ReThink: Decide for Yourself —Is Student Ministry Working? by Steve Wright with Chris Graves

InQuest Publishing, 2007, 240 pp. $13.99

www.inquest.org

Steve Wright is a veteran and writes this book from that deep experience in youth ministry. It is filled with personal stories as well as fascinating stats about the condition of adolescent culture. If you seek a book that distills much of the current research on adolescent culture, this book is a great buy. Other strengths of the book include a wonderful focus on the ecclesiology of youth ministry and a non-negotiable commitment to parental involvement in youth ministry. There seems to be an increase in books dedicated to criticizing what exists with no viable replacement. ReThink spends more time explaining the problems than providing solutions. The first chapter focuses on measuring the current health of youth ministry. One of the gauges of assessment the authors suggest is baptisms. Do you keep baptismal records? Maybe you do. However, I anticipate the authors disconnect with some readers when they use and reference baptistic language. I suggest skipping the first chapter and focus on the last three. The chapter on spiritual formation is the best part of the book. Written to a lay audience, this book would be great to place in the hands of your youth ministry parents. They will see their role much differently as a result. —Larry Lindquist

Outflow: Outward-Focused Living in a Self-Focused World by Steve Sjogren and Dave Ping

Group, 2007, 236 pp., $14.99

www.group.com

Stever Sjogren has a gift for keeping ministry simple yet powerful. Combining efforts with Dave Ping, the duo has put together Outflow, a highly practical resource about how one life can impact many. Through sound theory and a biblical foundation, the book provides insights and ideas that can be easily integrated into any lifestyle. The running metaphor of the book is a four-tiered fountain, painting an Acts 1:8 picture of how the Holy Spirit can nourish layer after layer of the lives that surround our own. Although at times sounding like a remix of The Purpose Driven Life, the authors do offer an inventive spin through stories, introspection, Scripture and strategy. In doing so, this feels less about a program and more about transformation. Whether used as a personal study or as a way to transform an entire group, Outflow promises a refreshing approach that just might (super)naturally change the world. —Tony Myles

Life After Church: God’s Call to Disillusioned Christians by Brian Sanders

InterVarsity, 2007, 185 pp., $15.00

www.ivpress.com

More and more committed Christians are leaving local churches, but what are their reasons? And are their reasons justified? As a “leaver” himself, Brian Sanders critically engages several issues disillusioned Christians face in our contemporary church context and offers these Christians both sympathy and support. Sanders whole-heartedly believes that leavers are still within the fold of Christianity, but he provides them with several things to consider. Most importantly, Sanders desires leavers to realize that they are not alone and that to truly survive they must reform together. At $15 and 185 pages, this book is a great read for the church leader seeking to understand the mindset of people who have left, or for someone grappling with the decision of whether or not to leave. —Kyle Jones