Big words, bigger issue

Awakening Youth Discipleship: Christian Resistance in a Consumer Culture Brian J. Mahan, Michael Warren, David F. White. Cascade Books, 2007.

“Concupiscence” is a word. So is “crepitate.” I found them in a book called Awakening Youth Discipleship: Christian Resistance in a Consumer Culture. In fact, I found a lot of words with a diabolical number of syllables and terrifying phrases like “communitarian–narrativist pedagogy.”

And yet I couldn’t stop reading. Technically I wasn’t allowed to, since I had to review the book, but even so I’d still have read it cover to cover.

The collection of essays by Brian J. Mahan, Michael Warren, and David F. White explores the problem of consumer culture and its way of intentionally focusing on our youth.

Laid out in three sections, the essays detail the origins of consumerism, then take us through some solid theory and practical ideas on how and how not to engage youth in countering its allure. In general, these ideas revolve around bringing youth back into the church itself, to an environment where they’re treated as part of the whole rather than as a rambunctious gang in need of distraction. The authors suggest that we engage these amazing minds in a way that contributes to the church and to society.

And these minds are amazing! One of the most eye-opening essays in Awakening Youth Discipleship delves into the history of adolescence, itself a term created to describe a generation lost in the early days of the industrial revolution. White contends that, prior to industrialization, youth were a vibrant, relevant, and motivated force not only in the fields and shops, but in politics and religion as well. Equals at an early age, they had a deep sense of right and wrong, coupled with the power to change the world around them. They lacked the cautious pessimism of those with established lives to maintain and charged forth to make a difference.

Imagine a world where making a statement meant using your voice rather than piercing your lip, where you could count on that voice being heard because you were so well connected to your community.

Well, it turns out it’s not my teenager’s fault that she’ll absolutely die if she doesn’t get those new shoes. The book contends that society is the problem (big surprise). Fortunately, Mahan, Warren, and White don’t stop at this short answer. They explain why society is the problem, and what can be done to alleviate the pressure placed on our youth by that society. My teen doesn’t want new shoes because they’re cute or comfortable; she needs the shoes to compete. She’s at an age where she understands the world around her but sees no place in it for herself. She has to make that place, and her battleground is the high school hallway. The battle lines aren’t drawn by God or family, but by a culture built on throwaway style.

The solutions provided in Awakening Youth Discipleship, taken directly from the experiences of its authors, are not always simple, but they are logical. An example that struck me suggests placing a youth representative on the church board in order to provide a fresh point of view, while also infusing with purpose an important segment of the church population. It’s a revolutionary idea, but one with many benefits.

I say with conviction that any church seeking to engage its younger members should ensure that this book finds its way into the hands of its youth leadership. While it wasn’t easy reading, it has made me more conscious of the way I address the teens in my house, and it has made me appreciate the uniqueness of these voices – heard less than they deserve.

Nik Nilsson attends Maple Ridge Community Church in Maple Ridge, B.C.