SBC Private Schooling Initiative

[Andyman_1970]

What do you guys think of this:

Southern Baptists Reject Private Schooling Initiative

Thursday, June 17, 2004

By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

WASHINGTON — A proposal that would have encouraged the mass exodus of Southern Baptist children from the public school system was killed at this year's annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (search), supporters say because leadership felt it was too radical for the organization.

Though the resolution, sponsored by two members from Texas and Virginia, sparked debate and publicity, members of the resolution committee refused on Wednesday to send the proposal to the full floor for a vote by the membership, which is conducting its convention in Indianapolis. A subsequent attempt by one of the sponsors to attach it to another resolution on the floor was also defeated.

"I would never impose on anyone how they should be educating their children," said Rev. Tommy Green, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Brandon, Fla., who serves on one of the committees to the convention and opposed the resolution from the outset.

The proposal, sponsored by retired Air Force General Thomas Pinckney (search) and home-school advocate and attorney Bruce Shortt (search), suggested that each parent in the estimated 16 million-membership of the SBC take their children out of the public school system because, they say, it has long fostered an anti-Christian world view.

"I often tell people that public schools are killing our children morally, spiritually and academically," Shortt told Foxnews.com. "Certainly, any side of that should be a concern to any parent."

For the rest of the story: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,122885,00.html

And also: http://getthekidsout.org/

I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on this and point of view.

 

[Blackhawk]

What do you guys think of this:

Southern Baptists Reject Private Schooling Initiative

Thursday, June 17, 2004

By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

WASHINGTON — A proposal that would have encouraged the mass exodus of Southern Baptist children from the public school system was killed at this year's annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (search), supporters say because leadership felt it was too radical for the organization.

Though the resolution, sponsored by two members from Texas and Virginia, sparked debate and publicity, members of the resolution committee refused on Wednesday to send the proposal to the full floor for a vote by the membership, which is conducting its convention in Indianapolis. A subsequent attempt by one of the sponsors to attach it to another resolution on the floor was also defeated.

"I would never impose on anyone how they should be educating their children," said Rev. Tommy Green, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Brandon, Fla., who serves on one of the committees to the convention and opposed the resolution from the outset.

The proposal, sponsored by retired Air Force General Thomas Pinckney (search) and home-school advocate and attorney Bruce Shortt (search), suggested that each parent in the estimated 16 million-membership of the SBC take their children out of the public school system because, they say, it has long fostered an anti-Christian world view.

"I often tell people that public schools are killing our children morally, spiritually and academically," Shortt told Foxnews.com. "Certainly, any side of that should be a concern to any parent."

For the rest of the story: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,122885,00.html

And also: http://getthekidsout.org/

I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on this and point of view.

I am very glad it failed. I am not against private or home schooling one's kids but I think God has called many parents and children to reamin in puiblic schools. POublic school cannot kill "children morally, spiritually and academically" unless we let it happen. Many kids are in public schools right now and doing well in all three areas. Also I think the proponents of this mass exodus do not realize that many times Christian school kids are as worse or worse than public school kids. My church while growing up had a church school. I knew many of the kids that went to the school and some were not any better morally, spiritually or academically than the kind of public school kid that they are trying to avoid their children turning into. But the worst thing about their iniative is that they are just giving up on the public school system instead of trying to change it. Also they are giving up on the millions lost kids who might only hear about God through the witness of one of their classmates. I am not about giving up. I am all about fighting so that Christ will glorified even in the public school. I know God will glorify himself even if we do not do it but I think you get my point.

 

[TexasCatholic]

This had no place of discussion in the SBC or any organization. It wasn't supported by even remotely close to a majority. It only made the news due to a couple of well-intentioned goons who tried to make a political play. VETOED!

Many parents DO choose to send their children to Christian schools. I went to one for 2 years as a kid. I think there are major benefits and some detrimental effects as well. Kids really need to learn how to deal with the real world, and I found in my years in a Christian school that I wasn't experiencing the real world. Some of my classmates who stayed through high school had some serious issues with naivety.

On top of that -- isn't one of the major goals of Christianity, and in particular Baptists, to spread the good news of Christ? How can you do that in an environment of other Christians?

-James

 

[pressingon]

Contrary to the opinions of others posting in this thread, I tend to agree with the bulk of the resolution, although the blanket encouragement to remove kids from public schools went too far. In my opinion, the resolution should have been written merely as an encouragement of parents to ensure that their children receive an appropriate education in the fundamentals of the Christian faith rather than a statement calling parents to remove their kids from public schools.

The point that should have been stressed primarily is that our children cannot go through life with their faith intact without a firmly rooted foundation in Jesus Christ. The school years are critical to the formation of this faith, and our responsibility as parents is to ensure that this foundation can be built during that time. How to do that? That's up to individual families.

Personally? I plan on either sending my son to a private Christian school or homeschooling him. I believe his formative years to be too critical to entrust them to an institution that seems to be, at best, neutral to Christianity.

 

[GreenEyedLady]

I second that pressingon. My daughter is in a private school and will remain in one until she graduates. I attended a private school then a public. It ruined my teenage years and purity. I know that some kids can handle the pressure of the world at an early age, but most cannot handle it and they end up fighting not to get sucked into it. I would rather save my daughter the pain and the energy and keep her in a christain bible believing school rather than ANY other school that is teaching darwin.
I would rather my daughter be naive to the world at 18 than confused with her faith, sexuality or morals at 18.
GEL

 

[Blackhawk]

Contrary to the opinions of others posting in this thread, I tend to agree with the bulk of the resolution, although the blanket encouragement to remove kids from public schools went too far. In my opinion, the resolution should have been written merely as an encouragement of parents to ensure that their children receive an appropriate education in the fundamentals of the Christian faith rather than a statement calling parents to remove their kids from public schools.

The point that should have been stressed primarily is that our children cannot go through life with their faith intact without a firmly rooted foundation in Jesus Christ. The school years are critical to the formation of this faith, and our responsibility as parents is to ensure that this foundation can be built during that time. How to do that? That's up to individual families.

I have no problem with what you state here. In fact I wholeheartedly agree with it. The point is thgh that the imperative went much farther than your statement. I think you understand this from your post but it is much different to say that we need to make sure our kids have a firm foundation early than we should all yank our kids out of public schools to do this.

 

[pressingon]

I have no problem with what you state here. In fact I wholeheartedly agree with it. The point is thgh that the imperative went much farther than your statement. I think you understand this from your post but it is much different to say that we need to make sure our kids have a firm foundation early than we should all yank our kids out of public schools to do this.

I think we're in agreement on this issue -- the resolution did go too far (as I stated). If you read the entire resolution, the spirit of it is that families need to ensure their children grow up firmly rooted in Christ. The question to me, then, is this: if I'm going to ensure my child's faith is built on a firm foundation, will sending him to the local public school be detrimental to that goal? Sadly, throughout a sizable portion of our nation, this appears to be the case.

That's certainly not to say we should give up on reforming public schools, of course. Where public schools are, for the most part, godless, we most definitely need to focus our outreach and evangelism efforts to reach students, teachers, and administrators with the message of hope that Christ brings. The big question, of course, is how to do that, especially given the bias against religion that seems to be encouraged by the rules and regulations of public schools. Teachers and administrators certainly cannot proclaim Christ (at least not without risk of unemployment), and students (in general) tend to be more apt to fall away from their faith due to the influences of peer pressure, particularly when they do not have a strong group of Christian friends to associate with at school.