David F. White

Bio Dr. David F. White joined the faculty of Austin Seminary in 2005. Prior to his appointment, he was visiting assistant professor of youth and education and associate director of research for the Youth Theological Initiative at Candler School of Theology, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997-2002 he was executive director of the Youth Discipleship Project at Claremont School of Theology, a research project exploring alternative approaches to work with youth and with congregational discernment. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Bethany Theological Seminary, the Claremont School of Theology, and Columbia Theological Seminary. Ordained in the United Methodist Church, White served the church in positions including minister of youth, Upland United Methodist Church, Upland, California; co-pastor, Anchor Park United Methodist Church, Anchorage, Alaska; conference coordinator of youth ministries, Alaska Missionary Conference of the United Methodist Church; and associate pastor, Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church, Jackson, Mississippi, and First United Methodist Church, Pascagoula, Mississippi. He served as a scholar in the Theology of Joy and the Good Life project at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, out of which grew his newest book, Joy: A Guide for Youth Ministry (Wesley's Foundery Books, 2020). He has also written Practicing Discernment with Youth (Pilgrim Press, 2005), Awakening Youth Discipleship in a Consumer Culture (Cascade, 2007, coauthored with Brian Mahan and Michael Warren), and Dreamcare: A Theology of Youth, Spirit, and Vocation (Cascade, 2013). He has garnered several grants, including a $1.2 million grant from Lily Endowment Inc. to create a project on youth discipleship; a faculty development grant on teaching diversity from the Wabash Center; and a Templeton Foundation grant exploring spoken word poetry and joy among youth.