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 PrintableVersion A first class mobChildren in revival: 300 years of God's work in ScotlandAngels with dirty facesA FIRST CLASS MOB This is an account of the revivals which pulsed through Scotland from the 18th to the 20th centuries, from Whitefield through Sankey and Moody to the author and his 'Kingdom Kids'. It is a long read, consisting of contemporary accounts. The reader has to get used to pious language and large claims. As the author warns, verification is difficult and what he offers is a collection of 'available data'. It may be a valuable source for the student, but it is wearisome for the general reader as the comment is sparse. Most church members now would be frightened of the title, preferring to follow the biblical advice to 'train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it'. Revival can be a mixed blessing. Some children were pressed into responding: 'made anxious, falling prostrate, weeping, groaning and fearing the imminent Second Coming'. Of course, many like Robert Anderson of Kilsyth 'never tried to frighten them about the divine wrath but kept before them Christ's love for them.' The Sabbath schools gave children a 'sound education (in the Scriptures) which is the basis for a satisfactory revival and the making of intelligent decisions'. Life was not easy for children in the mid-19th century. They did not have to go to school until the Act of 1870 was passed, and many were put out to work. Coming into the churches they told of the plight of the urban poor. In 1874 the Glasgow Evangelical Association gave 1,500 breakfasts before the Sunday meeting, and lunch afterwards. They took 300 meals a day to housing estates during the week. Thousands were taught to read and write. Professor Charteris of Edinburgh rightly commented that 'the Scottish Church is a First Class Mob'. These children became the seed-corn of the flourishing 20th-century churches and societies in Scotland. In the accounts of the 20th century there is a less exuberant note. Despite the wars, there was a liberalising influence on the lives of children. We cannot legally lay a finger on our children these days, their education and health services may be free, but many in our secular society lack the security that a Christian home and church can give. As parents we fear that our children may run away if emotional pressures are put upon them too suddenly, but we share with the author the problems he describes. How to reach the children rampaging around our housing estates? Slides of Pilgrim's Progress will no longer entice them to come in droves. It has to be the power of love, human and divine; the work of the Holy Spirit and the urgent prayers of Kingdom Kids and their like. God bless them all! Nest Davies,
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