Customer Reviews

Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture: Bridging Teen Worldviews and Christian Truth

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Perhaps you've read books in the past that give you that "aha"! And other books that give you that distinct impression that you're not nearly as smart as you thought you were (there are quite a few books that fit that description for me!) Walt Mueller has accomplished both for me. As a 12 year youth ministry veteran, I've never read a book quite so realistic in its portrayal of youth culture today (with the exception of perhaps, Chap Clark's *Hurt*). At the same time, unlike Clark's work, Mueller brings a great deal more practical hope... that the gap between youth culture and "adult" culture, while expansive, is very much crossable when the Gospel, mixed something so simple as our committed presence and willingness to enter into their world, incarnationally, as it were. Please do not read this book as another "ministry made easy" type book. It just won't do justice to the breadth of Mueller's insights and the depth of his empirical study of this culture (or for that matter, to the unique difficulties inherent in youth ministry). And make no mistake, it is a culture, with it's own unique language, worldview, and ways of social/relational engagement. Mueller's book is a great road map to engage the soul of youth culture. That's his thesis, and he delivers.

The title of Walt Mueller's latest book begs the questions, "Why should we engage the soul of youth culture? And what does it mean to do that?" With great skill, Mueller ably answers both of those questions. In terms of the first question, Mueller makes some great points about the failure of the Church to adequately minister to youth. My favorite illustration is that of the minister who was sitting on a youth culture "expert" panel who had the chance to talk to a non-Christian youth. After explaining how he passed a particular group of kids on his way to his office at the church each day, he began to wonder how to reach those kids. The non-Christian youth answered, "Get out of your office."

Some will be challenged by the reasons Mueller gives for engaging youth culture. But if we do not make attempts to understand the world our youth live in, then we leave them to a world more than ready to give them answers. In terms of the second question, "How?" one engages the culture, Mueller gives wonderful, hands on tools to get the job done. Through practical tips and examples from his own process, Mueller gives the novice youth culture watcher the tools he or she needs to get a grasp of what's going on in kids' lives.

Whether you are a parent, grandparent, pastor, youth worker or teacher, "Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture" is a challenging and practical gift to the Church. A must read for anyone who has anything to do with young people.

This book lays out the post modern landscape in youth ministry in a concise manner. Each chapter is presented clearly-with no wasted words. The author does not offer a bunch of answers, but invites the reader to think about the kids they serve. The fact that he resists the temptation to give us formulas for "sure fire" success, [haven't we heard enough of about the NEXT BIG THING?], is down right refreshing. What this book does is to present a road map of the post modern world while encouraging us to build our hope on the transcendant promises of God. Some books in this genre [Maclaren, et all] ask us to treat the faith story as a story we can manipulate until it fits our ideals. This author presents the faith story as a fixed point. Its changeless nature makes it an anchor for the soul. Great stuff.

Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture by Walt Mueller brings together the principles of cross-cultural communication and applies them to the cross-generational situations found in Christian youth work. He deals with modern v. post-modern worldviews and the need for understanding and listening to help understand the emerging generation in order to effectively minister and communicate the gospel to them. Those who have read books dealing with postmodernism may feel that it drags here but he is writing to parents as well as youth workers and is assuming that some have no idea what postmodernism is. Also, those familiar with cross-cultural mission authors will be familiar with the principles that he lays down in the book.

Like some other recent authors who have written on the subject of the Church and culture, Mueller does a good job of explaining the two main relational errors we see in regards to youth culture: Fundamentalism and Syncretism. He warns of the fundamentalist error of cocooning away from culture and thus seeming out of touch with those you seek to reach. He also warned of theological and moral error that comes from compromising with culture and thus loosing the message of the true gospel and the moral authority to preach it.

I highly recommend this book to all Christian youth workers. I have read several boos on the subject and this book reflects a man who has spend decades of thoughtful work in youth ministry. As I read it, I felt like it was a fine, mature wine that had taken a long time to get to the way it was. The author has reflected and studied the Bible in relation to these issues for many years and the intellectual depth is evident. The author is 50 + and yet he naturally quotes from films and bands like Nine Inch Nails in a way that is not fake or forced.

The not only has Biblical and cultural depth, but I believe the book to be extremely relevant to a lot of the questions we are asking in the church at this time. Some may find little new here if they have been reading books dealing with these questions of culture, but Mueller brings these ideas together and applies specifically to the area of youth work. Long before words like "culture" and "engaging" became trendy in the Church, this man was pioneering the subject and applying the principles that the evangelical church in the West only now seem to be rediscovering. It is as if the message has been simmering in the man for decades waiting for such a time as this.

I ablolutely loved this book. I enjoyed Mueller's approach to Youth Ministry--as missions. The youth culture of today can be so diverse and distant that it looks like a foreign mission field. It is very important to investigate carefully what is really going on. His statistics are frightening. I suggest that anyone who is involeved with youth should read this--the parent, the YMCA associate, teacher, or the local Youth minister.

Being a person who works and speaks with at-risk students (who aren't these days) engaging their culture can be one of the most frustrating yet rewarding experiences. It is difficult keeping your message relevant. This book was engaging with its useful information and insights. It has helped me look at what I do differently and has changed the lens in which I look at things.

Highly recommend it.

Dr. Mueller has once again combined good research with parental insights to provide a balanced view of the youth culture. He is not angry or alarmed--only passionate about a positive outcome for this generation. Must read for parents and youth workers.

If you have felt lost in this new world we live in, this is the book. As a youth pastor this book was relevant and inciteful. It gets to the roots of what lies under today's youth culture. It is written in a way that is hopeful and handy. I have recommended this book to everyone I know. It is good for volunteers and "pro's". It is good for rookies and veterens.

I am only 32 years old and this generation is living in a world that is foreign to the world I grew up in. This book was so helpful.

If you are looking for an updated book on youth ministry, this is not the book to buy. It was first penned in 1973, and although it was republished a few years ago, the book continues to read as out-of-date and out-of-touch.

Have you ever been embarrassed by an elder who, in an attempt to give you some wise word, makes an inappropriate racist comment in the process? This book reads kind of like that.

This book is not without its valuable messages, but it reads like an archeological dig with a few precious fossils covered in a lot of old dirt. The wisdom of Mueller's book, for me, was not worth digging through all of the antiquated theology and questionable commentary on religious, racial, and sexual diversity.

For example, Mueller treads on thin ice in his chapter "Welcome to Their Jungle" where he writes that the way teens handle moral issues like cheating and stealing is directly related to how pluralistic they are. He implies that racial integration is partially responsible for global immorality. Yikes.

In another example, in his chapter on Postmodernism, Mueller suggests that being "tolerant" is dangerous, because "compassion for the sinner risks being replaced by the acceptance of sinful behavior as normal. One example is the growing acceptance of homosexuality as a normal expression of human desire." <Sigh> To folks who grew up when Mueller did, this attack on homosexuality as may seem like an innocuous comment, but to progressive Christians, this reads not only as anachronistic, but as un-Christian.

Even in the end, when Mueller encourages pastors to ask questions of youth to help leaders navigate the "cross-cultural trek" through the youth world, the first questions he asks are not, "What inspires them" or "Where do they experience God in their lives?" but "What is their race?" and "What is their gender?" Again--he offers us some wise words, but ultimately misses the point.

Mueller's heart is in the right place--he is obviously passionate about youth and ministry; unfortunately, his paternalistic tone, emphasis on arbitrary social categories, and way of describing the pastor-youth relationship in a traditional missionary model that pits "us vs. them" only serves to perpetuate the generational divide and further alienate the youth Mueller is hoping to introduce to God's Good News.

If you are Christian leader looking for insights into Gospel-inspired youth ministry, you might consider other resources that are more in touch with the Millennial Generation.