tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post6996650529031054952..comments2024-01-12T09:37:16.515-06:00Comments on paleoevangelical: Why the Gospel Demands a Reform of Christian School PoliciesBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113808932788409800noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-52574625368552731702009-08-13T08:43:43.415-05:002009-08-13T08:43:43.415-05:00Ben, sorry that I didn't make it clear in my f...Ben, sorry that I didn't make it clear in my first post. I'm the pastor. So I did have some influence in the decision. :-)Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03847768172034881189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-10256299841310454212009-08-13T08:40:27.705-05:002009-08-13T08:40:27.705-05:00David,
To whatever degree you were involved in th...David,<br /><br />To whatever degree you were involved in that decision, well done.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665765739805841971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-81669425373357130072009-08-13T08:39:14.385-05:002009-08-13T08:39:14.385-05:00Don,
Clearly, schools can make whatever conduct p...Don,<br /><br />Clearly, schools can make whatever conduct policies they want—good or bad, right or wrong. I'm not arguing that, and my affirmation that the school had the right to inflict the punishment should make my position on that point clear.<br /><br />I'm arguing that schools shouldn't exercise their rights to make bad policies, and I'm making a case for why these policies are bad.<br /><br />One other note: A school that's a ministry of a local church isn't strictly a "non-church." Its essentially equivalent to an AWANA program in its relationship to the church.<br /><br />And as I said to anonymous, whether Christian schools should exist is a worthwhile discussion but not the one we're having here.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665765739805841971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-11661156811544902552009-08-13T07:46:42.804-05:002009-08-13T07:46:42.804-05:00Good post. I agree with you wholeheartedly. I have...Good post. I agree with you wholeheartedly. I have seen all of these problems with a school tied to the church with rules applying to behavior outside the church. My church's school has dropped these policies. My reasoning was based upon the soul-liberty of the believer. We believe that it is the parent's responsibility to educate their children (Deu. 6.7), so we let them make decisions for their children outside the school ministry. We do not have restrictions on our teachers outside the school walls either.<br /><br />I am a big believer in Christian schools, but I do think you must be careful to minister to all families in your church.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03847768172034881189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-35552406768030196162009-08-12T22:46:25.480-05:002009-08-12T22:46:25.480-05:00Hi Ben
Well, a school is not a church. And attend...Hi Ben<br /><br />Well, a school is not a church. And attendance in a private school is not a right. So I have no problem with a school setting whatever policies it wants.<br /><br />However, the bigger question is whether churches should have schools at all. I am not sure that Christian schools have been a net gain for churches, although I appreciate the sentiment that launched them.<br /><br />Maranatha!<br />Don Johnson<br />Jer 33.3Don Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03332212749734904541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-16972423322051686162009-08-12T15:57:18.972-05:002009-08-12T15:57:18.972-05:00Paul,
I wrote something along the lines of what y...Paul,<br /><br />I wrote something along the lines of what you're talking about a while back. It's <a href="http://paleoevangelical.blogspot.com/2005/04/discipline-and-repentance-new-paradigm.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665765739805841971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-34607099002844591812009-08-12T15:53:10.941-05:002009-08-12T15:53:10.941-05:00Anonymous,
Though I can appreciate your reasons f...Anonymous,<br /><br />Though I can appreciate your reasons for anonymity, as a rule I don't interact with anonymous comments. I'll merely say that you raise a worthwhile conversation about the movement; however, that's a separate (and much broader) question from the one I'm raising.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665765739805841971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-67813248298595769102009-08-12T15:40:56.130-05:002009-08-12T15:40:56.130-05:00"d4v34x," ;-)
Though you're certain..."d4v34x," ;-)<br /><br />Though you're certainly correct about parents abdicating authority, in many cases it's also true that many churches pressure families to enroll their children. Thankfully, that's probably decreasing with the rise of home schooling.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665765739805841971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-89558193791593385272009-08-12T14:50:17.473-05:002009-08-12T14:50:17.473-05:00I enjoyed your post. I would also note that the &q...I enjoyed your post. I would also note that the "mission creep" that you've detailed in christian schools extends to higher education. The implementation of en loco parentis at Christian universities has caused many of the same problems. The relatively modern invention of adolescence has discouraged treating teenagers as functional adults.Paulhttp://paulmatzko.edublogs.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-92050668663085671362009-08-12T14:43:14.008-05:002009-08-12T14:43:14.008-05:00Posting anonymously because the church where I ser...Posting anonymously because the church where I serve has a large Christian school. <br /><br />This week I connected with a young adult who was formerly a member of our church. She called herself "a lifer" in that she spent her entire schooling at our church school ... from 1st grade to HS graduation. <br /><br />I asked her to tell me where all the members of her graduating class are. She mentioned by name more than a dozen young people who graduated with her. Of that group only 1 is even remotely associated with our church. <br /><br />Meaning: We subsidized the education of more than a dozen young people for more that a decade (most were "lifers" as well) all the while expecting teachers to make less <em>for the ministries sake</em>. And none of those young adults (in their early 20s now) is active in our church. <br /><br />I asked her about the impact of the Christian school on young people who attend the church but not the school. Her response was that the christian school attendees shunned the non-school attendees.<br /><br />I saw this same thing 30 years ago in my first pastorate! What's wrong with this picture! I fear that the Christian day school movement is killing churches!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7080491.post-77574834255552832332009-08-12T13:56:07.545-05:002009-08-12T13:56:07.545-05:00Hi Ben, very thought provoking post and one I, as ...Hi Ben, very thought provoking post and one I, as someone who sends my kids to a Christian school, have a deep interest in. <br /><br />As four your four points: I don't think the school takes away rights so much as the parents set them aside when they puts their kids in such a school. That may be hair-splitting as the net affect is nearly the same-- parental latitude is limited. I think certain opportunites do greatly suffer. <br /><br />The clique/class distinctions you propose in #2 I really haven't seen that much of in the schools I have attended or sent my kids to. <br /><br />#3 and #4 are big, big problems that must be dealt with. <br /><br />My understanding of my relationship with the Creator and Savior God was hindered by the Christian School context in which I grew up. Some of that may be my fault, but I can now see ways in which my parents and some of my teachers contributed to by wrong thinking. <br /><br />Thanks for posting this.d4v34xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07346680257860879900noreply@blogger.com