This is an examination of the experience of adolescent conversion, with particular attention to teenagers who report having made multiple commitments to Christ. Conversion of these teenagers is seen as a long process containing multiple spiritually significant commitment events. The aspects of faith that James Fowler measures to mark the transition from his mythic/literal stage to the synthetic/conventional stage are used as a framework to understand the perceived need of these teenagers to make what appear to be multiple commitments to Christ.
Book of Common Prayer. (1979). New York, NY: Seabury Press.
7.
BeckwithI. (2004). Postmodern children's ministry, ministry to children in the 21st century.Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
8.
BergerP., & LuckmannT. (1966). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge.Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
9.
BerglerT., & RahnD. (2002). Results of a collaborative research project in gathering evangelism stories. Journal of Youth Ministry, 4, 65–74.
10.
BockmuehlK. (1988). Sanctification. In FergusonS. B., WrightD. F., & PackerJ. I. (Eds.), New dictionary of theology (4th ed.) (pp. 613–616). Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
11.
BurkhardtH. (1988). Regeneration. In FergusonS. B., WrightD. F., & PackerJ. I. (Eds.), New dictionary of theology (4th ed.) (p. 574). Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
12.
BushnellH. (1888). Christian nurture.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
13.
CampoloA. (1989). Growing up in America: A sociology of youth ministry.Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
DownsP. G. (1994). Teaching for spiritual growth: An introduction to Christian education.Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
17.
EriksonE. H. (1968). Identity, youth and crisis.New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
18.
FowlerJ. W. (1980). Faith and the structuring of meaning. In BrusselmansC., O'DonohoeJ. A., FowlerJ. W, and VergoteA. (Eds.), Toward moral and religious maturity (pp. 407–432). Morristown, NJ: Silver Burdette.
19.
FowlerJ. W. (1981). Stages of faith: The psychology of human development and the quest for meaning.New York, NY: HarperCollins.
20.
FowlerJ. W. (1991). The vocation of faith development theory. In FowlerJ. W., NipkowK. N., & SchweitzerF. (Eds.), Stages of faith and religious development: Implications for church, education, and society (pp. 19–36). New York, NY: Crossroad.
21.
Garber, Steven.1996. The fabric of faithfulness: Weaving together belief and behavior.Downer's Grove, IL: IVP.
22.
GillespieV. B. (1991). The dynamics of religious conversion.Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press.
23.
GreenM. (1987). Baptism: Its purpose practice and power.Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press.
24.
HallG. S. (1921). Adolescence v2: Its psychology and its relations to physiology, anthropology, sociology, sex, crime, religion, and education.London, UK: Appleton.
25.
HineT. (2000). The rise and fall of the American teenager.New York, NY: Perennial.
26.
HortonD. (2010). Ministry students ages of conversion with implications for childhood evangelism and baptism practices. Christian Education Journal, Series 3, 7(1), 30–51.
27.
JamesW. (1902/1961). The varieties of religious experience: A study in human nature.New York, NY: Collier.
28.
JohnsonC. N., & BoyatzisC. (2006). Cognitive-cultural foundations of spiritual development. In RoehlkepartainE. C., KingP. E., WagenerL., & BensonP. L. (Eds.), The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence (pp. 211–223). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
29.
KettJ. F. (1977). Rites of passage: Adolescence in America 1790 to the present.New York, NY: Basic Books.
30.
KohlbergL. (1984). The psychology of moral development: The nature and validity of moral stages.San Francisco, CA: Harper and Row.
31.
LeonardB. J. (1985). Getting saved in America: Conversion event in a pluralistic culture. Review and Expositor, 82(1), 111–127.
32.
LoderJ. (1989). The transforming moment (2nd ed.) Colorado Springs, CO: Helmers and Howard.
33.
LoflandJ., & SkonovdN. (1981). Conversion motifs. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 20, 371–385.
34.
MarshallI. H. (1988). Salvation. In FergusonS. B., WrightD. F., & PackerJ. I. (Eds.), New dictionary of theology (4th ed.) (pp. 610–611). Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
35.
MosleyR. M. (1978). Religious conversion: A structural developmental analysis (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Harvard University, Boston, MA.
36.
NewbergA. P., & NewbergS. K. (2006). A neuropsychological perspective on spiritual development. In RoehlkepartainE. C., KingP. E., WagenerL., & BensonP. L. (Eds.), The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence (pp. 183–196). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
37.
OsmerR. R. (2008). Practical theology: An introduction.Grands Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
38.
ParksS. D. (1991a). The critical years: Young adults in the search for meaning, faith and commitment.San Francisco, CA: HarperSan-Francisco.
39.
ParksS. D. (1991b). The North American critique of James Fowler's theory of faith development. In FowlerJ. W, NipkowK. N., & SchweitzerF. (Eds.), Stages of faith and religious development: Implications for church, education, and society (pp. 19–36). New York, NY: Crossroad.
40.
PiagetJ., & InhelderB. (1969). The psychology of the child.New York, NY: Basic Books.
RamboL. (1993). Understanding religious conversion.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
44.
RizzutoA. M. (1979). The birth of the living God: A psychoanalytic study.Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
45.
RoehlkepartainE. C., KingP. E., WagenerL., & BensonP. L. (Eds.). (2006). The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescenceThousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
46.
RossD. (1972). G. Stanley Hall: The psychologist as prophet.Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
47.
ScarlettW. G. (2006). Toward a developmental analysis of religious and spiritual development. In RoehlkepartainE. C., KingP. E., WagenerL., & BensonP. L. (Eds.), The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence (pp. 21–33). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
48.
SelmanR. L. (1980). The growth of interpersonal understanding.New York, NY: Academic Press.
49.
SpilkaB., HoodR.W.Jr., HunsbergerB., & GorsuchR. (2003). The psychology of religion: An empirical approach (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
50.
StarbuckE. D. (1897). A study of conversion. American Journal of Psychology, 8, 268–308.
51.
StarkR. (1996). The rise of Christianity.New York, NY: HarperCollins.
52.
StarkR. (2001). Efforts to Christianize Europe, 400–2000. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 16(1), 105–123.
53.
StarkR., & BainbridgeW.S. (1985). The future of religion: Secularization, revival, and cult formation.Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
54.
TempletonJ. L., & EcclesJ. S. (2006). The relationship between spiritual development and identity processes. In RoehlkepartainE. C., KingP. E., WagenerL., & BensonP. L. (Eds.), The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence (pp. 252–265). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
55.
ThayersJ. H. (1977). Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (4th ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.
56.
TigheS. (2014). Influences on Christian development in adolescence: Paths to faith. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL.
57.
TigheS. (2010). Raising church celebrities: A study of clergy parenting practices. Unpublished manuscript, Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL.
58.
VygotskyL. S. (1978). Mind in society.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
