Disappointment, Doubt and Other Spiritual Gifts
Mark Yaconelli (4 stars)
“There is a truth that life’s hardships, if we’re able to accept them, often contain unexpected gifts.” Beneath this rather insipid front cover there lies a real gem of a book! More than once I found myself deeply moved through the beautiful and honest writing of Mark Yaconelli, as he recounts with deep sensitivity some of his own (and others’) failures, disappointments and painful experiences, and invites us to explore how our struggles can open us up to the deep gifts of the Spirit.
In ten succinct chapters Yaconelli touches on burnout, anger, disappointment, suffering, brokenness, powerlessness, darkness, difficult people, and death. The main part of each chapter is an eloquent personal story, followed by a few thoughts for reflection and action. The approach is not over-spiritualised or theologised, neither does it present a one-size-fits-all formula for coping with pain. Rather, it offers a raw account of real struggles that many of us have experienced, yet seeks to change the focus from asking ‘why?’ to igniting hope and trust once again.
This book will touch the rawness in our hearts that we sometimes try to mask by programme and activity. It will encourage us to be honest about our pain and disappointment, both with the young people in our care and with our trusted friends and mentors. It will remind us that struggles and grief are not to be feared or hidden, but rather within them we can discover possibilities, blessings and truly unexpected gifts.
Liz Ball works with Krunch South West as a youth mentor and is also a freelance writer.
Never Gonna Stop
Soul Survivor (5 stars)
Soul Survivor’s new live album Never gonna stop collates worship tracks from the summer festivals and features Tom Smith, Beth Croft and children from South Africa’s LIV Choir.
The album opens with a great rendition of the tune of the summer - Bethel’s ‘Lion and the lamb,’ - followed by nine epic songs that have dominated worship music this year, including ‘Good good father’, ‘This I believe (the creed)’, and ‘Forever (we sing hallelujah)’.
Some of the songs like ‘Never gonna stop singing’ and ‘This is amazing grace’ epitomise what we’ve come to love about Soul Survivor worship - high-powered, big-energy, no-holds-barred praise with killer pop grooves. The sound and production of these tracks is so fresh and current that young people would have little qualms playing them in front of their non-Christian friends.
There are also lots of more reflective, stripped back songs, including ‘O praise the name’, ‘King of my heart’ and ‘Sinking deep’. These thought-provoking songs beautifully capture the authentic, heart-felt cry of the thousands of young people who gathered from all over the country to declare God’s goodness in the midst of some pretty dark times. When Tom Smith and the entire tent boldly declare, “You’re never gonna let me down,” it feels like an important prophetic battle cry.
I loved all ten tracks on Never gonna stop. My only criticism is that I would have loved even more!
While some of these songs may be difficult to replicate in a small local church environment, each song is creatively and sensitively arranged and executed. This album will certainly inspire worship wherever it is played.
Ruth Jackson is the deputy editor of Premier Youthwork and leads worship in her local church.
Games with a Purpose
Martin Saunders and Jimmy Young
As youth workers, we love a tenuous link between what we’re teaching and our game. Parables, skits and high-octane (or heart-wrenching) movie clips always serve to demonstrate our teaching in a way that lone words can’t. So why can’t a young person wearing a face full of spaghetti do the same thing?
In Games with a purpose, Martin Saunders and Jimmy Young take their extensive experience and make it available to the world. As you may have guessed, the winning element is that it supplies readers with pages of efficacious games that strike straight at each session’s purpose. Echoing Sanders’ previous book, The ideas factory, and much of Youth Specialties’ Ideas library, this book sets up sessions in a way that discussions, teaching and other elements can be naturally introduced. It has an easily accessible, conversational style with various game types, clearly categorised. It offers a huge array of games for many situations, and, as well as suggesting a theme, it outlines information about age, preparation, resources, venue, and timings.
If you’re anything like me, our never ending library of games is always growing - from books, magazines, websites, our imagination and those all-important, lifesaving, always-ready-to-go-games. Games with a purpose is a critical part of any youth worker’s arsenal.
Ben Leighton is the youth pastor for The Point Church in Sussex.
