Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church [Paperback]

Kenda Creasy Dean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2004

Every stage of life brings out certain human characteristics, and according to Kenda Creasy Dean, adolescence is particularly characterized by passion. If the church is to speak meaningfully to youth and in turn reap the many benefits that young people have to offer, then its ministry must be predicated on passion — the Passion of Christ, the passion of youth, and the passionate faith that results when these two things come together.

The uniqueness of Practicing Passion lies in its relocating youth ministry in practical theology rather than in educational theory or psychological or social development. While youth ministry has routinely capitalized on the passions of adolescents, little attention has been given to the theological mooring that youth need to connect with the church and hold firm amid the growing demands of popular culture. Focusing on the theological resonance between the Passion of Christ and adolescents’ experience of passion, Dean develops a framework for youth ministry that draws on the historic practices of the Christian community as a “curriculum of passion.”

Offering a compelling new model for reaching, discipling, and empowering today’s young adults, Practicing Passion is a vital resource for anyone already engaged in or preparing for youth ministry.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This book is not a typical how-to manual for youth groups…. Dean offers a theological prescription not only for youth ministry but also for the whole church.”
— The Christian Century

Kenda Creasy Dean is the liveliest theologian of youth culture in the United States today. Youth ministers who read this book will see how adolescents are theological, and theologians who read this book will see why theology should be more adolescent.
— Tom Beaudoin

About the Author

Kenda Creasy Dean is associate professor of youth, church, and culture and director of the Tennent School of Christian Education at Princeton Theological Seminary. She is also coauthor of The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry and coeditor of Starting Right: Thinking Theologically about Youth Ministry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (April 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802847129
• ISBN-13: 978-0802847126
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 0.8 x 6.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kenda Creasy Dean is an ordained United Methodist minister and Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she works closely with the Institute for Youth Ministry. A graduate of Miami University (Ohio), Kenda and her husband Kevin taught at Ball State University before attending Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. Before receiving her PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary, she was a pastor and campus minister in Maryland. She has two almost-launched children, and lives with her family in Princeton, New Jersey.

http://kendadean.com, http://ptsem.edu

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Youth Ministry August 29, 2005

By M. Cleaver

Format:Paperback

I am shocked that this book has not received a review yet. Dean does a masterful job in her book locating youth ministry practice in theology, rather than in popular methods of education or developmental theory. She does use developmental theory to ground her theology, but it is theology that drives her book. I am convinced that youth ministry needs to become much more theological and jettison the pragmatic methods in order to become faithful to the gospel. Dean outlines an approach to youth ministry that intertwines the passion found in almost every young person with the Passion of Jesus Christ. A wonderful book that is well-deserving of your time if you are invovled in youth ministry.

Be warned: this book is fairly academic in tone and style. It has extensive footnotes and was originally written as a Masters thesis. So, this is not a light, easygoing read. But if you are unfamiliar with the academic genre, this book is worth taking the time to read. Also, Dean comes from a mainline background, so some of her references and assumptions might be unfamiliar to those outside the mainline tradition.

A worthwhile read. Every full-time youth pastor should read this book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book. Yesterday. August 12, 2006

By William Pinches

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In a nutshell: 1. Mainline denominations are having trouble reaching youth. 2. Youth are passionate people. 3. The gospel is fundamentally about passion -- Christ's passion. 4. Our churches lack passion. 5. Solution for reaching youth boils down to the church becoming passionate about the gospel.

But Dean says all this much better than I do. Listen to this (p. 25): "What if mainline Protestantism's disappointing track record with young people (in and beyond the church) has not been primarily a failure of models, educational strategies, historical cycles, or institutional support, but a failure of theology? Is it possible that the "problem" facing youth ministry reflects all too accurately a malaise infecting mainline denominations generally: a flabby theological identity due to an absence of passion? That would be ironic. Most young people come to us brimming with passion. Could it be that, instead of fanning this youthful zeal into holy fire, we have more often doused it, dismissed it, or drowned it in committee meetings? The theological challenge youth pose to the church is blunt: Are we who we say we are? Do we practice passion, transformed by a Love who never disappoints, and live by a faith so convincing that we stake our lives on it? Or are we just another sagging social convention, like Dracula, that needs young blood to survive?"

The whole book is written with that much passion. Dean argues, passionately, that if we are to speak meaningfully to youth, we must first connect the passion of Christ with the passion of youth. When that happens, the result is a passionate faith.

Care about youth? Care about the state of the church? Read this book. Yesterday.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Youth Ministry Resource September 7, 2005

By LAM

Format:Paperback

This book is one of the best I've read on what is truly at stake and essential in youth ministry. It does come with a warning though: One adult volunteer I gave it to found it overwhelming at first read. So I highly recommend it for those in the field and in the habit of talking about these things, but recommend perhaps wading in with some other ones (maybe The Godbearing Life, which Dean co-authored) before tackling this one. But do reach that point, if you at all can.