To Be or Not To Be

Think of the most common question your children are asked about their future, especially as they enter the mid-teen years and later: “What are you going to BE?” Think of the answers that are usually given: doctor, engineer, nurse, musician, etc.

Note the link our culture places between what you do and who you are.

But how true is it? I contend that for the Christian, it is a dangerous falsehood. It doesn’t take much thought to realize that there shouldn’t be a connection between the two. Unfortunately we tend to equate the two, to our detriment.

I have a friend who is an airline pilot. He suffered a medical condition in midlife that caused him to lose his medical qualification to fly, forcing him to medically retire in his early forties. He tells of wandering aimlessly through life, unsure of who he was. This is because he had completely equated what he did (airline pilot) with who he was (airline pilot). When the one was taken from him, who he was ended up taken as well. (The good news is that his medical was restored many years later and he returned to flying status…but this time he understands that flying is only what he does.)

Consider how many people go through midlife crises. (Yes, I’m playing psychologist here.) Could it be that they, too, have attached who they are to what they do? At midlife, you start to discover that your career progression is probably not going like you planned in your younger years. The end of your career appears on the horizon. What you do has turned out to be somewhat mediocre and will soon end. Therefore, who you are is also mediocre and will soon end, leaving you aimlessly wandering through later life (or trying to hit a little white ball into several holes each day).

It only takes a moment of introspection to realize how much we as Christian parents have bought into that very same lie and how we communicate it to our children. What is the primary focus of our child-raising? I heard of a Barna poll of Christian parents that showed a horrifyingly large number of them considered their first parenting objective to be to raise a child who was “successful” (meaning economic and worldly success). Even worse was the number who listed raising their child to know Christ as the third or fourth most important objective…or didn’t list knowing Christ at all!!! This shows one of two things: either how parents use the moniker “Christian” when they aren’t really a Christian, or how deeply they are submersed in the American culture of “success.” We raise our children with a primary focus on career…what they will do…and communicate both our success or our failure as parents as well as the child’s success or failure as a young adult with how they do regarding what they will do/be. Knowing God and having a lively, intimate relationship with Him is considered something that just “happens” as long as we get them to attend church and youth group. Could this improper focus on what a child will do instead of who a child is be why 75-88% of young adults walk away from the faith of their parents?

I see two applications here:

One…for us as adults. We need to take a good look at ourselves and have an honest evaluation of whether we consider who we are as what we do. I know that is especially a factor in many men’s lives, but probably also in many women’s as well. So in truth, who are we? If you have repented of your sin, placed full trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you are a Christian…a blood-bought, heaven-bound adopted child of God, with all the attendant responsibilities and privileges. You are not what you do. That could go away tomorrow and it would not change you at your core. This is a freedom those who put so much weight on what they do cannot ever comprehend. You are free in Christ to live a life of Christian love and service, to the glory of God. You are free of the tyranny of the career; you are free of being defined in terms of economic output. In reality, as a Christian, you will make the best employee your employer could ever ask for…but you do it because you are free NOT to do it should God call elsewhere.

Two…for your children. Are they Christians? Have you led them to the Lord? Are they showing fruits of the Spirit? If not, then this discussion as far as they are concerned is moot. All of your efforts need to be geared toward entreating God to bring them into the Kingdom. If you are reasonably confident they are saved, do you disciple them? Do you communicate their worth as who they are in Christ? Or do you communicate their worth as their grades, their standardized test scores, their success in sports, and their career direction? Do they know in the deepest recesses of their hearts that they are loved and cherished by their Creator and that HE alone reserves the right to define who they are and that they are His children? Only then will they be protected from the mental anguish of being defined by the world based on their economic productivity. Only then will they be protected from the feelings of loss that accompany an unstable career. Only then will they have self-esteem that arises from the correct source.

Imagine a family where each member knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he or she is a child of the King. Each of them will be growing in Christlikeness. Each of them will be embracing their roles as defined by their Creator. Each of them will be growing in love for one another and for the lost of the world. Each of them will be growing in maturity and wisdom because they know the fear of God, which is where one finds true maturity and wisdom. Each of them will have an accurate self-worth based on truth instead of on worldly definitions. As a family, they will be grounded; they will be a rock. And they will be a witness of the glory of God to the lost and dying in this world.

So…to be or not to be…will you be a child of God, or will you be a doctor, a lawyer, a mechanic, or a ditch-digger? Will your children be children of God, or will they also hang their worth on being a nurse, an engineer, a plumber, or a pilot?

A Shocking Sermon

This is a video of Southern Baptist missionary and evangelist Paul David Washer has he addresses 3000 youth at an evangelism conference a couple of years ago. He has an incredible message...yet an in-your-face and a message hard for those of us in America to hear.

Should you encounter difficulties with the YouTube presentation below, you can access audio, video, or transcribed (printed) versions of his sermon here.

Please set aside one hour and listen. The Holy Spirit will use Paul to pierce your heart. Then set aside some more time for a prayer of response.

Life Relevance in Education

In an earlier post, I asked the question, "What IS education?" and the conclusions I reached were validated in a "Generations with Kevin Swanson" archived radio program I was listening to today.

I pointed out that my own experience (and most likely the experience of all reading this) was that the only things I actually "learned" were those things that I put into practice. The rest of it went in, bounced around for a while (usually long enough to take a test on it), and was forgotten...in other words, it was never really "learned." Just ask any high school or college student about a class they took a year ago and have since had no other exposure to the material...and you will find they don't remember more than a small smattering of what they supposedly "learned."

One of the points made on the radio program is that the style of learning we use in our school classrooms traces its roots back to the Greek system. In the Greek philosophy of education, knowledge was divorced from life; thus the famous sculpture of the Greek Thinker...sitting and pondering all day, but not actually doing anything with his knowledge.

The other point backs up what I was saying. The Hebraic model, which is arguably validated in the book of James, says that there must be life application to knowledge or it is useless. We must be doers of the Word! We can study it all day long, but if we don't do the Word, our faith is in vain. Obviously James is referring to how a Christian is to live out his faith. But the argument can be made that it applies to learning of any subject. If you don't actually use the knowledge, then it fades away and was basically not worth the time you spent "learning" it. For those who may be unfamiliar, there are several levels of learning. One of the highest is application. If one is to apply the knowledge, he must grasp its intricacies fairly well. Application sinks roots into the brain, causing the knowledge to be retained. It is only then that it is truly "learned."

Does anyone remember sitting in a classroom and asking themselves what use the course they were taking had? Do you remember being bored to death in that class? Do you NOT remember much at all from your time in that class? I think we can all relate to these questions.

So how about applying the answers to the teaching of your own children? When you are asking them to learn something, be sure you can articulate a relevant reason for learning it...and even more importantly, if at all possible, put it into immediate life application where it is actually used. When your child can see a reason for expending the effort required to learn something, not only is it far easier to remain motivated, but the material will actually be retained. And even better...because it is related to real life, your child's real life is improved!

Toward more reality in education!

Preparing for Our Culture's Future

On the last Sunday in January, Dr. John Piper began a mini-series of sermons on the topic of marriage. (This first sermon can be accessed here, either in text, audio, or video format.) My purpose here isn't to enter into the topic of marriage, but to key off of two things he said in his introduction regarding what our culture is like and what its probable future is. They support and build upon my last post in this blog.

In the first quote (actually the second in the order of the sermon), Pastor Piper says, "The fact that we live in a society that can even conceive of—let alone defend—two men or two women entering a relationship and with wild inconceivability calling it marriage, shows that the collapse of our culture into debauchery and barbarism and anarchy is probably not far away."

If Pastor Piper is correct, he is describing a world for our children that is nothing like we have seen any time in our lifetimes... debauchery, barbarism, anarchy. Those are not terms used to describe a civilized society that values liberty and freedom. This is not a pleasant thought, both for ourselves if we should live that long, or for our progeny. The freedoms we enjoy now...particularly our freedom to worship God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength...may indeed be in grave danger in the not-too-distant future. Just witness the taking of children from their parents and the jailing of those same parents in Germany just because the parents had the audacity to homeschool and not wish state indoctrination for their children. Witness how people of faith cannot speak out against the sin of sodomy in most of Europe or in Canada without incurring the wrath of the state against them. How long will it be before those types of laws (and many that will be worse) come to our land? The battle is already on, and it doesn't appear to be going our way.... This is likely the world into which our children and grandchildren will be going. How are we preparing them?

That brings me to the second quote. Dr. Piper says, "...to the world we live in, where the main idol is self, and its main doctrine is autonomy, and its central act of worship is being entertained, and its two main shrines are the television and the cinema, and its most sacred genuflection is the uninhibited act of sexual intercourse." (Piper's never been known for pulling any punches!)

Before we sit and cluck-cluck about the state of our world, I would rather investigate these same descriptions as they relate to the church...that means us! We are living in our culture, and unless we are extremely observant and particularly intentional, we will absorb its values. So assuming this is an accurate description of our culture, we need to take a sobering, honest look at ourselves to see how much of a description it is of us...and then do something about it, especially as it relates to the raising of our children!

The Main Idol is Self

It's all about me! Right?! My wants. My desires. My loves. Recognition of me. Exultation of me. It's probably not quite that blatant, but how many of us spend our time bemoaning how things aren't going our way? How much time and money is spent on self-help? How much focus is on improving ourselves through exercise, education, etc? Is there any time left for others? Is there any hope of a life of service? Not when others and service are secondary to the building and improving of one's self!

And if we as parents have this focus, what are we teaching our children? Do they learn to put the needs of others before their own? Do they learn the joy of serving others and how that puts a real face on the Gospel? They will imitate us. We must let them see us placing the Lord Jesus on the throne and see us daily killing the idol of self.

"But wait!" you say. "I serve my children by seeing to their needs. I even devote my life to them by homeschooling them! So obviously I'm not guilty of this!" Maybe. It depends on how you go about it. If deep inside you are raising them so you can compare them to the other children in your circle of friends, your focus is most certainly on the idol of self. If you are doing everything for them, bending over backwards to give them everything they ever desire and never discipling them in the ways of loving and serving their fellow man...starting with their own family...then you are contributing the building of the idol of self in them.

Idols are insidious. We have to examine our own hearts carefully, and root them out through repentance and action when they are found. Our culture creates this idol, especially in children. If we don't make a distinct break from raising our children the way the world does, they will have a well-constructed, solid idol to self by the time they are young adults.

Main Doctrine is Autonomy

This one is a natural follow-on to the idol of self. When the self is an idol, it naturally wants to be autonomous, a law unto one's self, not wishing to submit to anything or anyone. This is the antithesis of the Christian life. All Christians are to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And then God has defined the lines of authority even farther by requiring wives to submit to husbands, children to submit to parents, and slaves to submit to masters. There is also an element of submission to the church that can be extrapolated from the concept of church discipline.

When we chafe at these God-ordained lines of authority/submission, we are following the doctrine of autonomy.

A subset of autonomy is independence. Someone who is autonomous is also independent, self-sufficient. Do we define ourselves by our membership in our family...or as individuals who just happen to be, for the moment, in a group called a family? Do we bring our families into accountable community with other Christian families...or do we stay comfortably distant?

As we raise our children, are we raising them to submit to their parents? Are we modeling happy submission in our own lives? Are we emphasizing the family? Are we training them to value their place of service and ministry within the family...or are we training them to leave for a life of autonomous independence at age 18?

The Central Act of Worship is Being Entertained

If we have made an idol of ourselves and are living by the principle doctrine of autonomy, then it would follow that our worship would be focused inwardly. Entertainment does that in a marvelous way, making us feel emotions, releasing endorphins in our brains, and generally making us feel good. Look at our culture: it's all about being entertained, from 150 channels of TV, to the latest Playstation, to the movie theaters with 16 screens, to the year-round emphasis on sporting events (both pro and college), to 150 channels of satellite radio. Pop culture is built around the entertainment industry.

So what about us? Where's our focus? Even most churches these days are focused on self-help, therapeutic "gospels" and worship that makes us feel good. There's one megachurch in my city that just built a new gargantuan sanctuary that even includes theater seating with cup holders for the worshipper's coffee! It's not about God; it's about ensuring the worshipper has his caffeine fix during the service!

But worship isn't about us; it's about God! The really neat thing about true worship is that when we are lost in exulting the grandeur of God, we get the byproduct of joy! (As Piper says, "God gets the glory, and we get the joy!") Do we approach our worship with those types of intentions and expectations? Have our children learned to look outside themselves to the wonder that is the Creator? Do you model that yourself? (Here's a wonderful way to start that mindset. Click on "enter", then on "Watch Louie's Talks Online" and then scroll to "Indescribable". You will discover a very big God there!)

Two Main Shrines are the Television and the Cinema

How much time do you spend in front of the TV or at the movies? When you do watch these media, what messages do you allow into your mind? The medium itself is conducive to dulling the ability to engage and consider the messages sent. Since you can guarantee that Hollywood isn't interested in building up your Christian faith, you can expect the messages that are sent, subtle or not, to be against everything God has in mind for you as a growing Christian. And since your ability to consider and counter those messages is dulled, those messages take up residence in your mind and tempt you away from the holy life to which God has called you.

Your media habits as well as your interest in them (compare how excited you are about the latest movie compared to how excited you are about church on Sunday) are a prime example for your children and they will pick up on what you do and what you watch very quickly. How much do you allow for your own children? Do you screen what they are watching? Do you help them watch for the anti-Christian messages that are so prevalent, but not always so obvious (dads are always stupid; mom is slightly better; children are the founts of wisdom; belief in God should be personal; there are no absolutes; tolerance is the ultimate virtue...and on and on and on)?

Most Sacred Genuflection is the Uninhibited Act of Sexual Intercourse

Let's face it. Sex is everywhere. We as parents, and especially as men, have to be so very careful about what we expose ourselves to and what we do with it when we encounter it unexpectedly. We must be disciplined about our thought life. We must reserve sexual thoughts for our wives only. As couples, we must work to have a regular, happy, vigorous sex life...for that is how God intended it. I can think of several positive things this does: it creates a tight bond between husband and wife, it gives a good example for the children, and it helps the men with the issues described earlier in this paragraph.

We must be open with our children in discussing sex with them at age-appropriate times. They must come to value purity. We must set before them a beautiful picture of the wedding altar and what they will experience there and in their marriage bed. It must be a far better picture than what the world is giving them every minute of every day. We do this through discussions and through examples. We have to talk with them. When we see young people getting married who have kept themselves pure, they need to be held up as positive examples. And we as parents need to be examples of a happy sex life. (Don't think for a moment that your older children don't know and can't tell when your sex life is good and when it's not.) Give them a reason to reject the world's standard for sex: the instant gratification of an animal-desire.

So without it even being his main point, Pastor Piper has given us both a description of the world to come and a method for us to stand against it.

If we are to bring the Kingdom and the Gospel to bear upon a world that has degenerated into debauchery, barbarism, and anarchy, then we absolutely must:

• kill the idol of self and instead exult Jesus.
• reject the doctrine of autonomy and instead submit ourselves to the God-ordained authorities in our lives, all the while rejecting the independent model that comes along with autonomy.
• seek to discover the great God we serve, and worship Him alone with all our hearts, turning from the 24/7 entertainment culture.
  
• limit our TV/Cinema time, and be very, very critical of that which we do watch.
• enjoy sex within marriage, and give our children a good, God-honoring reason to wait.

If you will do these things as parents, and make a conscious decision to change the way in which you are raising your children so they too, will live these types of lives, your entire family will be as ready as you can be for whatever future God has for you in this country.

And on top of that, families like this will be lights for the Gospel that aren't hidden under the bushel of sordid American culture.....

The Atheists are Winning

Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Seminary, hosts a daily radio show. He always begins the show with commentary on current events. On 23 Jan 07 (Click here to listen), he discussed what a couple of secular people had written about Richard Dawkins' book, The God Delusion. One of those people is confirmed atheist Dr. Steven Weinberg, Nobel Laureate and professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Texas. He writes a critique of Dawkins' book in the The Times of London, stating the book didn't need to be written. Why not? ...because the atheists are already winning. The rationale he uses is that "Americans may look religious, may look like they believe in God, but when you actually peel back the surface and start to scratch underneath, you'll discover they don't know much about any belief in God." He also states, "Americans may claim to be Christians, but they have virtually no idea of what Christianity really is. Although most Americans may be sure of the value of religion, as far as I can tell, they're not very certain about the truth of what their own religion teaches." Mohler asks a question of himself, "What's my response to that?" His answer? "All too true."

As a dad, this is incredibly frightening in its implications, both for the world my children will enter as well as for their own souls. It is especially so since it is an observation from someone "outside the camp."

We have a "Christian" society (hey...some huge percentage identifies themselves that way) that is functionally atheist. They don't know Christian doctrine. They don't read their Bibles. They don't evangelize the lost. They don't live lives conformed to the commands of Scripture. They have a societally-based Christianity that adds the Christian faith to their secular world as one more separate piece. There are no absolutes. Multiculturalism and "diversity" reign in everything from schools to work to the marketplace. Absolute truth is nonexistent. Emotions and feelings rule the day, with a therapeutic worldview governing all our problems. Abortion...no problem. Divorce...hey, I have a right to be happy! Fornication...oh, that's such a judgmental word! Sodomy...it's only another kind of love! Exalting motherhood...that's SO patriarchal! Women in the military and dying on the battlefield...hey, there's no difference! And on and on. Sadly, many of these ideas and thoughts are present even in most evangelical circles.

This is the world into which our children will go...one where the only acceptable intolerance is toward a Bible-believing Christian, which is what we are hoping our children will be. Will they be ready for the onslaught? Will they be able to stand? Will they be a faithful witness to their Lord and Savior? Not unless they have been soundly saved and faithfully discipled before they go....

And what of their own souls? If the statistics are correct, 3 of 4 or 4 of 5 (depending on study) of our children will turn from their faith as young adults. If that happens, what good was all else that was done in childhood? The sports, the recreation, the academics, the vacations, the awards, the accolades... not an iota of any of it matters, because your child's soul is bound for hell. They MUST be discipled. You MUST be in their lives, teaching them the Word and living it before them. Your life MUST NOT show your faith as only a moral code. You MUST show them Christ in you! They MUST see a faith that is REAL, that causes you as the Dad (and the Mom) to form a family that honors and reveres the Word of God, living according to God's principles, precepts, patterns, and commands. (Here's one way to live it out.) They have to see it in action; otherwise, their finely-tuned "hypocrite detectors" will quickly see that your faith is a sham. That will set them up for any other system of thought that comes along once they are out of your home. They, too, will become a "Christian" who doesn't know Christ, and will ultimately hear those horrendous words from Jesus as they perish (see post on what it means to "perish"), "Depart from Me for I never knew you."

So now you're asking, "How?"

Dad....

Read your Bible in consistent quiet time. Pray Bible verses for your family and for each member by name. Expect God to answer those prayers according to the promises of His Word.

Apologize sincerely for not leading in devotions/worship previously. (I heard a statistic recently that Barna said less than 1 in 20 evangelical dads have ever led their family in devotions/worship!)

Read the Scriptures with your children, no matter how old...even if they roll their eyes and are sullen. Start with a "practical" book...say James, for example. Discuss what God is saying, (and then live it yourself!)

Have family worship, to include prayer...and maybe singing, if possible.

Don't give up. Do it every day; over the phone if you are traveling. Make it a priority in the day. Make it a family habit that is missed by all if skipped.

Do you want to help turn back the functional atheist tide? Do you want to start to lead your family? This is the place to start....

My prayer is for myself and for all dads who read this, that we will take up this challenge for the sake of our families and for the sake of the Gospel....

Joy!!!

I was listening to the radio program of Kevin Swanson, the head of the Colorado Homeschool Association, as he interviewed Steve Maxwell on preparing sons to be single-income breadwinners. (Audio can be downloaded here, if you want to hear the whole program.) During that talk, Maxwell had a wonderful insight that applies to all of us, regardless of age or gender.

He said (paraphrased), "If our joy comes from entertainment, our joy is limited by income. But if our joy comes from serving others, we have the potential for a lifetime of joy."

I had never thought of it that way. But look at the truths embodied there. If our joy is in our stuff, or in our fun, or in our recreation, or in our travels, we can only have joy until the money runs out. So for many, you can have joy for two weeks of vacation a year or maybe for a time at Christmas when more stuff is accumulated along with the debt to pay for it! Now, how sad is that?!

But if we find our joy in serving others, there doesn't have to be money involved! The only thing necessary is us...and some time. As long as we have breath, we can serve others in some capacity, and if we have come to realize that service creates joy, then we have the ability to have joy throughout our entire lives.

So let's take it a bit farther and look at the implications:

1) If we are stepping out of the American Disney Rat Race for a life of joy in serving others in the Name of Christ, what does that say about us and more importantly, about the Lord we serve? What kind of witness do we have? I dare say...a HUGE witness! But one thing's for sure, it would take conviction...a conviction that our culture is absolutely wrong about where to find LASTING joy...and courage...courage to buck the culture (even the church culture) that would try to drag us back at every turn.

2) How much money is saved if we aren't spending it on stuff and entertainment that never seems to provide that lasting joy? What if it were spent on becoming debt-free? Or even better, on advancing the Kingdom of Christ? How much money would be freed up just in a few families alone? It's mind-boggling.

3) What would happen if we were to teach our children to find their joy in service instead of chasing Madison-Avenue-created "needs?" Would debt ever be the crippling issue it is for so many young adults? No. Would they (especially the young men) possibly have enough money to buy their first house debt-free at a very young age? Before you scoff: That's what both of the Maxwell sons did at age 21! Imagine the gift they bring to their marriage by providing their wife a home with no debt! Wow.

4) By serving others as ambassadors of Christ, we spread the Kingdom and bring Him glory... and we get joy. We would be doing the will of God, and we would find rest for our souls in the process.

This is a worthy idea, not just for each of us as parents, but as something we should seriously consider implementing in our lives so we are living examples as we teach our children the joy of service. We will all be better for it, for we would loose the chains of bondage to the next vacation or to the next trinket. Our children will be better for it because they will avoid that bondage altogether, learning from a young age where to find true and lasting joy: In our Heavenly Father and in His service. And because we are Christians, God will be glorified in our joy-seeking.

Discipling at Its Most Basic

The fundamental purpose of this blog is to consider ideas about raising one's children in a manner where they are discipled as growing members of the body of Christ. I've written a lot about education, about social issues, about family unity, etc...but one thing I've neglected to write about (until now) is arguably the most important foundational principle: prayer.

Very little else will matter if we as dads are not on our knees in prayer for our entire family, interceding before the Throne of Grace for their souls, for their lives, for their growth in holiness, for their purity, for their protection from the world and its ways.... (not an exhaustive list, by any means).

So how do we do that? Our pastor always starts out the New Year with a sermon on prayer. (Should you want to listen to it, it can be found here.) This year our church offered a book with two sets of writings by John Bunyan regarding prayer. The first chapter alone is worth its weight in gold!

Bunyan defines true prayer as, "A sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to His Word, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God."

He then spends the rest of the chapter taking this apart. I hope to summarize that here.

Prayer that isn't sincere isn't heard by God. A sincere prayer comes from deep within the soul, encompassing the deepest of emotions and affections.

Prayer that is sensible is one that isn't "...a few babbling, prating, complimentary expressions...." but rather one that has a sense of mercy, either in the want of mercy, the gratefulness of mercy received, or of the readiness of God to give mercy.

Prayer that is affectionate is one that shows a deep longing for the things of God.

There is a pouring out of the heart or soul in that one's very life and strength are laid bare toward God.

Of course, this prayer must be to God and "...sees nothing substantial, and worth the looking after, but God."

Prayer absolutely must be through Christ, for otherwise it is simply eloquent speech.

Hand in hand with prayer being through Christ is by the strength or assistance of the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit isn't involved, it isn't reaching the ears of the Father.

Prayer MUST be for such things as God has promised. It has to fall within the "compass of God's Word" or it is at best vain babbling or possibly even blaspheme. I was listening to a sermon by John MacArthur where he dealt with this point. He advocated not using the phrase, "I pray this in Jesus' Name. Amen" but rather something to the effect of, "I pray this, believing that is the will of God in Christ. Amen" He said to put that phrase to the test. One quickly realizes that many of the things we pray for are questionable when it comes to the will of God.

Prayer MUST be for the good of the Church. Obviously God cares tremendously for the Church, for it is the bride of His Son purchased by the precious blood of the Son, Himself! Prayer needs to build up and purify the bride.

Prayer submits to the will of God. This is similar to the point above regarding for such things as God has promised. True prayer understands that our finite minds may not be able to make requests that are in line with God's will, so we will humbly and happily live with His answers...even if they aren't in line with our desires.

So consider how you pray for your children. How is your heart as you approach the Throne of Grace? Are you in Christ? Is the Spirit taking your prayers to the Father? Are you praying for such things as God has promised for your children? You must be in the Word to know what those things are! You can't just pray for the things of this world and for your own thoughts, hopes, and desires, thinking they line up with God's. Remember that your children are only on loan to you and God's primary desire involves their salvation and their sanctification. That is where your prayers should be centered. Beyond that, you could look to praying for the fulfillment of the roles God has given them. For example...if you are praying for your daughter to get an ROTC scholarship so she can be an officer in the Army...well...you won't be praying in God's will, for you would be hard-pressed to find any Biblical doctrine involving women in the military. You could pray for their Christian witness to the world, for the impact they might have on their circle of influence. The list could go on and on, but Bunyan has provided some excellent insight into how to pray in general, and it can easily be adapted into specific guidelines for praying for our children.

Be a praying Dad (or Mom), for your children desperately need your intercession for their salvation and growth in the Lord.

Out of the Office...

Out on vacation...

Merry Christmas!!!

Gatto on Education

John Taylor Gatto is a former New York City Teacher of the Year and a former New York State Teacher of the Year. He resigned in a spectacular fashion after 30 years of teaching and now writes and speaks against public education, based upon his extensive personal experience and upon intensive research into the history of our educational system. What follows is a quote from his book, A Different Kind of Teacher, and is very revealing about some of the assumptions we make about education. I would commend the entire book to you, but a word of caution is in order. Mr. Gatto admits he is not a Protestant. I suspect he may be Catholic. But regardless, he does not understand the Bible or the pursuit of holiness as one is sanctified. As such, he does not understand the Puritans, which he cites several times in the book. Take anything he says about the Puritans with a large grain of salt. Other than that, he is quite insightful into the state of our educational system today.

From Chapter 8:

I'll start off bluntly by giving you some data I'd be shocked if you already know. A few simple facts, all verifiable, which by their existence call into question the whole shaky edifice of American schooling from kindergarten through college and its questionable connection to the job market. The implications of this data are quite radical so I'm going to take pains to ground it in the most conservative society on earth, the mountain world of Switzerland. You all remember Switzerland: that's where people put their money when they really want it to be really safe.

The Swiss, just like us, believe that education is the key to their national success, but that's where our similarity ends. In 1990 about sixty percent of American secondary school graduates enrolled in college, but only twenty-two percent did in Switzerland; in America almost one hundred percent of our kids go to high school or private equivalents, but only a little over a fifth of the Swiss kids do. Any yet the Swiss per capita income is the highest of any nation in the world and the Swiss keep insisting that virtually everyone in their country is highly educated!

What on earth could be going on? Remember it's a sophisticated economy which produces the highest per-capita paycheck in the world we're talking about, high for the lightly-schooled as well as for the heavily-schooled, higher than Japan's, Germany's, or our own. No one goes to high school in Switzerland who doesn't also want to go to college; three-quarters of the young people enter apprenticeships before high school. It seems the Swiss don't make the mistake that schooling and education are synonyms.

If you are thinking silently at this point that apprenticeships as a substitute for classroom confinement isn't a very shocking idea and it has the drawback of locking kids away from later choice of white collar work, think again. I wasn't only talking about blue-collar apprenticeships--although the Swiss have those, too--but white-collar apprenticeships in abundance. Many of the top management of insurance companies, manufacturing companies, banks, etc., never saw the inside of a high school, let alone a college.

Shocking is the word for it, isn't it? I mean here you are putting away your loot in a Swiss bank because it's safe over there and not so safe here, and now I've told you the bank president may only have a sixth grade schooling! Just like Shakespeare did.

As long as we are playing "Did You Know?", did you know that in Sweden, a country legendary for its quality of life and a nation which beats American school performance in every academic category, a kid isn't allowed to start school before the age of seven? The hardheaded Swedes don't want to pay for the social pathologies attendant on taking a child away from his home and mother and dumping him into a pen with strangers. .... Did you know that the entire Swedish school sequence is only nine years long, a net twenty-five percent time and tax savings over our own....

Did you know that Hong Kong, a country with a population the size of Norway's, beats Japan in every scientific and mathematical category in which the two countries compete? Did you know that Hong Kong has a school year ten and one half weeks shorter than Japan's?

...Or did you know that in Flemish Belgium, with the shortest school year in the developed world, that the kids regularly finish in the top three nations in the world in academic competition?

These facts about the success of other nations' schooling systems should cause anyone reading this to start to seriously question what it is that we do and why we do it this way.

White-collar apprenticeships....
Short school years...
Shorter number of school years...

And yet all we ever hear from our "educators" is that our children need to spend more time in school in order to compete with these nations that spend less time in school! Isn't there a huge logical disconnect here???

Are you afraid to take your children out of the school systems because they won't be able to "compete?" If you have taken them out, are you afraid to let some of the curriculum go in order to disciple or minister the Gospel to others? I dare say that this short section from Gatto's book should encourage you that it is OK and your children will be fine...in fact, they will probably be better simply because of the time you spend doing something other than curriculum! Step out of the box; be creative!! You won't hurt your children, and they will love you for it!

Dr. Al Mohler on the Biblical Family

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Seminary, recently preached a sermon at Southern Seminary's chapel regarding the Fifth Commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother. The entire sermon can be heard by clicking here. I commend the entire sermon to you, but in particular I'd like to address a particular quote. Dr. Mohler says:

"The Biblical vision is of father and mother and children. The Biblical vision is of the father taking the lead for a transgenerational vision for his family. One of the problems even in many Christian homes today is that parents see their responsibility to get children from infancy to graduation from college. And our job is done. That's the horizon of our responsibility. But the Biblical vision is of the father taking responsibility not merely for his children, but for his children's children, and for his children's children's children. The lack of that vision explains why so much of our church ministry related to families is so thin, and so superficial, and so ineffective."

First note that he says the Biblical vision is of a "father and mother and children." That, combined with the next statement about a transgenerational vision, leads me to conclude that my earlier thoughts on individuality are valid (here and here). The normative Biblical vision is of families; families growing together, families ministering together, families evangelizing together. The notion of the rugged individualist is anything but the norm. So...are we raising our children with a family identity, or with a vision for individualism?

Secondly, Dr. Mohler makes it very clear that the father is supposed to take the lead in developing a vision for his family that extends far into future generations. This doesn't happen in the evangelical church today. Why? For the most part, it isn't even considered! Christian families just go with the flow of the culture, training up their children as individuals and looking forward to the empty nest without ever giving a thought to any vision, but especially not to a multigenerational vision! In addition, the thought of a father leading in developing a multigenerational vision goes against the grain of the entrenched evangelical feminism that crawls invisibly under the surface of most of our assumptions about the world.

Thirdly, Dr. Mohler takes us to task about the short-sighted view we have of the parental responsibility. He says we view success as getting our children through college and out on their own as individuals, at which time we enjoy our golden years as individual empty nesters. Not so. When a family has a multigenerational outlook, the family continues to grow around the patriarch and matriarch. Their vision passes down through the generations. The family enlarges and becomes a force to reckon with within their sphere of influence...not from a political or violent point of view, but rather from a loving, Christ-honoring, service point of view. They will be a very, very different entity in our culture, and as such will bear incredibly strong witness to the saving, life-changing Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And lastly, Dr. Mohler says this explains why the children's ministry and youth ministry in our churches today are so worthless...with more than three-quarters of our youth turning from their faith in young-adulthood. Families ARE the best youth ministry!

...especially families with vision!

From the Heart

I wrote a "from the heart" note on my Get Serious blog that would apply here...so please do me the favor of clicking here and reading it.

Moralistic vs. God-Centered

I was listening to a podcast version of The Albert Mohler Program (link on the left), and the topic was "Youth Ministry." One of his guests made a phenomenal distinction that I thought was worthy of some consideration here.

He said (paraphrasing), "Most of what we do in the church today with young people results in 'moralistic' adults instead of 'God-centered' adults."

That's huge.

Recognize what is at stake here. A person who is "moralistic" is a person who lives by a set of rules that most would consider "moral," which means they probably have their basis in the Bible. That person IS NOT SAVED!!!! He will be a very nice person, and he may very well attend church on a regular basis since that is part of his "moral" rulebook. But he does not know Christ. Dr. Mohler stated that so many youth ministries have only two real points: Come to church and don't have sex until marriage. This results in a moralistic outlook on life, and could very well be why 75-88% of evangelical young people walk away from the faith in their early twenties.

How tragic.

What we really want are young people who know Christ, who are radically God-centered, who take the demands of the Gospel and run with them with all their heart. This results in young people who are mature both in their faith and in their countenance. They aren't going to be what the Harris brothers on their Rebelution Blog call "Kidults." They are ready to rise up and take on adult responsibilities early. They recognize the narcissistic, fun-oriented teen culture for the vacuous waste of time it is.

So how do we parent our own children so they are God-centered and not just moralistic? Discipleship!!! By whom? By the parents, with Dad taking the lead. They need to learn their Bibles, learn doctrine and apply it to their own lives, learn at an early age that, if they are indeed born-again, their lives are not their own because they have been bought with the priceless blood of the Lamb. (And if they aren't born again...That MUST be the focus, for the rest is for naught without it. That is exactly what leads to moralism.) They must learn at an early age the necessity of growing in Christ through the obedience to God's commands. They must learn to be different from the culture around them, and understand that difference is GOOD! They must learn to love the people with whom they come into contact. They must learn to focus on the good of others above their own pleasure.

These are all examples of things that would happen as a young person matures in the faith at the feet of parental discipleship. Of course, it's not an exhaustive list...but it's a start! What kind of impact on our world would a large group of on-fire Christian young adults have if they had matured in this manner? It boggles the mind with possibility!

Praying for God-centeredness in our children....

Destiny and Its Impact

A post at another blog I frequent got me to thinking about overarching themes that can help a family grow together with proper focus and direction. The biggest theme that came to mind was to have a sense of destiny. I'm afraid the families of our day think far too small; they can't see past today or this week. A family with long-term vision is one who looks ahead to empty nest!

How sad.

Destiny. That's a loaded word. The dictionary defines it as "a predetermined course of events, often held to be an irresistible power or agency." Of course, they don't mention the "irresistible power or agency" as being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! So what is it that God has in mind for you, for me? What is it He has in mind for our families? Do we travel down the path of life with a fatalistic outlook because we acknowledge the sovereignty of God? I think not.

First and foremost is that, if we are adopted sons and daughters of the King, then what He has in mind for us is beyond our wildest dreams. Secondly, we were saved in order to accomplish good works that had been preordained for us (Ephesians 2). A good work has consequences and impact beyond us and possibly beyond anything we could imagine.

So do we just "let it happen?" How can we get a sense of the destiny God has for us? The obvious destiny is to be conformed to the likeness of Christ and to reside in heaven for eternity joyously worshipping the infinite God. That is arguably the most important "destiny!!"

But personally, when I think of "destiny," I guess I am not thinking of exactly the dictionary definition, but rather, I tend to think of impact. What will be the impact of my family and me on the world? Destiny implies vision. As stated earlier, it isn't a small, short-sighted vision. A vision of destiny looks down through the generations to what might be and to what influence we as a family might have on hundreds or thousands of people to come. Just do a little research on the progeny of Jonathan Edwards or Susanna Wesley and see the impact of one godly family!

Properly envisioned and articulated, this is a concept that will bring about a shared sense of mission within the family. A shared sense of mission will unite us to one another under the headship of the father who is under the headship of Christ with the purpose of Kingdom impact. This sense of mission will focus everyone on something much bigger than themselves. What a radical concept for children and young adults! This also produces a byproduct of a sense of belonging, of groundedness, of definition. Gone would be the wonderings of our young people as they search near and yon for who they are and what they are here for. They have a family destiny: both to impact the world as a part of a family, and to carry on the family legacy and destiny into the succeeding generations.

True Christian Destiny: Ultimately preordained good works as we are conformed to the likeness of our Savior enroute to a joyous eternity in the presence of the Father.

Sense of destiny--> Long-term vision for Kingdom impact
Long-term vision for Kingdom impact--> Sense of shared mission
Sense of shared mission--> Family cohesiveness through shared outward focus
Family cohesiveness--> Sense of belonging
Sense of belonging--> Love for one another and for the lost of the world

May we all develop a sense of destiny with a long-term vision of hundreds of years! And may the Lord use this to spread His Kingdom far and wide for His glory and for our joy!

The Myth of Adolescence

In line with my previous post on how one church is dealing with "teen," I came across two wonderful articles written by Alex and Brett Harris (younger brothers of Joshua Harris, if you happen to recognize his name as the author of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" fame). The Harris brothers have a blog and a ministry that intends to spark young people out of the doldrums of "adolescence" and into adult involvement in their world.

They write, "Our world cannot last another generation of Christian young people who fit in." (emphasis mine)

Read part one of five here, and then link from there to parts 2-5 (links at the bottom of each post). And while you are at it, bookmark the blog for your apprenticing adults!!!

Praying for young people not to fit in....

How One Chruch Does "Teen"

For any who have done much research in the area, you can quickly discover that the idea of adolescence is a relatively new concept. In fact, the word "teenager" didn't exist a century ago. And the whole idea of "teenage rebellion" is one that would be foreign to our forefathers because there was no such thing as a "teenager." As one matured, he simply moved into adult responsibilities. How else do you explain the phenomenal accomplishments of young people in the 1700's? Jonathan Edwards was a college president around age 20. I believe it was John Quincy Adams who was a United States Ambassador at age 14! And there were others, but their names don't come to mind right now.

I believe a whole host of our societal problems come from the whole idea of "teenager" and "teenage rebellion" What can we do about it? For one, we as families can endeavor to raise children who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength...who walk humbly with Him as their God... and who love their neighbor as themselves. These are people who will change the world in which they live.

What about our churches? How can they hinder or help?

Most of what passes for ministry to children and young people today is patterned after the evolutionary theories that brought us age-segregated public schooling...and that's not a good thing. This is especially true when it comes to the teen years when enabling young people to focus solely on themselves and on each other only leads to questionable salvation and to extended adolescence. These young people enter adulthood woefully unprepared to actually BE adults.

There are several movements afoot that attempt to address this problem. Here is what our particular church is doing:

We no longer have a children's department, nor do we have a youth department. Instead, the whole thing is now the Family Discipleship Department and it endeavors to work with parents and to help them raise children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. There is a seamless curriculum that runs from preschool to eighth grade that brings the children deeper and deeper into God's Word and good doctrine. They realize that we aren't playing games here, nor are we babysitting. That part is wholly in position already and is working nicely. The next step is to radically reform what used to be the youth department. The vision right now is to even change the verbiage...no more "youth;" no more "teenager." Instead something along the lines of "apprentice adult" would be used (that's not set in stone...just an idea that reflects the concept that what we call someone affects both how they perceive themselves and how they are perceived by others). The apprentice adults (ninth grade and up) would be expected to join in with adult activities and ministries, both in terms of learning in Sunday Schools and volunteering their time in ministry. They would be shepherded and mentored (hopefully by their parents) and encouraged about growing quickly into adulthood and assuming adult responsibilities. They would be encouraged to put off the childish things of the world in favor of the more exciting things of adulthood. The idea that your 20s is a time of sowing your oats and having a time of grand fun while you are single before being "tied down" to marriage would be anathematized.

In short, they would be expected to grow up.

And of course, all of this assumes an education of the parents and other adults in the church so they understand their responsibilities in helping these apprentice adults learn and grow. They are to provide example and opportunity. They are to mentor and shepherd. This can't happen in a vacuum; it will require a paradigm change on the part of the adults of the church.

Not a bad idea at all....

Praying that more parents and churches would come to understand this vision.

Dominion Mandate and the Family

In my other blog, I posted some thoughts on living life with the Dominion Mandate as the "big picture." One of the implications I raised was how that might affect the decisions we make on both family relations and on the raising of children.

Genesis 1:26-29 outlines the Dominion Mandate, occurring before the Fall and not rescinded to this day.

Note first that the Mandate is given to "them"...both the man and the woman, together. Next note that the first part of the Mandate is to be fruitful and multiply...build a family. It can be inferred that taking dominion, and thus building the Kingdom, is something families ought to be working toward together.

If the Dominion Mandate truly applies to families, then it provides a basis for the direction of the family unit. As such, children need to know from an early age that they are part of a family on a mission...a mission to impact their portion of the world as a family. They need to be raised with an outward focus of Christ-exalting, world-changing vision rather than the pagan focus of self.

In effect, the Dominion Mandate provides a framework for a family vision for each and every Christian family. We are not here by accident; we as members of a particular family are sovereignly put here. And God has given us a direction...a direction that is significantly different from that of the pagan world: be fruitful, multiply, fill the world, take dominion. I believe it could be argued that taking dominion includes bringing the Word of God to bear on everything that we as Christians do, from our personal lives, to our family lives, to our work, to our worship, to our recreation, to our relationships... everything! In doing so, we will be advancing the Kingdom by showing a real witness of Christ's changing power in our lives.

This also relates a bit to the two posts on individualism (here and here). If the conclusion in the earlier paragraph is true, that the Dominion Mandate applies to families, then we need to take that to heart AS families and quit acting like the world by playing the rugged individualists who just happen to share a name and a roof. You don't take dominion by sending out individuals from a family, you take dominion by sending into the world families who honor Christ in all they do. The recurring theme is that Christian witness must be more than words; it must be lives that are lived out under the auspices of the Bible in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is that distinctiveness that will witness Christ to the world...and there will be two responses: persecution, or they will listen. And as more listen, the Kingdom is spread...and dominion occurs.

Praying for dominion-minded families....

Spurgeon on Raising Children

While I like to use this blog as a place to record and flesh out my own thoughts and ideas, I came across on Scott Brown's blog an incredible quote from the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon, on the raising of children. With his usual direct style, he makes very clear the priorities Christian parents should be having when raising children...and for that, he would probably be considered "radical" in today's world. Note also how he pulled no punches in the last paragraph in describing particular parents who aren't heeding his wisdom. That, too, would be considered "judgmental" in today's evangelical world.... But could it be that the very thing Spurgeon is warning against is exactly why over 75% of our evangelical young adults are walking away from the faith by their early 20s (Southern Baptist Convention stats)?

“It is very grievous to see how some professedly Christian parents are satisfied so long as their children display cleverness in learning, or sharpness in business, although they show no signs of a renewed nature. If they pass their examinations with credit and promise to be well fitted for the world's battle, their parents forget that there is a superior conflict, involving a higher crown, for which the child will need to be fitted by divine grace and armed with the whole armor of God. Alas, if our children lose the crown of life, it will be but a small consolation that they have won the laurels of literature or art.

Many who ought to know better think themselves superlatively blessed in their children if they become rich, if they marry well, if they strike up into profitable enterprises in trade, or if they attain eminence in the profession which they have espoused. Their parents will go to their beds rejoicing and awake perfectly satisfied, though their boys are hastening down to hell, if they are also making money by the bushel. They have no greater joy than their children are having their portion in this life and laying up treasure where rust corrupts it. Though neither their sons nor daughters show any signs of the new birth, give no evidence of being rich toward God, manifest no traces of electing love, or redeeming grace or the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, yet there are parents who are content with their condition.

Now, I can say of such professing parents that they have need to question whether they be Christians at all and if they will not question it themselves, they must give some of us leave to hold it in serious debate.

From a sermon, “The Parent’s and Pastors Joy”

Oh, that we could have more "radical" preachers...and more parents who would heed them....

Where's Your Identity?

In the previoius post, "Implications of Individualism," I used an example from Dr. R.C. Sproul, Sr. wherein he spoke of teaching his children the value of their membership in his family...that the Sproul family was their identity. Now, knowing how much Dr. Sproul understands and values the majesty, supremacy, and sovereignty of God, I know he cannot be discounting the fact that a Christian's identity is in Christ.

So as I mused over what I had written, I couldn't get past the thought of a person finding his identity in his family being at odds with a person finding his identity in Christ. But as I thought further about the quandry, I believe that it can be answered because God is sovereign in placing a person in a particular family. None of us is in our family (either of origin or of marriage) by accident. God has sovereignly ordained that you be there.

I can see a few scenerios playing out:

One is that you are not a Christian and not from a Christian family. In this case, the whole discussion is meaningless because you would be finding your identity just as the culture does...in yourself.

Another is that you are a unregenerate child in a Christian family. There is no problem with the family encouraging you to find your identity within the family. And if by the mercies of God you become regenerate, then melding an identity in Christ with an identity of a Godly family should not be an issue.

And lastly, you are a new believer in an unregenerate family. Your new identity is in Christ, but there is probably not a family identity anyway...nor will there be unless the family comes to faith in Christ. So the family identity is a nonissue here.

So in the long run, a Christian who finds his identity in his God-fearing family is not at odds with his finding his identity in Christ.

Implications of Individualism

Over at my Get Serious blog, I wrote a piece about individualism and it's impact on America, both in the family and in the community. The foundation for the argument rests upon the family and how its members see themselves in relation to it. As such, there are implications for our children and how we raise them.

In our culture we raise our children with the ultimate vision of sending them off to make their own way in the world, independent of their family. The children know this, and anticipate that day of emancipation. If you were to ask "Johnny" who he is, he would reply, "I am Johnny." followed by a quizzical look as to why you wouldn't understand that. This reply shows that he has been fully inculcated with the concept of individualism: the world begins and ends with him.

The result is that our culture is full of a bunch of individuals, each doing his own thing in his own direction for his own satisfaction. In some sense, this results in a culture of success...monetary, standard of living, etc. But in a darker sense, it results in a culture that doesn't connect with each other. Everything from the culture of success is temporal; it is only relationships that will last eternally, and even then, only those relationships between people for whom Christ is their Lord and Savior.

I once heard R.C. Sproul, Sr. discussing the issue of family and how children related to it. He pointed out that in the Sproul family, the children were taught at the youngest age that when asked what their name was, they were to give it. But when asked who they were, the answer was "I am a Sproul." They would then follow it up with "A Sproul does (a list of what the family values were)." Note the difference between what a child's name is and who they are. Dr. Sproul taught his children that their identity was in their membership in the Sproul family and that the Sproul family had a direction and a destiny...and they were a part of it! This is what's missing in most every American family today. The sad part is that it is missing in the families who claim to be evangelicals as well.

If we are to reclaim Christian witness as well as our families, then we must change the direction of our families, and by implication, the way we raise our children. The Sproul example points out two items that have to happen if our families are to become unified points of light for the Kingdom: 1) There must be a vision; a discernible, defined direction for the family, and 2) the members of the family MUST come to understand they are not just (for example) Johnny and Susie and Joe and Pam...but that they are "Stewarts" and as such, bring their own gifts to the Stewart family in order to further the family vision.

A unified family that is focused on a Godly vision is a force to contend with when it comes to spreading the Kingdom and witnessing God's grace to the world. Now just imagine what it would be like to have groups of these types of families all together in a church! What a glorious witness that would be, and what a joy it would be to be a part of such a relationship-driven Christian community!

But it all starts with the individual family and how its members see themselves....

What Exactly IS Education?

What does it mean to be “educated?” Most in today’s world answer this question by saying an “educated” person has taken the classes prescribed by a schooling institution and preferably finishes with at least a four-year degree. Our society seems to equate having a piece of paper from a four-year institution with qualifying a person as “educated.” But are they? Really?

I would challenge you to take a look at your own “education” as I look at mine. I graduated from my high school as valedictorian. I went on to get a four-year degree in Electrical Engineering from a reasonably good engineering school. So I guess I’m “educated.” At middle age, I would look back at my own personal experience and ask, “What do I actually remember from the classes that made me ‘educated’?” The bottom line is that if the information is retained only long enough to pass a test, then you really haven’t learned it; you’ve only been exposed to it. In math, I am incapable of doing anything beyond Algebra II without restudying and relearning it. This is in spite of having enough advanced math in college for math to qualify as a minor! How about Chemistry? I had an honors Chemistry class my freshman year. I could not have told you anything of substance about Chemistry within a year of completion of that class. How about all the EE specialty classes I took? None. Nothing. Nada. There is absolutely nothing remaining in my brain from those classes, and I can realistically say that there was little or nothing remaining within a year of completing those classes either.

I truly believe that I am not alone here. Unless a person becomes involved in his field, and thus immerses himself in the subject (there’s the key, folks!), it will not last. And anything that does not last wasn’t really learned in the first place. How many of your children have taken more than a year of foreign language? Have you asked them to speak it to you a year later? Or read it? Or write it? I’m willing to bet the normal child will be unable to do much more than a couple of words. (Hey, I was in Spanish Honor Society and took two years of Spanish in High School…but within a year could only count to 30 and say a few short phrases at best.)

So how does this apply to the education of our children? How did the children of the 1700s learn? They didn’t have scope and sequences. They didn’t have “professionals” to teach them. And yet the literacy rate of America in the 1700s was well over 90%! How could that be? That’s especially telling when you consider that the functional literacy rate of today’s America is around 85% (according to Wikipedia,) in spite of the enormous sums spent to “educate” our populace. And even more critical is that the average person living in the 1700s could run rings around most of us in virtually any subject outside of modern science and technology. Why? How were they educated?

John Taylor Gatto (not a Christian, that I can tell), former NYC and NY State Teacher of the Year, describes the colonial era education model as one where a child was taught the basics of reading and writing, and then allowed/encouraged to pursue his interests as far as they would take him by reading, apprenticing, interacting, debating…and then moving on to the next interest. This provided a person with an in-depth, thoughtful exposure to a subject that was meaningful to the person at the time…which then results in real learning: retention with the ability to apply, discuss, and debate what was learned. Great men like George Washington, Thomas Edison, and Ben Franklin all learned this way (Gatto profiles each them in his book, “The Underground History of American Education). And I believe this is more of the format that is used for learning at the PhD levels of higher education today. So why does one have to go that far in his journey of learning to get to a place where he can learn in this manner??? But I digress....

Back to the "key" mentioned above: My own personal example is when I finally got to USAF Pilot Training. I was in love with becoming a pilot. I dreamed about it. Every waking moment it was not far from my mind. And because of this intense interest, as well as the absolute focus of the training, I did well...and to this day can speak of details of the airplane I flew over twenty years ago, to include its aerodynamic specifics and entry speeds for various aerobatics. A second example is the Bible. Upon becoming a Christian, my interest in the Bible skyrocketed. As such, I don't chafe at learning theology...I embrace it. And by immersing myself in specific classes over time, reading good books, and discussing/debating with other Christians, I have learned a lot about the theology...and have retained it!

We in America don't educate our children that way, even as homeschoolers. Instead, we model our homeschools like a public school, with scope and sequences and hopping from one subject to another to ensure that “they don’t get behind.” (Behind "what" is never addressed.) As a result, our children never become masters at anything, but rather shallowly exposed to many things. That homeschooled children do better than their public schooled counterparts is mostly due to the effects of individual tutoring.

So maybe what we take for granted as defining an "educated" person isn't really accurate. Maybe we as parents would do well to take some quiet time and muse over what "education" actually is...even more importantly, maybe we should study our Bibles and let God inform us as to what He considers to be important. Then maybe we should wrestle with this definition and with what God shows us, discussing it with our spouses...and then most importantly, we should apply it to the raising of our children.

My guess is that the result of such an exercise will be something quite countercultural, but something that will result in children who are raised to contend for the Kingdom and who are well on their way to having the mind of Christ. That's the sort of child who will be an adult who actually impacts his culture for Christ instead of adapting to it.

Let's pray for impact!!!

[Update Oct 3, 2006... An example of impact!! I have begun reading "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer. The preface gives a profile of his life. It turns out that Tozer attended neither high school nor college! He wasn't homeschooled either. Instead, he was a voracious reader. And (to quote the preface), "With no teacher but the Holy Spirit and good books, A.W. Tozer became a theologian, a scholar, and a master craftsman in the use of the English language." He ultimately became a Godly pastor and an author whose writings have allowed millions to draw nearer to God. Now that is impact we could pray to see more often!]