Public or Parochial?

I remember when I first started at my local Christian school, Faith Heritage, the bus driver asking me, "Public or parochial?". I had no idea what in the world she was asking and I'm sure she could tell by my half-confused, half-nervous facial expression. By the way, I was only 5 or 6. But I digress.
A friend of mine asked me via Facebook what my thoughts are concerning public school and Christian school. I think she asked me because I went to Faith Heritage (from here on it will be referred to as FHS)from kindergarten until I graduated. From there I went on to Philadelphia Biblical University for my undergrad and I'm currently in seminary. Basically, my entire education has revolved around Christian institutes. Did I mention that my dad is a pastor so I was at church all the time? Well I was and in many ways I still am. My wife and I have been a part of planting two churches; one in Philly and we're currently part of one here in Syracuse.
My connections with public school have come by way of my employment. I have worked for the Liverpool Public school system for 4 years as a special education TA. I have worked at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. It has been interesting and informative seeing that I never stepped foot in a public school when I was actually in school. OK, enough with the background, now my opinion.
Christian school definitely has some benefits but, as with most things, it has its downfalls as well. I truly enjoyed my Christian schooling at FHS but it was all I knew. My class stayed at around 50 kids all the way through. This allowed me to get to know everyone although I didn't hangout with everyone. We all knew each other and to a certain degree were all friends. So in that aspect it was nice. Athletically, we competed against the public schools and fared well. Academically, it was challenging. I recall many times talking with "public school kids" and being amazed at their lack of school work. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like they didn't do the same quantity or quality of work. I don't mean that in a negative or arrogant way, it just seemed like we wrote more papers and whatnot.
Obviously, the most differentiating factor for a Christian school is the fact that it's Christian. We had chapel every Wednesday where we sang and listened to a sermon-esque message. The boys wore ties and the girls wore dresses. We were very spiritual in our attire (that's sarcasm, to a certain extent). There were mandatory Bible classes and annual retreats. Almost every class began with prayer as its foundation. Overall, Christ was at the center of every facet of school. When done correctly, it was a great thing.
But here's the catch. At Christian school the assumption is that everyone is a Christian. And by Christian I mean one who is living correctly, doing their devotions, praying regularly, and going to church (these aren't the only benchmarks of Christianity). Unfortunately, this is/was not the case and it was continually left unchecked. The same was true at PBU because you assume everyone must be "doing alright" spiritually or they wouldn't be at Bible college. In short, there isn't always a great emphasis on accountability which easily leads to a mere adherence to an outward set of rules. The leap to hypocrisy is an easy one since everyone can see your external actions while you hide your inner attitudes. I don't want to sound like Debbie Downer but Christian schools tend to breed apathy in a world that laughs at religion in general and Christianity in particular.
Conversely, I have worked in the public school system for almost 4 years and it has been an eye opener. Not necessarily in a negative light but more along the lines of a mission field. The apathy that is characterized in Christian schools (and in Christianity in general) is contrasted by the wanton need for firm belief in public schools. It seems to be me that it's either sink or swim in public school. There is not much middle ground of belief because of the constant pressure to stay close to Jesus. The blatant disregard for religion and religious people [read Christians] should be pushing our teens toward a deeper faith. They must have a firm belief or they might be relegated to a group of fools. Overall, it seems like public school either pushes you toward a submitted life to Christ or to complete disregard for him. For those who strive towards maturity in their faith, public schools, both in their education and polity, will challenge and engage every facet of their life. To me the public school system offers a refining and profitable environment for the Christian that will produce the faith needed for life. This is definitely more so than in the Christian bubble.
These aren't all my thoughts on Christian and public schools. There are many benefits for both but this blog is merely based on my experience and the need for missional intellectual Christians.

Life after life after death?

No I didn't accidently write one too many life afters. We've all heard/thought/talked about life after death. We've all had loved ones whom we cherish die. The comfort has typically laid with the concept of heaven and what that entails. But what is the Christian biblical idea of heaven? Is it somewhere we I will live eternally with Jesus? Is it somewhere I look forward to and thus strive to enter? Is it somewhere where everyone goes after we die as long as we're good? Or is there something else? Is there life after life after death?
I would say yes. Heaven is a grand place but it is also not the final destination for the follower of Christ. The new heavens and new earth shall be our final home. Heaven is sort of like a waiting room until the final ressurection. So some might say why all the heaven talk within Church? I never hear much about the new heavens and earth.
Well, unfortunately, that is a main problem with evangelical churches here in America. We don't know our biblical theology. Check out the end of Revelation. Specifically, chapters 21-22. What does it say? Especially notice the fact of the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven. There is an idea we don't hear all the time. But isn't it so true? Isn't one of the main, if not the main, concepts in the Bible? The amazing truth of the Triune God is his entrance to earth from heaven. The heavens are always coming down to us here on earth, not vice versa. The Triune God is always making his presence known with us here in his created worldly order. We currently live on earth, one half of creation, while God lives in heaven. In the end, the Triune God will live in cohabitation with us on earth. The veil will be lifted and we will live in the full presence of the Trinity.
The incredible thing is that God has always been redeeming us and bringing us back into fellowship with him. Ever since the fall (Genesis 3) God has been making the movements of redemption towards us. Jesus' death and resurrection are the crux of history, which initiated the beginning of the new creation. Again, notice, he came to us; he didn't bring us to him. From Jesus' resurrection forward, the kingdom of God has been making inroads into the evil that pervades our world. The eschaton will bring God's kingdom to full fruition by way of God's presence being brought to earth.
The point of all this is my concern for the overwhelming assumption by many Christians about heaven. This is by no means a sufficient of complete thought concerning heaven and the new earth but hopefully it gets people thinking. We must be aware of the truth found in Scripture and how it effects our lives. More to come in the future.

Lansing, MI Church Vandalized/Attacked

Here is a story about the "tolerant" actions of a liberal group and the Christian response of the church:

Michigan liberals attack Lansing congregation in the middle of Sunday worship

By Nick, Section News
Posted on Mon Nov 10, 2008 at 01:33:05 PM EST

This is what we're up against.
On Sunday morning, amidst worshiping congregants and following unifying prayers that our President-elect be granted wisdom as he prepares to lead our nation through difficult global, social and economic challenges, the Michigan left declared open war on peaceful church goers.

They did it with banners, chants, blasphemy, by storming the pulpit, by vandalizing the church facility, by potentially defiling the building with lewd, public, sex acts and by intentionally forcing physical confrontations with worshipers.

This didn't take place in some dystopian, post modern work of fiction and it didn't take place in San Francisco or Berkley. This was the scene at a Bible believing church in Lansing, Michigan.

Read on...

On Sunday, November 9, 2008 Michigan liberals sat peacefully through announcements, worship and prayer for the sick, our nation and our President-elect before staging a coordinated, disgusting and repulsive attack on worshipers and the broader concept of the church itself at Lansing's Mount Hope Church.

The lefties were a part of a liberal organization known as Bash Back Lansing and their collection of radical blogs, including one of the state's most widely read "mainstream" progressive blogs (and none which will receive a link on this website) called on "queers and trannies" from across the state and the region to converge on Lansing for what they refer to as an "action." While many of the members claim to be anarchists (they drove on roads, ate non-garden grown foods, printed materials on products created by government protected free markets, wore clothing, talk incessantly about "organization," etc etc etc) their broader goal is stated plainly on one of their lefty blogs.

"I can tell you that we are targeting a well-known anti-queer, anti-choice radical right wing establishment."


Mount Hope, for the record, is an evangelical, bible believing church whose members provide free 24 hour counseling, prayer lines, catastrophic care for families dealing with medical emergencies, support groups for men, women and children dealing with a wide variety of life's troubles, crisis intervention, marriage ministries, regular, organized volunteer work in and around the city, missions in dozens of countries across the globe, a construction ministry that has built over 100 churches, schools, orphanages and other projects all over the world and an in-depth prison ministry that reaches out, touches and helps the men and women the rest of society fears the most. They also teach respect for all human life and the Biblical sanctity of marriage as an institution between one man and one woman.

This is what Michigan liberals label a "radical right wing establishment," and over 30 of them showed up in force yesterday. Wearing secret-service style ear pieces and microphones they received the "go" from their ringleader and off they went.

Prayer had just finished when men and women stood up in pockets across the congregation, on the main floor and in the balcony. "Jesus was gay," they shouted among other profanities and blasphemies as they rushed the stage. Some forced their way through rows of women and kids to try to hang a profane banner from the balcony while others began tossing fliers into the air. Two women made their way to the pulpit and began to kiss.

Their other props? I'll let them tell you in their own words... from another of their liberal blogs:

"(A) video camera, a megaphone, noise makers, condoms, glitter by the bucket load, confetti, pink fabric...yeh."

The video camera they put to good use as they attempted to provoke a violent reaction. The image of the pink-clad folks above is one of theirs, stating in a picture worth more than a thousand words the goals of the Michigan left.

The "open minded" and "tolerant" liberals ran down the aisles and across the pews, hoping against hope to catch a "right winger" on tape daring to push back (none did). And just in case their camera missed the target, they had a reporter in tow. According to a source inside the church yesterday there was a "journalist" from the Lansing City Pulse along for the ride, tipped off about the action and more interested in getting a story than in preventing the vandalism, the violence and anti-Christian hatred being spewed by the lefties. We'll see what he files and what his editors see fit to print.

Props were readily on display too, though some of the condoms may have been put to even more nefarious use.

An hour after police and security had collected and removed who they thought were the last of the liberals, a volunteer security person discovered two more, hiding, together, in a public restroom. While their compatriots engaged in openly violent protest in front of everyone these two snuck away to potentially stage their own protest of sorts, and only by the grace of God did one of the hundreds of kids at the church not happen upon that particular restroom in those moments. Precisely how long they'd been there and precisely what they'd been up to we don't know.

The church's response? After things settled down, the blasphemy ended, the lewd props removed and the families safe from fear of additional men and women running into and past them the pastor took the stage and led the congregation in one more prayer... not for retribution, or divine justice or a celestial comeuppance (that's what I'd have prayed for) but instead that the troubled individuals who'd just defiled the Lord's house, so full of anger and hate, would know Jesus' love in their lives and God's peace that exceeds human understanding.

Yesterday morning defined the difference between a church of believers and Michigan liberals. It also illustrated in shocking, painful detail precisely what we're up against.