#BTColumn – Schools, devotion and the proliferation of tongues

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By Wayne Campbell

“If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?”- 1 Corinthians 14:23.

Last week the local news was dominated by an unusual happening at the Oberlin High School which is located in West Rural Saint Andrew. Like most schools at the secondary level, Oberlin High School is also a church-based school. Oberlin High School is affiliated with The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. On the school’s website, it states, students are given the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential and are guided by Christian principles. Since the start of the 2022/2023 academic year Oberlin High School has been receiving a wave of negative publicity. According to a local newspaper a number of Oberlin High School students collapsed and fainted during general devotion. It was reported that traffic was halted on the road leading to the school. It was also revealed that even after the school was dismissed early, students collapsed outside of the school gate, leading to passersby stopping to assist them. The affected students were reportedly transported to the Lawrence Tavern Health Centre, Stony Hill Health Centre and Kingston Public Hospital. A number of questions remain unanswered and we can only hope that the ongoing investigations by the Education Ministry will unearth the truth. The buzz surrounding the strange occurrences started to flood various social media platforms by midday on Wednesday, October 26. Historically, devotions have always been part of education and schooling in Jamaica. In fact, devotion is timetabled in most if not all schools in Jamaica. It is not abnormal for members of various denominations to conduct devotional exercises at our schools of course with the permission of the administration of the school. An Oberlin High school staff member reported that a female teacher was talking to the students about their behaviors and decided to pray for them because she said “she got a message” from God. Shortly after the teacher started praying, the staff member said, students started shaking and “dropping”. On the day in question, Icilyn Black, members of the Greater Workers Apostolic House of Praise, were at Oberlin High School as part of the devotional offering. It was reported that a special request for prayer was made for one particular schoolgirl. “The girl was looking so fierce, she was reacting in a manner that is not of herself,” Black said. Miss Black in an interview mentioned that she started praying for the child after being told to do so by the “spirit of God”. “After I did what the spirit said I must do again, she fell to the ground.” Black said before getting ‘in spirit’ and speaking in tongues.

Falling In the Spirit

Many of us especially those of us who grew up in the Pentecostal faith have witnessed or have ourselves been slain by the Holy Spirit. It is not strange to hear congregants speaking in tongues in those churches. The ability to speak in tongues is one of many potential spiritual gifts given to Christians by the Holy Spirit as is recorded in 1st Corinthians 12:10. Not everyone who speaks in tongues is of God. We are aware that Lucifer was once an angel in heaven. The devil is crafty and facilitates many seducing spirits. We must pray for the spirit of discernment in order to distinguish whether the tongues being spoken are of God or the devil. In 1st Timothy 4:1 it says, the Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. The church has an abundance of seducing spirits. We must be careful who we allow to lay hands on us and pray. We must also be mindful with whom we share personal information. Like the devil in the Garden of Eden, seducing spirits act with subtleness or craftiness; more specifically, they insert fractions of truth along with truck loads of lies. We must be wise regarding the packaging of seducing spirits. The attraction to seducing spirits is often presented as an atmosphere of modernity and prosperity based. Unfortunately, this prosperity is only an illusion, a distraction for having a personal relationship with God. Sadly, oftentimes we only realize what is happening to us when it is too late. We are living in an era where doctrines of deception are all over. We must ask questions and observe. God did not make us puppets to be manipulated by those who present themselves as men of God. The only defense we have against seducing spirits is to know the word of God for ourselves. Regrettably, too many of us in the church only know God through a third party; we have never experienced His awesome power of transformation and spiritual renewal. Too many of us worship the pastor and his or her family. As a result we have opened ourselves unintentionally to be seduced and to be used by these powers of darkness. 

Separation of Church and School

Many Jamaicans identify themselves as Christians even in instances when they have not been inside a church since their Christening. It is no secret that in some jurisdictions devotions in schools are prohibited. One can say without contradiction that no well thinking Jamaican wishes to see our island follow such a path. The Ministry of Education since the incident at Oberlin High School has announced that it exploring protocols for devotional exercises. Education Minister Fayval Williams said, while we encourage devotion in school, our school leaders have a responsibility to exercise caution as to content and likely impact on students as evidenced by the reaction of students at Oberlin High School. In light of the fact that Jamaica’s education system support pluralism whereby students and parents can choose the type of school they attend we must tread carefully regarding the establishment of a protocol for devotion. 

 However, a Christian media group is urging the government to be careful in pursuing the regulation of religious activities in public schools, arising from this week’s bizarre incident at Oberlin High in St Andrew.

Oberlin High School reported that several students fainted or broke out in screams after a teacher offered prayers during devotion on Wednesday morning, forcing the administration to dismiss classes early. The Education Ministry has announced that protocols to guide devotions in schools will be considered, however, the Association of Christian Communicators and Media (ACCM) says the ministry “must take into account the fact that the public school system, for the most part, was established on moral and legal foundation, grounded in the Christian faith”.

According to the group, “Jamaica has had the advantage of watching other countries dismantle the moral and Christian floorboards and observing the negative impacts on children and families”. “The ACCM firmly asserts that the role of the Church as moral and spiritual guide, Godly presence and peacekeeper must not be dismantled, diminished or dismissed. Despite our penchant for violence and disorder, Jamaicans, at the heart, are a God-fearing and peace-loving people and the Church must be at the forefront of this battle for the soul of our country”, the group said.  It added that devotions are “our cultural identity shored up by our law. Let’s take pride in it, defend it, argue for it, and let other nations eventually envy us for it”.

The Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) also weighed in on the issue by stating that devotions must be retained in schools. Additionally, The Education Act (1965) in Part 11 (e), states it shall be lawful for the Minister to contribute towards the spiritual development of the community by securing that efficient education shall be available to meet the needs of the Island. It is abundantly clear that there is a place for devotional exercises in our public schools. 

It is apparent that our students are still being negatively impacted by the learning loss which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many students are emotionally damaged and are in need of both spiritual and psycho-social support. Many fear that a protocol regarding devotions in our schools is an attempt to restrict religion in our educational institutions. We must take into account that Religious Education is already absent on the timetables for most schools. The school is not a church; however, our schools play a critical role in the socialization process of our students. Schools are not institutions established to proselytize, yet the moral instructions of our schools are vital in building character. There must be a balance in ensuring that our students have access to spiritual instruction in our schools, especially given the state of affairs in the wider society regarding lawlessness, crime and violence. 

In the words of 1st John 4:1, beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com

@WayneCamo © #HolySpirit #devotion #education #schoolleadership