Growing Leaders Book Review, Toolkit and Growth Events

Book Review

Thank You for Asking: Conversing with Young Adults about the Future Church
Sara Wenger Shenk, 2005, Herald Press

Review by Karl Landis, Lancaster Mennonite Conference

Sara Wenger Shenk has done all of us a great service in collecting and publishing the candid thoughts and feelings of almost 60 young adults on issues related to faith and the church.

Shenk provides reflections on what the young adults say, but the bulk of what she provides are excerpts from the interview transcripts, which means that she lets the respondents speak at length and for themselves. The interview data support Shenk’s contention that young adults’ lives and ideas are largely shaped by the tension between defining themselves as unique individuals while finding meaningful ways to belong to their family and church.

Shenk uses stories and practices to focus her work on how people come to understand truth and reality. In the first section of the book, the young adults describe the stories that have shaped their ideas about God, themselves, the Bible, and people of other faiths. In the second section, the questions shift to the regular practices that shape the young adults’ everyday lives, express their faith, and sustain community.

Respondents describe the practices of their families and their own current practices. The first two sections focus on the past and the present, while the third major section provides the respondents’ answers to two main questions: “Should the Mennonite church continue to exist?” and “If it does, do you want to be a part of it?”

Thank You for Asking is well worth reading by those who have an interest in the life, thoughts, and future of young people growing up in Mennonite churches.

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