Posted on 06/07/2008 3:51:13 AM PDT by wintertime
(snip)
The largest Protestant denomination in America, the Southern Baptists, is sending representatives from thousands of churches to convene in Indianapolis for the 151st session of the Southern Baptist Convention on June 10 and 11. The church is in crisis. Outgoing president Rev. Frank Page estimates that only half of Southern Baptist churches will still exist two decades from now.
The decline appears to be particularly acute among young people in the church. In 2005 alone, 55 percent of Southern Baptist churches baptized no youths, according to Ed Stetzer with the North American Mission Board.
"They are discovering, as other traditional denominations are, that their future is tied to reaching younger people and more diverse people," said professor Lovett H. Weems Jr. at Wesley Theological Seminary.
Ed Gamble, Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools executive director, said, "Our denomination grew at 1.2 percent last year, not even enough to match our birth rate. Southern Baptist couples divorce more often than other denominations. Most evangelical church youth do not believe in absolute truth."
(snip) Eight-five percent of their public schooled children abandon the faith by the time they leave for college, while only 2 percent of their homeschooled students leave. A pro-homosexual author stated, "Whoever captures the kids owns the future." And he wasn't kidding. Whoever owns the children owns the future of neighborhoods, cities, states, nations and, yes, our churches.
(snip) So far, the majority of Southern Baptists have refused to acknowledge that their children are being soul murdered in the public schools. Parents scratch their heads dumbfounded as to why their children are abandoning the church in droves, and yet the answer is obvious.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
If people are actually interested in returning America to being a country of free men, the government schools should be abolished. I’m not holding my breath. The natural state of Man is slavery, and most Americans are very comfortable in that role. I support home schooling. If I had had children, they would have been home schooled.
The statistics for youth remaining faithful in their faith if they attend government schools is horrific! In comparison, homeschoolers are thriving.
I doubt that we will see much action from church leaders in rescuing children from the government schools. There are too many government school employees sitting in pews putting money in the collection plate. In some counties, the government schools are the single largest employer. Geeze! Even my **dentist** is dependent upon the dental insurance government school employees bring to his office.
The solution to saving the souls of our Christian youth must come from individual Christians themselves. With today's technology, it is possible to give children and excellent education with very little money. Instead of brick and mortar, Prussian military-style schools we should look instead to dame schools, mini and micro-schools, homeschool cooperatives, one room school houses, and tutoring centers.
Christians, if you want your children growing up in the faith don't try to bet the odds. Give your child, and the children of your congregation the best chance possible to grow in the light of the Lord. The best chances are **NOT** found in our atheistic, secular humanist, Marxist dominated government schools.
Won't happen, therefore, are we all doomed?
bet
^^^^^^^
That should be: beat
Not solely for that reason. The attitude of servitude and dependence in current adults is more of a reason we are doomed than public schools. The public schools create future generations of adults with the same mindset, though. If enough people actually decided t osay "screw off" to the government, and voted accordingly, then things would change. But, you know, thinking and taking responsibility for oneself are hard.
The other three pretty much keep to themselves, which is fine, but I can't say anything about them, good, bad or indifferent.
I suspect the six churches in my neighborhood are a reflection of a lot of churchgoers in this nation-- those who stand for something keep their congregants and even attract new ones. Those interested in keeping up with the political trends will end up being replaced by the political trends.
We’ve homeschooled all 4 of our children (2 in college and 2 on the way). I’m so glad we made this decision. Public schools are a dangerous place for faith.
A large number of church's started private schools, and those preferred to home school did so.
I have an acquaintance who recently graduated from High School. He is reasonably intelligent, polite and respectful. I asked him a few very general questions on history, science, government, etc. to gauge his education. He knew no answers to any questions, so I started making them easier. For example, I asked him how many U.S. Supreme Court justices there are. He guessed 60. Getting frustrated at getting not a single correct answer, I asked him one I thought there was no way he could fail to get: Can you name one important historical event that occurred in 1776? He didn’t have a clue. This is the state of public education.
Is this the religious group that Huckabee belongs to?????
I have an acquaintance who recently graduated from High School. He is reasonably intelligent, polite and respectful. I asked him a few very general questions on history, science, government, etc. to gauge his education. He knew no answers to any questions, so I started making them easier. For example, I asked him how many U.S. Supreme Court justices there are. He guessed 60. Getting frustrated at getting not a single correct answer, I asked him one I thought there was no way he could fail to get: Can you name one important historical event that occurred in 1776? He didn’t have a clue. This is the state of public education.”
What kids of grades did they bestow upon your friend?
The saddest part of this story is that this friend has now joined the “adult” part of the working force or college, and believes that they are a useful, productive person who deserves a job with a six-figure salary.....
I am beyond happy that I don’t have to hire and fire any more. I would reject about 299 out of 300 “applicants”. Perhaps more.
They cannot write, do math, or think. They have led to believe that a calculator is an extension of their hand, and have never been taught to think out a problem, just to punch the buttons. A connect the dots thought process has been destroyed, and their ability to actually survice something dire is nil.
Home/private schooling is our only hope for the future.
People I have run into in college who are exposed as lacking basic knowledge or thinking skills seem to revel in that fact. They don't act ashamed at all. They just seem to parrot that plastic philosopher and say "Thinking is hard" or "Thinking makes my head hurt". It has happened so frequently that it really has soured my outlook on other people, especially because I enjoy intellectual challenges and learning new things.
The proplem is the lack of expository preaching in the pulpits of SBC churches. Expository preaching is the only method of preaching and teaching that adequately conforms to our belief in an inerrant Bible. Today, there is a famine of the hearing (preaching and understanding) of the Word of God. Jesus said, "Sanctify them through the truth, your word is truth."
Our church has been without a pastor for nearly 2 years. The primary reason is that we are a very small chruch and can't offer a very attractive salary. But, while we have lots of resumes, and have had lots of men come and preach, we have not had one bible expositor come to our church. And, these men are all either seminary students, or recent seminary graduates.
Eight-five percent of their public schooled children abandon the faith
From the weak biblical content of the sermons, to the watered down presentation of the gospel, to the use of contemporary music which abandons the old hymns that had some real theological content, we are hardly presenting our youth with a real example or picture of true Christianity.
As an example, of what I am talking about, the truth is that 85% of Baptist youth do not leave the faith; they were never in the faith start with. The fact is that no one who has obtained salvation in Christ is ever lost again. This 85% may have been sitting in the seats, roasting hot dogs at the youth outings, riding in the canaoes on the youth float trips, singing Kumbayah (sp?) at the bonfire, but they have never faced their sin and come to Christ in repentance and faith.
Well yes, but then so does Bill Clinton and Al Gore so much for pols and “walking the walk.”
“the truth is that 85% of Baptist youth do not leave the faith; they were never in the faith start with”
I’m inclined to agree with you there. Another possible explanation might be simply that parents who are more devoted to making sure their child has a solid religious upbringing are simply more likely to homeschool, making the school not a cause of the child ‘losing the faith’ but more of an indicator of how likely it is... sort of like the older question “Do violent video games cause a greater rate of violent crime, or do violent criminals simply prefer to play violent video games?”
It's also a dangerous place for learning!
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