On Preaching in the Classrooms in Public Schools
You said, "You have said that you think Christians who are in public education need to preaching in the classroom, Bible in hand or they need to get out of public education all together. I think I disagree pretty much 100% so if we can find some kind of way of moving on to that topic eventually I think we would be able to live up to our blogs title a bit better."
Why do you disagree with this? Are you opposed to this in "church" buildings? What makes a church building an "appropriate place" for preachers to preach with Bible in hand? What makes a school building an inappropriate place for teachers to preach with Bible in hand? Our God is Lord of all creation. Of water, earth, and sky. Everything that has breath is to praise the Lord.
If we don't give God praise, the rocks will cry out.
Properly understood, all education should cause us to enthusiastically praise God - not only with our words, but with our minds, and our lives. As we learn wisdom from the great events and tragedies of history, we ought to be thanking God and praising God for wisdom. And we should join the apostles in prayer, "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.'" - Acts 4:25,26 and Psalm 2:1,2. As students learn calculus and physics, they get to see greater insights into the wonders of Creation. How appropriate then to proclaim, "O Lord, our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth!" - Psalm 8:1. As students read some of the great works of literature throughout history, they can gain knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. How wonderful it would be to see that in light of God's word and the wisdom found therein! But even of greater importance (and I am convinced this is where the real education happens in a Christian setting), when a teacher faces discipline issues in a classroom, they can talk with the misbehaving student and discuss how the attitudes and actions of the student are truly not honoring to the Lord. We teachers have the opportunity to expose the student's need for grace. Then the teacher has the opportunity to adminster the justice of God with a consequence, and the grace of God with a compassionate and understanding listening ear, and a prayer of faith. Finally, in order for the teacher to truly teach things of value in an effective way, they need the grace of God, and the support of other faculty and parents to use the time in the classroom to help children see the value of righteousness and wisdom.
What a crime it is to not allow teachers to pray with their students! How foolish! How faithless! How wicked!
To refuse to allow and encourage teachers to preach the gospel in the classroom is to rebel against the laws of nature and nature's God.
There is no neutral ground.
We, humans, are created to worship. We will worship. If we are not worshipping God, we are worshipping other things or people or idols of some kind. In public schools, the ideas of secular humanism and the ideas of psychology are exalted in the place of God and His word. (Actually, this is really the case in many Christian schools too. Calling a school Christian and copying the same patterns of education that are employed by the public schools does not fix all the problems.) But the point is this: In both public schools and "Christian" schools, idols are being exalted. That idolatry must be confronted and torn down.
Psalm 71:14-18 say, "But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come."
As an educator, these verses are some of my favorite. This is what real education is truly all about. This is worth fighting for.
You said, "You have said that you think Christians who are in public education need to preaching in the classroom, Bible in hand or they need to get out of public education all together. I think I disagree pretty much 100% so if we can find some kind of way of moving on to that topic eventually I think we would be able to live up to our blogs title a bit better."
Why do you disagree with this? Are you opposed to this in "church" buildings? What makes a church building an "appropriate place" for preachers to preach with Bible in hand? What makes a school building an inappropriate place for teachers to preach with Bible in hand? Our God is Lord of all creation. Of water, earth, and sky. Everything that has breath is to praise the Lord.
If we don't give God praise, the rocks will cry out.
Properly understood, all education should cause us to enthusiastically praise God - not only with our words, but with our minds, and our lives. As we learn wisdom from the great events and tragedies of history, we ought to be thanking God and praising God for wisdom. And we should join the apostles in prayer, "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.'" - Acts 4:25,26 and Psalm 2:1,2. As students learn calculus and physics, they get to see greater insights into the wonders of Creation. How appropriate then to proclaim, "O Lord, our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth!" - Psalm 8:1. As students read some of the great works of literature throughout history, they can gain knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. How wonderful it would be to see that in light of God's word and the wisdom found therein! But even of greater importance (and I am convinced this is where the real education happens in a Christian setting), when a teacher faces discipline issues in a classroom, they can talk with the misbehaving student and discuss how the attitudes and actions of the student are truly not honoring to the Lord. We teachers have the opportunity to expose the student's need for grace. Then the teacher has the opportunity to adminster the justice of God with a consequence, and the grace of God with a compassionate and understanding listening ear, and a prayer of faith. Finally, in order for the teacher to truly teach things of value in an effective way, they need the grace of God, and the support of other faculty and parents to use the time in the classroom to help children see the value of righteousness and wisdom.
What a crime it is to not allow teachers to pray with their students! How foolish! How faithless! How wicked!
To refuse to allow and encourage teachers to preach the gospel in the classroom is to rebel against the laws of nature and nature's God.
There is no neutral ground.
We, humans, are created to worship. We will worship. If we are not worshipping God, we are worshipping other things or people or idols of some kind. In public schools, the ideas of secular humanism and the ideas of psychology are exalted in the place of God and His word. (Actually, this is really the case in many Christian schools too. Calling a school Christian and copying the same patterns of education that are employed by the public schools does not fix all the problems.) But the point is this: In both public schools and "Christian" schools, idols are being exalted. That idolatry must be confronted and torn down.
Psalm 71:14-18 say, "But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come."
As an educator, these verses are some of my favorite. This is what real education is truly all about. This is worth fighting for.
posted by Dan at 1:23 PM
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