Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean & Wes Ellis: The Joy of Untamed Friendship

This lecture, entitled, "The Joy of Untamed Friendship: Rescuing Youth Ministry from The Little Prince," was delivered by Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean and Wes Ellis of Princeton Theological Seminary on November 2, 2016 as part of the Joy and Adolescent Faith & Flourishing free monthly Lunch & Lecture Series.

Lecture Abstract:
Youth ministers have long placed the practice of friendship at the center of youth ministry. But what makes our relationships with young people in church any different from their relationships anywhere else? This session dives headlong into the practice of holy friendship with teenagers, and whether being “tamed” by another is what Jesus had in mind. Is joy the end goal of friendship in youth ministry? Are church relationships “special”? Is this dangerous territory—or precisely the terrain we are on?

Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean is the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. She is also the coordinating pastor of Kingston United Methodist Church in New Jersey, and an ordained elder in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference. Her publications include Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church and Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church.

Wesley Ellis is an experienced youth worker and the Associate Pastor of First United Methodist Church of Toms River, New Jersey. He is a Member In Discernment in the United Church of Christ. He is also a Ph.D. candidate at University of Aberdeen, studying practical theology. He received his M.A. in Christian Education and his M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2016.

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This lecture is now availble on Livestream for playback: http://livestream.com/yaledivinityschool/YMI