BOOK REVIEW: Abandoned Faith

Do you have a millenial son or daughter? Work with millenials? Love a millenial? Actually, you probably encounter millenials everywhere you turn, and whether you are steeped in involvement with them or not, they are a force that the church must understand--and engage--if it is to keep its head above water. Abandoned Faith, by Alex McFarland and Jason Jimenez, is an imminently critical thesis on why this large group of young adults are leaving the church and what we can do about it.

I found this book to be extremely encouraging. I am the parent to four millenials and mother in law to two. McFarland and Jimenez lay out clearly the reasons this generation is becoming disconnected with the church, such as superficial preoccupation with external regulations and hypocrisy among those who have influence over them. The authors point the fingers both back at parents and outward to pastors and church members. Ouch.

They also describe what it is young people are looking for in a faith experience, and this surprised me. They want a deeper, more hands-on church experience than we have given them. They care deeply about social justice and are a huge force just waiting to meet the needs of the poor and disenfranchised. However, because so often we just sit in our pews and then go home, they are left dry. They often turn to support social issues that condone what the Bible says are sin simply because we have left them not knowing how to connect otherwise. Ouch.

McFarland and Jimenez also spend valuable time describing what makes millenials tick. They live in such a different world than the one in which we grew up, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. But they also carry heavy stresses that are unique to them as well. I definitely see my millenials in the portrait they paint.

There is much practical counsel in this book for parents, youth and young adult leaders, and those who simply know millenials who they seek to understand and assist. The tone is upbeat and honest, and I believe it will encourage you.

I received this book free of charge from Tyndale Publishing in exchange for a fair review.

To learn more about the authors, go here and here.

BOOK REVIEW: Different

Different, by Sally Clarkson and Nathan Clarkson, is the book I've been waiting for. As the parent of an "outside the box" kid, I find the insights shared by both the authors to be encouraging and inspiring.

Nathan, one of several children in the Clarkson family, lives with severely impacting learning disabilities and mental disorders. As a child, he stood out in stark contrast to his siblings, even though others in his family had varying disabilities of their own. He was clearly "different" in a way that challenged his parents to the limit. Yet his mother, Sally, courageously undertook to understand him, help him, homeschool him, encourage him, and train him up to be a man of sterling Christian character. She also helped him to become who God made him to be: a filmmaker using his "different" creative instincts to be a light in the movie industry.

Two of  my sons have learning disabilities, one more profoundly than the other. We are also a homeschooling family, and I am in the process of training them up to, hopefully, be men of sterling Christian character who go out into the world to do what God made them to do. Different hit a resonant chord in me as I cheer on my sons--one of whom is a budding videographer who best expresses his thoughts and feelings through videos and photography.

If you are the parent of an outside the box kid, or are a teenager or adult struggling with being "different," this book will encourage and inspire you too.

I received a copy free of charge from Tyndale Publishing Company in exchange for a fair review. If you would like to know more about the authors, go here and here.