Yay, combining the Irish and phenomenology... it must be important, 'cause I'm not even sure just what that means.

Anyway, Doug Fields. I read the book back when I started with the church, and tend to agree with your thoughts on it. There wasn't a whole lot of new stuff in there for me... much of it repeated what I already had known or seen modeled in other ministries. It was good with more specific ideas and examples, that was certainly helpful. So, yes... I'm happy passing that on to other people. Just like hearing what others think!

Heya! I totally agree... there really is so much more! Each book has to be taken with a grain of salt, though, and just have to find the positive in each book. I have a similar annoyance with most Evangelical youth ministry books from the likes of Youth Specialties (and seriously, Evangelicals own the market on youth ministry)... so many of them seem so superficial! Regarding the book in question, though, I think it does a good job of setting up a positive and healthy framework for organizing your youth ministry, giving you more freedom to add as much depth to your ministry as you can. Doesn't tell me anything about how to do it, but it does suggest ways to help make room for it, even if not intentionally.