God-Hungry Imagination: The Art of Storytelling for Postmodern Youth Ministry

Through theological reflections, personal examples, and questions for discussion, Arthur invites the church to draw upon tools of the storytelling trade found in literature and the arts (such as metaphor and parable) so youth can experience: The Bible as Story, Worship as storytelling, Catechesis and confirmation as story hearing and story learning, Youth ministry as a series of "story moments" instead of formulaic programming, Faith as an ongoing narrative in which the postmodern church is another chapter. "This is not a book that will simply inform you. Sarah Arthur's intent is to transform your soul and ministry, to help you reenvision your life in the light of the gospel itself."

In the spirit of Kenda Creasy Dean's and Ron Foster's youth ministry classic, The Godbearing Life (Upper Room Books, 1998), Sarah Arthur casts a new paradigm for postmodern ministry in which imagination and story take center stage. The God-Hungry Imagination explores the role of imagination and narrative in spiritual formation, reframing the youth pastor as "resident bard" and both scripture and the church as "narratable" worlds into which youth are invited.

Through theological reflections, personal examples, and questions for discussion, Arthur invites the church to draw upon tools of the storytelling trade found in literature and the arts (such as metaphor and parable) so youth can experience: The Bible as Story, Worship as storytelling, Catechesis and confirmation as story hearing and story learning, Youth ministry as a series of "story moments" instead of formulaic programming, Faith as an ongoing narrative in which the postmodern church is another chapter. "This is not a book that will simply inform you. Sarah Arthur's intent is to transform your soul and ministry, to help you reenvision your life in the light of the gospel itself."