Christian Dad Hopes SBC Will Favor Anti-Public School Proposal
by Jim Brown
June 10, 2004
(AgapePress) - A Houston, Texas, attorney and father of three home-schooled children is expressing optimism over the fate of a resolution he has submitted to the Southern Baptist Convention -- a proposal that encourages Baptists to take their children out of public schools and provide them with a Christian education.In 2002, the SBC's Council on Family Life reported that roughly 88 percent of evangelical children are leaving the church shortly after they graduate from high school, and the divorce rates of Evangelicals are approaching those found in the general culture.
According to Bruce Short, who co-authored the resolution against public schools with Retired Brigadier General T.C. Pinckney, these facts indicate a serious problem in Christian churches. And Short is convinced that the problem will not be eliminated by sending children to what he believes are "anti-Christian" government schools.
"Many parents, many people in the lay community, are beginning to see how deeply troubled these schools are and the damage they're doing to our children," Short says, "and as a result there has been a tremendous up-swell of interest and support." Because of this, he adds, "I believe the outcome in Indianapolis is now very much in play."
The Christian attorney feels fellow Baptist parents are naïve if they believe their children can be "salt and light" in today's public schools, and he claims there is not a single member of the SBC leadership who believes it is acceptable to educate children in an anti-Christian learning environment.
Short believes the few negative comments he's received from SBC leaders about his resolution is mostly due to the controversy the proposal has generated. He is urging delegates to the denomination's annual meeting to vote on his resolution when they convene next week in Indianapolis.
One prominent evangelical leader who has endorsed the Short-Pinckney resolution is Dr. D. James Kennedy, senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For years, he has encouraged Christian parents to pursue alternatives such as home schooling or private Christian education for their children.
"We don't send our eight-year-olds off to war," Kennedy says. "The idea that some Christians have is that they're going to send their Christian kids out to witness in the public schools, which is like sending the Christians in the first, second, or third Century out to witness to the lions. They are in no way able to deal with adult teachers that eat them for lunch."
Years ago the well-known pastor and broadcast ministry founder started a Christian school so his own daughter could be educated in an environment free from drugs, sex, and ungodly teaching. He says believing parents need to ask themselves whether they want their kids to receive an education from teachers who are evangelizing for the secular humanist religion.
At the same time, however, Kennedy says there is a need for more Christian teachers, principals, and superintendents in public schools, and he notes that the resolution being submitted to the SBC does not and should not discourage Christian adults from serving in public schools.
