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With Lena Dacca
282 Plays4 months ago
Here at Solas we love partnering with Christian Union groups on university campuses across the UK. Today we speak with a student from Lancaster University where Andy spoke at their mission week this year. So what is a mission week? What sort of topics appeal to students? And how would you convince a history student that Jesus really rose from the dead? All that and more in this episode of PEP Talk.
Lena Dacca is a history student at Lancaster University, and recently served on her Christian Union’s committee as the Mission Week Coordinator. She is an aspiring historian and evangelist, and is especially passionate about sharing the gospel in a way which points people toward both the evidence for Christianity, and the transformative love of Jesus.
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Transcript
Introduction of Lena Dacke and Mission Week
00:00:11
Speaker
Well, hello and welcome to another edition of PepTalk, the persuasive evangelism podcast. I'm Andy Bannister from the Solar Center of Public Christianity. Broadcasting alone today, my usual co-host, Christian Mayer, is off doing something exciting and Anglican and an academic, or something else, beginning with A. But we compensate for her absence by having a brilliant guest for you ah today. I am joined on PepTalk by Lena Dacke. Lena is a history a student at Lancaster University. Lena, welcome to PepTalk. Thank you, it's good to be here. Well it's great to have you on the show and and the reason, well one of the many reasons we've got you on the show is you and I met a few months ago at the Lancaster University mission that you were really really involved in the events week ah there. We helped with a lot of events weeks at at Solas and um and all but many people listening might have no idea what an events week is
00:01:06
Speaker
what a Mission Week is. What
Mission Week's Organization and Objectives
00:01:08
Speaker
is it? What are those kind of things all about and why why are you excited about about being involved in them? Yeah, so a Mission Week is hosted by the the Christian Union of whatever university campus it's it's on. And it's usually about five days of events, usually one in the afternoon, one in the evening. And they're designed to basically bring the the gospel to campus because that's the goal of every Christian union is to bring the good news to campus to every student. um And so they're they're very evangelistic. They're not necessarily meant for Christians, but usually they end up also encouraging Christians. They're they're meant to allow people to come in, ask questions, have discussions and basically do the gospel.
Themes and Topics of Interest
00:01:54
Speaker
So what sort of questions do you find draw people? Because I guess it's crucial to ask the right questions right that are going to intrigue you know your fellow students. what What kind of questions have you found at work in terms of drawing a crowd?
00:02:08
Speaker
Oh, that's a good question. Well, usually what um mission weeks are, they're designed around a theme, which is usually a word or a slogan. So the one that um the committee I was on ran was, um the theme was reason. So we looked at kind of the evidence for Christianity and why it's persuasive. Not only through a relationship with God, you know, that there's it's really, it's the love and and grace of God that that's persuasive, obviously the gospel truth is persuasive, but also the kind of academic and intellectual side of Christianity, the historical evidence, the kind of scientific arguments um for the existence of God, things like that. So I guess the questions that drew people on campus to the events we ran is probably different than
00:02:58
Speaker
other campuses, but some of the ones we talked about were quite big. I was a bit worried to begin with that they would be kind of challenging and you know draw. I'm not sure they would draw the right people, but they ended up turning out really well. um So we talked about things like Is there a is there so like um is there scientific scientific evidence for the existence of the Christian God? What kind of evidence is there for the Bible? Is it unreliable? um We looked at the historical evidence for Jesus' resurrection, which you did brilliantly, Andy. What are some other ones? We talked about things like mental health and faith.
00:03:38
Speaker
um different different things like that which we thought were really big topics in general on campus and kind of took a Christian perspective and said hey this is what Christians think come and ask questions about that um and feel free to discuss in like in ah in a place where we've created that environment for people to feel welcome to feel that they could challenge what we think and that we welcomed that as well.
Engaging Events and Relationship Building
00:04:04
Speaker
I was struck as well by two of the sessions, one one I was involved in and one one a friend was, as a court because you had Sharon Dirichs as well, and Sharon is well known to so sort of so-less followers, because we use her quite regularly. So I think sharon didn didn't Sharon do an event on near-death experiences that that really drew a crowd? And then you had me do a Muslim-Christian dialogue. So you got the local alarm in, and we had over 200. So I had sometimes those more unusual topics or formats.
00:04:32
Speaker
are interesting, aren't they? They really draw a crowd. yeah yeah Yeah, that was both of those events. I knew that you know when i when I wrote that title, and when we combined all our thoughts into the into the title of that talk, I thought, this is probably going to be one of the biggest events, or at least I was praying that it would be. And yeah, I was i was shocked that it drew such a crowd. Not shocked because I knew God would provide, but just yeah, it turned out really well. i It lasted for hours after, like people so stuck around, they kept talking, having conversations. We've had kind of a whole bunch of different testimonies of people kind of building relationships from um people they met at the Islamic event especially. So those turned out really well. I think the kind of big titles drew people, drew the right people.
00:05:22
Speaker
I love, by the way, the fact that you did the the dialogue as well, because one of the things I'm often trying to do when I'm, you know, every year different CUs will get, you know, me to come and do things. And I'm always trying to push the idea of going as well as the lunch bars in the evening talks, you know, get it, get experimental, try a dialogue, try a debate. So looking back on Mission Week, the events week this year, Alina, so what were some of the highlights? for you. What are some of that what some of perhaps the lessons you learned about, you know, there are some good ways to do things. Well, maybe if we did it again, we do things differently, because it was a learning curve. Right. So what are some of the takeaways for you this year?
Measuring Success Beyond Numbers
00:05:58
Speaker
I think one of the the things i'm I'm glad that the the committee before me really encouraged me to do is dream big, because I kind of was the the creative mind behind this. I had an amazing, amazing team that helped me. But I had to kind of come up with the vision and the theme.
00:06:14
Speaker
And I think God like really blessed me in that he he just he gave me this idea and provided for it in such a way that I couldn't imagine. So if I were to speak to any other mission week coordinators, I'd say dream big, because you have no idea how God is going to use that. you know I came up with the idea of the um like not just doing, like you said, not just doing talks, but also kind of having a more interactive environment. you know The dialogue we did, um just getting people more involved. And I think that's really important because students on campus, we get lectured at all day. That's all we do. We go to lectures, we go to seminars. you know We're rarely getting to talk about the things that we're thinking about when we think about it. And I think if we want to get the gospel out on campus, we have to utilize that advantage that we have of students want to talk about things that they're thinking about.
00:07:07
Speaker
um And, you know, they're asking big questions in class, they're asking themselves big questions. And I think we can really use that to the advantage of the gospel to create a space where they can have those discussions and, you know, we can push that towards the gospel. I love that dream big. I love that dream big. But yes, highlights. Yeah. Were there any particular highlights then? You already mentioned the Islamic event. That was a huge highlight. I think it went really well in that there were just so many people. And I think we can't measure. They just keep coming. We had to see you people to stand up. We were like, guys, we need to make more room for the Muslims, make more room for all these people who are coming in. We don't know them.
00:07:52
Speaker
um yeah it was i mean i never wanted to measure success on numbers because you just you never know how things are gonna go you don't want to base it on that and then get very few and be super disappointed you never know how god's gonna work um But I did pray, please Lord, just let people come because you never know what they're going to hear, what they're going to take away. um And so, yeah, that was just a a huge blessing to to see that the marquee was just like, it couldn't fit the amount of people that came. um and and And also just to see that people stuck around after, you know, they were engaging with what was said.
00:08:32
Speaker
and they were engaging with people around them and they actually, you know, relationships were built off of that. I have had several people say, I've made friends with a Muslim from the Islamic Society um and we hang out now and now and again and talk about these sorts of things. um there were a couple There were a couple of those situations um that came from a bunch of different talks. So I think, yeah, just the friendships that were built because Investing in people's lives and investing in their eternities, there's no greater privilege. There's no greater opportunity than to do that. And so it was a real blessing to kind of create that environment.
00:09:11
Speaker
brilliant. Now, we've talked about events week and some of the type the topics and the themes. um I'm intrigued that there's a thread that we could we could pursue a little bit here because you talked about it. I talked about in the bio that you're studying history. and you know I was chatting to you about that when I was there at Lancaster. and of Of course, you had me talk on evidence for the resurrection. I remember asking you, why that topic? And you said, you just love that topic because it brings together, you know, your favorite subject of history and evidence for the gospel and so on. But then, of course, I found that those go together into your own story, the importance of evidence and arguments. So how did you yourself come to to faith in
Lena's Personal Faith Journey
00:09:48
Speaker
Christ, Lena? what's your What's been your journey to Jesus?
00:09:51
Speaker
Oh, another exciting question. and so i So my mom is a Christian. um And so I always say that Jesus was always a part of my life in some way. I always kind of knew about him. But it was when I was 16 that i I basically said, right, I don't know if this is true. I don't know if Christianity is true. I was being challenged by Muslim friends quite a bit, especially one in particular. And she kept pushing me um with arguments um against Christianity, different things for Islam. And I was getting really kind of confused because I thought, you know, I win my whole life pretty much saying that I was a Christian, but I didn't know what I believed in why. And it was at when I was 16, it was at that point that I said, right, I want to know why.
00:10:45
Speaker
I want to know why I think I believe these things and if they're actually true. And so basically what happened was I went on, it it was about six months of researching Christianity kind of almost from like an intellectual point of view of just being like, I'm just going to look at the evidence objectively. I'm also going to, I also looked at Islam, I looked at Buddhism, um like any kind of worldview, I probably looked into it. and I came out the end with kind of a war going on between my head and my heart because I was convinced quite strongly from looking at the evidence that Christianity was true. But there was that part where I was like, how, you know, I've looked up, I know what Christianity says.
00:11:35
Speaker
And it's I know what it calls me to, and I'm not sure I i want to you know <unk> crucify my flesh in in the way that Jesus calls me to. And so that war in between my head and my heart um was happening. and Yeah, finally, i I just I couldn't, I couldn't keep going anymore. I knew that this was true, because I looked at the evidence and looked at the one of the things that really tipped tipped it over the edge was the evidence for the resurrection. Because, like you said, I come from a historical background, kind of historical mind. And just looking at the evidence and thinking, I believe in so many different other historical events that have
00:12:17
Speaker
even poor evidence in a way. And I'm looking at the resurrection and in that was really powerful for me. And so i think it's I think the war between my head and my heart finally stopped when I kind of accepted they accepted that God could love me. I think that was part of the issue is that, yes, I was convinced intellectually, but I wasn't convinced in my heart that I could be loved. so Yeah, I think, thanks to my mom, I was introduced to Jesus from an early age, but I had to make that decision later on. from And praise God, I'm now a Christian. yeah Amazing. Why if I'm fascinating in that story, how many folks, you know, with with that with that aspect that you described were the head and the heart. You know, sometimes for some people it's one more than the other is doing the leading. For some of us, like yourself, and I'm wide similar, you know, it was head first.
00:13:15
Speaker
because I needed to know where the things were true but then the heart piece is also coming into there as as well and also I know for myself there was also a stubbornness thing the whole lordship of Christ thing it's one thing that you say to say that it's one thing to go okay now the evidence points this way but that's only so much of the journey so I love the way you describe the head and the heart interacting. So presumably, is that given you then a ah sort of passion in for that's one of the reasons you're passionate about about evidence, I presume, because it's being part of your own journey.
Evidence and Reasoning in Faith
00:13:47
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. I think one thing I noticed, especially in the UK is that a lot of people have had kind of an experience or they were just kind of brought up in a Christian home. And that kind of I mean, it was it was the case for me in terms of my mom being a Christian and her kind of showing me things.
00:14:06
Speaker
um But i want I really want people to know that you don't have to have some kind of experience to become a Christian. You can look at the evidence because I think it's quite persuasive. I think the reasons to believe are very strong. And, and you know, but yeah, like you said, i I'm inspired by my own testimony to to show people that Christianity is true and that there's strong um intellectual evidence for it. Now, obviously, you know you're ah you're a historian, you're studying that, you're an intellectual, you're ah you're a thinker. For folks about listening listening to this, Lena, who haven't sort of really stumbled into or thought much about the whole evidences piece, are there any good ways to begin? um and how did that begin for you and you decided you know when before you made that commitment to Christ for yourself and you were first thinking about things, where did you begin that that journey? Because I think sometimes people look at the vast array of books and podcast videos and say, how do you begin navigating some of that some of that that that ah that world?
00:15:10
Speaker
o That's a really good question. To be honest, I can't remember exactly where I started. I know one of the things I ended on was the evidence for the resurrection. so I might suggest looking into that because I will say if Jesus has risen from the dead, there's a paraphrase. If Jesus has risen from the dead, Christianity is true. If he isn't, it's not because the whole of our faith rests on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead because if he's still in the grave, we're not set free from sin. We're so we you know we're still in that. And so if Jesus rose from the dead, he proved himself to be who he said he was.
00:15:47
Speaker
and So yeah, I think starting from there would be good. pum I think it also depends on what background you come from. I think if you're looking, again, if you're a Muslim, looking at the evidence for the resurrection is very powerful because the Quran denies that Jesus rose from the dead. So historical evidence that he did, you know, that might cause a bit of tension. um o what else What else would I suggest? um
00:16:14
Speaker
You can have a look at Andy's books and videos. Take a look at the so last website, but the the checks and that the checks and the post. You can look at things like near death experiences, if you're questioning um a spiritual realm, you know, if you're kind of coming from a scientific or more materialistic background, you can look at evidence for God from things like near death experiences, um or more like spiritual things. Um, yeah, I think, I think that's, no, that's, I think that's a, that's a, that's a good answer. And I think, I think, you know, the resurrection, you're, you're, you're right. I think what I find fascinating about it, not merely as you described as there's good evidence for it. And there's a, you know, before we press record, we were talking about, you know, people we both appreciate. You mentioned Michael Ocona, you know, Mike's been on talk and stuff. And there's one of many, he's written on that. But I, one of the things I found fascinating, right? Is that the resurrection
00:17:13
Speaker
you know it strikes at the heart of every alternative worldview. As you say, if you're if you're a Muslim, it's deeply challenging because, as you say, the Quran denies Jesus' crucifixion. The other challenge, by the way, I often say to Muslims is the Quran doesn't seem to know about the resurrection. So if you were writing, if you were critiquing Christianity, you surely have to critique the resurrection. The same way if I was critiquing Islam, I have to at least mention Muhammad, because it's the he's a central belief that the fact that whoever wrote the chorron didn't know that the resurrection is central to Christianity. it's right And then for our atheist friends, um there's a whole different set of problems. So I suppose on on that question, you know, Lena, there you are on the campus, you mix a whole range of people of all faiths. And if you were talking about the resurrection, say,
00:17:58
Speaker
with ah with a secular friend who is going to struggle because to them, we're a closed universe. ah you know Only that which we can test scientifically is true. We can't possibly believe in miracles. yeah All these kinds of, where would you begin? I mean, the resurrection is a massive topic. how Where might you begin that that conversation to sort of begin helping them see at least why Christians believe this to be the case?
Engaging Skeptics and Atheists
00:18:22
Speaker
oh and How would I put them to the gospel? Yeah, but if you start the resurrection, if you were to talk about the resurrection with an atheist friend, I suppose, it's how so how would you be so how would you so begin that conversation? Because a big topic, you've got a friend who sort of perhaps naturally is not going to think assume miracles naturally is going to assume miracles can't happen. um yeah how would you What are some of the things in your mind as you sort of think about your favorite topic and your atheist friend?
00:18:50
Speaker
I think, again yeah again, the evidence for the resurrection is just so applicable to so many different worldviews and perspectives because, I guess, with a atheists, yes, they they don't believe in in God or spiritual realm, but I think the evidence for the resurrection leaves you at a place where you have to wonder why the tomb was empty, why every other explanation just doesn't make sense. um you know we it's it's ah It's historically agreed upon that Jesus died. Right? So there we can we can agree on that. But what happened? Why was that tomb empty? And I think that leaves people at that question. And I think if they look
00:19:34
Speaker
into the evidence for themselves. Or if I could go through them, if I had enough time to go through it with them step by step, which I have done before. It just takes a bit of time. i won't I won't do it right now. But it leaves you out of play it leaves you at a place where I think most people start to get interested in it because you can look at it just from kind of an an objective perspective. You don't have to imply anything. The implication of what happened after kind of comes at the end when you when look at the evidence, I guess. Yeah, I think that's really helpful. And um as we've said already on the on the episode, there are lots of other great resources out there. I think the resurrection's a topic you can you can start very simply like you have, or you can really open it out and go and go deep. So conscious we've kind of just gone through the 20 minute kind of arc, so the end is in in sight. So that's our final question, Lena, which I didn't before we we hit record, and I was going to ask you, so I just thought we'd like to just put you on the spot. so for
00:20:29
Speaker
People who who are listening to this, have how can they be praying for what what's going on on campuses? Obviously, if there are other students listening, they will know what's going on on their campus, but we have people of all ages and backgrounds. So, for people listening to this who who have been excited by what you've talked about and missions and stuff, how can we be best be praying, whether it's praying for Lancaster or praying for our own local university, any advice you'd give to people praying so to be praying for what Christian students on campus are doing? That's really a lovely question. um Because I think there's a lot of there's a lot of things I can say, but I think open open hearts and open minds. I think, like I was saying before, students are are wondering. They're asking questions. We're constantly looking at things that, quite frankly, don't make sense sometimes to us in our own degrees. And we're having to kind of put the pieces back together of evidence and things like that. um
00:21:26
Speaker
But also, people are wondering about spiritual stuff. I think we underestimate that that interest and and how we can use that to the advantage of the gospel. so And I think, unfortunately, the flip side of that is that people can be quite hard-hearted and close-minded. They might be willing to listen, but they might the the response I often come across is, good for you, but it's not for me. When, in fact, Jesus is for everyone. You know, he he the gospel is for everyone. That offer is made to absolutely everyone, no matter where in your faith journey you are. um And so I think i I'd pray for open hearts and open minds and for Christians on campus to know how to approach those kinds of people, especially with the gospel.
00:22:13
Speaker
good Great answer. Well, um those of you kind of listening to this, I hope you take that to heart. It'd be great to pray for what's going on at ah Lancaster and other
Concluding Thoughts on Campus Missions
00:22:22
Speaker
campuses. As someone who travels a lot across the country doing stuff on universities, Lena, I am so encouraged what what God is doing, both through mission events weeks and and individually. you know Campuses are difficult places, aren't they? But they're also amazing. places. So we're so grateful to you and and the others in the CU there at Lancaster for all that you've done. I know it was a real privilege ah to be with you and and and Sharon, you know, my friend who's let's say known to so last listeners, you know, was also like deeply encouraged. So strength to you. sound And thanks again for taking the time to be on on pep talk. It's been great to have you on the show. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me. And all of you listening at home or in the gym or in the car, wherever you're catching this podcast, we'll be back in a two weeks time with another episode of Pet Talk, another guest. So do catch us then. Thanks for listening and goodbye.
00:23:10
Speaker
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