“Hurt 2.0” by Chap Clark

If you are looking for a book that is painfully honest about the environment of adolescents in contemporary America, then Hurt 2.0: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers by Dr. Chap Clark (Fuller Theological Seminary) is the perfect book for you. It is grueling, disheartening, encouraging, heartbreaking, fascinating, and necessary to read. Hurt 2.0, published just last year, is a second edition of Hurt, which Dr. Clark published in 2004. If the proximity of these releases doesn’t itself indicate the increasingly rapid rate of cultural changes that face our young people, consider this fact: in 2004, Facebook didn’t exist. Now, it’s almost impossible to walk into a local business that doesn’t have a sign that says, “Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook.” Dr. Clark’s work is important as it addresses the contemporary life of midadolescents (roughly ages 15-18) with brutal frankness that might shock, offend, or (worst of all) elude adult readers. Hurt 2.0 offers an invaluable look into the lives of midadolescents, and if you read no further in this post, please note this: I highly recommend the book to anyone who has been, works with, or knows a teenager.

Resource Review: “Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy” by Fr Andrew Stephen Damick

After a good couple of months of reading Fr Andrew Stephen Damick’s text, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Exploring Belief Systems Through the Lens of the Ancient Christian Faith, I finally finished it. The reading was informative but a bit dense. This is not because the information was incredibly difficult to sort through, but because Damick tends to spend a lot of time repeating himself, which can get a little boring. This is not necessarily a problem with the text, nor is it a critique of his writing; it is simply to say that the nature of this work is one that actually seems to call for a fair amount of repetition. That said, for the Orthodox Christian (youth worker or non) who wishes to know more about other religious traditions, I recommend this text with some reservation. My reservation, however, is primarily due to how zealous Orthodox readers might perceive Fr Andrew’s text. For now, I turn to the strengths and my reasons for this book’s recommendation.

Resource Review: “Real Sex” by Lauren Winner

Recently, I read Lauren Winner’s honest, direct, and engaging book, Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity, and personally, I cannot speak highly enough about the book; I read it in one sitting, if that says anything. For once, I actually believed that I was being spoken with candidly about the complexities of healthy, whole, and vibrant Christian sexuality, both within the context of single-living and marriage. For those of you who are looking to deal with  this tough issue head-on or looking to find a little encouragement, I highly recommend that you pick up this book and read it today.