Discipling the Undiscipled
In honor of Election Day, I avoided all talk radio and internet media, which left more time open to finish reading the many comments on a recent Spunky Homeschool post about discipleship. What an eye-opener! At last count this morning (Tuesday) there were 135 comments (I started it Monday when there were 85). Now grant it, I didn’t completely read them all and disregarded those that went off topic, but most of the comments were between the same handful of folks and were very thought-provoking and well written. The topic was this: what does the Bible say in regards to education and discipleship of the children He has given us?
Hear, O Israel : The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
CHS believe that public schools do not acknowledge the lordship of Christ, and if you can’t be for Christ you are against Christ; therefore the Bible cannot support the idea of putting our children under the authority of the public schools.
The Christian public schoolers (CPS) look to other verses from the Word:
“As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” John 17:18
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors…..Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. 1 Peter 2:13, 17
The following comment by “Elaine” is a good summary of what the CPS were saying:
Yes, I do use 1Peter as the scriptural basis for sending my children to PS. I do not believe it REQUIRES me to do so. Nor do I believe Deuteronomy and the other verses REQUIRE me to homeschool, "only" to raise up my children in God's righteousness--a huge responsibility that I take very, very seriously. You don't have to agree with ANYTHING I've written, Brian. But I will ask you for acceptance and respect, which my Bible also requires me to accord to you as a good Christian…
The “acceptance” and “respect” part seemed to rule the day for the CPS. It wouldn’t be difficult to wonder if these ladies—one whose kids were all grown up now (“jettybetty”)—had put their kids in public schools and might possibly be regretting their decision, and were now reaching for some kind of validation from their Christian Homeschooling (CHS) brethren. I’m undecided if this is really the case, though. They used several passages from the Word to back up their decision, but were still unable to answer the question: can Christian children be discipled to live for Christ by public schools? (And please note that I did not say “by parents”, but “by public schools”.)
Their argument sounds good from a politically-correct-Christian point of view—God can be found in public schools, not all public schools are like the bad ones reported in the media, children can certainly witness to their peers in public schools, etc. And although they can give a pretty compelling argument defending their choice to be CPS, they continually miss the point that the CHS are trying to drive home: children are undiscipled. As Spunky put it in one of her comments:
All parents disciple their children, Christian or not. So do the teachers in the school. A disciple is a follower of an ideology or teacher. All children are by their very nature undiscipled. That's the whole purpose of education- to create disciples and why Voddie Baucham titled his blog, Education the key to discipleship. The state knows this as well, that is why they make getting an ungodly education available. They have no desire or interest in creating disciples of Christ. In fact, they hope for the exact opposite and that's why they work so hard to undermine all parents, especially Christian parents. People without a belief in Christ and detached from their family will naturally look to the secular state as their protector and provider.
She also says:
The public schools do not have the goal of discipleship in Christ. The Bible states that he who is not for me is against me. The schools are by Biblical definition working against the cause of Christ because they are NOT for the cause of Christ. Thus they actively undermine the Christian parent's biblical exhortation to "create disciples" in their own children by false teaching and ignoring the teachings and Truth of Jesus Christ.
I am living proof of what can go wrong when sending and undiscipled girl—even one with 8 years of parochial schooling—into public high school…and the rest of this story is a post for another day!
posted by Anonymous | 9:17 AM
2 Comments:
I am a public school teacher and I considered myself a Christian, very involved in the church. My question is: "What advise do you give to those parents that both work and cannot afford to send their child to a parochial school?"
I personally feel like it is then the parents responsibility to continue that Christian education and support it at home. I was raised as a Christian and attended the public school system. I do not feel like it encouraged me in any way to be a nonchristian.
Thanks, anonymous, for the comment. I'll try to be brief, but it usually doesn't turn out that way!
First off, you said and I considered myself a Christian, very involved in the church (emphasis mine)...is this past tense, or are you still a Christian involoved in your church? Just curious.
"What advise do you give to those parents that both work and cannot afford to send their child to a parochial school?"
My advice to anyone who strongly desires that their children attend an institution teaching a Biblical worldview but thinks they cannot afford it would involve several steps:
1. Examine your budget. Are you living within your means? Do you really need DSL or cable? Can you eat out one less time a month? Have you tried shopping at garage sales, even for all your Christmas presents? I was amazed at how much money we were able to cut every month just by tweaking our monthly budget here and there. Chances are people can find an extra $200 a month if they try.
2. Talk to the school officials and pastors. You never know if they have a policy that won't turn anyone way, even if they can't pay for it. I think it's safe to say that most of them will bend over backwards, especially if you are a member of the church that supports the school. Just ask.
3. Talk to your family. Grandparents love to see their grandchildren excel, and even more so they like to see their children doing their absolute best when parenting. Chances are, they might help out financially--even if it's just $50 a month to go towards tuition.
4. If all else fails (and you've completely cut the fat from your monthly spending!), I would not hesitate AT ALL to ask for help from my brothers and sisters within my church fellowship. We Presbyterians place a very high value on our Covenant children, and as a church body promise to help in any way to bring these precious children up in the way of the Lord. These days people tend to shy away from accepting help when offered, yet alone seek help when they need it. But that is one of the main purposes of the Church--to take care of each other. If I were in such a position (and I thank and praise God everyday that we're able to live off one income so I can homeschool!), I would not hesitate to turn to a member of the church who is of greater spriritual maturity and has a desire to love, nurture and disciple those that are less mature in their faith. I would be honest and open, telling them how important it was for our children to be in a school that nurtured, not hindered, his walk with Christ, and ask if they or anyone they knew could help us achieve that goal. I know many solid Christians who would be more than happy to help a young family out in this way! (Note: I would probably discuss the matter with my pastor first for any suggestions or recommendations he might have.)
I strongly feel that if Christians seriously want to keep their children out of public schools, God will provide a way for them to do so.
I personally feel like it is then the parents responsibility to continue that Christian education and support it at home. (Emphasis mine.)
I just want to clarify something to make sure I understand what you mean here, because so much could be read into that statement, and I don't want to read something into it that isn't there (one reason I despise emails and blogs--so much can be lost in the writing!)...the way I read your above comment is that if your children don't go to a Christian school, then the parents should teach them the religious studies they would learn if they were enrolled in parochial school. Am I close here?
If that is the case, I have this to say: It is always the parents' responsibitly to teach our children to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your might. God told the Israelites to teach those words diligently to your children. Not to hope they learn it all at Sunday school or parochial school, but to make sure they learn it from their parents. I hope every Christian parent understands this charge; I find, too often, that Christian parents merely "supplement" teaching the faith to their children, relying solely on their local church and Christian school to feed them the Gospel.
I was raised as a Christian and attended the public school system. I do not feel like it encouraged me in any way to be a nonchristian. My next post will cover this--I hope you'll come back and read it!
Thanks so much for your comment, and thanks especially for your dedication to our children's future!
In Christ,
Jill
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