I’m an advocate of Christians making their voices heard in society.
Yesterday we were treated to this news: “After an outpouring of protest from homeschooling advocates and politicians, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles reversed its Feb. 28 ruling that could have reclassified most homeschooled children as truants.” The same court that had basically outlawed homeschooling came to the “realization” that it had made a mistake. If no one had leaned on them, the decision would’ve stood.
Many Christians are too timid about taking a positive role in society. The world seems so big, and so many struggles feel “wordly” and, frankly, insurmountable.
I remember reading once an interview with a TV network executive who said that every time he gets a letter from a viewer he assumes that 1,000 other people feel the same way but just didn’t bother to write letters. So in his case, one Christian writing a letter decrying an anti-Christian show would equal one thousand and one voices of concern.
In our small community last year the president of the local college decided to remove the cross from the campus chapel. He said it was an intolerant symbol. I had never cared about the icon itself, but here was a government official labeling Christianity offensive and setting a dangerous precedent that all visual reminders of Christ should be purged.
My instinct was to make my family’s voice heard, since this was our “backyard”: so I wrote letters to the newspaper and the Board of Visitors; we took the kids to a candle-light vigil on campus in the freezing rain; my wife and oldest son signed petitions; I was even interviewed by the local TV station and the daily newspaper. If it had just been us speaking out, we might not have made any difference. But thousands of other Christians did the same thing, and the combined effect sent an unmistakable message. The president put the cross back…and even lost his job over the matter.
Around that time a sweet and humble woman in my church named Raquel wrote a letter to the editor. She was troubled that no local pastors had a word to say about the controversy. This was happening in their own community and getting national attention, yet they were silent. They were focused inward, living their monastic lives, quietly complaining that the world around them was getting worse. This wasn’t even a political issue where pastors might have endangered their beloved tax exemption by speaking out. Her point seemed to be that the people in the pews had more gumption than the “professional” Christians.
I understand some Christians are uncomfortable about getting involved in messy things like the media, politics, education issues, etc. But thankfully many Christians aren’t. Without William Wilberforce the slave trade would not have been abolished in early nineteenth-century England. Without Roger Williams the concept of separating civil government from religious coercion would not have taken root in colonial America. Without John Leland there would probably be no Bill of Rights securing our freedom of religion, assembly and speech. And without thousands of ordinary Christian parents leaning on the leadership of California, homeschooling would be effectively illegal in that state.
This is God’s world, not Satan’s. And “with God all things are possible.”
(Sorry for the long post).
Yesterday we were treated to this news: “After an outpouring of protest from homeschooling advocates and politicians, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles reversed its Feb. 28 ruling that could have reclassified most homeschooled children as truants.” The same court that had basically outlawed homeschooling came to the “realization” that it had made a mistake. If no one had leaned on them, the decision would’ve stood.
Many Christians are too timid about taking a positive role in society. The world seems so big, and so many struggles feel “wordly” and, frankly, insurmountable.
I remember reading once an interview with a TV network executive who said that every time he gets a letter from a viewer he assumes that 1,000 other people feel the same way but just didn’t bother to write letters. So in his case, one Christian writing a letter decrying an anti-Christian show would equal one thousand and one voices of concern.
In our small community last year the president of the local college decided to remove the cross from the campus chapel. He said it was an intolerant symbol. I had never cared about the icon itself, but here was a government official labeling Christianity offensive and setting a dangerous precedent that all visual reminders of Christ should be purged.
My instinct was to make my family’s voice heard, since this was our “backyard”: so I wrote letters to the newspaper and the Board of Visitors; we took the kids to a candle-light vigil on campus in the freezing rain; my wife and oldest son signed petitions; I was even interviewed by the local TV station and the daily newspaper. If it had just been us speaking out, we might not have made any difference. But thousands of other Christians did the same thing, and the combined effect sent an unmistakable message. The president put the cross back…and even lost his job over the matter.
Around that time a sweet and humble woman in my church named Raquel wrote a letter to the editor. She was troubled that no local pastors had a word to say about the controversy. This was happening in their own community and getting national attention, yet they were silent. They were focused inward, living their monastic lives, quietly complaining that the world around them was getting worse. This wasn’t even a political issue where pastors might have endangered their beloved tax exemption by speaking out. Her point seemed to be that the people in the pews had more gumption than the “professional” Christians.
I understand some Christians are uncomfortable about getting involved in messy things like the media, politics, education issues, etc. But thankfully many Christians aren’t. Without William Wilberforce the slave trade would not have been abolished in early nineteenth-century England. Without Roger Williams the concept of separating civil government from religious coercion would not have taken root in colonial America. Without John Leland there would probably be no Bill of Rights securing our freedom of religion, assembly and speech. And without thousands of ordinary Christian parents leaning on the leadership of California, homeschooling would be effectively illegal in that state.
This is God’s world, not Satan’s. And “with God all things are possible.”
(Sorry for the long post).
Anyone want to start a Christian homeschool in Malibu?
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