Faith Forward Volume 3

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Launching a Revolution through Ministry with Children, Youth and Families

David M. Csinos

208 | 6" x 9"
Soft
ISBN: 978-1-77343-027-0

In one of his best-known songs, Bruce Cockburn sings about “lovers in a dangerous time.” Well, there’s no doubt that our world is under siege and that we are living in a dangerous time. With massive crises threatening life all over our planet – economic crises, social crises, ecological crises, the list goes on and on – our faith can’t afford to ignore the reality of our diverse and fragile world. Our faith needs to move or inspire us to get our hands not just dirty, but downright bruised and bloody as we work against the tremendous forces of hatred, death, and suffering in our world.

That’s what this third volume in the “Faith Forward” series is about. It’s about forming Christian “lovers” in the dangerous time in which we live. It’s about dousing the flames of hatred and suffering in our world by pouring out unconditional, sacrificial love. It’s about having rich and meaningful and difficult conversations about how we can do ministry with children, youth, and families in ways that have the power to heal the world. How can we empower children and youth to disrupt the world with God’s love? How can we empower them to overturn the tables and shatter the walls, and to pour out compassion, and justice, and love in the world?

This kind of ministry isn’t easy or popular work. And it isn’t going to pack kids into our church. But it’s truly life-and-death work, and we need to do it as embodiments of God’s hope and healing.

Like the other books in this series, Faith Forward Volume 3 collects the wisdom of some the leading “thinkers” and “shakers” and “movers” in the arena of ministry with children and youth, including Alaa Basatneh, Brian D. McLaren, Soong-Chan Rah, Waltrina N. Middleton, Daniel White Hodge, Lisa and Mark Scandrette, Marcia J. Bunge, Leslie Neugent, Ivy Beckwith, Eboo Patel, Almeda M. Wright, and Amy K. Butler.

David M. Csinos , Editor

David M. Csinos is founder and president of Faith Forward, an organization for innovation in ministry with youth and children. He writes and speaks widely on issues related to faith formation, culture, and ministry with young people. His books include Children’s Ministry that Fits, Children’s Ministry in the Way of Jesus (with Ivy Beckwith), and Faith Forward (with Melvin Bray). You can learn more about him at davecsinos.com.

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Media Reviews

Praise Reviews for Previous Volumes

Previous Reviews of Faith Forward V1:

Parker J. Palmer, author of Healing the Heart of Democracy, The Courage to Teach, and Let Your Life Speak

This book is a treasure trove of wisdom from leaders who share the best of what they have to offer in the quest to nurture faith and spirituality among the young. Dave Csinos and Melvin Bray invite us to a banquet of good words and good work. Here we can spend time in the company of authors, activists, and ministers who inspire and challenge us to imagine how we might share our faith with young people and how we might open ourselves to being changed by the faith that animates the lives of the young.

 

Previous Review of Faith Forward V2:

Amy K. Butler, Senior Minister, The Riverside Church, New York City

An amazing collection of compelling voices that calls us to the work of transforming the formational experiences of our children to birth life-long and life-giving faith.

E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Religion, Psychology, and Culture, Vanderbilt University

Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore

At this time of change and uncertainty in the church, this book is a gift to be treasured. Filled with words that challenge and encourage, it opens horizons toward a new day in which the youngest among us become our spiritual guides. Don’t just read this book – let its words be an invitation to meet the uncertainty before us with courage and conviction.

Board of Governors Research Chair, Department of Sociology, University of Lethbridge

Reginald W. Bibby

This latest instalment is a solid addition to the Faith Forward series, providing informative and provocative ideas from a diverse range of experienced and innovative leaders. It combines incisive and pointed readings of the times with uninhibited critiques of youth ministry – and ministry in general – while reflecting on what is possible, beginning with young people. It offers poignant insights into the need for justice, inclusivity, caring, hope, and joy. The book promises to rejuvenate, challenge, support, and evoke; on all four counts, it succeeds.