Brian Simmons, Wandering in the Wilderness: Changes and Challenges to Emerging Adults Christian Faith. ACU Press, 2011.
Referenced in: Generational Issues in Churches
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This book looks at a group that is largely forgotten in today’s congregations, emerging adults (ages 18-30). Simmons addresses the fact that those who are transitioning from the status of dependent children to productive adults are in a no-man’s land, a wilderness. While Simmons writes out of his own experiences, interlaced with stories from actual EAs, his chief value is providing one of the best ministry-friendly summaries available of the current sociological research on this age group.
From the Publisher
One of today’s hot topics is the faith of ”emerging adults” (the 18-30 age group). This book surveys the current research on emerging adulthood, describes the common changes emerging adults experience in their Christian faith as they move through their twenties, and discusses how emerging adults and their parents can successfully navigate those changes.
In 2000, psychologist Jeffrey Arnett posited a new life stage – ”emerging adulthood” – to describe the 18-30 age group. This age group was marked by a growing chasm between adolescence and the completion of traditional adult milestones. A number of scholarly studies of this age group have been done in the last decade. This book surveys that research, and offers an overview of how emerging adults view Christian faith. It explains how emerging adults reject or modify several of the Christian faith’s most common tenets and assumptions. And it offers guidance to parents, grandparents, ministers, and anyone who seeks to better understand the perplexing changes often seen in emerging adults’ religious faith and practice.
In addition to presenting in reader-friendly form the conclusions of recent research on this age group, Wandering in the Wilderness weaves in the reflections of real-life emerging adults who responded to the author’s request to share their own experiences of Christian faith. These provide powerful, poignant glimpses into the topic.
About the Authors
Brian Simmons is Lecturer in Communication Studies at the University of Portland (Oregon). He has published numerous scholarly articles, contributed to the best-selling textbook, Media Ethics: Issues and Cases, and authored one book, Falling Away: Why Christians Lose Their Faith and What Can Be Done about It. He lectures frequently at conferences and universities around the country. He holds degrees from Oklahoma Christian University, Pepperdine University, and Purdue University. Brian and his wife Sharon have two children and live in Portland, Oregon.
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