Love Riot: A teenage call to live with relentless abandon for Christ

Crossway seems to be on a bit of a winning formula. It every year they find a teenage editor, from The Rebelution and get them to write a book. First, it was This Changes Everything, last year it was Transformed by Truth and this year it is Love Riot and it's not a bad book at all.

Sara wants teenagers to take their faith seriously. To step up, hear the call of Jesus and to obey Him. It is that simple, and yet in practice, it can be hard. It is hard as this process is dying to self, to comfort and convenience. It will mean hard things and being in awkward conversations and situations. But through all this, Jesus is worth it.

The book's flow goes from looking at a watered-down, comfortable, cultural religion to looking at what a life that is really devoted to Jesus looks like. It looks at being separate from the world, about not going with the flow and dealing with some possible changes in behaviour or thinking that teens may be involved in. There is a section on Christian habits (my phase not hers), encouraging regular Bible reading, prayer and church attendance, pushing back against low expectations that culture and the church put on teenagers. There was a helpful chapter on the use of media and grid or filter or series of questions to ask yourself why you are watching or listening to something. And the final section of this book was a call to go out and tell the Gospel to others. After all, disciples of Jesus make disciples of Jesus. The ministers of the church (who actually aren't the ministers, they are the equippers of the ministers) don't have the monopoly on this task, it is for everyone, that is everyone who is a disciple of Jesus.

Like with the other books in these series, I do think parents role in teens lives are a bit downplayed. I think Sara's family have fostered, invested and supported her in a strongly motivated Christian environment. There had to have been lots of car trips, dinner conversations, setting of discipline, routines, boundaries, paying for books, devotions, church camps, etc... But I get it, its a book for teens not for parents.

Overall I thought this was a good book Sara writes well, is believable, shares personal relatable stories from her life and other teens, even if they are a bit American. I think I would still say This Changes Everything was a bit better than this as I thought it drew straighter lines from the Gospel to every aspect of life. This book is more of a wake-up call, kind of like Do Hard Things, except it is Christian and about living the Christian life.

This book will also be listed in my Youth Resources page.