“The Other Wes Moore”
I just finished reading a great book called “The Other Wes Moore (Random House).” 
It was given to me by Masie Bross, director of Whiz Kids, a faith-based tutoring and mentoring program sponsored by City Care. Through the program, inner-city and suburban churches join together to offering free tutoring and mentoring for children attending inner city schools in the Oklahoma City area.
The author of “The Other Wes Moore” is Wes Moore. He will be keynote speaker at the Whiz Kids’ annual charity event Seeds of Hope set for 6 p.m. March 27 at the Cox Convention Center.
I had not heard of the book but I could not put it down last weekend until I finished it. It’s both captivating and heartbreaking and I’m not surprised that it was a New York Times bestseller.
The book tells the author’s own story and that of another young man with the same name. Both men grew up under challenging circumstances.
Wes Moore, the book’s author, grew up to become a Rhodes Scholar, White House fellow and youth advocate. The other Wes Moore is serving a life sentence for his role in an armed robbery in which a police officer was killed.
The author shares both their stories in a way that readers can come to their own conclusion about how they took such different paths.
Compelling stuff.
For more information about Whiz Kids and the Seeds of Hope event, call 602-2815 or go to www.whizkidsok.org.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Monday in the Barna classroom
I got to work this morning and was pleasantly surprised to learn that Oklahoma Christian University’s Joshua Watson was able to get me an interview today with David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group.
The Barna Group is a Ventura, Calif.-based research company whose research often focuses on the ways faith and culture intersect. 
Kinnaman is best-selling co-author of the book “unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity” (2008). During our brief interview Kinnaman talked about why he wrote the book and some of the lessons Christian churches can glean from it.
Somewhere along the way, I think my “parent” hat and my “reporter” hat meshed together because I began asking him questions from a parent’s viewpoint. At that point, I think our conversation became more indepth than just the typical interview and I came away with some lessons learned about what today’s youths are saying about the Church and the adults who have helped guide their way thus far.
Really interesting information.
If you haven’t already done so, get that book.
I also got to sit in on a youth ministers’ luncheon hosted by OC’s Dudley Chancey, associate professor of youth ministry. At the luncheon, Kinnaman talked about his latest book “You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving the Church … and Rethinking Faith.”
Kinnaman expounded some on the research findings detailed in “You Lost Me” and I think it is quite interesting material for anyone who is a parent or church leader or simply someone who loves young people and wants to see them grow in the Christian faith.
I’ll have a story this Saturday about Kinnaman, his research compiled in “unChristian” and how the Church can use this important research data. My story will also include his thoughts on the controversy that arose over the part of the book that dealt with how young people see the Church as anti-gay.
And if you haven’t already heard, Kinnamon will be speaking tonight at 7 p.m. in the Hardeman Auditorium on the OC campus, 2501 E Memorial Road. He’ll be talking about research compiled in “You Lost Me.”
The presentation is free and open to the public.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
