Countercutural Youth Ministry by Aaron Arrowood
In this book, author and seasoned youth pastor, Aaron Arrowood rejects the fatalist's declaration that American culture is forever lost in the tide of amorality. He writes, "I refuse to cling to the safety of indifference while my children drift on the remaining shards of a shattered heritage."
Throughout history, few people challenged the norms of society. Whenever someone did, they stood out. Few though they may be, these are shining examples of men and women who threw down the gauntlet to their generations. Moses confronted Pharaoh. Gideon provoked the followers of Baal. Paul faced down the Pharisees. We can look to Esther, Lincoln, Mandela, Paine, Schindler, Luther, and Christ Himself for inspiration. At some point weren't they all idealists-striving against the inevitable...for the absurd? But history could not resist the flood of their passion or the power of their message. They "turned their world upside down." But is the debauched and foolish direction of our culture irreversible? Is the current condition of society, alone in history, impervious to the powers that shake the foundations of humankind? To accept that is absurd. Official cultures are not powers in themselves, but only the mosaic of the individuals of whom they are comprised. Individuals. The world is shaped, and has always been shaped, by individuals. Individuals no better or worse than you. There is a stirring in the Christian youth of this nation. An unrest. There are those who are ready to embrace a cause of Christ even if it compels them to live counter to their culture. These twelve, and fourteen, and seventeen year old potential dissidents are waiting on a leader who will articulate the vision to be counter-cultural. You are that leader.
Printed by Woodsong Publishing, this book is designed to encourage the youth pastors of Christian churches to challenge their youth groups to live counter to their peers, to be a light set on a hill instead of following the mainstream. Author Aaron Arrowood, a fifteen year veteran of youth leadership, offers step by step instructions for the youth pastor. You will be challenged in your thinking as well as directed. Enjoy!