When authority fails society crumbles, families disintegrate and schools go on strike – just like Darwen Vale.

Once upon a time, our Christian heritage taught us that true authority cascaded down to us.

It started understandably with the Maker, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and then fell to leaders of countries, local authorities and even families (Romans 13, for example).

This authority flowed down from a God head-over-heels in love with his human pinnacle of creation who, in turn, could choose to return that love or to love themselves (Genesis 1-3).

They chose their own way and it was then that authority had to be exercised – to save us from anarchy.

Yet it had to be worked out consistently with justice and love, like a caring father nurturing his wayward children (Ephesians 6:4).

Today, authority is in free-fall because the higher source of that authority is increasingly ignored.

Now, everybody is their own authority.

And that goes for management just as much as for those being managed.

When you get conflict in rights and wrongs of running things you end up with a mess of a striking school.

It’s just another example of what happens when society sacks the Highest Authority and goes it alone.

And this makes me wonder about the coincidence that Blackburn with Darwen is the very same authority that teaches pupils that there’s no such thing as a Higher Authority - Atheism.

I wonder, is the Divine Authority allowing them to reap what they are sowing?

Could it possibly be that Darwen Vale is God’s school lesson for us today?