In "Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry," Andrew Root explores the origins of a dominant ministry model for evangelicals, showing how American culture has influenced our understanding of the incarnation. Drawing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whose work with German youth in troubled times shaped his own understanding of how Jesus intersects our relationships, Root recasts relational ministry as an opportunity not to influence the influencers but to stand with and for those in need. True relational youth ministry shaped by the incarnation is a commitment to enter into the suffering of all, to offer all those in high school or junior high the solidarity of the church.
Root reviews the history of relational/incarnational youth ministry in American evangelicalism and suggestes the practice become one of "place-sharing," not so much "earning the right to be heard" as honoring the human dignity of youth and locating God in their midst.
- Pub. Date: October, 2007
- EAN (ISBN 13): 9780830834884
- ISBN: 0830834885
- Media Type: Book
- Language: English
- Size: 8.48 X 4.92 X 0.64
- Weight: 0.74
Tony Jones (tonyj.net), author of The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier,
I've read a lot of books on youth ministry, and I've even endorsed a few of them. So hear me well: "Relationships Unfiltered" is the single most important youth ministry book in a generation. Andrew Root has overturned the tables of "relational ministry"--and he's reminded us that at the center of relationships is not influence, but Jesus. Dr. Mark W.Cannister, Gordon College (reviewed in YouthWorker Journal),
"Relationships Unfiltered" is especially well designed for volunteer leadership teams with thoughtful discussion questions for each chapter. If you only have time to read through one book with your leadership team this year--this is the one! Rev. James K. Hampton, Ph.D. Professor of Youth Ministry, School of Practical Theology, Asbury Theological Seminary,
When Andy Root published "Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry," he began a vitally important and desperately needed conversation among youth academics and seasoned youth ministry veterans about what relational youth ministry should really look like. Now, with the release of "Relationships Unfiltered," Root has "boiled down" the essence of the other book, making it more accessible to a wider audience without losing the core of what made the previous book so important. This is a "must-read" for anyone involved in ministry to adolescents! Mark DeVries (ymarchitects.com), author of Sustainable Youth Ministry (IVP, 2008), veteran youth pastor, and founder of Youth Ministry Architects,
In "Relationships Unfiltered," Andy Root turns conventional wisdom about "relational" youth ministry on its ear, challenging the unexamined assumptions that have been at the foundation of youth ministry for the last 5 or 6 decades. If we have ears to hear, Andy's message will unsettle us. If you're in search of youth ministry book that will rehash and reaffirm everything you've always believed about youth ministry, stay away from this book. Mike King (king.typepad.com), President of Youthfront and author of Presence-Centered Youth Ministry: Guiding Students into Spiritual Formation, IVP,
People in our culture who are outside of the church have come to the conclusion that Christians, too often, have an agenda for relationships. Even though adolescents are still learning the complexities of relationships they can sense when they are someone's project. Through Relationships Unfiltered, Root fleshes out a vital theological correction for a flawed youth ministry philosophy built on using relational influence and "earning the right to be heard." I believe that Andy Root is emerging as one of the most significant theological voices within youth ministry. Several years ago, I was confronted at an International Youth Ministry Conference in London with Andy Root's ideas on moving away from a strategy of influence in youth ministry to a biblical relational theology of incarnation. As a youth ministry veteran of more than three decades, I was profoundly impacted by Root's challenge to not engage in ministry with adolescents by only focusing on what Jesus did--but in the reality that Jesus Christ is present among us right now. Youth ministry is about participating with young people in the living, real presence of God in the everyday world in which we live. Youth ministry--in fact, the entire church--would benefit by digging into "Relationships Unfiltered." Jonny Baker (jonnybaker.blogs.com), author, speaker, and director of Proost, which produces inspiring resources that fuel faith,
It's so refreshing to find an approach to building relationships with young people that is prepared to let go of the usual hidden agendas, of seeing relationships as a means to an end rather than of great value in and of themselves. It's both practical written for a team to read and reflect on their practice, and it has theological bite.
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