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Ministry in a Secular Age #1
Faith Formation in a Secular Age: Responding to the Church's Obsession with Youthfulness
A Top Ten Book for Parish Ministry in 2017, Academy of Parish Clergy
The loss or disaffiliation of young adults is a much-discussed topic in churches today. Many faith-formation programs focus on keeping the young, believing the youthful spirit will save the church. But do these programs have more to do with an obsession with youthfulness than with helping young people encounter the living God?
Questioning the search for new or improved faith-formation programs, leading practical theologian Andrew Root offers an alternative take on the issue of youth drifting away from the church and articulates how faith can be formed in our secular age. He offers a theology of faith constructed from a rich cultural conversation, providing a deeper understanding of the phenomena of the "nones" and "moralistic therapeutic deism." Root helps readers understand why forming faith is so hard in our context and shows that what we have lost is not the ability to keep people connected to our churches but an imagination for how and where God could be present in their lives. He considers what faith is and what steps we can take to move into it, exploring a Pauline concept of faith as encounter with divine action.
This is the first book in Root's Ministry in a Secular Age series.
The loss or disaffiliation of young adults is a much-discussed topic in churches today. Many faith-formation programs focus on keeping the young, believing the youthful spirit will save the church. But do these programs have more to do with an obsession with youthfulness than with helping young people encounter the living God?
Questioning the search for new or improved faith-formation programs, leading practical theologian Andrew Root offers an alternative take on the issue of youth drifting away from the church and articulates how faith can be formed in our secular age. He offers a theology of faith constructed from a rich cultural conversation, providing a deeper understanding of the phenomena of the "nones" and "moralistic therapeutic deism." Root helps readers understand why forming faith is so hard in our context and shows that what we have lost is not the ability to keep people connected to our churches but an imagination for how and where God could be present in their lives. He considers what faith is and what steps we can take to move into it, exploring a Pauline concept of faith as encounter with divine action.
This is the first book in Root's Ministry in a Secular Age series.
240 pages, Paperback
Published October 3, 2017
86 people are currently reading
450 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Root
64 books123 followersAndrew Root joined Luther Seminary in 2005 as assistant professor of youth and family ministry. Previously he was an adjunct professor at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington D.C., and Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J.
Root received his bachelor of arts degree from Bethel College, St. Paul, Minn., in 1997. He earned his master of divinity (2000) and his master of theology (2001) degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif. He completed his doctoral degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2005.
Root's ministry experience includes being a gang prevention counselor in Los Angeles, youth outreach directed in a congregation, staff member of Young Life, and a confirmation teacher. He has also been a research fellow for Princeton Theological Seminary's Faith Practices Project.
Root has published articles in the Journal of Youth and Theology, The International Journal of Practical Theology, and Word and World.
He is a member of the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry and the International Bonhoeffer Society.
Root received his bachelor of arts degree from Bethel College, St. Paul, Minn., in 1997. He earned his master of divinity (2000) and his master of theology (2001) degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif. He completed his doctoral degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2005.
Root's ministry experience includes being a gang prevention counselor in Los Angeles, youth outreach directed in a congregation, staff member of Young Life, and a confirmation teacher. He has also been a research fellow for Princeton Theological Seminary's Faith Practices Project.
Root has published articles in the Journal of Youth and Theology, The International Journal of Practical Theology, and Word and World.
He is a member of the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry and the International Bonhoeffer Society.
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June 25, 2023
There was a lot in this one! The book splits into two parts, history and then theology. The first looks at the history of how we've gotten to where we have with regard to youthfulness and authenticity within the church. Then the second part is where he builds a theological vision for addressing the issues in the previous part.
I can't write it all out (meaning you should go read it!), so I'll just list some important concepts/ideas from the book:
- The concept of secular 1, 2 and 3 (from Charles Taylor)
- the idea of "youthfulness"
- the age of authenticity
- counteracting MTD (Morally Therapeutic Deism) with "HKT" (hypostasis, kenosis and theosis), seen through the example of Paul
- These parts of "HKT" incorporate discussions of Pauline theology, Finnish interpretation of Luther, and some Eastern Orthodox tradition
- our testimonies are important in ministering to others in Secular 3!
In general, I would say that the book locates us (in Secular 3 but thinking we are still in Secular 2) and then provides a theological understanding as we look at Paul to see how to grapple with that. At times there were a lot of footnotes (which were quite helpful), and also a lot of new theological terms and related concepts for me, but it was still a good read and provides a different framework (Secular 1, 2, and 3) to view these issues.
Would recommend!
I can't write it all out (meaning you should go read it!), so I'll just list some important concepts/ideas from the book:
- The concept of secular 1, 2 and 3 (from Charles Taylor)
- the idea of "youthfulness"
- the age of authenticity
- counteracting MTD (Morally Therapeutic Deism) with "HKT" (hypostasis, kenosis and theosis), seen through the example of Paul
- These parts of "HKT" incorporate discussions of Pauline theology, Finnish interpretation of Luther, and some Eastern Orthodox tradition
- our testimonies are important in ministering to others in Secular 3!
In general, I would say that the book locates us (in Secular 3 but thinking we are still in Secular 2) and then provides a theological understanding as we look at Paul to see how to grapple with that. At times there were a lot of footnotes (which were quite helpful), and also a lot of new theological terms and related concepts for me, but it was still a good read and provides a different framework (Secular 1, 2, and 3) to view these issues.
Would recommend!
November 8, 2017
I heard Andy Root speak last month on the topic of this book. Intrigued by his presentation, I bought the book and began reading it. I have to say, this is one of the most important theology books published this year. Nearly half of my copy is highlighted.
The first part is a little tough to get through, but it is important because Root lays the historical and sociological foundation for the age in which we find ourselves: this post-modern, post-Christian, secular era.
The second part was incredible. In these chapters, Root uses the narrative of Paul's encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus (and Paul's subsequent visit by Ananias) as the basis for rethinking faith formation. As Root asserts, faith today can no longer be seen as merely believing in a particular set of ideas or making a commitment to a church body (such as in confirmation or membership). Instead, faith must be formed in the kenotic shape of Christ--just as Christ gave up his privileges as God and became a human to minister to us, we too must join our personhood with Christ (be crucified with Christ), be stripped of ourselves, and minister to those around us (Philippians 2, Galatians 2:20).
Ultimately, what the Church needs today is not more things: more programs, more words, more marketing. Instead, the church needs a good dose of negation--stripping away the consumerism, the greed, and the individualism and, instead, laying down our own lives for the sake of others and for the sake of the world.
The first part is a little tough to get through, but it is important because Root lays the historical and sociological foundation for the age in which we find ourselves: this post-modern, post-Christian, secular era.
The second part was incredible. In these chapters, Root uses the narrative of Paul's encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus (and Paul's subsequent visit by Ananias) as the basis for rethinking faith formation. As Root asserts, faith today can no longer be seen as merely believing in a particular set of ideas or making a commitment to a church body (such as in confirmation or membership). Instead, faith must be formed in the kenotic shape of Christ--just as Christ gave up his privileges as God and became a human to minister to us, we too must join our personhood with Christ (be crucified with Christ), be stripped of ourselves, and minister to those around us (Philippians 2, Galatians 2:20).
Ultimately, what the Church needs today is not more things: more programs, more words, more marketing. Instead, the church needs a good dose of negation--stripping away the consumerism, the greed, and the individualism and, instead, laying down our own lives for the sake of others and for the sake of the world.
November 11, 2017
How do we form faith in a secular age? Drawing upon the Catholic Canadian Charles Taylor’s insights, Andrew Root attempts to answer this question. Root challenges popular faith formation programmes - faith is more than assent to some variables of belief or going to church.
What is refreshing that he exposes the idolatry of youth culture within the contemporary church - this is particularly telling as it comes from someone who is a Chair of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota!
The first half of the book looks at where we have come from. How the search for authenticity and the rise of youthfulness has come about. He highlights a number of factors these include consumerism, the influence of Keynesian economics and Freudian theory seen in the ‘glorifying youthfulness as the pursuit of the id’s desires’. These have all contributed to a separation and segmentation between the youth and adults and a loss of transcendence which in turn have all contributed to MTD: moralistic (the need to be a good person), therapeutic (God is there to help me feel good about myself), deism (God as a concept but not as someone acting in the world). Consumerism post world-war arose from a response from fear; the fear of communism - the idea in the States was that they could consume their way to prosperity and thus keep the red devil of communism from the door. Fear is also prevalent in the contemporary church: we have a fear of being irrelevant, or, worse, being inauthentic. Buzzwords such as ‘the nones’, ‘spiritual not religious’, have all been coined to feed that fear. Post-war consumerism was connected with duty. As Root puts it: ‘Conformity to the mass society became the call to duty; keeping up with your neighbor’s buying became your national obligation.’
A clear indication that idolatries are at work is that the worst insult you could pay someone is to say they are inauthentic or that they have lost their youthfulness. The link between youthfulness and authenticity is ably examined by Root. As he suggests Bonhoeffer would say: ‘ you’ve become obsessed with the youthful spirit, and you actually imagine that youth will save the church. It is no wonder you feel like you’re struggling with faith and its formation; you’ve given your attention to the cultural benefits of an age group over concern for the working of the Holy Spirit who is the very giver of that which you seek’.
Youthfulness, then, is a spirituality without transcendence or divine action (the deistic element of MTD), with an anthropology of self-pursuit (the therapeutic) and an ethic for individualism (the moralistic).
For me, the sociological analysis in the first part of the book was its strength. The second part is more theological. Here Root examines the nature of faith and faith formation. He rightly wants to avoid the notion of faith formation as being ‘doomed to serve the master of youthfulness’. In this part he draws upon the three notions of secular that Taylor has developed secular 1,2,3). For example:
Where Secular 1 sees transcendence in different planes of existence and Secular 2 relegates transcendence to a spatial division between the religious and the a-religious, Secular 3 ultimately finds transcendence and divine action unbelievable.
Root develops the idea of faith and faith formation as embracing the negation and wants to connect it with divine action while avoiding hyper-pragmatism. To do this he draws upon case studies in the apostle Paul and, less predictably, Phineas, the grandson of Aaron (Num 25). He develops a refreshing Christocentric rather than an anthropocentric view of faith formation. It is a negation of self, but an embracing of unity with Christ; being ‘in Christ’. This with the help of Philippians 2 he sees faith formation as taking the form of a ‘kenotic chorus “although [x] not [y] but [z]” to structure your life, calling you to be a minister in the world’. I wasn’t fully clear how this kenotic thesis could form faith formation. But this book is the first volume of what promises to be a trilogy. I look forward to reading how these ideas can be developed.
What is refreshing that he exposes the idolatry of youth culture within the contemporary church - this is particularly telling as it comes from someone who is a Chair of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota!
The first half of the book looks at where we have come from. How the search for authenticity and the rise of youthfulness has come about. He highlights a number of factors these include consumerism, the influence of Keynesian economics and Freudian theory seen in the ‘glorifying youthfulness as the pursuit of the id’s desires’. These have all contributed to a separation and segmentation between the youth and adults and a loss of transcendence which in turn have all contributed to MTD: moralistic (the need to be a good person), therapeutic (God is there to help me feel good about myself), deism (God as a concept but not as someone acting in the world). Consumerism post world-war arose from a response from fear; the fear of communism - the idea in the States was that they could consume their way to prosperity and thus keep the red devil of communism from the door. Fear is also prevalent in the contemporary church: we have a fear of being irrelevant, or, worse, being inauthentic. Buzzwords such as ‘the nones’, ‘spiritual not religious’, have all been coined to feed that fear. Post-war consumerism was connected with duty. As Root puts it: ‘Conformity to the mass society became the call to duty; keeping up with your neighbor’s buying became your national obligation.’
A clear indication that idolatries are at work is that the worst insult you could pay someone is to say they are inauthentic or that they have lost their youthfulness. The link between youthfulness and authenticity is ably examined by Root. As he suggests Bonhoeffer would say: ‘ you’ve become obsessed with the youthful spirit, and you actually imagine that youth will save the church. It is no wonder you feel like you’re struggling with faith and its formation; you’ve given your attention to the cultural benefits of an age group over concern for the working of the Holy Spirit who is the very giver of that which you seek’.
Youthfulness, then, is a spirituality without transcendence or divine action (the deistic element of MTD), with an anthropology of self-pursuit (the therapeutic) and an ethic for individualism (the moralistic).
For me, the sociological analysis in the first part of the book was its strength. The second part is more theological. Here Root examines the nature of faith and faith formation. He rightly wants to avoid the notion of faith formation as being ‘doomed to serve the master of youthfulness’. In this part he draws upon the three notions of secular that Taylor has developed secular 1,2,3). For example:
Where Secular 1 sees transcendence in different planes of existence and Secular 2 relegates transcendence to a spatial division between the religious and the a-religious, Secular 3 ultimately finds transcendence and divine action unbelievable.
Root develops the idea of faith and faith formation as embracing the negation and wants to connect it with divine action while avoiding hyper-pragmatism. To do this he draws upon case studies in the apostle Paul and, less predictably, Phineas, the grandson of Aaron (Num 25). He develops a refreshing Christocentric rather than an anthropocentric view of faith formation. It is a negation of self, but an embracing of unity with Christ; being ‘in Christ’. This with the help of Philippians 2 he sees faith formation as taking the form of a ‘kenotic chorus “although [x] not [y] but [z]” to structure your life, calling you to be a minister in the world’. I wasn’t fully clear how this kenotic thesis could form faith formation. But this book is the first volume of what promises to be a trilogy. I look forward to reading how these ideas can be developed.
September 3, 2023
First half of the book was excellent cultural analysis.
February 19, 2022
Full Disclosure: I did not read this entire book. In fact, I only read Chapter 1 entitled, "the boring church and the pursuit of authenticity". A friend sent me photos of each page of Chapter 1 to discuss because of a conversation surrounding the idea that "young people desire authenticity, not 'show'." My friend disagreed and shared this chapter to help me understand why. What follows is my critique of Chapter 1.
My general thoughts are these: During the aforementioned discussion, the person who sent me this chapter said, in passing, "being 'authentic' -- whatever we mean by that." So let's start there. When I say I want authenticity--and I'm speaking about my faith and/or the Church--I mean I am seeking something that (1) is Authentically Christlike (or, teaches authentically Christlike things) and (2) allows those present to be Authentically Themselves as they pursue Christ.
The opposite of authentic is fake, and the complaint is that too many people have fake faiths. Root seems to think we're chasing young people, but we're chasing a church that values everyone. The fake-faith-people are chasing everyone away and he's spending ink confusing authenticity with youthfulness instead of asking why. The complaint about a lack of authenticity has very little to do with the entertainment value of worship, and a whole lot to do with the character of the people we're asked to worship with. Until people like Root understand that, anything he writes about the subject will be ineffective.
p.3 - The idea he claims was being presented, that "formation is more authentic than belief, conversion, or commitment" is weird and nonsensical. It sounds like he heard them describing what authentic spiritual formation looks like, and that it doesn't hinge on correct belief or a specific crisis moment of conversion or commitment to a specific ideology; then just boiled the concept down to a few buzz words, incorrectly.
He discusses faith formation in the 2nd paragraph in a condescending way, which immediately causes me to assume that he and I are not going to see eye-to-eye on this issue.
p.4 - "this high ideal of authenticity" -- OK. First of all, the crowd he was with sounds annoying. Secondly, deciding whether or not something is *culturally* authentic is *not* the same thing as determining whether or not a church's/pastor's teachings are authentically Christlike, nor whether or not I am allowed to authentically be myself at said church or with said pastor. Those are completely separate types of issues.
Secondly, saying Martin Luther opposed the "transcendent reality" the Church was presenting but which was "contrary to the one presented in the Bible" is literally describing Martin Luther's opposition to a Church that is not being Authentically Christlike. This is not a rebuttal against authenticity in our faith.
When people say they're looking for Authenticity, they're not describing the kind of experience they're looking for. If that's the underlying thought behind Root's discussion here, then I'm in doubt that I will find anything useful because he is not actually discussing the lack of authenticity people are complaining about.
p.5 - Authenticity isn't about "my own meaning making". If the people attempting to address others' search for authenticity have been viewing them as narcissists who won't have anything to do with something that wasn't of my own design, well no wonder they have failed so miserably. This is like trying to watch someone from the Silent Generation attempt to give a lecture on TikTok without ever having seen one. There's no connection to reality when discussing the majority of people younger than Boomers.
p.6 - Whether or not The Church allows people to be their authentic human selves *is* a discussion that's worth being had. Wright would argue that Christ enables us to become more authentically human, but Christ is not the same as The Bride. The revelation of the pain and trauma which Purity Culture caused so many in our generation demonstrates that The Church *does* have an issue with addressing our humanity in authentic ways. The reality that Christians need to fit in with Evangelical Culture or be ostracized demonstrates that The Church *does* keep us from Authentic Living. And frankly, when "take up your cross" comes to mean nothing more than "give all your time to church functions and events", I think it is reasonable to question if the church *is* allowing people to be their authentic human selves. I argue that it is the role of The Gathering to train God's People up so they can live as witnesses in the world; but The Church struggles with that concept alone. Now Root is causing me to add to it the idea that not only do we not train Christians to be witnesses in the world of what it means to be Christian--neither do we train Christians to be witnesses in the world of what it means to be Authentically Human, as Wright suggests we should become. We are failing in a double capacity.
Root claims that his examples show that "that which is authentic is more important than that which is holy, good, or righteous." -- I call Bull. People who are looking for a faith that is Authentically Christlike ARE looking for that which is holy, good, and righteous. If it is authentically Christlike, it IS Holy. If it is authentically Christlike, it IS Good. If it if authentically Christlike, is IS Righteous. People aren't putting authenticity above Christ; they're seeking that which is Authentically Christ, and witnessing that what is being offered by The Church today is not Him.
I'm not even going to bother addressing the anti-hero nonsense.
p.7 - And here he begins to equate "inauthentic" with "boring", once again refusing to see the issue beyond the concept of what an "experience feels like".
Um...Paul himself talks about leaders being held to a higher standard; so this argument about how we judge churches more harshly than corporations is ridiculous. Of. Course. We. Do. And the fact that he talks so flippantly about sex scandals and money laundering in the church, and sees those that judge it as the problem, speaks volumes--much more about him than about those he's ranting against.
There are certainly those who do not attend church because it is boring; but those are not the same people who do not attend because it is inauthentic. Those are two different crowds with two distinctly separate motivations. Discussion which insists on equating the two are unproductive at best, and intentionally dismissive of deep-rooted concerns at worst. The characterization presented here is false.
p.8 - Continued equating of "authenticity" and "boredom".
"space for the depth of experience itself", "emotive experiences" -- These things to not create "authenticity". Frankly, they do not create meaning, either. If anything, Scott Erickson's discussion (in his book "Say Yes") about how "familiarity kills wonder" adds more to the conversation than this. A worship service is not about "creating an experience of God"; it's about ushering us into the incomprehensible wonder of God's love. From what I've seen, the more we struggle to create "experiences of God", the less we have enabled our people to experience God's presence among us. But none of that is about something being "inauthentic" because we're "bored".
Frankly I'm surprised to learn this was published in 2017 because Root's perspective is so outdated.
p.9 - I think we come to the problem here. By the timeline he himself presents, he is explaining how Boomers viewed "authentic" and "boring". This explains his entire premise. And that would be OK if he applied everything to just the Boomer generation but he does not. He uses his observations of Boomer Thought and makes judgments about the Youth of the year he's writing. That is poor scholarship. Culture changes as generations come of age, and his thesis has not recognized that.
p.11 - All I can say is, I hope he doesn't teach a class on Faith Formation.
p.12 - "our age of authenticity makes experience essential" -- no no no no no no no. SMH.
p.12-13 - "The Idol of Youthfulness" section is once again just describing the underlying issue with the "typical" Boomer cohort. They'd decided to hold onto youth so hard that they refuse to pass the reigns on to anyone after them. They *are* "the youthful ones" and they've decided that if THEY "like the doohickey or politician, then it is authentic" no matter what.
p.13 - The churches who sought to be the most like youth groups did "best" (for a while, anyway) because Youth Group Culture was what we taught youth that Church was. But that hasn't held true. Youth Groups (and YG culture) was often shallow, just like the evangelical faith which created them. When they went seeking something deeper, they were let down and had nowhere to turn. The number (or lack) of youth those churches formed who also continued to attend churches or maintain their faith doesn't agree that they did well.
Also, the form a church building takes, whether "movie theatre style" or Gothic Cathedral, in no way speaks to whether or not the church gathered there lives, loves, or teaches authentically. That's moot.
"the conditions we live in minimize divine action" -- I find this ironic being placed in an argument opposed to the quest for authenticity; for those who are seeking Authentic Faith are prophesying that the actions of the Church today have minimized Divine action. The evangelical church has created the conditions we find ourselves in, but continue to condescendingly condemn those who have turned their faces toward God by leaving those conditions.
No one believes youthfulness sets the terms for what is authentic, except for Andrew Root. His argument is void of meaning because he's arguing against something that isn't.
p.14 - Root argues that "So many people 'abandon' faith in college...because we've been so successful at...reinforcing that youthfulness itself is the measure of authenticity" -- No. I repeat, they left because Evangelicals offered them shallow Youth Group drivel, sheltered them from exploring and questioning hard things in real ways, told them "we're your family" but then treated them as outsiders, and then told them they were Commies when they tried to vote in ways that reflected the faith they were taught.
"to deconstruct without any desire to rebuild is the height of youthfulness" -- He once again shows that he's not speaking to anyone who is actually seeking authenticity in The Church, because those people are deconstructing with a very clear desire to rebuild.
"to deconstruct faith becomes the ultimate act of authenticity" -- as if it's some sort of Badge of Rebellion? Come on. Even in the 80s at my podunk private evangelical Christian school, we were taught that we had to make our faith our own. Deconstruction is the minimally basic way of doing that. Same with becoming an adult. "My parents said this, but do I really agree? Has my experience proven that to be true? Why or why not?" "My pastor said this, but do I really believe that?..." etc. This is basic human development stuff; so why wouldn't it be basic spiritual development stuff? This is not a critique worth making.
Overall, Root's take on "the pursuit of authenticity" is extremely flawed, and this leads me to believe I have no reason to read any further in the book.
My general thoughts are these: During the aforementioned discussion, the person who sent me this chapter said, in passing, "being 'authentic' -- whatever we mean by that." So let's start there. When I say I want authenticity--and I'm speaking about my faith and/or the Church--I mean I am seeking something that (1) is Authentically Christlike (or, teaches authentically Christlike things) and (2) allows those present to be Authentically Themselves as they pursue Christ.
The opposite of authentic is fake, and the complaint is that too many people have fake faiths. Root seems to think we're chasing young people, but we're chasing a church that values everyone. The fake-faith-people are chasing everyone away and he's spending ink confusing authenticity with youthfulness instead of asking why. The complaint about a lack of authenticity has very little to do with the entertainment value of worship, and a whole lot to do with the character of the people we're asked to worship with. Until people like Root understand that, anything he writes about the subject will be ineffective.
p.3 - The idea he claims was being presented, that "formation is more authentic than belief, conversion, or commitment" is weird and nonsensical. It sounds like he heard them describing what authentic spiritual formation looks like, and that it doesn't hinge on correct belief or a specific crisis moment of conversion or commitment to a specific ideology; then just boiled the concept down to a few buzz words, incorrectly.
He discusses faith formation in the 2nd paragraph in a condescending way, which immediately causes me to assume that he and I are not going to see eye-to-eye on this issue.
p.4 - "this high ideal of authenticity" -- OK. First of all, the crowd he was with sounds annoying. Secondly, deciding whether or not something is *culturally* authentic is *not* the same thing as determining whether or not a church's/pastor's teachings are authentically Christlike, nor whether or not I am allowed to authentically be myself at said church or with said pastor. Those are completely separate types of issues.
Secondly, saying Martin Luther opposed the "transcendent reality" the Church was presenting but which was "contrary to the one presented in the Bible" is literally describing Martin Luther's opposition to a Church that is not being Authentically Christlike. This is not a rebuttal against authenticity in our faith.
When people say they're looking for Authenticity, they're not describing the kind of experience they're looking for. If that's the underlying thought behind Root's discussion here, then I'm in doubt that I will find anything useful because he is not actually discussing the lack of authenticity people are complaining about.
p.5 - Authenticity isn't about "my own meaning making". If the people attempting to address others' search for authenticity have been viewing them as narcissists who won't have anything to do with something that wasn't of my own design, well no wonder they have failed so miserably. This is like trying to watch someone from the Silent Generation attempt to give a lecture on TikTok without ever having seen one. There's no connection to reality when discussing the majority of people younger than Boomers.
p.6 - Whether or not The Church allows people to be their authentic human selves *is* a discussion that's worth being had. Wright would argue that Christ enables us to become more authentically human, but Christ is not the same as The Bride. The revelation of the pain and trauma which Purity Culture caused so many in our generation demonstrates that The Church *does* have an issue with addressing our humanity in authentic ways. The reality that Christians need to fit in with Evangelical Culture or be ostracized demonstrates that The Church *does* keep us from Authentic Living. And frankly, when "take up your cross" comes to mean nothing more than "give all your time to church functions and events", I think it is reasonable to question if the church *is* allowing people to be their authentic human selves. I argue that it is the role of The Gathering to train God's People up so they can live as witnesses in the world; but The Church struggles with that concept alone. Now Root is causing me to add to it the idea that not only do we not train Christians to be witnesses in the world of what it means to be Christian--neither do we train Christians to be witnesses in the world of what it means to be Authentically Human, as Wright suggests we should become. We are failing in a double capacity.
Root claims that his examples show that "that which is authentic is more important than that which is holy, good, or righteous." -- I call Bull. People who are looking for a faith that is Authentically Christlike ARE looking for that which is holy, good, and righteous. If it is authentically Christlike, it IS Holy. If it is authentically Christlike, it IS Good. If it if authentically Christlike, is IS Righteous. People aren't putting authenticity above Christ; they're seeking that which is Authentically Christ, and witnessing that what is being offered by The Church today is not Him.
I'm not even going to bother addressing the anti-hero nonsense.
p.7 - And here he begins to equate "inauthentic" with "boring", once again refusing to see the issue beyond the concept of what an "experience feels like".
Um...Paul himself talks about leaders being held to a higher standard; so this argument about how we judge churches more harshly than corporations is ridiculous. Of. Course. We. Do. And the fact that he talks so flippantly about sex scandals and money laundering in the church, and sees those that judge it as the problem, speaks volumes--much more about him than about those he's ranting against.
There are certainly those who do not attend church because it is boring; but those are not the same people who do not attend because it is inauthentic. Those are two different crowds with two distinctly separate motivations. Discussion which insists on equating the two are unproductive at best, and intentionally dismissive of deep-rooted concerns at worst. The characterization presented here is false.
p.8 - Continued equating of "authenticity" and "boredom".
"space for the depth of experience itself", "emotive experiences" -- These things to not create "authenticity". Frankly, they do not create meaning, either. If anything, Scott Erickson's discussion (in his book "Say Yes") about how "familiarity kills wonder" adds more to the conversation than this. A worship service is not about "creating an experience of God"; it's about ushering us into the incomprehensible wonder of God's love. From what I've seen, the more we struggle to create "experiences of God", the less we have enabled our people to experience God's presence among us. But none of that is about something being "inauthentic" because we're "bored".
Frankly I'm surprised to learn this was published in 2017 because Root's perspective is so outdated.
p.9 - I think we come to the problem here. By the timeline he himself presents, he is explaining how Boomers viewed "authentic" and "boring". This explains his entire premise. And that would be OK if he applied everything to just the Boomer generation but he does not. He uses his observations of Boomer Thought and makes judgments about the Youth of the year he's writing. That is poor scholarship. Culture changes as generations come of age, and his thesis has not recognized that.
p.11 - All I can say is, I hope he doesn't teach a class on Faith Formation.
p.12 - "our age of authenticity makes experience essential" -- no no no no no no no. SMH.
p.12-13 - "The Idol of Youthfulness" section is once again just describing the underlying issue with the "typical" Boomer cohort. They'd decided to hold onto youth so hard that they refuse to pass the reigns on to anyone after them. They *are* "the youthful ones" and they've decided that if THEY "like the doohickey or politician, then it is authentic" no matter what.
p.13 - The churches who sought to be the most like youth groups did "best" (for a while, anyway) because Youth Group Culture was what we taught youth that Church was. But that hasn't held true. Youth Groups (and YG culture) was often shallow, just like the evangelical faith which created them. When they went seeking something deeper, they were let down and had nowhere to turn. The number (or lack) of youth those churches formed who also continued to attend churches or maintain their faith doesn't agree that they did well.
Also, the form a church building takes, whether "movie theatre style" or Gothic Cathedral, in no way speaks to whether or not the church gathered there lives, loves, or teaches authentically. That's moot.
"the conditions we live in minimize divine action" -- I find this ironic being placed in an argument opposed to the quest for authenticity; for those who are seeking Authentic Faith are prophesying that the actions of the Church today have minimized Divine action. The evangelical church has created the conditions we find ourselves in, but continue to condescendingly condemn those who have turned their faces toward God by leaving those conditions.
No one believes youthfulness sets the terms for what is authentic, except for Andrew Root. His argument is void of meaning because he's arguing against something that isn't.
p.14 - Root argues that "So many people 'abandon' faith in college...because we've been so successful at...reinforcing that youthfulness itself is the measure of authenticity" -- No. I repeat, they left because Evangelicals offered them shallow Youth Group drivel, sheltered them from exploring and questioning hard things in real ways, told them "we're your family" but then treated them as outsiders, and then told them they were Commies when they tried to vote in ways that reflected the faith they were taught.
"to deconstruct without any desire to rebuild is the height of youthfulness" -- He once again shows that he's not speaking to anyone who is actually seeking authenticity in The Church, because those people are deconstructing with a very clear desire to rebuild.
"to deconstruct faith becomes the ultimate act of authenticity" -- as if it's some sort of Badge of Rebellion? Come on. Even in the 80s at my podunk private evangelical Christian school, we were taught that we had to make our faith our own. Deconstruction is the minimally basic way of doing that. Same with becoming an adult. "My parents said this, but do I really agree? Has my experience proven that to be true? Why or why not?" "My pastor said this, but do I really believe that?..." etc. This is basic human development stuff; so why wouldn't it be basic spiritual development stuff? This is not a critique worth making.
Overall, Root's take on "the pursuit of authenticity" is extremely flawed, and this leads me to believe I have no reason to read any further in the book.
January 27, 2021
If you are a someone with a role in a church (pastor, director, elder, volunteer, etc), then you need to move this book to the top of your “to-read” list.
Andrew Root brings a voice and perspective that is very needed. Too many books are written to be fully practical- all about implementing a certain kind of ministry, or building the right program, or crafting the right culture, while others are strictly theological, articulating fantastic and important truths about who God is, who we are, what it means to worship, and so on, without offering an ounce of real-life implication besides “teach this, not that”. Root is a practical theologian and precisely brings a intellectual concepts that should directly influence a church’s ministry. Faith Formation in a Secular Age has a depth that many books don’t reach, but it carries with it a sense of relevance that plenty of books forget to include.
This work was very compelling. Granted, I had some background in Charles Taylor, which helped me accept the concepts being reviewed and expanded on in this book. The first half was strictly historical, and the second half of the book progressively built a theological response to our current cultural moment and values. Root depended on the work of Michael Gorman (this book would have been impossible without Gorman, and his works are now in my to-read list) as well as James K.A. Smith (a personal favorite) and Charles Taylor (who, if you haven’t engaged with yet, you need to). While a critic may say that Root simply stitched these authors together to form his book, I appreciated the way in which they were woven together as a conversation, with Root guiding us through otherwise dense vocabulary and ideas. He showed great restraint by putting *a lot* of his work into footnotes, allowing some to dive deeper into technical material while giving others a chance to skim at an easier intensity. A piece of advice as you read: keep a post-it or phone note of vocabulary as it comes up, as it is very hard to follow otherwise (frequently mentioning his definitions of faith, faith formation, kenosis, theosis, hypostasis, secular 2, secular 3, negation, the list goes on)
This may have made it sound challenging, but Root works so hard to review and recap as often as possible, so that the end of every chapter feels like you’re playing one of those light up Simon Says games, mastering one little color in the sequence at a time. This book will absolutely change the way in which you see your faith and participation in a church and the work of the Holy Spirit
Andrew Root brings a voice and perspective that is very needed. Too many books are written to be fully practical- all about implementing a certain kind of ministry, or building the right program, or crafting the right culture, while others are strictly theological, articulating fantastic and important truths about who God is, who we are, what it means to worship, and so on, without offering an ounce of real-life implication besides “teach this, not that”. Root is a practical theologian and precisely brings a intellectual concepts that should directly influence a church’s ministry. Faith Formation in a Secular Age has a depth that many books don’t reach, but it carries with it a sense of relevance that plenty of books forget to include.
This work was very compelling. Granted, I had some background in Charles Taylor, which helped me accept the concepts being reviewed and expanded on in this book. The first half was strictly historical, and the second half of the book progressively built a theological response to our current cultural moment and values. Root depended on the work of Michael Gorman (this book would have been impossible without Gorman, and his works are now in my to-read list) as well as James K.A. Smith (a personal favorite) and Charles Taylor (who, if you haven’t engaged with yet, you need to). While a critic may say that Root simply stitched these authors together to form his book, I appreciated the way in which they were woven together as a conversation, with Root guiding us through otherwise dense vocabulary and ideas. He showed great restraint by putting *a lot* of his work into footnotes, allowing some to dive deeper into technical material while giving others a chance to skim at an easier intensity. A piece of advice as you read: keep a post-it or phone note of vocabulary as it comes up, as it is very hard to follow otherwise (frequently mentioning his definitions of faith, faith formation, kenosis, theosis, hypostasis, secular 2, secular 3, negation, the list goes on)
This may have made it sound challenging, but Root works so hard to review and recap as often as possible, so that the end of every chapter feels like you’re playing one of those light up Simon Says games, mastering one little color in the sequence at a time. This book will absolutely change the way in which you see your faith and participation in a church and the work of the Holy Spirit
July 16, 2025
This book was overall a very insightful read. It was a slower start, especially with lots of historical background, and I’m not always a fan of history. But the author’s argument for how to form and grow our faith in a growing secular society is really insightful. It is not a matter of doctrines or programs but of ministering to one another and experiencing the being of Jesus in our lives. It made me really appreciate how beautiful our God is and that He does not want us to just feel indebted to Him but to live in the newness of life that He sent Jesus to bring to us.
“Salvation is northing more than the profound gift of Jesus’s very person. To be saved is something more deeply transformational than simply knowing something; it is to be given Christ’s very person”(262). 🔥🔥🔥
“Salvation is northing more than the profound gift of Jesus’s very person. To be saved is something more deeply transformational than simply knowing something; it is to be given Christ’s very person”(262). 🔥🔥🔥
September 3, 2021
Growing up in an Australian secular society I have noted that faith formation is viewed with curiosity, suspicion and scepticism (even by close family members). Faith formation is both personal and public but not an end in itself, but rather than an onerous task faith formation relates to being fully alive in the love of Jesus. Andrew Root describes this as; ‘To have faith is to be in Christ; it is to have faith of Christ because Christ lives in you.’
Faith formation is not subscribing to a particular program or doctrine, as stated by Root in his examination of faith formation in the secular age; ‘To know Christianity has veracity is not to memorise its doctrines but to hear its story told through the ministerial action of persons embracing and loving your own person as the act of ministry.’ This speaks to the importance of an intimate ministry practice, that is deeply self-aware and has the insight of how loved you are in Christ. In practical terms I have found I need to be continually reminded that my Christian ministry is not only in giving but also receiving God’s love in the people and world around me. Perhaps the simplest way to describe this is in the passing of the peace where we offer peace to each other and the refrain is always; ‘and also with you’.
To consolidate this point about the act of Christian ministry being far from a one-sided practice Root affirms; ‘the church must be bound to the experience of ministry itself and the humble desire to make sense of the profoundly full experiences of being ministered to and ministering to another.’ This mutuality in ministry can sometimes be overlooked in the zeal to provide a witness of faith and/or a gift of service to others. What is being missed in the act of purely imparting faithful ministry to others is the shared human love and wisdom we receive from each other. Andrew Root concludes; ‘The only way to have an interreligious dialogue is not to strip away our commitments but to offer our Muslim sister, for example, the experience of being ministered to and of ministering to us.’ Whether, as Andrew Root asserts, that faith and its formation have been difficult in our time, there is still a sense of graciousness in sharing, ministering and listening to each other, indeed what could be termed a generous hospitality, that might provide a way for our shared experiences to find a union of faith in our surprising diversity.
Faith formation is not subscribing to a particular program or doctrine, as stated by Root in his examination of faith formation in the secular age; ‘To know Christianity has veracity is not to memorise its doctrines but to hear its story told through the ministerial action of persons embracing and loving your own person as the act of ministry.’ This speaks to the importance of an intimate ministry practice, that is deeply self-aware and has the insight of how loved you are in Christ. In practical terms I have found I need to be continually reminded that my Christian ministry is not only in giving but also receiving God’s love in the people and world around me. Perhaps the simplest way to describe this is in the passing of the peace where we offer peace to each other and the refrain is always; ‘and also with you’.
To consolidate this point about the act of Christian ministry being far from a one-sided practice Root affirms; ‘the church must be bound to the experience of ministry itself and the humble desire to make sense of the profoundly full experiences of being ministered to and ministering to another.’ This mutuality in ministry can sometimes be overlooked in the zeal to provide a witness of faith and/or a gift of service to others. What is being missed in the act of purely imparting faithful ministry to others is the shared human love and wisdom we receive from each other. Andrew Root concludes; ‘The only way to have an interreligious dialogue is not to strip away our commitments but to offer our Muslim sister, for example, the experience of being ministered to and of ministering to us.’ Whether, as Andrew Root asserts, that faith and its formation have been difficult in our time, there is still a sense of graciousness in sharing, ministering and listening to each other, indeed what could be termed a generous hospitality, that might provide a way for our shared experiences to find a union of faith in our surprising diversity.
August 19, 2019
An excerpt of this book in Christian Century piqued my interest and I picked up a copy. The book did not disappoint. Faith Formation in a Secular Age is divided into two parts. The first part creates an interesting and compelling account of America's current obsession with youthfulness. This part is primarily sociological and draws upon the work of Charles Taylor and a handful of other sociologists. It explains how we have moved from a culture based upon community and duty to one that focuses upon authenticity, youthfulness and individual happiness.
The second part of the book then addresses faith formation. What is the church to do in light of this situation because it's radically different from past ages, and there is no going back? Here Root embraces some notions from the secular age that are not antithetical to the Gospel, such as authenticity, but also draws upon several concepts from the Eastern Orthodox tradition elaborating upon concepts of perichoresis, kenosis, hypostasis and theosis, to name a few. The big idea as I grasped it, is that the church must work with people when they experience a tragedy to love and support them. Obviously, this is an oversimplification.
I suppose it was really this last part of the book that disappointed me. I was looking for some ideas or some conceptual categories that might help in faith formation amongst young adults or even peers. Yet, Root's emphasis upon the experience of negation (i.e. tragedy or hardship) as a necessary step in faith formation seemed rather limiting for all the other days of they year that are not miserable. I wanted to read a little more about what to do when someone is stumbling blindly along the road to Damascus.
Despite my criticism--and it's possible that I've missed something that would address my questions--I found the book highly engaging and helpful for understanding our currently cultural moment and we've arrived here.
The second part of the book then addresses faith formation. What is the church to do in light of this situation because it's radically different from past ages, and there is no going back? Here Root embraces some notions from the secular age that are not antithetical to the Gospel, such as authenticity, but also draws upon several concepts from the Eastern Orthodox tradition elaborating upon concepts of perichoresis, kenosis, hypostasis and theosis, to name a few. The big idea as I grasped it, is that the church must work with people when they experience a tragedy to love and support them. Obviously, this is an oversimplification.
I suppose it was really this last part of the book that disappointed me. I was looking for some ideas or some conceptual categories that might help in faith formation amongst young adults or even peers. Yet, Root's emphasis upon the experience of negation (i.e. tragedy or hardship) as a necessary step in faith formation seemed rather limiting for all the other days of they year that are not miserable. I wanted to read a little more about what to do when someone is stumbling blindly along the road to Damascus.
Despite my criticism--and it's possible that I've missed something that would address my questions--I found the book highly engaging and helpful for understanding our currently cultural moment and we've arrived here.
August 7, 2023
I love it when the last paragraph (almost) perfectly sums up the entire book:
"And it is ministry in its rich articulation that moves us into a faith formation for our secular age, providing a way for our lived and concrete experience to attend to divine action itself, taking our being into a union of faith that is the ministering Jesus Christ himself."
Additionally, this work was extremely helpful in giving me yet another way to understand Taylor and what the Secular Age really is. If I keep reading Root, and re-read some James K.A. Smith, I feel like I'll be ready to tackle Taylor soon.
It was a little weird reading this book, because it's almost like a 3 circled venn diagram where Taylor, Bonhoeffer, and Michael Gorman come together. I think my favorite part was Roots interaction with Gorman, since he's my favorite NT/Pauline scholar. The way Root dances with all three of those scholars, and then offers his own contribution to faith formation, is something I'll be pondering for a while.
Onward and upward (or, for Root, Onward and Downward..."although [x], not [y], but [z]"...iykyk)
"And it is ministry in its rich articulation that moves us into a faith formation for our secular age, providing a way for our lived and concrete experience to attend to divine action itself, taking our being into a union of faith that is the ministering Jesus Christ himself."
Additionally, this work was extremely helpful in giving me yet another way to understand Taylor and what the Secular Age really is. If I keep reading Root, and re-read some James K.A. Smith, I feel like I'll be ready to tackle Taylor soon.
It was a little weird reading this book, because it's almost like a 3 circled venn diagram where Taylor, Bonhoeffer, and Michael Gorman come together. I think my favorite part was Roots interaction with Gorman, since he's my favorite NT/Pauline scholar. The way Root dances with all three of those scholars, and then offers his own contribution to faith formation, is something I'll be pondering for a while.
Onward and upward (or, for Root, Onward and Downward..."although [x], not [y], but [z]"...iykyk)
January 10, 2024
Andrew Root divides his book in two big sections. First, a historical part, in which he draws the lines how the secular age came to be. This picks up on many aspects of Charles Taylor‘s secular age, which is very clarifying, but not groundbreaking. The second part, however, applies these insights to theology and ministry. In this, he explains, it is not our part to try to re-establish a pre-secular era. At the same time it is not the goal to just go along on secular age‘s mainstream obsession of youthfulness, because it would be the perfect expression of authenticity. We are to make room for people to encounter the transcendent, which is only possible by sharing in the death experience of Christ and connecting our story to his.
This book made me understand my own time better and helped me in many ways to respond to its needs not with means the world would try to come up with. It really is a book that gets one thinking. However, at times it is not too explicit, so one is left with a sense of ambiguity. Definitely still a recommendation, if one likes to think analytically about the time we‘re living in.
This book made me understand my own time better and helped me in many ways to respond to its needs not with means the world would try to come up with. It really is a book that gets one thinking. However, at times it is not too explicit, so one is left with a sense of ambiguity. Definitely still a recommendation, if one likes to think analytically about the time we‘re living in.
dnf
August 16, 2022I’ll finish this at a later time
May 11, 2023
Very interesting and important work here. Only reason it isn’t five stars is that two books into this series I’m still not sure what a church built on his project looks like. But very strong work.
August 6, 2019
Root promises two things in this book:
1. To trace the historical movement from an age of duty to the secular age of authenticity in which we now find ourselves.
2. To examine the very definition of faith itself, which is often unhelpfully assumed to simply be a commitment to an institution or belief in a certain set of abstract ideas.
He is more successful in the first task than the second. The first half of the book is perceptive and illuminating, if not a little repetitive. Unfortunately, the second half of the book is convoluted and confusing! In the end, I think Root's definition of faith leaves us in much the same position as the definitions he critiques. The focus in the second half of the book still tends towards what we must do rather than all that Christ has done. The book is at its strongest when focussing on the person and work of Christ, and our need to humbly receive what Christ has done for us. By conflating faith, however, with our own participation in Christ-like, cruciform ministry, the object of faith is obscured. The book would have benefited from a tighter definition of faith, that drew from a wider range of NT scholarship than the one scholar he leant on heavily throughout the second half of the book!
Nevertheless, this has been helpful for me as I consider the way we are teaching and forming faith in our ministry. It is a prescient reminder to me that the task of faith formation is not about conscripting youth to commit to our programs, or even a particular moral vision, but to present Christ to them that they might receive what he has freely given and so be united with him in his death and resurrection life.
1. To trace the historical movement from an age of duty to the secular age of authenticity in which we now find ourselves.
2. To examine the very definition of faith itself, which is often unhelpfully assumed to simply be a commitment to an institution or belief in a certain set of abstract ideas.
He is more successful in the first task than the second. The first half of the book is perceptive and illuminating, if not a little repetitive. Unfortunately, the second half of the book is convoluted and confusing! In the end, I think Root's definition of faith leaves us in much the same position as the definitions he critiques. The focus in the second half of the book still tends towards what we must do rather than all that Christ has done. The book is at its strongest when focussing on the person and work of Christ, and our need to humbly receive what Christ has done for us. By conflating faith, however, with our own participation in Christ-like, cruciform ministry, the object of faith is obscured. The book would have benefited from a tighter definition of faith, that drew from a wider range of NT scholarship than the one scholar he leant on heavily throughout the second half of the book!
Nevertheless, this has been helpful for me as I consider the way we are teaching and forming faith in our ministry. It is a prescient reminder to me that the task of faith formation is not about conscripting youth to commit to our programs, or even a particular moral vision, but to present Christ to them that they might receive what he has freely given and so be united with him in his death and resurrection life.
March 12, 2019
This has been the most important book I’ve read in 2018.
Root breaks the book into two parts. The first is a genealogical sketch of how we got to where we are: an obsession with youthfulness. Youthfulness, in our culture, is not about being chronologically young, but it is an abstracted category separated from the physically young. To be youthful is to follow your heart’s desires. And to be youthful is the path to true authenticity: the “salvation” we are all looking for in an immanentized and secularized world. Root’s philosophical genealogy is convincing.
The second part of the book is his theological project. What does Paul have to say about faith and faith formation to us today in our secular age? What we’ve lost is a sense of God as a personal actor that works in and through our world and our lives. Clearly Paul thinks God is at work in and through the person of Christ and the Holy Spirit in human lives in the form of ministry. Ministry for Root simply means the emptying of one’s self to be in relationship with another in their death experience. For Paul, Jesus is the object and subject of faith. Our faith is participation in the faithfulness of Christ. And our faith formation is to take on the narrative of Christ: self-emptying (ministry) for others.
This is the principle of “cruciformity”: to be in the shape of the cross.
If our lives are brought into deep union with Christ’s person (faith), then our lives will begin to take the shape of Christ’s: self-emptying for the sake of others.
Root breaks the book into two parts. The first is a genealogical sketch of how we got to where we are: an obsession with youthfulness. Youthfulness, in our culture, is not about being chronologically young, but it is an abstracted category separated from the physically young. To be youthful is to follow your heart’s desires. And to be youthful is the path to true authenticity: the “salvation” we are all looking for in an immanentized and secularized world. Root’s philosophical genealogy is convincing.
The second part of the book is his theological project. What does Paul have to say about faith and faith formation to us today in our secular age? What we’ve lost is a sense of God as a personal actor that works in and through our world and our lives. Clearly Paul thinks God is at work in and through the person of Christ and the Holy Spirit in human lives in the form of ministry. Ministry for Root simply means the emptying of one’s self to be in relationship with another in their death experience. For Paul, Jesus is the object and subject of faith. Our faith is participation in the faithfulness of Christ. And our faith formation is to take on the narrative of Christ: self-emptying (ministry) for others.
This is the principle of “cruciformity”: to be in the shape of the cross.
If our lives are brought into deep union with Christ’s person (faith), then our lives will begin to take the shape of Christ’s: self-emptying for the sake of others.
Read
September 27, 2024Andrew Root tells a fascinating story attempting to explain how we got here. By here, I mean a culture where youthfulness is celebrated. By attending to this story, Root thinks that we can uncover the deep roots of our culture, and better think through faith formation.
Root’s book has two parts. The first is a narrative exposition of our current age. Root leans heavily on Charles Taylor’s work to argue that because our culture values authenticity, we have become obsessed with youthfulness. The youth are seen as those who are most authentic because they are the least bound by tradition and expectation from outside them. They can be who their authentic selves in a purer form than can those of us who are older.
The Church has responded to this in a variety of ways. Many of them have fallen into the trap of trying to win the youth over so that the Church would be seen as authentic. The problem with this is that it simply misunderstands the problem. The problem is not that we lack youthfulness, and thus authenticity. The problem lies much deeper with how our culture perceives of the Transcendent.
To see what the problem is, we need to turn to Charles Taylor and his different conceptions of the secular. Taylor distinguishes between three different understandings of “secular”. Secular 1 is when secular exists on a different temporal plan than the sacred. What is secular is of this life, while what is sacred is of eternal life. So, any temporal task such as milking cows, plowing fields, or eating are secular tasks.
Secular 2 is a quite different concept. In Secular 2, the divide is no longer temporal, but is instead a divide between spaces and activities. The sacred is a space, e.g., church building, where humans are allowed to seek out the interests of our religion. The sacred, e.g., a sports stadium, is a place which promises to be absent religion.
While in Secular 1, the sacred and secular were fluid and mixed easily, in Secular 2, they don’t easily mix anymore. While we can still have sacred activities in secular places, such as praying at flagpoles, that is not an act of transcendence breaking through the secular realm. Instead, it is an act of human religious willing breaking into the boundary of secular space.
In Secular 2, a battle arises between the sacred and the secular, and it is a battle within institutions and ideologies. So, when we have a secular space, that means that God is kept out. This means that we need to fight to keep God, say in our schools. This is the dominant sense of the secular for us. We fight against it in terms of space and commitment. What is needed, we think, is more commitment to the church, to the sacred over and against the secular.
When we think we are in Secular 2, sociologists become our visionary. For the sociologist is helpful in guiding us about the shifts in the sacred/secular market share. Conversely, there is little need for the theologian, for speaking about a Wholly Other Spirit matters less than the practical content provided for us by the sociologist.
This may all work fine if we were truly in Secular 2, but we aren’t. We are instead in what Taylor calls Secular 3. Secular 1 sees transcendence in a different temporal plane of existence from the sacred and Secular 2 splits transcendence to the sacred realms while transcendence is not allowed in secular realms. But Secular 3 finds transcendence and divine action unbelievable. In Secular 3 we live almost entirely in what Taylor calls the “immanent frame.” The immanent frame is a constructed social space that frames our lives entirely within a natural (rather than supernatural) order.
Root creates a character in his book Exploding Stars, Dead Dinosaurs, and Zombies, Aly, who fits Secular 3’s mindset well. For Aly, there is no more need for God because science can explain everything (see Laplace’s “I had no need of that hypothesis”).
For the person in Secular 3, there is some room for spirituality, but only if it will enable you to become more authentic. This means that, for the person stuck in the concerns of Secular 2, the battle will miss the mark. Because the whole world is now secular, and stripped of divine transcendence, what does it mean to carve our “sacred” space? We have misdiagnosed the problem. The problem is that there is no room for God to act in our lives, and if he does act, we won’t be able to recognize it. Thus, MTD, the religion of many Americans, including youth, cannot be combatted by fighting either the M or T, but only by fighting the D. We need to make room for transcendence if we are going to have wise and faithful formation as Christians.
When it comes to the positive program of what faith formation should look like, Root leans heavily on Michael Gorman, and his studies of the cross along with an emphasis on deification. Root wants to affirm that faith actually changes us, not merely epistemically, but ontologically. It also provides us with a pattern by which to minister to the world of Secular 3. That pattern is the pattern of the cross, seen most clearly in the Christ-hymn of Phil 2.
The pattern takes the form of “although/because [x], not [y], but [z].” For Jesus this was “who, though he was in the form of God[x], did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped[y], but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.[z]” We are to imitate Jesus by following this pattern, and by doing so, ministering to the world, and being the means by which the transcendent breaks through those in Secular 3. That could take a variety of forms, such as “although I’m tired[x], I will stay up late[y] and talk with a suffering friend[z].” Or “although I’m concerned about my retirement savings[x], I will take out some[y] to help out a friend who needs the money for rent[z].” In these, and other ways, we follow that path of Jesus, and lead others to encounter the transcendent God for themselves.
Root’s book has two parts. The first is a narrative exposition of our current age. Root leans heavily on Charles Taylor’s work to argue that because our culture values authenticity, we have become obsessed with youthfulness. The youth are seen as those who are most authentic because they are the least bound by tradition and expectation from outside them. They can be who their authentic selves in a purer form than can those of us who are older.
The Church has responded to this in a variety of ways. Many of them have fallen into the trap of trying to win the youth over so that the Church would be seen as authentic. The problem with this is that it simply misunderstands the problem. The problem is not that we lack youthfulness, and thus authenticity. The problem lies much deeper with how our culture perceives of the Transcendent.
To see what the problem is, we need to turn to Charles Taylor and his different conceptions of the secular. Taylor distinguishes between three different understandings of “secular”. Secular 1 is when secular exists on a different temporal plan than the sacred. What is secular is of this life, while what is sacred is of eternal life. So, any temporal task such as milking cows, plowing fields, or eating are secular tasks.
Secular 2 is a quite different concept. In Secular 2, the divide is no longer temporal, but is instead a divide between spaces and activities. The sacred is a space, e.g., church building, where humans are allowed to seek out the interests of our religion. The sacred, e.g., a sports stadium, is a place which promises to be absent religion.
While in Secular 1, the sacred and secular were fluid and mixed easily, in Secular 2, they don’t easily mix anymore. While we can still have sacred activities in secular places, such as praying at flagpoles, that is not an act of transcendence breaking through the secular realm. Instead, it is an act of human religious willing breaking into the boundary of secular space.
In Secular 2, a battle arises between the sacred and the secular, and it is a battle within institutions and ideologies. So, when we have a secular space, that means that God is kept out. This means that we need to fight to keep God, say in our schools. This is the dominant sense of the secular for us. We fight against it in terms of space and commitment. What is needed, we think, is more commitment to the church, to the sacred over and against the secular.
When we think we are in Secular 2, sociologists become our visionary. For the sociologist is helpful in guiding us about the shifts in the sacred/secular market share. Conversely, there is little need for the theologian, for speaking about a Wholly Other Spirit matters less than the practical content provided for us by the sociologist.
This may all work fine if we were truly in Secular 2, but we aren’t. We are instead in what Taylor calls Secular 3. Secular 1 sees transcendence in a different temporal plane of existence from the sacred and Secular 2 splits transcendence to the sacred realms while transcendence is not allowed in secular realms. But Secular 3 finds transcendence and divine action unbelievable. In Secular 3 we live almost entirely in what Taylor calls the “immanent frame.” The immanent frame is a constructed social space that frames our lives entirely within a natural (rather than supernatural) order.
Root creates a character in his book Exploding Stars, Dead Dinosaurs, and Zombies, Aly, who fits Secular 3’s mindset well. For Aly, there is no more need for God because science can explain everything (see Laplace’s “I had no need of that hypothesis”).
For the person in Secular 3, there is some room for spirituality, but only if it will enable you to become more authentic. This means that, for the person stuck in the concerns of Secular 2, the battle will miss the mark. Because the whole world is now secular, and stripped of divine transcendence, what does it mean to carve our “sacred” space? We have misdiagnosed the problem. The problem is that there is no room for God to act in our lives, and if he does act, we won’t be able to recognize it. Thus, MTD, the religion of many Americans, including youth, cannot be combatted by fighting either the M or T, but only by fighting the D. We need to make room for transcendence if we are going to have wise and faithful formation as Christians.
When it comes to the positive program of what faith formation should look like, Root leans heavily on Michael Gorman, and his studies of the cross along with an emphasis on deification. Root wants to affirm that faith actually changes us, not merely epistemically, but ontologically. It also provides us with a pattern by which to minister to the world of Secular 3. That pattern is the pattern of the cross, seen most clearly in the Christ-hymn of Phil 2.
The pattern takes the form of “although/because [x], not [y], but [z].” For Jesus this was “who, though he was in the form of God[x], did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped[y], but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.[z]” We are to imitate Jesus by following this pattern, and by doing so, ministering to the world, and being the means by which the transcendent breaks through those in Secular 3. That could take a variety of forms, such as “although I’m tired[x], I will stay up late[y] and talk with a suffering friend[z].” Or “although I’m concerned about my retirement savings[x], I will take out some[y] to help out a friend who needs the money for rent[z].” In these, and other ways, we follow that path of Jesus, and lead others to encounter the transcendent God for themselves.
October 30, 2022
Root is touching down into core stuff here, unmasking our obsession with “youthfulness” within a culture of authenticity. Pulling from the work of Charles Taylor and Michael Gorman, I’ll admit you have to track carefully to keep up with his theological argument as he develops it. But I believe he’s grappling with key questions, and moving us in ways critical to our continued faithfulness as God’s Spirit people. I’m looking forward to volume 2. Thanks Andrew.
January 5, 2026
The history of the "age of authenticity" was interesting. For me, the word authenticity is super fuzzy, though. I'd imagine Root would think that I, as someone who deconstructed my faith and who now cannot find a faith tradition or denomination to which I could truly belong, would be an example of someone obsessed with authenticity. Surely, he'd see me as someone who set myself up as the high authority, since I have rejected several evangelical pet doctrines (original sin, penal substitution, inerrancy, eternal conscious torment, exclusivism) as illogical, false, repugnant, evil, or absurd.
Root seems to view authenticity negatively, and I can agree that it can lead people in some bad or silly directions. Too often, those who are pushed towards "authenticity" are pressed to be "true to themselves," as if there was some univocal self, but in all truth, they are a cacophony—sure they can be “true” to true to some aspect of themselves (of which they’re currently aware), or a subjective sense or momentary feeling, but they will be unauthentic to another aspect of themselves. I have a desire to be healthy and to fit into my clothes. I also love food and delight in junk food. Often, we have conflicting desires (short-term and long-term, deep values and fleeting fancies), and there are tradeoffs and balances to be made.
Honestly, the issue isn't being authentic; it is likely that most of us have not seriously ordered our values and discerned what we ought to truly commit ourselves to. We have failed in Socrates dictum to know ourselves.
An obsession with authenticity would be negative if I simply followed my fleeting and changing emotions and delude myself into thinking my current mood and likes are the ultimate goal I MUST reach and maintain. A commitment to authenticity is a good thing if I first seriously reflect on what is the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, determine what my ultimate values are, weigh the necessary tradeoffs, and attempt to be true to this.
I see I am committed to the truth. Intellectually, I want to align with what seems to be reality. My deconstruction was not intentional. I grew up in the evangelical subculture. I became a missionary. I was 100% all in and committed. Would Root think that when I sincerely found things to be untrue and morally repugnant, I should have somehow doubled down and, in an attempt not be authentic to Truth and Goodness, decided to just submit to tradition, even when it affirmed what was evil and false? Does Root think we have an obligation to just mindlessly follow the evangelical tribe, lest in a desire to be authentic, we drift or reject key tenets of the evangelical faith?
Root seems to view authenticity negatively, and I can agree that it can lead people in some bad or silly directions. Too often, those who are pushed towards "authenticity" are pressed to be "true to themselves," as if there was some univocal self, but in all truth, they are a cacophony—sure they can be “true” to true to some aspect of themselves (of which they’re currently aware), or a subjective sense or momentary feeling, but they will be unauthentic to another aspect of themselves. I have a desire to be healthy and to fit into my clothes. I also love food and delight in junk food. Often, we have conflicting desires (short-term and long-term, deep values and fleeting fancies), and there are tradeoffs and balances to be made.
Honestly, the issue isn't being authentic; it is likely that most of us have not seriously ordered our values and discerned what we ought to truly commit ourselves to. We have failed in Socrates dictum to know ourselves.
An obsession with authenticity would be negative if I simply followed my fleeting and changing emotions and delude myself into thinking my current mood and likes are the ultimate goal I MUST reach and maintain. A commitment to authenticity is a good thing if I first seriously reflect on what is the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, determine what my ultimate values are, weigh the necessary tradeoffs, and attempt to be true to this.
I see I am committed to the truth. Intellectually, I want to align with what seems to be reality. My deconstruction was not intentional. I grew up in the evangelical subculture. I became a missionary. I was 100% all in and committed. Would Root think that when I sincerely found things to be untrue and morally repugnant, I should have somehow doubled down and, in an attempt not be authentic to Truth and Goodness, decided to just submit to tradition, even when it affirmed what was evil and false? Does Root think we have an obligation to just mindlessly follow the evangelical tribe, lest in a desire to be authentic, we drift or reject key tenets of the evangelical faith?
September 17, 2021
Andrew Root's first volume in the A Secular Age series is a densely written, informative, and paradigm-altering proposal for engaging in faith formation in - taking his lead from Charles Taylor's famed work - "A Secular Age." His voice joins a constantly-growing chorus of Christians attempting to articulate what is happening to Christianity in the Western world (he is fully sold on Taylor's articulation in A Secular Age) and takes up the challenge of using Taylor's paradigm for considering the implications for Christians and Christian leaders navigating these changes.
While camping mostly in Taylor's world, Root also engages the likes of Martin Luther, Finnish theological school of interpretation, Greek Orthodox theologians, Bonhoeffer, the Apostle Paul, and Michael Gorman extensively in setting forth his argument. While the book is only about 200 pages, it is densely packed with philosophical theory, theological rationale, and pastoral implications. Admittedly, the latter is more of a footnote, as Root's primary work is in mobilizing paradigmatic shifts in the chruch's approach to faith formation: perhaps most concisely represented by his critique of MTD: Moral Therapeutic Deism (ala Christian Smith) and his suggestion of replacing with HKT: hypostatis, kenosis, and theosis. For me, the proposal he lays out in chapter 10 ("The Music of Formation") provided the most direct reflection. His engagement of the (for the Western church) lost/abandoned doctrines of kenosis and hypstatis is a fascinating and welcome proposal for that predicament we find ourselves in, in our secular (particularly, Secular 2 and Secular 3 Taylor) worlds.
The conclusion offers some practical responses for the church moving forward. While I found the conclusions insightful, it is clear that there is much work to do here in adopting his proposed paradigm shift. As I approach 20 years of pastoral ministry experience, Root seems to be providing both langauge for describing the philosophical changes that have and are continuing to take place, and I believe his engagement with some fringe and tertiary historical doctrines of the church provide an extensive project that demands to be considered. I look forward to engaging the next volume of the series soon.
While camping mostly in Taylor's world, Root also engages the likes of Martin Luther, Finnish theological school of interpretation, Greek Orthodox theologians, Bonhoeffer, the Apostle Paul, and Michael Gorman extensively in setting forth his argument. While the book is only about 200 pages, it is densely packed with philosophical theory, theological rationale, and pastoral implications. Admittedly, the latter is more of a footnote, as Root's primary work is in mobilizing paradigmatic shifts in the chruch's approach to faith formation: perhaps most concisely represented by his critique of MTD: Moral Therapeutic Deism (ala Christian Smith) and his suggestion of replacing with HKT: hypostatis, kenosis, and theosis. For me, the proposal he lays out in chapter 10 ("The Music of Formation") provided the most direct reflection. His engagement of the (for the Western church) lost/abandoned doctrines of kenosis and hypstatis is a fascinating and welcome proposal for that predicament we find ourselves in, in our secular (particularly, Secular 2 and Secular 3 Taylor) worlds.
The conclusion offers some practical responses for the church moving forward. While I found the conclusions insightful, it is clear that there is much work to do here in adopting his proposed paradigm shift. As I approach 20 years of pastoral ministry experience, Root seems to be providing both langauge for describing the philosophical changes that have and are continuing to take place, and I believe his engagement with some fringe and tertiary historical doctrines of the church provide an extensive project that demands to be considered. I look forward to engaging the next volume of the series soon.
December 30, 2017
Andrew Root addresses the challenge of living in a secular age. It is both a social/cultural exploration and a theological one. In part one, Root, following Charles Taylor addresses the challenge of the secular to the Christian faith. More specifically, he addresses the challenge of the ideology of "youthfulness," which has taken hold in society and in church. In that regard, he notes that there are three forms of secular/sacred divide. The first form assumes that secular and sacred are two planes that intersect and collide at points. This is the oldest version. Since the age of the Enlightenment, sacred and secular are understood spatially. There is the religious and the a-religious spaces. Each is understood to function according to its own rules. Thus, the religious is to stay in its own lane. For the church, the assumption is that one can resist through affiliation. In the third form, sacred/secular are flattened out, meaning the loss of transcendence. Unfortunately for the church, too often we seek to deal with the challenge of Secular 3 in terms of Secular 2 (just keeping our youth means survival), but the embrace of the ideology of youthfulness simply fails to work. I found the analysis in part 1 to be intriguing and useful.
Part 2 is a theological response, focusing on Pauline theology in conversation with Michael Gorman. I found this to be less interesting. In other words, if I'm going to read Gorman, I'll just read Gorman.
Ultimately, while he addresses the Mainline, and lives within the mainline, this seems more addressed to evangelicalism, which is perhaps caught up more fully in the most recent forms of youthfulness. Mainliners, for their part, in my estimation, seem to simply copy the evangelicals in terms of style. Besides, I think most mainline churches gave up on faith formation awhile ago!
Part 2 is a theological response, focusing on Pauline theology in conversation with Michael Gorman. I found this to be less interesting. In other words, if I'm going to read Gorman, I'll just read Gorman.
Ultimately, while he addresses the Mainline, and lives within the mainline, this seems more addressed to evangelicalism, which is perhaps caught up more fully in the most recent forms of youthfulness. Mainliners, for their part, in my estimation, seem to simply copy the evangelicals in terms of style. Besides, I think most mainline churches gave up on faith formation awhile ago!
July 30, 2021
This is very definitely a book in two halves, and such contrasting halves that the unwary reader could easily find themselves thrown half way through. The first half is an engagement with Charles Taylor's notable book A Secular Age with a particular emphasis on the age of authenticity and what this means for faith formation and apologetics (although Root doesn't describe it in those terms). This is a book written very much from within the American faith milieu and so requires some translation if read in the UK. I'm not so sure that Taylor's three models of secularism are quite so clear cut as they are in the US either - the presence of so many medieval church buildings, even if not attended much on a Sunday, creates a greater sense of connection with the transcendent than perhaps in the States, even though churchgoing there is far greater. And because there isn't the separation of church and state here, the very clearly delineated lines of religious and non-religious are perhaps not so tightly drawn (although they are moving in that direction at pace).
The second part of the book is a serious scholarly study on hypostases, kenosis and theosis, seen particularly through the lens of Philippians 2. I was intrigued by the idea of Paul drawing on both the example of Phinehas (pre-conversion) and Abraham (post-conversion). I'm not wholly convinced, but it's a very interesting take. I did like his exegesis of Philippians 2 (drawn heavily on the work of Gorman) as a paradigm of although/because - not - but stories which worked well. But this part is dense and I don't think that I gave it the concentration that it deserved.
I felt that Bonhoeffer lay behind a lot of the thinking in this book, and appropriately Bonhoeffer was quoted very early on, but I thought that he might have been referenced more.
The second part of the book is a serious scholarly study on hypostases, kenosis and theosis, seen particularly through the lens of Philippians 2. I was intrigued by the idea of Paul drawing on both the example of Phinehas (pre-conversion) and Abraham (post-conversion). I'm not wholly convinced, but it's a very interesting take. I did like his exegesis of Philippians 2 (drawn heavily on the work of Gorman) as a paradigm of although/because - not - but stories which worked well. But this part is dense and I don't think that I gave it the concentration that it deserved.
I felt that Bonhoeffer lay behind a lot of the thinking in this book, and appropriately Bonhoeffer was quoted very early on, but I thought that he might have been referenced more.
April 29, 2022
Having read this for a spiritual formation class in Seminary, I was taken aback by the argument put forward by Root. Without getting into the weeds, Root traces the path culture has traversed since the Baby Boom and how along the way the Western church has been sucked into a subversive cultural worldview. This subversion has lead to the watered-down, consumeristic, attractional modeling of churches that plague the Western world.
Thankfully, it is not all doom-and-gloom. Using Paul as a guide, Root points to the transcendent nature inherent in Christianity as the key to shattering surface-level culture wars churches keep entrenching themselves in (which, spoiler, will never be won).
While Root is frustratingly verbose at times, and the content can be quite dense, the overall purpose and point of the book is deeply important. I think Root adequately diagnoses and points to various issues within Western churches I myself have noticed in my time serving in vocational ministry.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in cultural studies, church leadership and spiritual formation. It is a fascinating, yet difficult read that is worth the investment required.
Thankfully, it is not all doom-and-gloom. Using Paul as a guide, Root points to the transcendent nature inherent in Christianity as the key to shattering surface-level culture wars churches keep entrenching themselves in (which, spoiler, will never be won).
While Root is frustratingly verbose at times, and the content can be quite dense, the overall purpose and point of the book is deeply important. I think Root adequately diagnoses and points to various issues within Western churches I myself have noticed in my time serving in vocational ministry.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in cultural studies, church leadership and spiritual formation. It is a fascinating, yet difficult read that is worth the investment required.
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August 12, 2024This was a very helpful and interesting book. It helped me understand Charles Taylor's "A Secular Age" a little better. In the first part of the book, Andrew Root provides an overview of how our society is shaped by mass culture, duty, and conformity, which lead to a search for authenticity. Coupled with Freud's influence and the rise of the Hippie movement in the 60s, this authentic self manifests in a youthful mindset (more about a state of mind than age). After this overview, Root shifts his focus to the church and asks what faith is and how we can explain it to a modern person living in a secular age (Age 2 with a pull from Age 3). He then offers a definition of faith, kenosis, and theosis. By participating in the story of the crucified and resurrected Jesus and being ministered to by Him, we can, in turn, minister to our neighbor. Justification inherently includes a transformative act.
May 17, 2019
I worked my tail off to read this book - often reading paragraphs three or four times - and it was 100% worth the effort. I believe that Charles Taylor’s Secular Age has a profound capacity to explain experiences of transcendence or the lack thereof in the world today. Andy Root has laid out in this book the case for how we continue in faith in Jesus Christ in a world where transcendence seems impossible. There are lots of wonderful philosophical and theological terms to describe this development which are well worth learning, but it was their profound connection with my lived experience that made this book so worthwhile. It wasn’t just a bunch of academic ideas. It was academic language that fit with the hardest and most beautiful experiences of my life. I was moved to tears on more than one occasion while reading. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
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March 6, 2021An essential read for faith leaders today
It's not the easiest read. It's not the most fun read. But Dr. Root's work here is incredible. Through the articulation of our modern cultural via a biblical, sociological, and historical lense, Dr. Root creates a framework that the modern minister can build on. As someone who has experience working in both conservative and progressive church spaces in the United States, the accuracy of Dr. Root's descriptions of both are astounding.
This is exactly the type of work that is essential to ministry today- thoughtful reflections of "both sides" with a reminder and call to action that is rooted (pun unintended, but welcome) in the core Connection with Christ as our minister.
It's not the easiest read. It's not the most fun read. But Dr. Root's work here is incredible. Through the articulation of our modern cultural via a biblical, sociological, and historical lense, Dr. Root creates a framework that the modern minister can build on. As someone who has experience working in both conservative and progressive church spaces in the United States, the accuracy of Dr. Root's descriptions of both are astounding.
This is exactly the type of work that is essential to ministry today- thoughtful reflections of "both sides" with a reminder and call to action that is rooted (pun unintended, but welcome) in the core Connection with Christ as our minister.
July 26, 2021
Man, I love Andy Root's approach to all things cultural, philosophical, theological, and practical. This book includes two extremely helpful, clearly-written sections: a historical and philosophical breakdown of our cultural movement into the "age of authenticity" (based, of course, significantly on the work of Charles Taylor); a Pauline-Lutheran interpretation of faith and how to encourage the formation of that faith within (not in spite of) our age of authenticity.
As mentioned, it's extremely clearly written, even though he is fluent in the philosophical sources he pulls on, which can be quite difficult to read. I absolutely love this series, and am excited to read part 2 now. Highly, highly recommended for anyone in ministry today.
As mentioned, it's extremely clearly written, even though he is fluent in the philosophical sources he pulls on, which can be quite difficult to read. I absolutely love this series, and am excited to read part 2 now. Highly, highly recommended for anyone in ministry today.
February 18, 2019
For me the book was repetitive. Root keeps coming back to the same tag lines frequently. I wanted to see a healthy critique of the church's emphasis on "youthfulness" and get a better understanding for how my congregation might grow in it's understanding of faith formation. Towards the end of the book I found Root's discussion of Philippians 2, based on the work of Michael Gorman, very beneficial. If you're looking for a sociological discussion of how Western/American culture has come to where it is, this is very helpful. If you're looking for some practical ways to engage people in faith formation, this might not be the right book.
August 31, 2020
There's a lot I still need to process with Faith Formation in a Secular Age. I might even need to read it again, to keep straight kenosis/theosis and some of the other heady theological concepts. I'm excited to practice these faith formation concepts with the youth and adults that I lead in the church. I would have appreciated a bit longer of a conclusion, with perhaps some more application-oriented suggestions (though this is only volume one of a 3 volume series, so maybe the other volumes will flesh this out more). I recommend this to those who need a different frame of reference for faith formation today.
September 6, 2019
"Faith becomes an idea, and our job is to fortify the concept enough so that it is chosen as valuable. Faith formation becomes a battle to win a place for the concept of God and the idea of church participation in the lives of the young so they’ll keep the pickets of faith in their fence."
Root fights this stance with vigor and veracity in his book. It's occasionally repetitive and I wish it had more practical applications/illustrations, but it's far better than anything else I've ever read on young-adults ministry.
Root fights this stance with vigor and veracity in his book. It's occasionally repetitive and I wish it had more practical applications/illustrations, but it's far better than anything else I've ever read on young-adults ministry.
November 2, 2021
I’d like to give this 3 or 4 stars for the first half, but the second half is only worth 1. Root spends a few chapters analyzing the ideological developments from the late 19th century to today, explaining the rise of modern expressive individualism and secular humanism in a way that is insightfully helpful. His answer to the problem, however, is bonkers. Existentialism, theosis, New Perspective on Paul, New Finnish Interpretation of Luther, heterodox theology proper, crude misuse of creedal metaphysics, maybe social Trinitarianism… yikes.
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