Reviews

DISCIPLING GENERATION Y

Steve Griffiths,Bible Reading Fellowship     (4 start out of 5)

The forward to this book suggests that the world of youth work publishing is too full of ice-breakers and five minute session plans, and lacks the depth of theological reflection needed. It’s not surprising that Discipling generation Y is unashamedly deep. A book aiming to explore what Revelation means for young people shouldn’t be anything less.  

In ten chapters Steve Griffiths explores nine themes that come up in Revelation, and how these truths and themes are important to Generation Y. Some of the themes includ­ed are, ‘what is the Church?’, ‘who is Satan?’ and ‘what is the final judgement of God?’. These aren’t arbitrary themes; all of them are demonstrated from the text in Revelation and themes the current generation of young people need engagement with. It’s here that Steve’s knowledge of the Bible really shines through. Revelation is a book filled with imag­ery taken from elsewhere in the Bible and this is carefully explained, diving into the culture of the day and the Greek text when needed.  The reason this stands out as a book for youth workers, not other Christian ministers, is the continual emphasis on how these themes apply to this current generation of young people, and how we as youth workers could get our young people to engage with them. It does this by provoking you to think rather than by providing neat discussion questions for your small group.  

A few times while reading this book I stopped and considered how and why I wasn’t engaging young people with these themes, and what we needed to do about that. It’s a book that’s worth thinking through the impli­cations of slowly. There’s plenty to challenge most youth workers, and even when people disagree, it should force them to argue their case from the Bible. If there is a deficiency in youth ministry books with a depth of theolo­gy, this book definitely goes some way to rec­tify that. More like this please.

MARK WALLEY IS A YOUTH WORKER IN CENTRAL LONDON.    

EMOTIONAL LITERACY FOR YOUTH WORKERS

Claire Farley and Philip Eley, Grove Publishing (3 stars out of 5)

Typical of a Grove booklet, Emotional literacy for youth workers is both short and accessible, covering a lot of ground in-depth and succinctly through the bringing together of theology, theory, and story. Alongside this, the offering of experiences by the authors shows an authenticity through demonstrating their own emotional literacy.

Once you have read about the what and the why of emotional literacy, Farley and Eley then explore the how; providing thought-pro­voking reflections, activities and further resources to equip the youth worker person­ally as well as in their role with young people. Overall, this was a fantastic book, and a must-have for any youth worker.  

LAURA WHITMARSH IS ON MATERNITY LEAVE FROM HER ROLE AS A PIONEER YOUTH MINISTER.     

LUKE: WHO IS JESUS, DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS, CARRY YOUR CROSS

Ken and Julie Moser,10 Publishing  (5 stars out of 5)

The first thing that impressed me about this series of three Bible study guides is their design - they look fresh and relevant to young people. The books would be best used with young people already engaging with the Christian faith, as some of the themes and ideas could be a little heavy for those who are just beginning to think about faith!

The weekly ‘For your eyes only’ section encourages young people in their own regular quiet times, while the ‘For your information’ points are really helpful insights into the text and culture of the time. They are probably best used within a cell group setting of young peo­ple who have time to engage with the text and thrash out what it means to be a disciple.

RACHAEL COSTA IS PART OF SELFHARM.CO.UK TEAM.     

DEPARTURES

The Gentlemen  (5 stars out of 5)

The Gentlemen have totally nailed that unfeasibly difficult balance of instant gratification with depth and longevity to keep you coming back for more. The first five tracks establish a strong pattern of memorable hooks – notably the vocal overlaying in ‘We can have a disco’, the Vampire Weekend-esque guitar of ‘Words’ and a taste of retro-synth in the highlight track: ‘New York girl’. The acid test? I’m still not tired of it, several weeks after my first listen. How does one create a wash of sound like this? Perhaps if you threw The Killers’ Hot Fuzz and Maroon 5 in a washing machine with some Vampire Weekend fabric condi­tioner and before tumble drying with a spot of the ‘Lenor Summer Breeze’ of Blondie - you might get close.  

JOEL TOOMBS IS THE FOUNDER OF THE MENTORING NETWORK AND A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR TO PREMIER YOUTHWORK.