Staying single in the youth work world has often been thought of as the default option for those who haven’t yet met ‘the one’. Jill Rowe, however, suggests how a single life can mark a radical alternative in youth ministry and suggests ways in which single people can share in and contribute to communities in the way that Jesus intended.

Whether they’ve read John Gray’s books or not, everyone 'knows' by now that women and men communicate differently. Women talk more than men and they are more verbally skilled; men talk in order to get things done while women talk in order to make connections to people; men use language competitively while women use it cooperatively. These differences mean that men and women struggle to understand each other, and need help to communicate. And, according to recent books by Simon Baron Cohen and others, these differences are based not on the way we are brought up, but on differences in our brains; it’s the way we were made.

Or is it? In this excellent book, Cameron, an Oxford language professor, examines the evidence behind these beliefs and finds it seriously lacking.

This prayer was written for the launch of the network in November 2007

Holy God
Into this frail flesh you have imprinted your image
Male and female, we bear the mystery and the wonder of the breath of God

It's a question almost as old as time itself. What is the difference between men and women? And there is no shortage of people ready to give an answer, from scientists to theologians, from counsellors to comedians. While campaigns for equality in the 60s and 70s stressed the equivalence of men and women, in recent years there has been a swing back to exploring and trying to define the differences between the sexes. Much of that has been profoundly helpful, leading to better communication and increased understanding between men and

Danielle Strickland believes that the Church has - subconsciously or otherwise - built barriers to the release of strong females in ministry. And the Salvation Army pioneer suggests how this can be a thing of the past.

It is not often in reading a youth work book that I find myself unable to put it down and making a mental list of all those youth workers that I need to urge to read it. But this is one of those books. The sheer naked honesty and humility of Mark Yaconelli's reflection on his failings and failures is refreshing and challenging. His candour allows the reader to drop all guards and listen openly to Mark's stark appraisal of youth work. Yaconelli highlights every youth worker's tendency to busyness and overwork not only as bad for practitioners but for the nature of the work itself.