Older Books

BONHOEFFER AS YOUTH WORKER

“Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker reads like the labor of love that it is, introducing Bonhoeffer as a fellow pastor who shares your passion for young people’s journey of faith and your conviction that Christ’s church should receive youth without using them. Andrew Root is at his best here.”
– Kenda Creasy Dean, Princeton Theological Seminary
“I have quite literally never read a youth ministry book anything like this: full of history, story, theological articulation, and implication. Absolutely fascinating.”
– Mark Oestreicher

CHRISTOPRAXIS

“Christopraxis represents a major new departure in practical theology by one of the field’s best young scholars. A guiding star for pastors and academics alike.” 
– Richard R. Osmer, Princeton Theological Seminary
“Andy Root lays exciting new groundwork for practical theology. His review of the current field is incisive, and his constructive proposal, based in critical realism, pays refreshing attention to the centrality of divine action in Christian ministry. For the future of practical theology, this is the book to read and conversation to join.”
– Russell Haitch, Bethany Theological Seminary

THE RELATIONAL PASTOR

“I have long suspected the ‘folk ecclesiology’ of most evangelical churches could not support missional and/or incarnational ministry for the long haul. Andrew Root’s The Relational Pastor helps me see this problem anew in a helpful way. In the process he points a way forward to a robust theology that grounds the church in our God who has become flesh in Jesus Christ. What this means for personhood, relationship and community is astounding. Thank you, Andrew Root. I needed this book.”
– David Fitch, B. R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology, Northern Seminary, and author of The End of Evangelicalism? Discerning a New Faithfulness
“Several years ago, I encountered the work of Andrew Root, and while it was primarily focused on youth ministry, it radically changed the way I engaged my own work as a congregational pastor. With The Relational Pastor, Root takes the seeds of what I saw and coaxes them into a full-fledged tree, teeming with wonderful fruit. “By reorienting our perspective from relating to others as ‘the sum of their decisions’ to ‘a mystery to be encountered,’ Root has offered ministers of all stripes the opportunity to live and encounter the incarnation, not as a doctrine to be learned but a reality to be lived.”
– Rev. Landon Whitsitt, author of Open Source Church
“So much of what passes for pastoral ministry resources these days is either thinly veiled pragmatism or a sentimental call to return to a bygone era. Thankfully, Andy Root defies that trend. Instead, he has developed a deep and robust theology of pastoral ministry that engages the imagination and invites embodiment. He achieves this by interacting with compelling research drawn from a wide variety of disciplines that he then interprets in (and for) the context of the local church. The Relational Pastor is an important book whose time is now.”
– Tim Keel, senior pastor of Jacob’s Well Church and author of Intuitive Leadership

A THEOLOGICAL JOURNEY THROUGH YOUTH MINISTRY (4 part series)

Book Four: UNLOCKING MISSION AND ESCHATOLOGY IN YOUTH MINISTRY

Synopsis: In Unlocking Mission and Eschatology in Youth Ministry Root argues that youth ministers should teach teens to recognize that as Jesus’ disciples they are participating in the very action of God to bring forth the future of God. He argues that our service to him on this earth (mission) is a sign of the new reality that Jesus will bring when he returns (eschatology).

Book Three: UNPACKING SCRIPTURE IN YOUTH MINISTRY

Synopsis: Unpacking Scripture in Youth Ministry focuses on how to teach and present the Bible in the lives of teenagers. Andrew Root argues that teens are constant interpreters — always asking the questions, who am I? and what do others think of me? — and so youth ministers must teach them to interpret the actions of God as revealed in the Bible. This view is different than teaching biblical knowledge — memory verses and Bible facts — and it’s different than teaching them to interpret the Bible themselves. Rather, they are to view the Bible as a tool for interpreting God’s actions and then respond with their own actions.

Book Two: TAKING THE CROSS TO YOUTH MINISTRY

Synopsis: You know that the ideas of sin and salvation are central to our faith, but how do you effectively teach these concepts to teenagers? In Taking the Cross to Youth Ministry, Andrew Root will help you re-imagine how you present the power of the cross to students as you journey with Nadia, a fictional youth worker wrestling with this question.

Book One: TAKING THEOLOGY TO YOUTH MINISTRY

Synopsis: Have you ever wondered, “What’s the point of youth ministry?” In Taking Theology to Youth Ministry, Andrew Root invites you along on a journey with Nadia—a fictional youth worker who is trying to understand the “why” behind her ministry. Her narrative, along with Root’s insights, helps you explore how theology can and should influence the way you do youth ministry.

THE THEOLOGICAL TURN IN YOUTH MINISTRY

“The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry is a practical theology winner. Newcomers to practical theology will applaud its interplay of experience, reflection and action. Veterans to the field will give its masterful synergy of breadth and depth a standing ovation.”
– Kara Powell, executive director, Fuller Youth Institute, Fuller Theological Seminary

“I am euphoric over Kenda Creasy Dean and Andrew Root’s book, The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry. We have been perplexed by decades of accumulating and overwhelming data indicating that the Christian church in North America is failing to form disciples among adolescents who stay connected to their churches. Root and Dean skillfully illustrate the essential role practical theology plays as an imperative correction toward authentic Christian formation of young people. The authors describe and advocate for a theological turn that will not only prove to be a key factor in transforming the way we engage youth ministry but also result in widespread ecclesial change. Today’s young adults are eager to engage in deep theological reflection that allows them to wrestle with the issues that can truly bring meaning to their lives. The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry is a seminal work that will stir up the prophetic imagination of youth workers.”
– Mike King, president of Youthfront and author of Presence-Centered Youth Ministry

“An important step in the right direction. Who says teenagers can’t understand the theological thrust of, say, Karl Barth? They can and they must.”
– Christian Smith, University of Notre Dame, author of Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers

THE CHILDREN OF DIVORCE

“Winsomely written, achingly honest, and fearlessly hopeful. Root’s analysis of divorce as an ontological–not just a sociological–crisis for children is dead-on, as is his advice for congregations who must name and address this soul-splitting reality. With his incomparable ability to blend story and theology, Root delivers a beautiful and wise book that is for anyone touched by divorce.”
– Kenda Creasy Dean, Princeton Theological Seminary
“Andrew Root’s insightful analysis gives voice to my own journey as a child of divorce, and to the experiences of countless others I’ve observed. This book beautifully integrates the ontological pain of divorce with the redemptive power of Christ and the church.”
– Kara E. Powell, Fuller Youth Institute, Fuller Theological Seminary

THE PROMISE OF DISPAIR

“This is theology at its most down-to-earth—as faith centered in the cross of the incarnate One ought always to be, but too seldom is. Andrew Root writes beautifully and persuasively about belief because he already knows so intimately the profound unbelief, both personal and societal, that is faith’s human matrix. One hears gospel in this book! You will be refreshed by its unstinting honesty about our darkness in all its forms and enlivened by its testimony to the light that is accessible only to those who enter the darkness.”
– Douglas John Hall

RELATIONSHIPS UNFILTERED

“Relationships Unfiltered is the single most important youth ministry book in a generation.”
– Tony Jones
“If you only have time to read through one book with your leadership team…, this is the one.”
– Mark Cannister

REVISITING RELATIONAL YOUTH MINISTRY

– Ray S. Anderson