Josh Harris has posted a clip from a sermon he preached regarding obstacles to the gospel. I've got two separate purposes for posting a link to this message:
1. He touches on the issue I brought up a few weeks ago regarding the Public School debate. He capures what I was trying to say well. I would love to hear your thoughts.
2. He uses "props" in his sermon. Does his use of the "props" help him portray his point? Or, could he have made his point just as well without the "props"?
Showing posts with label Public School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public School. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Some Thoughts on The Public School Debate
A friend sent me this link a Voddie Baucham article on public schools. After some reflection, here are just a few of my thoughts.
I have been a fan of Voddie Baucham for a long time. I have heard him preach dozens of times and have always left with a greater sense of God and a greater resolve to live pleasing to God. I'll never forget the first time I heard him preach at East Texas Baptist University. Someone introduced him as the "speaker" for the evening. The first thing Voddie said was, "Speakers come from Radio Shack. I've come to PREACH." I was immediately hooked!
However, I disagree with his emphasis in this and other articles he has written.
I share his passion for the glory of God and desire to be faithful to God’s Word. I agree with many of his conclusions regarding education, family, and society. However, I fear that in this article he is elevating his convictions above Biblical standards. He is clearly saying that to send one’s kids to public school is a sin and dishonoring to God. I think he is missing an important link: It is possible to go to public school and still be discipled well by parents and church. It is possible to go to public school and remain pure. It is possible to go to public school and challenge the unbiblical ideas being taught. It is possible to go to public school and remain faithful in all aspects.
I agree with Voddie that:
For parents to rely on the schools for their kid’s discipleship is sin. It is the parent’s primary responsibility.
For a kid to adopt unbiblical worldviews is sin.
For a kid, teacher, or parent to compromise any aspect of Christian discipleship is sin.
However, none of these happen by simply going to public school. That is the missing link in Voddie’s thinking.
If Voddie’s resolution were to pass (calling Southern Baptists to abandon the public schools), it would be the same in my mind as the resolution from a year ago calling all Baptists to abstain from all alcohol. The Bible condemns drunkenness but leaves open the possibility of having a drink and not sinning. Thus, why should we go elevating our preferences above Biblical standards? Without a clear Biblical command, we should allow freedom in Christ.
I don’t drink and I’m not planning to send my kids to public school. However, if some other Christian chooses to have a glass of wine at dinner and allows their kid to go to a public school, who am I to condemn?
Now, if my Christian friend has a little too much to drink and is neglecting their duty to disciple their kids, I must challenge them based on clear Biblical commands.
Also, I think Voddie’s answer to what he calls his most common objection is a little weak. He said that the most common objection is that Christian kids can be missionaries in the public schools. Voddie answers that by saying that if this were the case, then all Christian families should send their kids to public school in order to fulfill the great commission. Nobody would say that.
If Voddie doesn’t think it is possible for a Christian teenager to be a witness in a public school then he should also be against a missionary going to China to spread the gospel. There is a genuine slippery slope here. In order to impact this culture for Christ, Christians must go and preach the gospel to all nations. We must expose ourselves to the ideas of this world in order to preach the gospel to them. Yes, I agree with Voddie that Christians should be different and set apart. However, we cannot withdraw from the world and join the monastery.
I am zealous to preserve the distinction between mere preferences and clear Biblical commands. It is often hard to distinguish between the two.
I am grieved by what goes on in public schools. Many Christian parents should remove their kids. However, I see no Biblical reason to say that Christians in public schools are sinning.
Help me think through this. Am I missing something? Are there other examples where we elevate our preferences too high?
I have been a fan of Voddie Baucham for a long time. I have heard him preach dozens of times and have always left with a greater sense of God and a greater resolve to live pleasing to God. I'll never forget the first time I heard him preach at East Texas Baptist University. Someone introduced him as the "speaker" for the evening. The first thing Voddie said was, "Speakers come from Radio Shack. I've come to PREACH." I was immediately hooked!
However, I disagree with his emphasis in this and other articles he has written.
I share his passion for the glory of God and desire to be faithful to God’s Word. I agree with many of his conclusions regarding education, family, and society. However, I fear that in this article he is elevating his convictions above Biblical standards. He is clearly saying that to send one’s kids to public school is a sin and dishonoring to God. I think he is missing an important link: It is possible to go to public school and still be discipled well by parents and church. It is possible to go to public school and remain pure. It is possible to go to public school and challenge the unbiblical ideas being taught. It is possible to go to public school and remain faithful in all aspects.
I agree with Voddie that:
For parents to rely on the schools for their kid’s discipleship is sin. It is the parent’s primary responsibility.
For a kid to adopt unbiblical worldviews is sin.
For a kid, teacher, or parent to compromise any aspect of Christian discipleship is sin.
However, none of these happen by simply going to public school. That is the missing link in Voddie’s thinking.
If Voddie’s resolution were to pass (calling Southern Baptists to abandon the public schools), it would be the same in my mind as the resolution from a year ago calling all Baptists to abstain from all alcohol. The Bible condemns drunkenness but leaves open the possibility of having a drink and not sinning. Thus, why should we go elevating our preferences above Biblical standards? Without a clear Biblical command, we should allow freedom in Christ.
I don’t drink and I’m not planning to send my kids to public school. However, if some other Christian chooses to have a glass of wine at dinner and allows their kid to go to a public school, who am I to condemn?
Now, if my Christian friend has a little too much to drink and is neglecting their duty to disciple their kids, I must challenge them based on clear Biblical commands.
Also, I think Voddie’s answer to what he calls his most common objection is a little weak. He said that the most common objection is that Christian kids can be missionaries in the public schools. Voddie answers that by saying that if this were the case, then all Christian families should send their kids to public school in order to fulfill the great commission. Nobody would say that.
If Voddie doesn’t think it is possible for a Christian teenager to be a witness in a public school then he should also be against a missionary going to China to spread the gospel. There is a genuine slippery slope here. In order to impact this culture for Christ, Christians must go and preach the gospel to all nations. We must expose ourselves to the ideas of this world in order to preach the gospel to them. Yes, I agree with Voddie that Christians should be different and set apart. However, we cannot withdraw from the world and join the monastery.
I am zealous to preserve the distinction between mere preferences and clear Biblical commands. It is often hard to distinguish between the two.
I am grieved by what goes on in public schools. Many Christian parents should remove their kids. However, I see no Biblical reason to say that Christians in public schools are sinning.
Help me think through this. Am I missing something? Are there other examples where we elevate our preferences too high?
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