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A Plea to Southern Baptists:
Help Save Our Children
Commentary by Nick Jackson
June 21-22, 2005 may be one of the
most important dates in the history of our nation. It could very well determine
whether our nation will continue to descend exponentially into her moral free
fall, or spark a revival and reformation which could save our nation. In Nashville
Tennessee, the Southern Baptist Convention will consider a resolution addressing
the issue of pro-homosexual materials in public schools and encourage parents
to seek alternatives to public school education. How 
can
a simple resolution at a meeting of a bunch of Baptists impact America and
the history of our republic? Please do not underestimate the importance of
this event.
The resolution is designed to make
Christian parents and pastors more aware of the aggressive homosexual activism
being sponsored by many public schools. The resolution is co-submitted by
Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr., a prominent
Southern Baptist lecturer, preacher, and author of The Ever-Loving Truth and Bruce N. Shortt,
a Texas attorney and co-sponsor of the 2004 Christian Education Resolution
and author of The Harsh Truth About Public Schools.
According to Exodus Mandate (www.Exodusmandate.org),
the Baucham-Shortt resolution also: (a) commends
Christians working in government schools, (b) asks Baptists to make a greater
effort to provide and support Christian educational alternatives to government
schools, especially for the benefit of children from low income and single
parent families, (c) calls upon Baptists to pray for homosexuals, and (d)
rebukes homosexual advocates for slandering minorities by claiming that homosexual
behavior has any authentic connection with the civil rights movement.
We should applaud the efforts of
Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr., and Bruce Shortt for standing valiantly and courageously to rescue our
children from our modern day government schools which have become parochial
schools for humanism and every other kind of ‘ism imaginable.
I have a deep and abiding affection
for the Southern Baptist denomination. At age 26, three and a half years ago,
in a Southern Baptist Church, I followed that Holy Spirit tug down the aisle
to repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. I currently attend
an SBC church in Central Ohio. I love the SBC because Baptists are soul-winners.
I would speculate that many people have come to faith in a passionate Spirit-filled
Baptist Church. Additionally, the SBC has undergone an unbelievable battle
in the past few decades to wrestle the reins away from the liberal invasion
that so permeates every denomination. The SBC is standing strong as so many
denominations have allowed the culture to be the salt to the Church.
Can one denomination have an impact
on the future of our nation you may ask? Consider that since its formation
in 1845 in Augusta Georgia, the Southern Baptist Convention has grown to over
16 million members who worship in more than 42,000 churches in the United
States. Imagine the financial impact that 16 million tax-payers to government
(public) schools could have if each family decided before God that they were
going to give their children a Christian education either through home education
or Christian schooling. It is breathtaking to consider the profound impact
we could have if we were obedient to the second part of the Great Commission
to not only make disciples but to teach our children to obey all that Jesus
has commanded us.
In church, we have AWANA, Vacation
Bible Schools, Sunday Schools, Upward Basketball
and other wonderful programs to model and teach our children. We definitely
care about what our kids are learning in Sunday School.
How much more should we worry about Monday-Friday school!
Parents
do not understand the urgency of the crisis in our educational system. Schools are
having a nervous breakdown. Kids are being disciplined for holding chicken
bones in a threatening manner, and dodge-ball is being replaced with more “multi-cultural”
and “diverse” programs such as dress up day as the opposite sex.
If you don’t think public schools are
centers of indoctrination consider this quote from a prominent Humanist
publication: “The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between
the old and new-the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent
evils and misery, and the faith of humanism, resplendent in its promise of a
world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of love thy neighbor will
finally be achieved.”
The other side understands the battle for the hearts and minds of our
precious children. Brethren, we have already lost the war in the public schools.
They cannot
be reformed. Public schools are enemy territory and we must rescue our children
as if they were POW’s in a concentration camp. We cannot reform an institution
that is not ordained of God. The family is the God ordained vehicle with assistance
from the Church, NOT THE STATE. We would never allow the government to baptize
us or give us communion, but we freely offer our children?
We may win the right to have a sticker
on a science text book here and there but, for every moment that we waste
in deciding whether the public schools are fit for our children, we will lose
more of our very heart, soul and freedom as a nation. It won’t take but ten
or twenty years before all 11 constitutional amendments passed by values voters
protecting marriage, are erased by a new batch of indoctrinated, “tolerant”
voters deciding to overturn them. If you want to wait and find out whether
or not your local school indoctrinates your precious child before you remove
them I can save you the effort.
I grew up in small upper middle class
town in Ohio. You were frowned upon if you did not go to college. We have
had several students get perfect scores on achievement tests. I certainly
became a well educated, knowledgeable enemy of Christ with my diploma in hand,
3.9 GPA and 9th ranking in my class. I was Phi Beta Kappa in college. Sadly,
I am now learning the U.S. Constitution
which I did not learn in public school or through public university.
We cannot rest while our children are sacrificed on the altars of humanism
and Darwinism. Our children are being intellectually, spiritually, and morally
asphyxiated despite passing proficiency tests with flying colors.
We indeed live in perilous times.
We live in a time that will require uncommon valor. Can we rest our hopes
solely on the SBC? Could 16 million SBC members withdrawing from government
schools be the impetus that leads our nation back towards the Bible in all areas of faith and practice? Only time will tell. There
are other movements however, developing within the PCA (Presbyterian Church
of America). Pockets of prominent people are beginning to awaken to our biblical
responsibility to educate our children, and the SBC may very well lead the
way. This is why I adjure you with all godly sorrow and pleading SBC, please
be our Moses and deliver our children from Pharaoh’s schools.
Nick
Jackson is a physical therapist from Ohio who assists pro-life and pro-family
ministries in the Central Ohio area. He is executive director of Reform America,
a Christian Activist organization based in Columbus. For more information
on Reform America go to www.reformamerica.com or to contact Nick send him
an E-mail at nick@reformamerica.com.
Publisher’s
Note…
Between the time we distributed our July 2005
issue (June 14 through June 17) and the posting our July issue on our web
site, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was held in Nashville, Tennessee
(June 21 and 22). Our front cover second lead article was Nick Jackson’s commentary
regarding a pending resolution which encouraged Baptist parents to investigate
whether or not their pubic schools are endorsing and promoting the homosexual
agenda.
Praise be to Jesus,
that resolution passed on June 22!
Even though the resolution that was passed
is watered down from what was originally submitted to the Resolutions Committee
for consideration, at least it’s a beginning point. A beginning point which
I pray will start a mass exodus of Christian children out of the Godless,
faith destroying, public education system.
The following is the resolution which was passed
by the SBC June 22, 2005.
Whereas, children have been entrusted
to parents by the Lord and represent our nation's future and our spiritual
legacy; and
Whereas, God has given parents the responsibility for the upbringing and education of our children (Proverbs 22:6; Deut. 6:6-7); and
Whereas, many negative influences are attempting to transform the moral foundation of the culture by reshaping the core values of our children, undermining historical truth, and promoting promiscuity, violence and other immoral behaviors; and
Whereas,
children are vulnerable to marketing and entertainment campaigns that redefine
truth, morality and family relationships; and
Whereas, homosexual activists and
their allies are devoting substantial resources and using political power
to promote the acceptance among schoolchildren of homosexuality as a morally
legitimate lifestyle; and
Whereas, educational institutions are often an effective gateway to children's hearts and minds; and
Whereas, parents have access to textbooks, curricula, special programs, teachers, and other school personnel, giving them tremendous power to effect change in schools; and
Whereas, all citizens have the right and responsibility to participate in local, state, and national elections and to use their influence to effect change; and
Whereas, involved parents are the ultimate influence in the lives of their children; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, that the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, June 21-22, 2005, urge parents and churches to research and monitor the entertainment and educational influences on children; and be it further
Resolved, that we urge parents and churches to exercise their rights to investigate diligently the curricula, textbooks, and programs in our community schools and to demand discontinuation of offensive material and programs; and be it further
Resolved, that we urge our churches to assist and support parents as they investigate community schools and as they train and disciple their own children; and be it further
Resolved, that as citizen Christians we commit to hold accountable schools, institutions, and industries for their moral influence on our children; and be it finally
Resolved, that we urge Christian parents to fully embrace their responsibility to make prayerful and informed decisions regarding where and how they educate their children, whether they choose public, private, or home schooling, to ensure their physical, moral, emotional and spiritual well-being, with a goal of raising godly men and women who are thoroughly equipped to live as fully devoted followers of Christ.
