ULIT REVIEW

How many times have you wondered, “Who can recommend a good book about college ministry?” The UKirk national office has coordinated an effort to bring practitioners into conversation with one another around literary offerings focused on collegiate ministry. In an effort to help provide resources and offer the fastest accessibility to books on ministry with college students, we have initiated a comprehensive literature review project, called ULit.

UKirk’s ULit is a series of book summaries that focus on the college campus as a unique ministry context. These book summaries go beyond what you might find in an online reviews and offer executive summary-type reviews, written by thoughtful practitioners. Each summary follows the same prescribed rubric so that the reader can quickly determine if the particular publication is appealing and helpful for their context.

To date we have a handful of ULit reviews on our site, but we continue to look for college ministers (or general practitioners with campus ministry experience), who are interested in reading a book and writing a summary. The format for these summaries will be about 1,000 words (approximately 3 pages double spaced) and will attend to the following areas:

• the central thesis of the book
• the development of the argument (including chapter breakdown)
• the author’s underlying presuppositions
• the theological norms (if any)
• practical implications
• a general assessment of the resource for the field of collegiate ministry

For more detailed instructions, download the UKirk Lit Review Guidelines.

Not only will this build an incredible resource for the larger college ministry field, but if you choose to be a reviewer, you’ll receive the book you review for free and a small stipend for your published contribution!

If the book is bolded, it’s currently under review.

Book List (in no particular order)

College Ministry from Scratch: A Practical Guide to Start and Sustain a Successful College Ministry, by Chuck Bomar

College Ministry in a Post-Christian Culture, by Stephen Lutz

Spiritual Formation in Emerging Adulthood: A Practical Theology for College and Young Adult Ministry, by David P. Setran and Chris A. Kiesling

The 10 Commandments of College Ministry, by Arliss Dickerson

You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church…and Rethinking Faith, by David Kinnaman and Aly Hawkins

College & University Chaplaincy in the 21st Century: A Multifaith Look at the Practice of Ministry on Campuses, by Lucy A. Forster-Smith

Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life and Learning, by Derek Melleby and David Kinnaman

The College Chaplain: A Practical Guide to Campus Ministry, by Stephen L. White

Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe, by Erin S. Lane and Parker J. Palmer

God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World, by Stephen Prothero

Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, in the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation, by Eboo Patel

Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America, by Eboo Patel

Chris Chrisman goes to College: and faces the Challenges of Relativism, Individualism and Pluralism, by James W. Sire

The Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief and Behavior, by Steven Garber

God on Campus: Sacred Causes & Global Effects, by Trent Sheppard and Pete Greig

Shaping the Spiritual Life of Students: A Guide for Youth Workers, Pastors, Teachers & Campus Ministers, by Richard R. Dunn

Following Jesus in the “Real World”: Discipleship for the Post-College Years, by Richard C. Lamb Jr.

Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults, by Christian Smith and Patricia Snell

Sex & The Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America’s College Campuses, by Donna Freitas

No Longer Invisible: Religion in University Education, by Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen and Douglas Jacobsen

Cultivating the Spirit: How College Can Enhance Students’ Inner Lives, by Alexander W. Astin and Helen S. Astin

The Purposeful Graduate: Why Colleges Must Talk to Students about Vocation, by Tim Clydesdale

The First Year Out: Understanding American Teens after High School, by Tim Clydesdale

Growing in Wisdom: Called to the Adventure of College, by Dale Goldsmith

The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter–And How to Make the Most of Them Now, by Meg Jay

Kissing in the Chapel, Praying in the Frat House: Wrestling with Faith and College, by Adam J. Copeland and Taylor Brorby

Finding God Beyond Harvard: The Quest for Veritas, by Kelly Monroe Kullberg

Mind Your Faith: A Student’s Guide to Thinking and Living Well, by David A. Horner

For Christ and the University: The Story of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of the USA – 1940-1990, by Keith Hunt and Gladys Hunt

Engaging the Culture, Changing the World: The Christian University in a Post-Christian World, by Philip W. Eaton

See Me Naked: Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity, by Amy Frykholm