It’s ok for you to have questions about your faith. You aren’t the only one that has those questions, and you shouldn’t be embarrassed by them. In Questioning Your Way to Faith , Mike McGarry explores the twenty most common questions teenagers ask. In nearly twenty years as a youth pastor, Mike has heard just about every question students ask. Your questions are important—and they may prove to be the very thing that actually leads you into deeper faith. Discover covers a wide range of questions that teens like you ask about faith Why does God allow suffering? Why should we trust the Bible? Is church relevant? Does God care about my sexual identity? and more. Mike wants you to see your questions as an opportunity to dig deeper and grow in your faith. Each chapter is short and tackles important topics such as doubt, the resurrection, tolerance, sexual issues, prayer, and more. He thinks you will be encouraged to see what God has to say.
My endorsement: Today’s teens grow up in a confused and skeptical world. McGarry gives pastors and churches a tool that doesn’t shy away from hard questions but instead roots students in biblical truth. Discover will be a great resource for youth pastors’ preparing kids for baptism or confirmation.
As much as Christians might not want to admit it, it’s not unusual to question your faith. Asking and getting answers to the hard questions usually helps Christians feel more sure and solid in their faith and beliefs. This is especially true for teens who might have grown up in the church but need to discover for themselves the truths of Christianity versus just ‘believing’ because that’s what they were taught to do.
Author Mike McGarry’s Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith covers twenty hard questions that many Christians wrestle with at one point or another. These include topics such as: Can I be sure of my salvation, What is the Trinity, How can a loving God send anyone to hell, Why does God allow suffering, and How do Christians interpret the Old Testament, among many more great questions!
The answers to these questions are sized perfectly for teens and busy adults, at only several pages each. McGarry cuts to the heart of each message and succinctly describes the Biblical case for each one. He doesn’t steer clear of the hard stuff. He tackles LGBTQ+, Sex and Dating, and whether Christians should be tolerant, among other hot topics. These subjects and answers may ruffle the feathers of staunch believers on either end of the belief spectrum. McGarry cites several Biblical references for each topic to give the foundation for his answers. Overall, he acknowledges many opposing viewpoints that should make all parties feel understood in their stances, no matter if the conclusion isn’t what they would ‘like’ it to be.
As an adult who’s wrestled with some of these topics in my own mind, I looked forward to reading McGarry’s explanations. Most rang true for me and certainly gave me some clarity as well as fuel for more reflection.
Discover is geared toward teens and, therefore, many of the circumstances that McGarry references reflect those that teens face. In spite of that targeted audience, I still feel this book would be great for doubting Christians of any age or those who are struggling with some of the core concepts of Christianity or the cultural issues of our times.
Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith by Mike McGarry takes 20 questions that teens have about Faith in God and helps to guide them in answering those questions. Discover covers a wide range of topics from the validity of the Bible to how God views and created sexuality. Each chapter tackles one of the questions, using the Bible and Biblical perspective and wisdom to give in depth answers. At the end of each chapter, there is a section called “Digging Deeper” that has questions for the reader to think and digest what they have just read.
What I love about Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith by Mike McGarry is the wide range of topics that are covered. I used Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith by Mike McGarry as part of my devotion time, but I would recommend doing this as a study with friends and a trusted adult who is seasoned in the Faith. I highlighted much of the book and made notes. I love that Mr. McGarry covered topics that Christians shy away from at times and was able to give a strong Biblical answer for them. Not only does Mr. McGarry give Biblical answers, but he also explains the answers practically, with understanding and heart. I love how each chapter is packed with information, but at the same time is short. I love the questions at the end of each chapter because they make you think. I also thought the notes that were at the end of some of the chapters were helpful and I plan on looking into them more . If you have a teen in your life that has questions about God, I believe Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith by Mike McGarry, along with Bible, is a good place to start! I highly recommend it!
Have you read Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith by Mike McGarry? What do you think of the book?
Thank you to New Growth Press for giving me a copy of Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith by Mike McGarry to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. My review is also on my blog, Leslie's Library Escape.
This is the Youth Pastor Theologian at his very best. As a youth pastor, it is really hard to find solid biblical and theological resources that every student can easily engage with and learn from. In fact, most marketed to teens are the opposite of what we want! Mike has done the Church a huge favor with providing a solution: an accessible, broadly structured, biblically ground resource that teens, parents, youth workers, and mature Christians will find beneficial. This has discussion questions, apologetics, theology, and is deeply pastoral in tone. Buy a dozen copies and hand them out!
Approachable book to walk teenagers through common questions they ask. This would be good to help develop and outline for teaching series of walking through a group for deeper discipleship. McGarry does a good job keeping chapters short and approachable while tackling tough questions
4.5 // This is filled with great, bite-sized questions and answers about the faith, and I know that some of the teens at my church have asked them before. This is a great resource to put in their hands, and I plan on doing just that. McGarry strikes a great balance of compassion and clarity, so that readers can get some good answers without feeling dumb for asking the questions. I had anticipated there would be more on the general subject of how bringing our honest questions to God is a healthy practice of strengthening our faith, but the focus was much more on presenting topics and sharing practical and biblical insight.