Here is a youth ministry book that has the potential to really stir the pot. Like anything worth being read, Awakening’s ideas and proposals are at times controversial and will fly in the face of our current culture, secular and Christian.

The book consists of six essays, two from each author, then concludes in a conversational seventh chapter. The essays challenge the widely accepted definitions of adolescence, describe the impact of our consumer culture on our methods of discipleship, and bring to the forefront the desperate need for a Christian response.

Despite its meager 126 pages, this is not the easiest read. The authors are unmistakably university and seminary professors. Their essays have the potential to be a tremendous discussion-sparking resource, particularly for veteran youth workers, one that is academically esoteric and offers profound insights worthy of serious consideration.

Cascade Books, 2008, 138 pp., $17.00

Recommended Articles