaving witty, poignant pop cultural references into his storyline.
This is essential reading for anyone thinking about youth ministry today. EMQ readers focused upon global mission also will find much to value in Root’s presentation, perhaps especially his insightful description of the conditions within which the next generation of potential North American missionaries is being formed. His vision of how to disciple this generation to become engaged participants in Christ’s mission deserves our careful consideration.
For Further Reading
Clark, Chap. Adoptive Church: Creating an Environment Where Emerging Generations Belong. Baker Academic, 2018.
Ketcham, Sharon Galgay. Reciprocal Church: Becoming a Community Where Faith Flourishes Beyond High School. IVP Praxis, 2018.
