Youth workers long for teenagers to develop a consequential faith that impacts every facet of their lives. Yet, in a world where church seems to be becoming less relevant to many people, we struggle to pass on a transformational faith to our teens.

Kenda Creasy Dean shares your concern. In her new book Almost Christian, the Associate Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary digs into research from the National Study of Youth and Religion to paint a picture of teens' faith and issues a wake up call to the church.

Youth Worker Journal: The title of your new book is Almost Christian. What does it mean for a teenager to be "almost Christian"?

Kenda Creasy Dean: It means to be Christian in name as opposed to heart and spirit, to receive the teachings of the church without having them make a claim on you.

YWJ: The subtitle of Almost Christian is What the Faith of our Teenagers is Telling the American Church. What is teenage faith telling the church?

Kenda: That adults are living a lukewarm Christianity that young people are emulating. It's human to want teenagers to have faith that helps them fit in, makes them successful and helps them do well while doing good. The problem is that's not what Jesus taught, and it's not the way the early church lived. The faith that teens have looks very much like the faith of their parents. It's not shaking up their lives in any discernable way. Lots of kids say they're Christians, but almost none of them think it really matters.

YWJ: You and Christian Smith (Soul Searching) use data from the National Study of Youth and Religion and say many teenagers practice "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism" (MTD). What is MTD and how is it different from consequential Christian faith?

Kenda: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is the belief that religion helps you do and feel good, but God is like the wallpaper—in the background, present but unnoticed, inactive in human affairs. Teens are going along with MTD, but they're not buying it as something they want to hold close to them. Consequential faith makes a difference in the way you live and orient yourself. It's the integrating identity of our lives.

YWJ: In Almost Christian, you talk about how we "teach young people baseball, but we expose them to faith." What's the difference between teaching and exposing teens to faith?

Kenda: People don't want to coerce their kids into faith. Often parents say, "We want to expose our kids to religion. Then we're going to let them choose for themselves." That's naïve. Teaching is not indoctrination or coercion. It's purposefully passing on something that matters. We talk about it, model it and construct opportunities to practice it. We don't just expose our children to things that matter. Can you imagine the disaster we'd have if we simply "exposed" teenagers to driving? We teach them to drive because driving well matters. Why are we more concerned about teaching teenagers to drive than to follow Christ?