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EDUCATION RESOLUTION

Ignores ‘root problems’

The resolution on public education [that has been submitted to the Southern Baptist Convention’s resolutions committee in advance of this year’s annual meeting that is being widely circulated in the media] is well-motivated but ill-conceived. Despite several good observations it makes, as a homeschooling parent of more than fifteen years who is convinced that the public education system in our nation is hopelessly broken, I am opposed to it. The resolution strikes at branches while ignoring the root problems of our degenerate churches and homes. Public education is a convenient scapegoat. An honest look in the mirror, however, would be more revealing of the true source of our nation’s problems than a thousand resolutions against godless, government schools. Southern Baptists need to be ruthlessly honest in examining our own house before we attack institutions in the world. Such honesty and integrity seem increasingly hard to come by in our day of triumphalistic denominationalism. We boast more than 16 million members, but less than half of them participate in church life at all. Less than 35% even show up on a given Sunday morning and fewer than 15% attend beyond that. We hide these shameful figures by dividing our memberships into unbiblical “resident” and “non-resident” categories. Consider how Annual Church Profiles are reported in the Witness and other Baptist papers. The published statistics are always based on the less embarrassing and less honest “resident membership” figures. I encourage the Witness to lead the way for other papers by making statistical analyses based on the total membership of Florida Baptist churches in all future reporting of the ACP. This would be more honest and, therefore, God honoring. The problems this resolution observes are real, but the analysis of them and proposed solutions to them are inadequate. Don’t blame public schools for the 88 percent of our evangelical youth who apostatize as adults. That tragedy has far more to do with our superficial evangelism and the spiritual anemia of our undisciplined churches that are filled with unregenerate members. We protest removing the Ten Commandments from classrooms and courtrooms, but not one in two hundred church members can even quote the Commandments, much less explain their purpose and meaning. The failure of public schools is simply one more symptom of our real problem, which is the loss of God’s Law and God’s Gospel from our churches. Without a recovery of the Gospel and reformation of local churches we will not stem the tide of moral degeneracy in our nation no matter how many Christian families abandon the governmental school system.

Tom Ascol Cape Coral

PHYSICAL STRUGGLES

What is happiness?

The front-page story of the April 29 Florida Baptist Witness, “Disabled woman relies on God for happiness,” was quite amazing. How encouraging to see how someone, through God, is able to triumph over such challenging circumstances. There are several lessons, of course, for all of us. What do we base our happiness on? Do we base it on financial prosperity, talent, loving relationships, the ideal job, good health or circumstances that are in our favor? Or maybe we do not understand what happiness is all about. True joy is found in God’s presence (Ps. 16:11). Happiness is realized by those who are poor in spirit, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, those who seek peace and those persecuted for the cause of Christ. We do not talk very much about struggles which deal with physical problems, yet the Apostle Paul had a great deal to say on the subject. Paul actually learned that somehow afflictions can be thought of as assets, and that strength can be found through weakness (2 Cor. 12:10). Yet we often look upon affliction as a weakness. We seek to avoid pain and discomfort at all costs. What did the psalmist say? “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes” (Ps. 119: 67,71). I am not saying we should seek out pain and difficulties, but let us allow God to use those struggles, which will inevitably come to all of us, for His glory and our maturation.

Paul Campbell Tampa

STAND AND BE COUNTED

Turn off the TV

Are we just going to sit in front of the television and allow those gross comments, awful violence and intimate sexual relations to continue to come into our minds, living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and bedrooms? Are we going to just sit and allow people to be forbidden to worship freely in our United State and in the rest of the world? Are we just going to keep busy and ignore all of the above until the world is destroyed? It was destroyed in the days of Noah. For 120 years, he said, “Repent! Because the Lord is going to destroy all the wickedness.” Everyone said to Noah, “Get a life,” and went on in their busy do-as-I-please living. Then the rains came. Noah, regardless of how ridiculous it looked, kept building that ark, got the animals and his family in; then God, the Lord, shut the door. All outside drowned in the flood. They may have pounded on the door to get in, but it was too late. Jesus Christ is our “ark” now. Believe (trust in, cling to, rely on) Him and be saved for eternal life. When you do, you will live in a manner worthy of being His follower. Let us who believe in the God, the Lord, Who directed Noah, get busy, get off the couch, refuse to buy products advertised on the gross programs, turn off the TV, get into Bible study and worship God in the Lord Jesus Christ. We who believe can make a difference; we believers must change and stand to be counted in order to change the present “current” promoted through the media.

Marian Minyard Floral City