The following will appear in my upcoming book on youth ministry:

 

Do the methods for the evangelism and discipleship of youth matter? Does Scripture speak specifically to the issue of youth ministry? This book suggests that they matter greatly. Further, it shows that a tragic blindness exists in Christian culture regarding ministry to youth. While God has spoken clearly about how to minister to youth in His Word, that Word seems to be completely ignored in modern church life, and has been replaced with a cheap substitute. And, to make matters worse, youth are being destroyed through this modern method of discipleship. It is indisputably unbiblical in its method, inherently destructive in its effect, and undeniably unchristian in its origin. Even though this is true, most people will reject the message of this book. After all, age segregation is the biggest business in the church and its all we’ve ever done.

 

Believers are charged to take every thought and every practice captive by examining everything by the standard of scripture. Unfortunately, we live in an era where many churches have orthodox doctrinal statements, but not practices that are consistent with them. We have an intellectual orthodoxy without a biblical orthopraxy to match it. What is actually done week to week in our churches is very different from what is written in scripture.