Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker

August 11, 2014
Root (The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry) shines a light on an under-examined aspect of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life: his work as a youth pastor. This omission in the literature surprises: up until the Nazis made youth ministry impossible for him, it was central to Bonhoeffer’s mission. The Lutheran pastor and theologian thought deeply about the role of youth in church, and his ideas, expressed most succinctly in eight theses, provide a corrective to current youth ministry issues, such as an overemphasis on numbers and growth, the isolation of youth within churches, and the treatment of youth itself as somehow special. Bonhoeffer argued that young people must be centrally integrated into the life of the church community and find their distinctiveness in being part of the body of Christ. Most importantly, as Root emphasizes, Bonhoeffer’s approach was experiential: Christian life could only grow through “concrete and lived experience.” Using Bonhoeffer’s rich and varied work with youth, as well as his books Life Together and Discipleship, Root makes a thoughtful and compelling contribution both to Bonhoeffer studies and youth ministry.

August 1, 2014

Root (youth and family ministry, Luther Seminary, St. Paul; The Children of Divorce) asks whether Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-45), the German theologian and Nazi resistor, can be understood as a youth worker and whether his life and two major books provide insights for contemporary youth ministers. The author notes that Bonhoeffer was involved in youth work from 1925 to 1939 and argues that he was "the forefather to the theological turn in youth ministry." Root first considers the different phases of Bonhoeffer's life through the prism of youth ministry and finds that the man's interest and involvement in this pursuit influenced his writings, which, in turn provide understanding into the theology of youth ministry. Second, the author examines the relevance of themes in Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together. VERDICT Root's work offers a distinct approach to understanding Bonhoeffer and is thus a worthwhile contribution to the literature on the subject. Those with an interest in Bonhoeffer or in youth ministry will find this title useful.--John Jaeger, Dallas Baptist Univ. Lib.

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