Baptists: Plan exit from government schools

[Soldier4Christ]

Baptists: Plan exit from government schools
New resolution tells churches to develop strategy for pulling kids out


A group of Baptists activists who two years ago tried to get the Southern Baptist Convention to approve a resolution urging the faithful to pull their children out of government schools announced they are proposing a similar measure this year.

The new resolution, sponsored by Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee member Roger Moran and Dr. Bruce Shortt, urges churches to develop an "exit strategy" for removing their kids from public school.

Moran, a leader in the Missouri Baptist Convention, and Shortt, co-sponsor of the 2004 and 2005 Christian education resolutions and author of "The Harsh Truth About Public Schools," note the new proposal urges that particular attention be given to "the needs of orphans, single parents and the disadvantaged."

The resolution also urges the agencies of the Southern Baptist Convention to assist churches as they develop their exit strategies and commends Christians working in government schools.

This year's resolution was inspired by a column written by Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in which he advocates the "exit strategy" approach. Shortt called Mohler "the SBC's leading theologian."

In a statement announcing the new resolution, Moran said today's public schools have had "a major role in infiltrating and destroying the faith of those we have been commanded to train up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Dr. Al Mohler's call for responsible Southern Baptists to develop an exit strategy from the public schools was not only wise, but courageous, for multitudes of our own people still don't see the inherent dangers. The time has come for the debate to begin."

Added Shortt: "The government's schools haven't merely failed; they are destroying our children spiritually and morally. Academically, the public school system is as dead as Elvis. Unfortunately, many Christian pastors and leaders still try to evade the cold, hard facts by talking about 'school reform' and 'salt and light.' Well, we've tried that strategy for 40 years and more, and, after trillions of dollars of reform, anyone who takes a serious look at the consequences of our government school habit can see that the Church has been hemorrhaging children for more than a generation and that the public schools are stuck on stupid morally and academically.

"If you approve of a school system that is indoctrinating children with cultural Marxism and dogmatic Darwinism, devoting increasing time and resources to instructing children in the colorful folkways of homosexuality, and preparing them for a future as hewers of wood and drawers of water, by all means continue talking about 'reform' and children as missionaries. Responsible Christians, however, will plan so that no child is left behind."

In 2004, the resolution, which called on members to take their kids out of public schools and either homeschool them or send them to Christian schools, failed to be referred to the floor of the Baptist body after being heard in the Resolutions Committee.

Last year, Shortt and Dr. Voddie Baucham Jr., a Southern Baptist lecturer, introduced a resolution urging churches to investigate the level of homosexual advocacy in their local school districts. That resolution passed in an even stronger form than introduced.

This year's SBC Annual Meeting will be held June 13-14 at Greensboro, N.C.

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(I know DW you already posted this elsewhere)

My Note: Parents this is a good thing. The public schools are getting horrendous. They are teaching things to our children that they should not learn. Yes we should try to fight the laws in courts and get the trash out of the schools but in the meantime we need our children to be taught in an acceptable manner and not taught the trash that is being given to them. I have showed it many times on here where the Bible tells us it is our responsibility as parents to insure that our children are being taught correctly in the ways of the Lord. This is not being done in most public schools. Remember you will be held accountable for what they are taught.

[Shammu]

New Proposal Urges SBC Action on Public School Exit Strategy

by Rusty Pugh and Jenni Parker
April 26, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Two years after a similar measure was blocked, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) activists are again urging the denomination to remove its children from public schools.

The resolution calling for an "exit strategy" from public schools is co-sponsored by Texas lawyer Bruce Shortt and SBC Executive Committee member Roger Moran. The proposal asserts that recent federal court rulings have favored public schools "indoctrinating children with dogmatic Darwinism" and have limited parents' rights regarding what their children are taught, including what schools teach them on matters of sexuality.

Shortt recently spoke with the Associated Press about the resolution, saying he feels it is past time for Southern Baptists to start developing a plan for pulling their young people out of a public education system that keeps going from bad to worse. "As Christians, we are called to give our children a Christian education, not just some of the time but all of the time," he noted, "and the public schools have become, increasingly over the years, more and more antagonistic to Christianity."

Shortt believes it is na�ve for Christians to think of their children as missionaries in public schools. "The schools are aggressively developing bad character," he told AP. "Contrary to what a lot of the more 'Pollyanna-ish' parts of our leadership would think, our children are not evangelizing in the schools; the schools are evangelizing them out of Christianity."

Shortt and Moran announced their resolution after 56 pastors and church leaders urged Southern Baptists in a letter last week "to speak positively about public education." The two Christian education advocates plan to submit their proposal for a possible vote by the SBC at its Annual Meeting in North Carolina this June.

More Southern Baptist Leaders Voice Support for Public School Exodus

A number of Southern Baptist leaders have voiced support for the Shortt-Moran measure. Dr. Rick Scarborough, Founder of Vision America and a leading SBC grassroots activist is among those who strongly endorse the resolution and see it as urgently needed, as is evangelist and Bible teacher Dr. Voddie Baucham.

According to a Christian Newswire report, Scarborough contends that public schools have long ceased to serve as a positive reinforcer of traditional values and today "are not even neutral on many crucial issues which are important to people of faith." He says public education has unfortunately been "hijacked by people who reject Biblical teachings on man's origin, the proper role of sex, and the acceptability of homosexuality."

The Vision America spokesman feels strongly that messengers at the 2006 Annual Meeting should get the chance to weigh in on the issue of removing their kids from an educational system that undermines Christian values. "Our children deserve better," he says, "and Southern Baptists should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about this."

And Dr. Voddie Baucham, another outspoken proponent of an exodus from public schools, says he endorses the Shortt-Moran resolution in part because he knows "what it's like to be a poor kid trapped in underperforming schools." As a child being raised by a single parent in the inner city, he says, "I had no choice but to accept the inferior education my schools offered -- not to mention the drugs, sex, and violence that were all part of the package."

Government schools have not only failed children academically, the evangelist points out, but they are also "destroying our children spiritually and morally." That is why he maintains that the SBC must come up with a comprehensive plan to create a new system of Baptist education that is open to everyone.

Such a plan, Baucham insists, "needs to take a clear stand on behalf of kids who find themselves in the same predicament I was in." If SBC members will stand together, he asserts, the church can provide a high-quality, Christian alternative to the public schools but can also "use education as a missional outreach in Urban America."

Moran and Shortt's 2006 resolution addresses a number of the concerns echoed by other Southern Baptist leaders, including some of the access issues Baucham raises. While the proposal calls on the denomination to move on divesting Southern Baptist children from government schools, it also urges SBC agencies to assist churches as they develop workable public school exit strategies and to give particular attention to the needs of orphans, single parents, and the disadvantaged.

http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion04367.shtml

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