DOING OUR JOB

We have created a culture of violence, one that numbs the minds of children who are often not supported by parents. We've created a culture where drugs, alcohol, and teen sex are endorsed everywhere we turn. We indulge our children with violent toys and video games; we let them see movies or television programs that are saturated with violence. A moment of silence at the beginning of the [school] day would not change these realities. What would change them is a personal and genuine Christian faith. It is through our faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit working in us that we find the strength, convictions, and power to live as Christ's people.

But it is not the job of the school to bring our children to Christ; it is the responsibility of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, and the church. If kids meet Christ today it will be because of churches that are willing to be lighthouses and because, during the hour a week we have these kids in Sunday school, church members take seriously the call to teach and mentor children and lead children to discipleship or because others are willing to be youth group sponsors and youth Bible study leaders. Lives are changed because of what our Sunday school teachers and youth leaders do. Children's lives are affected by every adult they interact with at church. And more children from our community need to be invited to church. If our children will learn the Lord's Prayer, if they will come to know Noah and Abraham, Esther and Ruth, Joseph and Mary, and most important, Jesus Christ, they will do so because we are doing our job in caring for children and loving them into the kingdom of God!

-- Adam Hamilton in Confronting the Controversies

 
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