ARTICLE: SCHAEFFER AND THE NEXT GENERATION

Dr. Donald Williams

It seems hard to fathom, that the average college age Christian student may have never heard of Francis Schaeffer, but that is exactly what concerns scholars like Donald Williams, who has witnessed this first hand as an educator. He describes teaching a class of 125 students and asking them at the close of the class, “How many of you had never heard of Schaeffer or L’Abri before taking this class?” Soberly he watched, as nearly every hand in the class went up. Donald Williams notes that this never would have happened even five years ago.

In an era when culture is under siege, and given the value of Schaeffer's thought in this area, one has to wonder how this could happen. One of the symptoms of the system formerly known as "modernism," (now Liberalism) is the tendency toward forsaking the value of history and constantly seeking the latest and greatest thing. To what extent has the church adopted this model? Time will tell, but this is one of the motivating factors behind francisschaefferstudies.org. Our desire is to introduce Schaeffer's thought to a next generation that is so in need of it. A generation in search of truth and answers.

I recall speaking to a man last year over dinner and talking to him about Schaeffer and L'Abri. He was greatly moved and overwhelmed by what he heard. Not because Schaeffer is some sort of icon, but because his thought and the work of L'Abri was so relevant to his life and struggles in the real world. The next week we planned to meet again, however he notified our mutual friend that he would not be able to make it. He had promptly decided to take the week off from work and drove to L'Abri in Rochester, MN. His hunger for truth, is typical of the next generation. When they are impacted by it, it naturally invokes passion and desire for greater truth.

READ TRUE TRUTH: Francis Schaeffer’s Enduring Legacy by Donald Williams
It's well worth the read.