mgpcpastor's blog

David Cook (Moderator-General, Presbyterian Church of Australia) writes about recent visits to Presbyterian schools and offers words of encouragement and challenge about communicating the Gospel to new generations.

The rock band, Daft Punk released their much anticipated album, Random Access Memories, in May 2013 at the 79th Annual Wee Waa Show. It seemed so out of place, apparently that was the point, the promoters wanted to stress the disorientation of it all, a world wide rock release in a small farming town.
Every preacher knows that the biggest battle he faces is the battle against disorientation.
Let me explain: people expect hymns, Bible readings, prayers and preaching in church, but once they hit the street they move to the “real” world and leave all that they have heard behind. Real truth is lost in the disorientation of the world outside.
One book on preaching calls this the problem of WACO – “works at church only”.
This year I have been spending some time preaching evangelistically in church schools of the Anglican and Presbyterian variety, both for boys and girls.
I believe disorientation is a particular problem in these.
The prevailing culture of the school may be secular, humanistic, feministic, deistic and then chapel is plonked in the middle of it all – like a rock album’s release at the Wee Waa Show.
The first visits I made after becoming Moderator General were to Principals of our Presbyterian schools in Melbourne and Sydney. I wanted to encourage, challenge and just get the feel of the place, the vibe, if you like.
It’s a question that we have been debating for decades, ought we keep these schools, on their expensive lands, if they are only going to be centres of elitism and privilege and actually encourage the conviction that the Christian gospel has nothing to do with living life realistically.
We need to pray for Boards of Schools and pray for Principals to be men and women of strong commitment to Christ, pray that in the most important matter of staff appointments, vital, dynamic, Spirit-filled Christian believers will be appointed. Pray that such teachers will make themselves available.
And recognize the great work being done by chaplains and Christian studies teachers and look for ways of encouraging them and helping them. One senior teacher at one of the schools told me: “If you can teach Christian studies you can teach anything”. The problem of disorientation will only be overcome by teachers and staff who have bridged the world of the Bible to their day to day lives and live each day as followers of Christ, practitioners of the Christian gospel.
I have made an emphasis of my three year term, Psalm 78:5-8 – we must teach the next generation so that they will know God’s words, trust in Him and obey Him and not repeat the mistakes of our generation.
Our schools provide a wonderful facility for us to do that and so to honour the God of trans generational concerns.
Let us pray and actively support this front line missionary activity in our own backyard, and give particular attention to the presentation of the reports of our schools to our State Assemblies.

David Cook

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