Should Christians Stay in Public Schools

Should Christians Stay in Public Schools?
Debate on Beacon Hill Shows Differing Views
by Ed Oliver

from _The Massachusetts News_, May 8, 2001 - http://www.massnews.com/581chr.htm

Should Christians continue to send their children to public schools? That was debated in the Great Hall at the Statehouse on Beacon Hill yesterday afternoon.

Rev. Ron Crews, President of the Massachusetts Family Institute, said that each parent must answer for his particular children whereas Rev. E. Ray Moore, Director of Exodus Mandate, said that Christians should leave behind the government schools.

Rev. Crews said he was there as a concerned parent of four children. He believes parents should diligently seek the Lord to find out his will for where their children should be educated. Crews children have done it all, they've been home schooled, attended Christian schools, and attended public school.

Each of those decisions was a prayerfully made decision, so my concern for parents today is that we spend some time praying for the children of the Commonwealth, that God would have mercy on this next generation, said Crews.

Crews said that standards of decency and righteousness are under attack in the schools. He is very concerned that evil is called good and he is not sure what the answer is. He said, Im asking the Lord, what is your strategy?

Crews said his heart tells him that Gods people should be his people in whatever arena they are placed. They are to be lights and the salt of the earth. Crews said he saw a sign on route 16 reading Caution, Low Salt Area. He immediately wondered how many churches and Christians should have that sign at their front door.

Within a year of his children attending a public high school in Atlanta, he was elected president of the PTA. He then began regularly praying with the principal before hiring teachers and before other important decisions. Still, Crews said every situation is different and parents must make a prayerful decision at least yearly about where to send their children to school.

||| Forsake the Government Schools |||

Rev. Moore sees it differently. The former Army chaplain represents Exodus Mandate, which he explained is a Christian ministry to encourage Christian families to forsake Pharaohs school system, meaning government schools, for the promised land of Christian schools or home schooling.

We are asking and urging Christian people to leave behind the government school system, because its legitimacy is seriously in question, both biblically, theologically, historically, and now morally and academically.

Rev. Moore told Mass News, You're facing some rather serious questions here in the Massachusetts area with the crowding in of the homosexual agenda into the public schools. Society seems to be helpless to prevent it and the families are desperate and they cant seem to forestall it. So we think that Christian people should be looking at Christian education as the only biblical option for educating their children at the K-12 level.

When asked how Christians are responding to his message, he said some are and some arent. Moore said Exodus is having to deal with salt and light theology, which he said is a valid theology but is being misapplied in the area of the education of children.

Christian people often justify putting their children in public schools based on the fact that they are being salt and light in the culture. However, we feel that is work for the adults. Christian families shouldnt be sending little children as surrogate evangelists, particularly the K-6 and K-8 level, before they are able to handle the pressures and the hostile environment that a pagan public school system now represents. We feel it is a mistaken approach to education so were trying to correct that as really a practical and theological error that many evangelical Christians hold.

Moore said practically speaking, many families use the excuse that they can t afford Christian schooling. He acknowledged that is the case in some circumstances and he said home schooling is an option but does presuppose a non-working mother. But we think Christian people are just going to have to reach down and find resources and help and seek the Lord for this choice in ways they never have before.

We are urging churches to support it and pastors to get behind it. We are hoping that Christian pastors will organize schools at their churches, that is happening in some places. Home schooling is growing about 15% a year nationally, that is one of the most hopeful signs that I see in the nation.

Rev. Moore said the Bush administration is attempting something impossible by trying to reform the schools at the federal level. They are not going to fix the schools. So I guess they are going to have to go through several more years of futility and wasted money to try to fix it at the federal level. Plus, they dont have any constitutional authorization to be tampering with the schools at the federal level. So Im frankly disappointed at that level of the administration even though Im hopeful overall that this administration is an improvement.

||| Christians Have Been Silent Too Long |||

Rev. Katherine Puleo, who leads a prayer group once a month at the statehouse, told MassNews they pray for a spiritual awakening because they see that as the ultimate solution to the problem. In her speech however, she advocated fighting the evil head on. She said Christians have been silent too long. She said Christians must come out from praying behind church walls and be a light. They must stand up and say, No, that is wrong! The silence is killing this nation and killing our children, she said. We must speak out!

Puleo asked the audience, What are you prepared to do? Are you prepared to tell your neighbors? Your legislators? The news media? Are you scared to say no more? How dare we compromise Gods word!

Yesterday's event was organized by Lawrence Andrade of Swampscott. He told MassNews that ideas about human sexual behavior are integral to religious belief, which touches on salvation. Basically what this means is the schools are in violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution. They teach religion in the public schools.

Related Web Site:

Exodus Mandate: http://www.exodusmandate.org and http://www.christianity.com/exodusmandate

Side Note: Rev. E. Ray Moore, and Lawrence Andrade are members of the Christian Education Awareness Network (CEANet).