David Bailey 
Youth Ministry and Theological Shorthand 
Living Amongst the Fragments of a Coherent Theology

In Youth Ministry and Theology Shorthand, David Bailey explores the dialogue between practice and theological education through the lens of youth ministry. This qualitative study illuminates how youth ministers talk about their work amongst young people. Through the slowing down of the youth ministry process it is discovered that youth ministers speak in theological shorthand. Theological shorthand is a paradox: it is both meaningful–it fuels long-term sacrificial service amongst young people–and it is problematic, as it risks untethering youth ministry from the wider narrative of the Christian story.
 
The book will appeal to youth ministers, clergy, academics, graduate and post-graduate students, but also informed volunteers involved in youth ministry. Through the discipline of practical theology, it correlates the voices of the youth ministers, a set of materials used to deepen faith, and contemporary expressions of sung worship. These are then brought into conversation and explored via different aspects of Trinitarian theology to deepen the theological grammar within contemporary youth ministry and to help develop theological literacy.

Despre autor

Peter Ward teaches at King’s College, London, where he is involved in research into popular theology and culture. He is the author of a number of books, including Liquid Church, God at the Mall, Youthwork and the Mission of God, and Youth Culture and the Gospel.