In my circle of family, friends, and peers, a frequent topic is God in public schools. I heard about this growing up and I hear about it from fellow parents now. Recently, there's a small town in southeastern Ohio that is being sued because of a portrait of Jesus that hangs in their halls. With social media, your peers' beliefs get magnified 100x because they "like" pages that agree with their beliefs and then "share" those beliefs 10x a day. As a Christian parent, this is a topic that I'm concerned about too though.
In a short, concise sentence, here's what we (Christians) want: Jesus in schools. At this point, we would take it in almost any small form. It could be the pledge, a class on the Bible, morning prayer, or even a teacher being able to express their beliefs. Here's the truth Christians: We're not bringing the 10 commandments hanging on the wall back, we're not getting rid of evolution all together (maybe we can teach it side-by-side with creationism), and we aren't going to have teachers lead the morning prayers. I'm sorry, but I just don't see it happening and I pray that I'm wrong. This country seems to be fleeing from God in every way possible.
This week I realized a gorilla-warfare-tactic to get Jesus into schools. It's like James Bond, 007, super-sneaky way to infiltrate the public school systems of the USA. Are you ready?........... We put Jesus in our children and send them to public school! Brilliant plan! I know!
Before you blow this off, let me tell you what happened this week. Gabe and Sara went to school this week and told their classes that their Dad is going to China to hand out Bibles. Their teachers took time from their lesson plans to show the class where China was on the map. The teachers also emailed us and said how excited Gabe and Sara were to tell their classes about my trip. All this activity from a six and seven year old that are excited about Jesus!
Now here's the challenge:
I have a lot of peers that would check the Christian box on a survey, but if I asked them, "Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?" They would say, "No." Now, I'm not writing to condemn you. I'm not better than you. I'm broken. I'm a sinner and that's why I need Jesus. I am writing to ask for your help. If you check the Christian box, I need you to help me infiltrate the public schools, corporate America, the local mall, government, etc. You've heard the phrase, "if you don't vote, you can't complain." Well, if you aren't a follower of Christ, you can't complain that God's not in our schools. You can't complain that a Christmas tree isn't allowed at city hall. You can't boast that this country is founded on the Bible if your life isn't founded on the Bible. I challenge you to first get Jesus in you and then in your children if you want this country to change!
Finally, to those who are actively following Christ: adequately equip your children. We are told to worship with "mind and spirit." Give them the resources to combat the world's view (this is especially important for high school and college kids). Let them know that they are the light. Talk to them about sharing their faith with their classmates. Give them exciting things to share with their friends.
