Navigating Education Choices for Christian Families

over whether it is appropriate for christian parents to turn the principle education of their children over into the hands of a pagan state. now there's no doubt in my mind that there are many christian people who are teaching in the government schools, we know that, and are trying to bear witness to the virtues and to the truths of god in that environment. however, the state has become more and more and more hostile towards allowing any kind of christian influence to filter through the educational system. [00:21:19]

and if you take your children's, i mean there is no greater responsibility we have than rearing our children in the things of god, and to just turn them over to a pagan world view i don't think christian parents really have thought this through paul, i think it's a very very dangerous thing about your kid and put your child if you're a christian under the tutelage of a system that is not only not christian but is actually uh hostile towards christianity. [00:22:59]

i would say that those two things are basically incompatible, more and more so in our culture today. yeah i mean i i hesitated because i wouldn't want to say that's absolutely the case because i think that's what you know that question causes the strife that the question oh there's great and again that this thing causes fear strife in the local church. [00:23:25]

and i would say you know we need to back off of the strife and really look at it and and say wait a minute, what is the life and world view that is being communicated in this school system, is it compatible with what we're trying to to teach our children as christians and if it isn't, how serious a matter is that. [00:23:50]

first of all i would encourage church leadership to be very intentional in not allowing this to become or doing everything they can to prevent this from becoming a point of controversy don't just assume that it's not because it is, young parents feel very emotional about the educational choice that they make and oftentimes in their youthfulness they want others to make the choice they have made because it helps to give validity to their choice. [00:24:34]

and so then what we have is that they begin to cluster by those choices, and i don't think that's good, uh and so i think church leadership needs to really help them such as we think like the panel that your wife did that helps them to begin to hear each other to find out how they can pray for each other and and that's just such an important thing to happen. [00:25:06]

i heard one of the most precious stories recently, i was in a church up in the northeast and a young woman came to me and told me how her husband had left her but that her church had taken such good care of her she told me all that the elders had done but then she told me about how that she had been a homeschooling mother when her husband left and she had to go back to work to support her children but another homeschooling mother in their church took those children in and is homeschooling them. [00:26:16]

that's the way the community must work we can't just say that this is the way it should be when some young parents have to make the choice between food on the table and a christian school and they shouldn't have to make that choice i have a responsibility there. [00:26:59]

the difficulty is with so many as with so many issues you have to ask two questions one what's the right answer and two how important is it, see if i say it's a sin to send your children to government schools, other people want to do this there's the immediate response is this is legalism or it's judgmental or or why can't we all get along. [00:28:03]

but the issue itself requires rigorous careful biblical thinking, okay, it doesn't matter if it's a sin to send your gut your children to government school it doesn't matter whether you have to choose for food or christian school, you don't just like anything you don't do it, okay, now it may mean that there are additional obligations. [00:29:11]

you are enculturating your children into the world's culture when you hand them over to the government school they're professionals this is what they do this is why they exist, uh i appreciate the desire of those who will take the witnessing uh defense you know my children are winning countless lost people to christ uh i appreciate the hardships and all that and and i don't want to i don't want to center the argument there. [00:30:28]

the issue is all things being equal should we do this and and i'm saying the problem is not even necessarily hostility to the christian faith but i don't think you can educate your children in the nurture and the culture of god himself in a place where god can't be mentioned, problem is not hostility it is that jesus is not there and sound biblical education begins with the fear of god. [00:31:00]