The Next Generation

“As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more
and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all
day long—though I know not how to relate them all. I will come and proclaim
your mighty acts, Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours
alone. Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your
marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I
declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to
come” (Psalm 71:14-18).

I came across this paragraph in 1979 when Bessie and I were
in Vancouver, BC. It has been my life verse since then—the next generation! As
I look at Christian history, it seems to be history that only takes care of the
present generation, not the next one.

The seventeenth century in England and Scotland was a time
of revival until there was a Christian king after the glorious revolution of
1688. The next two generations were of great moral decay. It ended with John
Wesley and George Whitefield, Count Zinzendorf, Jonathan Edwards, and David
Brainerd. This included the Wesleyan Revival in England and the Great Awakening
in the American Colonies. Then, after the American Revolution, there was
another generation of great moral decay. Then another awakening occurred in
1790 and continued on and off through 1858 where a half a million people were
converted in the Northern States.

Other evangelicals (Moody, Torrey, Sunday, and Billy Graham)
had an effect, but in between them and now after them there is more moral
decay.

Here is my point. Presently there are many evangelistic
organizations in the United States: Young Life, Campus Crusade, InterVarsity,
the Navigators, and many others. They are effective. We also have many
evangelistic mega churches, believing seminaries, and Christian schools. Yet
something is very wrong. The moral decadence in the United States today is
great in quality and quantity. Christian families are not reaching their own
children, and churches are not reaching the next generation.

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