Book Review So the Next Generation Will Know

McDowell, Sean, and J. Warner Wallace.So the Next Generation Will Know: Preparing

Young Christians for a Challenging World. David C Cook, 2019.

Introduction

As Nick Foles points out in the Foreward to McDowell and Wallaces book, faith is something that needs a foundation. It has to be more than just a mere influence: it has to be the rock upon which ones whole life is based. It is only once that rock is in place and one realizes it and builds on it that ones life takes on real meaning. Attempting to live without that rock is like attempting to build a life on sand, where the waves come up one after other (lifes adversities), wiping away whatever one has built. This book builds on the words of Foles in the Forward to show why faith matters and what the young generation can do to get it. This review provides a summary of the book and a critique that examines its arguments and their merit. Overall, the book is a well-written and well-constructed examination of how to prepare the next generation to have a foundation in faith.

Summary

Themes

One of the major themes of the book is the need to make young people a priority in ones life. They have to be educated and guided, and they need to be taught what it means to love God. If they are neglected there will be no one to show them the way. To do this job, however, one must be willing to do some self-sacrificing because it is not an easy thing to put young people firstespecially when one has work to do or other personal needs or desires. Yet, that is what must be done.

The other big theme is that Gen Z does not have much of a foundation of faith because they culture they grow up in is anti-God. So that is a serious obstacle that has to be addressed. The way to address it, according to the authors, is show that God exists by showing them love. God is love, and unless they have love in their lives they will not believe in God. Thus, the other major theme of the book is an exploration of what love is: love reaches out, love listens, love responds in appropriate ways, love builds relationships, and love empowers. Ultimately love is what inspires one to move towards God.

Purpose

The purpose of the book is to explain to adults all the ways they can and need to be engaged with the young people of Generation Z so that Gen Z is given the foundation in faith through love that it needs to make...

The authors use Scripture to help make their case from a biblical worldview, and they rely on personal experience as well. They want the reader to really see that young people need to be adults top priority. Statistics are given when necessary to support a point that the authors provide, such as the fact that Gen Z is without faith more or less. However, there are other dialogues that show why Gen Z might be angry about religion or why these young adults are skeptical. These dialogues are given to show the reader what the adult is up against and why love has to be the answer. Love is the thing that allows for understanding to take place, and without it no really progress is ever made. Thus, the books overall aim is oriented towards helping Gen Z lay a foundation in faith, but the purpose of the book could be said to...…if the reader is going to understand the tools that humankind has made available to it throughout history as humans seek God through love and truth then there are many ways to identify these tools. The book could have given some more time on them, particularly some of the tools used in prayer.

Consistency, Validity and Adequacy

Overall the book has a consistent tone and dimension to it. Its points are valid and never self-defeating. It does serve as an adequate work that can help the reader to see that he has a job to do when it comes to educating the young generation about God. Is it a work that can stand on its own two legs? Is it a work that should be supplemented by other works? The answer to that is also yesfor while the books is effective in what it does, few books are so complete in and of themselves that one need not look further for information. This book is enough to get one started on the path towards making a positive impact on Gen Zbut it can surely be supplemented by other books and it should be.

Conclusion

The book by McDowell and Wallace is a good one for showing why Gen Z needs adults in their lives who can help them to see how God relates to them through love and why truth matters. This is a generation that has become mired in skepticism and that is a problem because their souls are thirsting for God. Adults cannot allow the young to go out on their own and hope that they will find truth. Adults need to support the young and guide them towards God. That is the main argument that McDowell and Wallace make and they back it up rather well with personal anecdotes and Scriptural references…