Why Christian Ministries Slide Down the Slippery Slope to Liberalism

by Ralph M. Petersen, 2008

Many Christian ministries, I’m sure, are started with good intentions for the right reasons. God’s love compels us to good works. But the problem with organized ministries is that they grow into businesses that become dependent on “customers.” With bigger facilities, special interest programs, large organizational structures, the multiplicity of professional staff, and large budgets, the financial concerns often become a matter of survival. After all, if the people stop coming, we lose our jobs and our facilities and we close our doors. That’s why it is so easy for all ministries, including churches, to lose sight of their God-centered purposes and succumb to the seduction of pragmatic marketing techniques.

That is the essence of the seeker sensitive movement in churches today and it affects para-church ministries as well, including Christian schools and residential facilities for the elderly. The movement is driven by a philosophy that focuses more attention to secular marketing strategies, business techniques, and surveys and polls than to New Testament instruction.

Now, regardless how much you may disagree with this premise or how angry you might become at the suggestion, if you are involved in a Christian ministry and want to be really honest about it, you must face the reality that there are at least four areas of concern that have a great impact your ministry.

First, you are probably more concerned about people’s felt needs than about their real, spiritual needs.

Second, you must be savvy about and engaged in modern methodologies of marketing. The consumers, students, members, or residents must be pleased, kept happy, or given what they want, or they will go elsewhere.

Third, the Gospel message will be diminished or distorted. The real, biblical Gospel is offensive, and people are not really interested in hearing the Truth about their sin, God’s holiness or the future implications of His wrath. They are more interested in their present comfort, their own selfish desires, and feeling good about themselves.

And finally, your doctrine will be downgraded. You might fool yourself by obscuring your precious doctrines in innocuous, non-threatening statements of faith for the purpose of being more inclusive and tolerant. But if you hold fast to sound, biblical doctrine, you will severely limit your customer base.

It is absolutely imperative for godly, pastoral leadership to guide, guard, and protect Christian ministries from the dangers of worldly philosophies. Your ministry's growth and success will be determined by your clever designs or by God's sovereign determination but not both.

“The fact is that while we may be able to market the church (or any other Christian ministry), we cannot market Christ, the Gospel, Christian character or meaning of life…Neither Christ nor His Truth can be marketed by appealing to consumer interest because the premise of all marketing is that the consumer’s need is sovereign, that the customer is always right, and this is precisely what the Gospel insists cannot be the case” (Dr. David Wells).

A Few Thoughts About Christian Coaching

I have been involved in athletics ever since I began playing Little League baseball at the age of eleven. As an athlete, I was no world-beater. I was mediocre at best, but I certainly enjoyed my experiences with baseball, football, track, and basketball. Winning was never a habit of any of my teams, and losing became a reality I learned to accept as part of the game. I was never made to feel guilty over a loss. Instead, my coaches encouraged my teammates and me to continue to try hard and to do our best. On those occasions we were able to experience victory, it was a great thrill.

It was never my goal to become a coach. Rather, it was one of those things which seemingly just sort of happened, although there is no doubt the Lord had His hand in it. I began with flag football and also coached basketball and softball. Where I ultimately ended up was as coach of the junior high girls’ basketball team for a few years before taking over the varsity program when we added our high school grades. Since those early days as a coach, I have come to love the sport of basketball a great deal, and I count it a great privilege to have been a coach.

There are several truths which I, as a Christian coach, have come to understand. They are as follows:

1. One does not have to buy into the "win at all costs" philosophy in order to succeed as a coach. One very famous coach said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” This is utter nonsense. Winning is not everything, nor is it the only thing. I do not have to win on the scoreboard to be successful, to feel good about my team, or to believe that the Lord is faithful to me and to my team. Games are, after all, played for fun, and when the fun goes out of it, there is no point in continuing to play.

2. I have been entrusted with the care and instruction of a group of players who look to me for leadership and Godly example. It is my responsibility to treat my players as what they are — my brothers or sisters in the Lord. Even though I have authority over them and may even have to discipline them, I have absolutely no right to treat them with disrespect. It is wrong — yes, it is sin — to do anything or say anything to make them feel sub-human, when in reality, they are the objects of God’s love and grace. They are not dirt under my feet, and they deserve better than to be treated like it. If I do not treat them with respect, then I do not deserve their respect, nor do I deserve to be a coach.

3. As a Christian, I have an absolute responsibility to live a Godly life. This applies to me wherever I go and whatever I do. This includes the time I spend coaching. The Christian life is not something which can or should be left outside the gym when it comes time for a game. To attempt to do so is to be an utter hypocrite and to essentially deny the faith for a time. Practicing behavior which is unbecoming a Christian during the course of a game is nothing but sin. God cannot be pleased with such an inconsistency.

4. It is my duty to view officials as the God-appointed authorities over the game, since the Bible is very clear that all authority comes from God. If I am rebellious and argumentative toward them, I am, whether intentionally or not, teaching my players to rebel against authority and to gripe and complain when things in their lives do not go as they would have them go. This type of rebellion is ultimately nothing other than rebellion against God Himself, since to rebel against those He has placed in authority is to rebel against His right to do so. I have always taught my players two rules concerning officials: Rule #1 — The referee is always right. Rule #2 — If the referee is ever wrong, see Rule #1.

5. I need to see opposing coaches, players, and fans, not as my enemies, but merely as my opponents in a game. They are either my brothers and sisters in the Lord and should be treated as such, or they are lost sinners in need of the Savior, which necessitates a positive testimony on my part. Either way, irreparable harm can be done if I allow myself the luxury of acting foolishly as I coach a game.

The bottom line on all this is that coaching and playing athletics are to be done in such a manner as to bring glory to God. To do otherwise is to be disobedient to the Scriptures. “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31, NASB).

Popular Opinion, Scientific "Facts," and the Word of God

by Ron Livesay, 1998

Bernard Ramm wrote "The Christian View of Science and Scripture" in 1954. This was during an era in which there was a general consensus among Christians, even intelligent and learned scholars, that science had “proven” the earth to be millions or even billions of years old and that humanity was likewise very old, at least several hundred thousand years. Christians, fearful of being branded as foolishly standing against proven scientific facts, came up with several different methods of trying to make the Bible fit with science. The gap theory, theistic evolution, the age-day theory, an old earth, a local flood, etc. were accepted as in harmony with science, regardless of the clear statements of Scripture. Even such intelligent men as Ramm succumbed to this way of thinking, thereby elevating the words of mere men to a status of far greater importance than the Word of the Living God, the Creator of the universe. Intelligence does not always equate to wisdom.

Since Ramm’s time, the work of such organizations as the Institute for Creation Research and the Creation Research Society have done mountains of research, much of which literally blows holes in the scientific “facts” which reigned from the time of Darwin and Lyell through the time of Ramm. For example, Ken Ham, a prominent creationist speaker, demonstrates in easy to understand language and logic how the flood far better explains the presence of fossils than any type of uniformitarian geology. He frequently says, “If the universal flood of Noah really happened, what would we expect to find? Billions of dead things, buried in rock layers, laid down by water, all over the earth. And what do we find? Billions of dead things, buried in rock layers, laid down by water, all over the earth.” He also freely admits that creationists are biased, as are evolutionists. It is simply a matter of which bias is better to be biased with. Scientific “truth” is often dogma rather than fact, and it is frequently believed by faith, just as any other belief system is believed by faith. A scientist tipped his hand and illustrated graphically that science is not always very scientific, or even interested in observed data, when he said, “I don’t care if they find a big boat on top of Mount Ararat and parade it down Main Street. I still won’t believe there was a flood.” This aptly demonstrates the truth of Scripture, which instructs us to avoid “profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called” (I Timothy 6:20, KJV).

It is very encouraging to Christians, and it is very disconcerting to unbelievers, especially evolutionists, that the work of the ICR, the CRS, and other creationist organizations has so graphically illustrated the plausibility of the creation model and the utter bankruptcy of the evolution model. However, it is extremely urgent that Christians stand firm on the truthfulness of God’s Word, including a literal Genesis, lest their faith be undermined by human reasoning. There is no reason to fear that any discovery of science will ever contradict the Word of God. He is the author of all truth, including scientific facts. He does not contradict Himself, He does not lie, and He does not deceive us. He will not reveal one thing through His Word and another through what we call “nature.” While we should praise the Lord for the great work being done by the creationist organizations, it is imperative that we take God at His Word and believe Him, no matter what any scientist claims to have discovered. If any scientific “fact” does not square with Scripture, then it is not a fact at all, because, according to God the Son, God’s Word is truth. (See John 17:17) We believe He created the world in six days because He said He did. We believe there was no death before Adam’s sin because God tells us that death came about as the penalty for sin. We believe in Noah’s flood because God tells us about it.

We do not believe in creation because the ICR says so, but because God says so. Unbelievers will not come to the Lord simply because someone somehow “proves” that creation is true. The scientist who said Noah’s ark would not impress him illustrates that point. “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3, NASB).

The very crux of the matter is that we have no right to deny any part of God’s Word. There is a reason that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are under constant attack. Satan is not ignorant of the fact that if the foundational truths of the Gospel are destroyed, then the Gospel falls. “If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3, NASB). If there was death before Adam sinned, then death is not a penalty for sin, and the creation is not under the curse. If there is no penalty for sin, there is no need for a Savior. Man is off the hook. He answers to no one. Evolution is no more and no less than a silly story made up by those who want to rid themselves of God. The very first evolutionist was Satan Himself, who said, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14).

It is obvious that Bernard Ramm was a very intelligent and scholarly man. However, he allowed himself to be drawn into the popular thinking of his day rather than standing firm on the solid rock of God’s Holy Word.

I Know the Truth

by Dr. Stew Pid Mann

I am really getting sick and tired of people who believe things they can’t prove. It is really getting irritating. This is the 1990’s. People need to get in touch with their inner selves and rely on their own feelings instead of input from outside of themselves. They are so foolish to believe such nonsense.

Let me share three examples. First of all, it is really appalling that people who otherwise seem to have common sense will visit the area around Mount St. Helens, see all of the geological evidence, and conclude that such formations happened in a short time. Anyone with any brains can look at that and tell that it took millions of years. There are even some who claim to have witnessed it forming. What a bunch of liars. And those alleged pictures of the volcano erupting, the mud flows, and so forth. It’s as if no one realizes what can be done with trick photography and computer graphics these days. What a bunch of gullible people to believe in such stuff.

Second, there are the people who look at cars and believe the propaganda and advertising which claims they were manufactured in factories. How stupid can anyone be? I would never believe such a thing unless I were to go to Detroit, if such a place even exists, and see those factories for myself. Obviously, that won’t happen, since I refuse to waste perfectly good time and money on a trip to a mythical place in search of proof for mythical factories. It is as obvious as anything can be that cars were neither designed nor made. They all came from a common ancestor and have evolved to where they currently are today. How else can we explain that all cars have common parts such as engines, tires, windshields, and transmissions? Only evolution from a common ancestor can give a reasonable explanation for this.

Finally, there are people who actually believe that George Washington was a real man who really existed and really did things. They have faith in those outdated, unreliable historical records and eyewitness accounts. They base this belief totally on things outside of themselves rather than on their own feelings about the issue. In this day and age, it is very hard to deal with people like this who choose to live in the dark ages and who refuse to accept the current scientific wisdom. If George Washington really existed, where is the hard evidence? It is obvious that he was created by people who desperately wanted him to exist. I guess they had a need for someone to be the “Father of our Country.”

Don’t get me wrong. Everyone has a right to his own beliefs. I just wish someone would do something to stop these crazies from trying to pollute the minds of our kids.

(Dr. Stew Pid Mann is a Professor of Humanist Studies at Worldly University.)

Christian High School Athletics: A Balanced Perspective

by Ron Livesay, 1999

High school athletics can be a great rallying point for school spirit and unity. Athletic events are a great deal of fun for the participants, the rest of the student body, parents, and other spectators. School athletics can be a great force for either good or evil, depending on the underlying philosophy of the school and how that philosophy is practiced. When the good side of athletics is emphasized from a Christian perspective, then there can be many positive learning experiences for those involved.

However, as with anything good, there can certainly be a down side. It is imperative that we in Christian schools not do anything to allow the negative aspects of athletics to do harm to the testimony of the Gospel of Christ. If Christian high school athletics do not have a balanced perspective, there are frequently severe consequences for the students, for the reputation of the school, and for the testimony of the Gospel. What are some of the potential problems that sometimes become real problems in Christian high school athletics?

WIN AT ALL COSTS. There is all too often a great deal of stress on winning to the exclusion of everything else. Frequently, this emphasis comes more from coaches and parents than from the students themselves. Winning is sometimes elevated to supreme importance. A famous coach once said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” High school coaches who believe that their sport and their team are the most important things in the school and maybe even in the world sometimes parrot this warped philosophy. It is indicative of misplaced priorities and an out-of-focus view of life. T-shirts and bumper stickers often proclaim this philosophy with slogans such as “Second place is the first loser.” This kind of emphasis not only elevates “me” and “my team” to the highest level of importance, but it also ignores the potentially positive learning experience that can come from losing. No one ever died from losing a game, and the benefits of losing can sometimes outweigh the benefits of winning. I once heard a coach say to a group of ten through twelve-year-old boys on his baseball team, “There’s no such thing as a good loser.” This sounds like a great way to ruin the enjoyment of the game for children and young people. In reality, I believe it is really much more accurate to say, “No one can be a good winner until he learns to lose with grace and dignity.” It is important to learn to lose with class and to win with humility.

The athletic philosophy of our school flows naturally out of our educational philosophy. Therefore, the primary goal of our athletic program is to bring glory to God through encouraging our teams to perform to the best of the ability the Lord has given them. There are a number of other goals based on Biblical principles that flow naturally out of this primary goal. First of all, we want to teach respect for authority. Players need to respect coaches, while coaches, players, and fans need to respect officials. Second, we want to teach the principle of putting aside individual desires and goals for the good of the team. Third, we want to teach players to realize that often their true character will come out in the heat of competition, and that there are valuable lessons to be learned and adjustments to be made. If winning comes about as a result of aiming at these goals, that is great. If we lose, it is not the end of the world, and there is likely a valuable lesson to learn through it. Winning must never be allowed to become our primary goal.

As a basketball coach, I love the game and desire the best for my players. However, there are times when I have to say to those who would turn basketball into life, “It’s only basketball,” or, “It’s only a game.” Basketball is not life. No sport is life. Last season, one of my players came to practice in a T-shirt that said, “Christ is life. Everything else is basketball.” I have to appreciate the perspective that this slogan represents, in that it puts Christ first and foremost in the life of the Christian. While Christians may legitimately enjoy sports, they need to be kept in perspective and in a proper position of importance relative to those things that really matter. Jesus Christ is to be preeminent in all things, and everything else is to be secondary. “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:18, NASB).

Sports are only one of the many things we do and enjoy, but in the grand scheme of things, they are not really very important, and the outcome of a game loses its significance rapidly. Emphasis on winning as the only thing that matters can result in several negatives. There can be a loss of the fun of playing sports. There can be a loss of the valuable learning experience that often results from losing a hard-fought game. Finally, there can be the creation of a great deal of undue pressure, which is not in any way needed by young people.

Being a teenager and a high school student in today’s world can be very stressful without any additional pressures. Involvement in athletics ought to be a stress-reliever, not a stress-producer. Sports are, after all, games, and games are to be played for fun. Quite often, if the adults would get out of the way, the young people involved in playing games would be able to have the fun the sports were designed to produce. If playing a game is not fun, and if nothing positive is happening because of playing that game, then the student should find something else more profitable to do with his or her time, regardless of any pressure applied by coaches. No one should feel compelled to play on a team. Sports are not for everyone.

SPORTSMANSHIP. If sports are not handled well by coaches and fans, those who participate can learn many wrong lessons, especially in the area of sportsmanship. Poor sportsmanship is demonstrated on a regular basis at high school games, and Christian high schools are not immune. It is quite interesting that some Christians seem to believe they can shed their Christianity at the door to the gym or gate to the playing field, just as one might take off a coat when entering a building. Christianity is not something we can “check at the door” and then pick up and put on again when we leave. A Christian does not cease to be a Christian during a game; therefore, appropriate behavior and decorum relative to Christian testimony must never be forgotten, no matter what the score, no matter the perceived quality of the officials, no matter the disappointment. If parents, coaches, and others, who ought to be teaching young people by example, choose to behave in an inappropriate manner relative to sportsmanship, we cannot help but teach them the wrong things. The Scripture says to “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.” (Colossians 4:5-6, NASB) If our speech and actions do not bring honor to our Savior, then the only alternative is that we are bringing Him dishonor.

One of the areas of greatest concern is the necessity of showing proper respect for officials, because this is an area where our school's testimony can be greatly harmed, and the effectiveness of our ministry can be hindered. Whether officials are good, bad, or average, they are, by definition, the legitimately appointed authority over the event. Therefore, there is never a biblically justifiable reason to place ourselves in a position of rebellion against that authority. In reality, to do so is to stand in rebellion against God Himself, since He is the one who gives all authority. “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves” (Romans 13:1-2, NASB).

The Biblical principle of servants and masters applies most appropriately to the relationship we have to those who have been given authority over us, including athletic officials, even if some perceive them to be of poor quality. "Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable" (I Peter 2:18, NASB). As Christians, we need to realize that officials, opponents, and opposing fans are either our brothers or sisters in the Lord or lost sinners who need our Savior. Either way, they should be treated with respect. Our Christian testimony is of far greater importance than the outcome of any athletic contest.

ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIPS. All too often, students see sports as a ticket to a free ride in college. Overzealous parents and coaches can unintentionally do young people a great disservice by encouraging this kind of thinking, thereby setting them up for a big disappointment. When I first began coaching, I listened to some “gung-ho” coaches and fell into the trap of believing that it was in the best interests of my players to encourage some of them to pursue athletic scholarships. Now, several years of experience have demonstrated the fallacy of that thinking, and I do not feel good about having done that. The reality is that very few, if any, of our athletes have ever been the type colleges want - the biggest, strongest, fastest, and most skilled. For every Michael Jordan, Mark McGwire, or Lisa Leslie, there are hundreds of thousands of young athletes who aspire to such lofty achievements, but who lack the talent, physical strength, size, and/or work ethic to make it a reality. It is not at all uncommon for league MVP, All-Section type players to find they cannot make the team, let alone get a scholarship, at even a small college.

Our high school has existed since 1983, when we added the tenth grade. Our first graduation was in 1986. Of all our graduates, we are only aware of six, including both young men and young ladies, who have had any opportunity to be on a college team in any sport for even one season, and even fewer have received any scholarship money. Some have played a season or two of volleyball, some a season or two of basketball, and only one got a scholarship to a large university. Due to a number of factors, that student transferred to a small Christian college after the first semester and became the only one of our graduates to play sports throughout college. Those with experience in these matters have advised me that if a student is not being actively recruited by his or her junior year, it is not going to happen at all.

In view of the numbers of young athletes hoping for scholarships, and also in view of the very real possibility of injury at some point, depending on athletics for a college education is not far removed from depending on winning the lottery for retirement. In a very few cases it works out and is a positive experience, and that is great. For the vast majority of students, however, it is not a realistic option.

Even if a player is able to make a team, very few high school students are in any way prepared for the huge year-round time commitment required of college athletes. Studies have shown that high school sports have a very positive impact on academics. On the other hand, a college athlete with a scholarship is almost literally owned body, soul, and spirit by the coach, and being a student becomes secondary, at best. The graduation rates of athletes at many universities are appalling. Any student who is really serious about college is well-served by leaving athletics in high school and concentrating on studies in college. There is a time to leave the games behind and get on with real life.

Athletic scholarship money is very limited. Free rides are not a reality except at the highest levels of competition, and we are interested neither in promoting secular universities nor in encouraging our students to get into the rat race of big-time athletics. Generally, big money scholarships are only available at the large universities, and we are much more interested in promoting solid, Bible-believing Christian colleges than secular universities, which frequently are hotbeds of secular humanism, atheism, and evolution, all of which are designed to undermine the truth and the faith of young people. We would be denying everything we believe in if we were to actively encourage attendance at such institutions, especially if our motivation has to do with students going there to play sports rather than to meet legitimate educational needs. We do understand that, of necessity, some students may end up at such universities in order to get the major they need. It is our prayer that, if they do go there, they will have the strength to stand for the Lord and against the tide of modern, unbiblical thinking.

Small colleges frequently give their athletes very small scholarships, which are not very much when the costs of college and the time commitment are considered. The most generous sources of college money are the state grants and institutional scholarships for academics. The wisest thing a high school student can do relative to college scholarships is to get the best grades possible throughout high school and score as high as possible on the SAT or ACT. In short, our school seeks to provide a positive and enjoyable experience through sports, but we do not operate under the illusion that our athletes can use sports as a stepping stone to college or to fame and fortune. We need to be more tuned in to reality and common sense than that.

CONCLUSION. It is the desire of the faculty and athletic staff that young people participate in sports while they can, enjoy the experience, and learn some valuable Biblical principles in the process. This will only happen if we remain continually vigilant to keep athletics in proper perspective relative to the overall ministry and purpose of the school. “…. whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31, NASB). “…so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:18, NASB).

Tale of The Blinded Man

by Ron Livesay

There once was a man who began to be very frustrated by his failing eyesight. At one time, he had perfect vision, but in recent months, things had started to appear more and more blurred. Some of his friends tried very hard to convince him to see an eye doctor, but he listened instead to another group of so-called "friends" who convinced him that eye doctors didn't know anything, and that the real answer was to be found inside of each individual.

He tried a number of medications, salves, and ointments recommended by his friends, but none of these things did any good at all. His eyes grew steadily worse until he was all but blind. As his eyes grew worse, so did his frustration level. He finally became desperate, but still he refused to see an eye doctor. By now he had become even more convinced that no eye doctor could possibly know the answer.

In his desperation, he concocted a mixture of several salves and ointments and applied it to his eyes. The sting was intense, but he hoped the pain would be worth it when his vision was restored. To his great disappointment and dismay, his eyes not only did not improve, they got much worse, and he finally just closed his eyes and assumed he was totally blind.

His blindness at first resulted in rage. He was especially angry with all of the eye doctors who had not helped him, even though he had never really sought their help. However, his rage eventually went away and was replaced by a relative degree of comfort in his situation. All the while, he refused to open his eyes, because he "knew" he would not be able to see, even if he did open them.

He soon developed a very interesting view of life. He concluded that being unable to see was a great way to live. He further concluded that since he could not see, he was now an expert on vision. Since he was unable to see, obviously no one else could see, either. As a matter of fact, since he had not seen an eye doctor recently, he was no longer sure if such a thing as an eye doctor even existed. Since he didn't know, obviously no one else could know, either.

Even though he once could see, he seemed to forget that fact, and he dismissed all efforts to convince him that vision was a reality, because he based all of his views on his own recent experiences. None of the people trying to convince him that they could see knew what they were talking about. How could they possibly know anything that he didn't know? Because of his unwise choices and flawed thinking, he closed his eyes, steadfastly refused to open them, and spent the rest of his life as a blind man, believing that everyone else was blind, as well.

Can Christians Witness in the Public School?

by James M. Bramblet

This is a message brought before the fall conference of The Northwest Fellowship of Christian Schools in 1958. It is as relevant today as it was then.

In trying to promote Christian schools, I've encountered many times an argument against them given by Christian people. They say we shouldn't take our Christian children and our Christian teachers out of the public schools because they should be there as a witness. I was concerned about this argument because it came from people who are good fundamental Christian people, whom I admire and respect.

ADULT HEADS ON YOUNG SHOULDERS

After turning to God's Word, I found that it had something to say on the matter. I've found in God's Word that there are at least two ways in which this thinking is erroneous. First of all, from God's Word we find that children are not miniature adults. They do not react like adults. In I Corinthians 13:11, the Apostle Paul says, "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things." This verse tells us that there is a difference in thinking and in understanding between a child and an adult. There is another verse that tells us exactly what this difference is. In Ephesians 4:14 it says, "That we be henceforth no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive."

What is the difference between a child and an older person then? A child is tossed about by every wind of doctrine; he is easily influenced. This is as God intended. He intended that we as parents should be the controlling influence over our children. That is why God's Word tells us that the sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the children to the third and fourth generations.

Children in God's Word have been made subject to their parents. You can take a little child and you can teach him anything you want. You can teach him correctly or incorrectly but whatever you teach him he is going to believe. As the Scriptures tell us, they are tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

To say that these children should be a witness concerning Christ is foolish. They can't be, because God has created them in such a way that they desire to please the adults over them. Their desire is to please their parents and their desire is to please their teacher. The Lord said we should become as little children. He didn't mean we should throw a tantrum as little children sometimes do. No, He meant we should have the faith of a little child. We should receive truth as a little child does and not doubt as adults do. Children naturally will receive instruction, and when they go to school they go there to receive and not to give forth.

What happens when the principles that are given in school are contrary to those given at home? You and I as adults, if we were in the same situation, would see the conflict. Perhaps there would be a conflict within us until we decided which we were going to follow. But this is not so with the child. When at home they simply act the way their parents and brothers and sisters expect them to act. When they go to school they act the way their teachers and classmates expect them to act. If there's a conflict it doesn't bother them at all. Many parents do not find out until too late that the child who is acting the part of a Christian at home and at church is acting differently when away from these influences. The responsibility lies at the parents door, for the Scripture plainly teaches, "Fathers . . . bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" Ephesians 6:4.

BIBLICAL SEPARATION

There is still another error even worse than the first. According to Scripture a witness must be one who stands in separation from those to whom he is witnessing. The Scriptures make this very plain. In II Timothy 2:3-4 it says, "Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life."

Some year's back I was in the Navy during the war. They took us to Farragut, Idaho, a place separated from the rest of the world. They kept us there and would hardly let us associate with anyone from the outside. Maybe once every two or three weeks we would get a week-end to go into Spokane, but mostly we were kept out there by ourselves where they taught us the things they wanted us to know. Why did they do this? There was a war on and we had to be trained to fight the enemy.

Suppose someone had come along and said, "This is costing too much to maintain these army and navy training stations. Why don't we take our young men and send them to Japan to be trained and then we will bring them home and let them fight?" You would say, "How foolish! They wouldn't fight the enemy if they were trained by the enemy." Yet that is exactly what people are doing with their children. They send them in large numbers to unbelievers to be trained and then wonder why more of them don't turn out to be Christian soldiers. If we are to be good warriors we must separate ourselves, or as it says in Scripture, "Be not entangled with the affairs of this life."

In II Corinthians 6:14-17 it says, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing."

"Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers." How often we have used this in regard to marriage or in regard to business. Should the same principle not hold true regarding our schools? Anyone who has been in school recognizes the close relationship between classmates, between students and teachers, and between teachers and administrators. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult for a teacher or student to testify concerning the things of Christ. The basic thinking of administrators, teachers and students is in one direction. When you insert the Gospel it is going exactly the opposite way. It is contrary to that which is being taught and seems entirely out of place. For this reason the Scriptures demand that we stand in separation if our witness is to be effective.

There is one more passage I would like to bring to your attention. In Haggai 2:11-13 it says, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No" (You see what he is asking, if you carry something holy and touch something else will it make that which we touch holy? The priest said, "No.") "Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean." This is the principle of spiritual uncleanness. If that which is holy touches something, does it make it holy? No! If that which is unclean touches something clean does it make it unclean? Yes! According to the principle of separation that we have here; if those who are unbelievers are present, do they make all unclean with their influence? Yes! If there are those present are believers do they make all holy? No!

The application to Christian education is obvious. Will your child influence others in school for Christ or will he be influence away from Christ? We know, both from Scripture and from practical experience, that the Christian is nearly always influenced away from the things of the Lord when he forsakes his separated position.

WORLDLINESS AND WITNESSISM

Many Christian people today seem to think that we should become involved with unbelievers in order to be a witness among them. We might call this way of thinking "witnessism" because it is taking the truth concerning Christians being witnesses and misusing it as an excuse for staying mixed up in the world. They tell us we must stay in the modernistic churches as a witness, we must stay in the public schools as a witness; but God's Word says, "Come out from among them and be ye separate."

MOSES - A SEPARATED WITNESS

We find in God's Word numerous illustrations showing that a witness must stand in a place of separation. One good example is Moses. If there was anyone in the Old Testament who had an opportunity to be a witness it was Moses. He was a young man with a good education and good training. He was a man with real ability. Since he was raised as the King of Egypt's daughter's son, had he chose to remain in Egypt he might some day have been the King of Egypt. Moses could have said, "Since I have all this training I should use it. I should stay here in Egypt and be a witness in the palace and perhaps all of Egypt will be won for God." But Moses knew better than that. He understood this basic principle of God's Word and so we read in Hebrews 11:24-27, "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." Moses understood and practiced the principle of separation.

Yet Moses was concerned about his witness to Egypt. When he was in the wilderness and God suggested to Moses that the children of Israel be destroyed because of their disobedience, Moses immediately pled for his people, reminding God that to destroy them would be a poor testimony to the people of Egypt. Moses was concerned about Egypt, but he knew that in order to be an effective witness he had to stand in a separate place from the Egyptians. It would have been more comfortable for him and he could have thought of himself more highly as one of the princes of Egypt than in the wilderness with a little group of God's people. But Moses chose, knowing wherein God's will la according to God's revealed World.

It is just this very matter we face in convincing people of the necessity of Christian schools. I grant that Christian schools do not have the prestige that public schools have. They don't have as fine equipment, and the teachers aren't as well paid. But we stand for God's truth and we stand in separation from the world.

One of the compromises Pharaoh offered Moses was that the adults go and worship God but leave their children in Egypt. (Exodus 10:8-11). Moses refused this compromise. The same offer is being made to us today. Satan knew then and he knows now that if he can control the children for one generation he has won a great victory. He doesn't care what we older people do because if he can control the young ones, it will just be one generation till God's witness had perished from the earth.

LOT - A COMPROMISED NON-WITNESS

There are also instances in God's Word of people who believed in witnessism; that is in mingling with the world in order to be a witness to them. One of these persons was Lot. Lot was the nephew of Abraham and came with Abraham to the land of Canaan. When Abraham and Lot separated, Lot chose the nice green plain where there were two large cities. He may have thought that if he moved down to Sodom and Gomorrah he could be a witness to the people there. He evidently had some training in God's Word for he knew he shouldn't move right in and live in Sodom. We read in Genesis 13:12 that he went down and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

In Genesis 14:12 we find that he has moved into Sodom. Possibly he found that living in a tent of ugly skins and a dirt floor it was difficult to be a witness because the people of Sodom with their fine homes looked down on him. Perhaps his wife visited the Sodomite women and came home and said, "We can't be a witness with our dirt floors and our old tent. We've got to have a house." In Genesis 14:12 we find that lot and his family moved right into Sodom.

The next time we meet Lot (Genesis 19:1) he not only is living in Sodom but he is holding office. He is sitting in the gates of Sodom, signifying a place of leadership. Now he is ready to be a witness. He is the chairman of the school board and his wife is the president of the P.T.A. But we don't read of him doing much witnessing. The truth of the matter is that he has so compromised with the people of Sodom that he can't witness to them. To be a witness to the world we must not be entangled with the affairs of the world. Lot got involved in Sodom, became one of the officers, and never was able to bear witness there.

It's nice to think we can go into some ungodly organization, become active in it and then be a great influence for God. The trouble is we just aren't strong enough to do this. What really happens is that they have an influence on us. If we are going to be a real witness we must stand in a place of separation.

SILENT WITNESSES

Some people like to think that even though they can't say much about the things of the Lord in the public school they can still be a silent witness. Not long ago a returned missionary who had worked diligently on the foreign field to establish schools for his converts, told me how he had taken a job here at home in the public school. He said he realized that he wouldn't be able to say much there concerning the things of the Lord, but he intended to be a silent witness.

Just what is a "silent witness"? Those two words don't go together very well. If you are silent you aren't a witness, and if you are a witness you aren't silent. Let's suppose you have been accused of a terrible crime. The circumstances look as though you are guilty, but there are a group of people who know you aren't and can bear witness to this fact. During the trial the witnesses are brought up and they all turn out to be "silent witnesses." Obviously they would be of little value to you as long as they are silent. A silent witness is not a witness at all. God's Word says, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so" (Psalms 107:2).

Compare this silent witnessing with the people spoken of in Hebrews 11:33-38. "Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was not worthy. . ."

WHAT PRICE SEPARATION

What kind of Christians have we become? Not long ago a Christian teacher who teaches in the public schools said to me, "Mr. Bramblet, I agree with your principles of teaching, but if I taught that way where I am I'd lose my job." Look again at the people in Hebrews 11; they not only gave up their jobs, they gave up their lives for the testimony of Christ. Yes, it's only in the Christian schools where we can teach according to God's Word! If we bear a real witness for Christ we don't have to worry about separation, for the world will separate us. If the Christian parents and teachers in the public schools really want to be a witness they can, but it will cost them something.

Suppose the teachers who are Christians would explain to their boards that they cannot teach evolution and the supremacy of man; that they cannot teach the truth and leave God and the Bible out. That would be a real witness. Yes, you might lose your jobs, but you still wouldn't have lost as much for Christ as the people in Hebrews 11.

Suppose the Christian parents, who have children in the public schools, would explain to their school boards that they will no longer tolerate teaching that leaves God out of the universe He created. I won't say that you would change the schools, but at least you would make known what God's people believe. Can't you see that you and your children aren't changing the public schools by staying quietly in them, but that rather the schools are changing you?

SNEAKING THE GOSPEL?

Believers in "witnessism" seem to think the Gospel can be slipped in when people aren't looking. This business of trying to slip in a little Christianity is not only unscriptural; it is unsuccessful. In Bible times the Gospel was declared publicly. Sometimes they whipped them and sometimes they put them in jail, but God's Word was declared. If modern Christians don't get back to a bold, separated testimony, the only Scriptural kind of testimony, we will never be able to free ourselves from the educational and spiritual bondage the world is thrusting upon us.

CONFORMITY TO GOD OR TO MAN

If we are to maintain God's testimony upon the earth, our children must be taught the basic principles of God's Word from their youth up. That doesn't mean just a devotional time in the family, and a half-hour in Sunday school class, and the rest of the time under the world's teaching. We can't bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord in that short a time.

It isn't a matter of trying to have Christian schools or hoping we can have Christian schools. Christian friends, we must have Christian training for our children or God's witness shall perish from the earth! Thank God, He knows this, and is raising up Christian schools all over our land. He is speaking to the hearts of Christian parents everywhere. He is calling young men and women into the Christian school ministry. Christians who oppose the Christian schools need be careful lest they find themselves fighting against God.