This is the Book I’ve Been Waiting For!

Originally Published 8/9/2021

Have you ever wanted to have a deeper conversation with a teenager only to get stuck repeating the same shallow conversations about trivial topics that conclude in one-word responses? If so, this book is for you! I know I have been there before! I have been waiting for this book for a long time.

I hope this book finds its way into the hands of parents, ministry leaders, and anyone else cares about the spiritual development of teenagers and young adults! The power in this book isn't in an abstract unpacking of the 3 big questions. Those questions are no big secret and the FYI team didn't create them (the questions are: Who am I? Where do I fit? What difference can I make?). Instead, this a book about navigating conversations with young people who are unpacking and living out the impact of those three questions. As is the norm with a book from the Fuller Youth Institute, the content suggested has a foundation in a well-documented study. This is not a few smart-sounding people (which of course, they are pretty smart) putting forth some good thoughts. They have meticulously and genuinely held meaningful conversations with a diverse set of students in the course of their study. Then through their analysis, this book became a toolbox of resources benefitting those of us in the trenches doing our best to connect with students and explore important topics together.

While the abundance of questions to engage teenagers with throughout this book (and into the appendices) are the easiest take-away for most (they are great questions!!), I want share one of the ways this book impacted me the most. Fairly early on and throughout the book the authors go to great lengths to remind the readers how important true listening is to teenagers. Let's be honest, we all think we're good listeners. Though the reality is, we tend to speak way sooner than we should. This book did a fabulous job at helping me identify ways I tend to rush to speak before I've fully heard and understood the students that attempt to communicate with me. There is so much heart in this book. The authors really care about teenagers and helping those who care for students. After we can process the empathy realignment, this book provides a roadmap of 100s of questions to open new doors of conversations with the students we love.

This is another A+ from the FYI team of a book that combines academic research, a clear discussion of the problem, and an abundance of practical tools to implement.