Summary Of Cultivating Consequential Faith

Dean demonstrates how in the pragmatic move Part Three of her book, “Cultivating Consequential Faith” by exploring the broad sets of practices that help congregations cultivate mature faith in young people. She introduces her pragmatic prescriptions with a provocative story. Regardless of whether the motives are meant to be well-intentioned or not, I doubt I will ever solve the problems of my youth ministry through a nude photoshoot of my students for a fundraiser. As if such a notion wasn’t controversial enough, Dean suggests another daring suggestion. At first, I was naturally resistant to the thought that formal youth minister isn’t of significant importance. However, Dean helps me see why youth ministry should not be carried out by youth

Dean offers three practices of how to embody a missional imagination. The translation practice of catechesis, or knowing what one believes, “gives teenagers cultural tools that stake up young faith, improves teenagers’ exposure to the Son and therefore the likelihood that their faith will mature and bear fruit. The second practice of bilingual storytelling, or testimony, translates the language of the Christian story into the language of cultural context in order to help young people articulate and confess their identity as Christians. Finally, detachment through de-centering experiences like mission trips cultivates empathy and reflexivity through less of a focus on the self and more of an opening up to the other. Although the solution cannot be found by means of a pragmatic path that is guaranteed to end at the intended destination, this process can be summarized in one word. “The difference between an “almost Christian and an “altogether Christian” boils down to love” (5). The love Christ showed through the cross was a sacrificial love full of suffering, so an “altogether Christian” must also show a sacrificial love full of