It is desperately needed, but the coming youth revolution isn’t a stadium full of cheering students. Teen Mania is currently trumpeting this alarming statistic: “Current trends show that only 4% will be evangelical believers by the time they become adults. Compare this with 34% of adults today who are evangelicals. We are on the verge of a catastrophe.”

Someone needs to play the role of Paul Revere, and I’m thankful that Teen Mania has stepped up to the plate. But while stadiums have their place in the mix, filling amphitheatres and sponsoring yet another event isn't, in and of itself, the revolution.

The only thing that will stop the current death spiral is the same methodology that Jesus deployed. Though his generation looked as lost as any generation before or since, Jesus called out and painstakingly discipled a remnant.

And that is what we must do too. Too many people in the discipleship business (youth pastors in particular), are stuck in a numbers game, trying to bring everyone along at the same time. We need to focus our attention as disciplers on the 20% of the people who are going to produce 80% of the results. Jesus couldn’t have been more clear: “Let the dead bury the dead” was his prescription.