Youth Beyond the Developmental Lens: Being over Becoming
Ebook
What happens when we stop thinking of young people as projects and recognize them for who they are, here and now? Wesley Ellis exposes the insidious impact of developmental psychology upon youth ministry and practice, arguing instead for a theological anthropology of youth that can help us see all people--including adolescents--as uniquely created in the image of God. Propelled by the conviction that ministry requires us to see youth as beings rather than becomings, Ellis demonstrates how we can reorient our vision toward ministry that prioritizes relationship and inclusion over rigid developmental frameworks.
A veteran youth minister across multiple denominations, Ellis knows his subject deeply as both practitioner and theologian. Youth beyond the Developmental Lens mines personal accounts, the biblical narrative, and a vast array of theological expertise to release readers from restrictive assumptions that have long bound youth ministry. Ellis's finely tuned pastoral sensibilities bring all these elements into focus, helping us understand ministry as relational and all humans as part of God's story. Rostered ministers, lay leaders, and others engaged with youth will find an antidote to anxiety about the future of the church. Ellis reminds us that God is here already. Our call is simply to be.
- Title: Youth Beyond the Developmental Lens: Being over Becoming
- Author: Wesley W. Ellis
- Publisher: Fortress Press
- Print Publication Date: 2024
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781506494951, 1506494951
- Resource ID: LLS:9781506494951
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-12-06T06:04:23Z
Wesley W. Ellis is senior pastor of First Congregational Church of Ramona (UCC) in southern California and the author of Youth Beyond the Developmental Lens: Being over Becoming (Fortress, 2024). He holds a Ph.D. in practical theology from the University of Aberdeen and has served as a youth minister in United Methodist, Presbyterian Church-USA, and evangelical congregations.