Where and how should knowledge get passed on? How do we help the next generation know what it is to be a man? What is it to follow after God? What do they need to know?
How about some tower diving like they do in Vanuatu, a small island in the Pacific? That’s their male initiation rite.
Not your style, there are plenty of others but what does it look like for us as Christians…. As a church ….?
In the book I’ve been reading they focus a lot on the need for us to tap into the “magician” side of ourselves which passes on the special knowledge we’ve been given and to establish special times and places to pass it on. One of the things we have going for us is that churches do have the feeling of sacred space. When you enter in, most of us experience something that tells us this place is something different. When someone starts teaching, most of us listen in a way that’s different from a regular day in our week. Something tells us important knowledge for our lives is being passed on.
One of the keys then is that we don’t just experience the passing on, but that we also try to help the generations under us experience this sacredness and initiation. We need to think about where we fit into that picture, not just with our own children, but with all the youth and children we’re surrounded with here at Hope. As they come into the sacred space, they’re looking to be initiated and to hear “secret” knowledge passed on.
I’ve had some men recently step up and help teach some rotations of our youth studies. What a blessing. I’ve had a couple of others who have helped with Sunday School. During the summer a number of men go to Camp. I’ve had conversations with a few who are really thinking about what it means for them (who may not be teachers) to still care for the next generation here. Let’s all pray and consider how we can be part of that.
Blessings!
Dan Borkenhagen
Associate Pastor
Hope Lutheran Church & School
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