Day 3 in England: Passing Down Testimonies

Today we led 4 lessons in Accrington Academy's religious education class. This school is very different from the last one we went to. It is bigger; has a pool, dance room, rock climbing wall, and so much more; and has a better reputation than the students do in Ossy House (the school I talked about in the post on Day 1). Our topic was focused on teaching the students to look at what they should or shouldn't do instead of what they can or can't do. The goal was to get these students (who were all middle schoolers) thinking about consequences and moving them toward critical thinking. 

      It struck me that these students were more interested in the fact that we were American rather than the fact that we were working with a church. I understand the allure (you can find British church volunteers close to home, but an American in Accrington isn't as easy to find). Still, it bothered me. 

      The last two days, my readings in Exodus have been about remembering what God has done and passing it down to the next generation. God has moved in amazing ways in England (and in America) and so it is sad that so many people haven't passed that memory or testimony along. If we want the younger generation to continue to glorify, be excited about, and praise God, then we need to pass along the stories of how He has shown His hand in our lives. God is being seen as more of a myth in western culture. If we keep these stories to ourselves, it will only get worse. 

      

(A part of the view from Clitheroe Castle)

After tea (this is the word for dinner in England), Pastor Sam (the pastor of Hope Church) took us to Clitheroe Castle. The view was amazing. As I looked out at the grande old churches, my devos and a conversation we had with our tea hosts from the day before came to mind. One of our hosts, Duncan, pointed out that Christians are forgetting our rich history. He referred to Exodus and how God called the Israelites to pass down and celebrate what He'd done for them (of course my ears perked up because this was what my day's devos were about!). He said that England was filled with thriving grande churches that have now become abandoned buildings. He claimed that if we continued neglecting the importance of passing these stories down, then we would only see more churches suffer the same fate and continue to have a generation indifferent toward God.

       It's why we see chicks and bunnies plastered everywhere on Easter and Santa Clauses around every corner on Christmas instead of Jesus (at least it's that way in Chicago). We don't pass along the meaning of our celebrations or faith and so people think we follow God mindlessly. When telling the Israelites how they were to celebrate Passover, God told Moses to say to the people, "On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.' This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand" (Exodus 13: 8-9). God stressed the importance of passing down our testimonies and remembering what He's done in our lives. He called His people to celebrate it together so that the generations to come would be devoted to and worship Him.

      The state of Christianity in America and England concerns me. We are encountering even more stories about the trauma students suffer as the years pass us by. In the midst of all this confusion and chaos, I don't want the youth and children to forget God or grow up not knowing about His works. I want them to be passionate about Him, not indifferent. We can no longer afford to ignore the future. We need to be intentional about passing along these stories if we want the generations that come to honor God.

Please pray that God will stir a curiosity of Him in the youths' hearts as they think about us and encounter other Christians; that rather than looking at the rules of Christianity they will see how fulfilling a relationship with God is; and that their intellect would bring them closer to God than further from their faith.