BWi 2016 - TRUTH

If you’ve been paying attention to our culture recently, you’d have to agree that truth has a different definition than when we were kids (which is like ages ago!) Today truth means whatever you want it to mean. The buzz words you need to know are as follows:

1. Truth is now deemed to be relative. Your truth is as valid as my truth since each truth is based on one’s own personal experience or feelings.
   
   
2. We live in what is called a postmodern society. This means that truth no longer has to be verified or proven or factual like in the scientific “modern” times. What does this mean for our children? It means that they will live in a culture where people can define their own reality. We see this already in terms of sexuality and gender, and it’s beginning to influence our concept of race as well. This concept has been codified in our laws by our nation’s highest court. Think about the statement written by Justice Kennedy in the Planned Parenthood vs. Casey decision: At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. According to Kennedy and many others, the essence of freedom means that you can literally define your own reality. You make your own rules. You are the captain of your own destiny. You are the master of your fate. Our Biblical Worldview Institute (BWi) conference this year was coordinated to counter this relative idea of truth. Students will have the opportunity to listen to several of this nation’s leading thinkers and writers from a Biblical worldview perspective and will walk away, hopefully, equipped to stand boldly for the Truth of God’s Word. Students from several other Christian schools will join our PCA students for these two days of intensive worldview training – and you are invited to come and listen as well! Mark off the dates of Thursday, Nov. 10 and Friday, Nov. 11 from 8 a.m.--noon each day. Below is a list of speakers and topics by day:
   
   Thursday, Nov. 10

• Dr. Frank Turek – How Do We Know What is True?
• Dr. Michael Strauss – Do Science and the Bible Conflict?
• Dr. Jeremiah Johnson – Speaking Truth in an Age of Intolerance
• D.A. Horton – Ethnic Conciliation
  
  Friday, Nov. 11

• Dr. Greg Thornbury – Speaking Truth at a Cost
• Jerry Rassamni – The Truth about Islam
• Scott Klusendorf – Truth and Lies about Life
• Trip Lee – Speaking Truth in an Age of Entertainment

Election 2016

Heard enough about the Presidential election? Well, after TODAY, some of the talk will be over – but the effects of this election are just beginning! If you haven’t voted yet, or are thinking about sitting this election cycle out, I’d love to share a few things that I don’t often hear from others. I think they are worthy of consideration:

1. The office of the President is NOT the only position on the ballot you have an opportunity to vote for today. I hear that some people are thinking about “sitting this election out” and that concerns me for all the incredible people who are “down ballot” and will miss out on these votes. These are very important races as well, and you need to voice your thoughts and opinions through your ballot on these elections.
   
   
2. Party IS important. No, it’s not the sole factor when I vote, but I’ve been involved in politics long enough to know what the role of the political party in our system today is very important. Party affiliation will significantly influence the leadership of both houses of Congress and play a major role in committee assignments for members. Many votes in the House and the Senate are done along party lines and the party of the president greatly influences his or her ability to work with a Congress controlled by the party system. So while many people continue to tell you to vote your principles (with which I agree), be a wise voter and understand the impact of party politics in today’s environment as well.
   
   
3. The Supreme Court. Ok, I’m sure you’ve heard about this issue several times before, but it’s so critical in this particular election not only because the next President’s first order of business will be to replace the late Justice Scalia, but also since there is a great likelihood that one or two more justices will be retiring in the very near future. Two justices (Ginsburg and Kennedy) are in their 80s and Breyer is 78 years old.
   
   
4. We live in modern-day Babylon. I think this is very important to understand. I hear many people who are disillusioned with the two candidates at the top of the ballot and feel that they can’t vote for either. To that concept I would simply remind them that they have an opportunity to vote for “their candidate” in the primary cycle and if other like-minded people had come out and voted for their candidate, maybe we would have different choices today! I would also say that the choice today is no different than any other election – pick the candidate who you feel would do the better job of the two. Not the perfect candidate. God told His children in Jeremiah 29:7 to “seek the welfare of the city…and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” The two candidates for President and the two parties they represent have two very different visions for this country and will work to implement two very different plans. Study those plans and agendas and examine which one has the better concept for your community. Then select that one at the ballot box. Your vote is not a blanket endorsement of the person or their lifestyle and personal choices. It is a political selection. If one of these individuals were to marry your child, there would be a different set of questions you would ask and a different standard by which you would judge them. They are running for a political office and they will stand before their ultimate judge one day and face the music for the decisions they made. As will we. Today, Nov. 8, 2016, is Election Day. If you have the right to vote, I hope and pray you’ll exercise that right and vote responsibility!

Purity

As many of you already know, Dr. Taylor selected the theme of “purity” for this year, and it has been an incredible opportunity for our school to dive into what Biblical purity means and how important purity is for the Christian journey. To assist families in this endeavor, Prestonwood has connected with one of the leading filtering and monitoring software companies in the country, Covenant Eyes, which is offering a special rate for Prestonwood families. My entire family is now using Covenant Eyes, and we love having the accountability that this tool affords. There are a few things you need to know when using this accountability tool. One is that if you are using the iPhone, Covenant Eyes can’t monitor where you go if you are using an app, like Twitter or Instagram. We have had to delete these apps on our phones, but you can still access those sites by going to them via the Internet, which Covenant Eyes can monitor

PCA parents may also be interested in the many great E-Books Covenant Eyes has on their site at http://www.covenanteyes.com/e-books/. Some of the titles of these E-Books are: "Parenting in the Internet Generation," "Protecting Your Family Online," "When Your Child is Looking at Porn," and "A Parent’s Guide to Cyberbullying."

Now, something else that you need to take into consideration is how much “screen time” you’re allowing for your son or daughter. A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics has revised their recommendation and LOWERED that time for children. The AAP has recommended that children under 2-years-old completely avoid screen time and the two hours of screen time a day for 2- to 5-year-olds has been cut in half! While the AAP doesn’t recommend limits for older children, they do encourage parents to limit screen time before kids go to bed and they strongly encourage parents to make sure their children are getting enough exercise. I would said that it would be wise for all parents, regardless of the age of your children, to monitor not only the places where your children visit online, but also the amount of time they spend online and on any “screen.”

And, finally, speaking of screen time, have you heard of and used VidAngel yet? VidAngel is a very unique concept that was really born in response to the efforts of Congress to provide greater control for families over the concept of the movies they watch. While Congress doesn’t want to filter content (that would be censorship), they did create the Family Movie Act and according to VidAngel’s website, this is what the Act requires for you to control the content coming into your home:

1. The movie is an authorized copy
2. Watched in the privacy of the home, and…
3. No permanent filtered copy is created

The reality is that you actually purchase a movie from VidAngel for around $20, which gives you the rights to alter that movie – just like fast-forwarding material you don’t wish to see. There are certain parameters and criteria that you can instruct VidAngel what level of profanity, nudity, etc. is appropriate for your home. Then the technology does the rest! The movie will play normally, but those areas of concern are simply eliminated from the movie. Then, when you’re finished watching the movie, you sell the movie back to VidAngel, usually for around $18 – which means that in the end, you’ve only spent a dollar or two to “purchase/rent” the movie. You’ve got to see it to believe it – pretty great. Check out their website. If your family has other incredible tools to help you monitor, filter and manage technology for your home that you’ve found to be effective and easy, email those ideas and suggestions to me, and I’ll include them in my parent training opportunities. My email is dpanetti@prestonwoodchristian.org. Thanks!

Racial Reconciliation Conversation

Earlier this year we had an incredible opportunity to dive into some very meaningful and powerful conversations with our students about the issues related to racial unrest in our country. I’m sure it was a topic of conversation for many of our families with students in 7^th-12^th grade as we spent three intense weeks in chapel watching, listening, discussing and learning. For those who were not a part of this conversation, I want to share one of the most powerful tools that we shared with our students. This is a sermon from Dr. Tony Evans, pastor at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship titled A Biblical Response on Race. Dr. Evans preached this message on July 17, 2016, the Sunday following the shootings of the Dallas police officers. I would highly recommend you watch this video, and listen as Dr. Evans addresses racial issues from a biblical perspective.

God's Not Dead 2

You just can’t make this stuff up. On April Fool’s Day (April 1), the second installment of God’s Not Dead will be released. Get it? “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1). God’s Not Dead 2 hits audiences with a message ripped straight from the headlines and dozens of recent court cases where Christians have been attacked for their faith. In the movie, a public school teacher talks about Jesus in her classroom and is sued for subjecting her students to religious content in violation of the separation of church and state concept. The movie does a great job tackling this issue and explaining the Constitutional issues at hand, plus it’s pretty entertaining along with being educational. It's definitely a movie that you’ll want your family to see and talk about after.

If you want to learn more about the challenge to religion in the courtroom, check out the incredible resources offered by our friends at First Liberty, formerly known as Liberty Institute. The organization, headed by our friend Kelly Shackelford, changed their name to First Liberty because the protection of religious liberty is the “first” liberty mentioned in the First Amendment to the Constitution and it is, arguably, the most important liberty that we possess. You can find out tons of incredible information at their new website at https://firstliberty.org/

Importance of Individuals with "Special Needs"

This year, thanks to the incredible leadership of PCA mom Kathryn Young, Prestonwood Baptist Church was able to join several hundred other churches across the country in hosting one of the greatest events imaginable – a prom night for special needs individuals. This event is due to the efforts of Tim Tebow and his foundation to address a very real need in the special needs community – the need to feel special, not just be labeled as special. This event comes on the heels of another amazing event sponsored by Prestonwood Christian Academy – the “special friends” basketball game. For the past two years, PCA has hosted a basketball game with some special needs students playing with some PCA students and the game has been a huge success.

Why the emphasis on those with special needs? As our culture continues in moral decline, efforts continue to exist to eliminate those who are seen as “undesirable” by a progressive society which defines importance based on what a person does. Each year Dr. Larry Taylor trains the incoming students for our Student Leadership Institute(SLi) and as part of that training he shares with them a statement from a college professor – this is the quote that Dr. Taylor shows our students:

“Killing a disabled person is not morally equivalent to killing a person.”
-Peter Singer, Ph.D., Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University

Following Dr. Taylor’s presentation, I generally go back to that slide and ask the students how they would respond to the statement from Dr. Singer. How would you respond?

Scott Klusendorf, founder and president of Life Training Institute (LTI) and a confirmed speaker for our annual Biblical Worldview Institute(BWi) in November 2016, writes that Dr. Singer is putting forth a doctrine known as functionalism, the belief that what defines a person is what they can and cannot do. In other words, our culture has effectively reduced human beings into human “doings.” Our society values what a person does, not who they are. This utilitarian concept of humanity runs counter to a biblical worldview which values all human life solely because we are all created in the image of God – we are imago Dei: image bearers of God.

Obviously, this shift in worldview results in dramatic changes in our culture – in the way that we treat one another, in the manner in which we protect one another, in our civility, hospitality, manners, and even our laws. Currently, euthanasia or physician aid in dying (PAD) is legal in four states and may be expanding to others.

Just over two hundred years ago, William Wilberforce saw his beloved England and arrived at the same conclusion – that England had lost its “first love” of Christ which resulted in its horrendous treatment of humanity, specifically as it related to the issue of slavery. Wilberforce wrote a remarkable book commonly referred to as A Practical View of Christianity where instead of addressing the issue of slavery directly, he addressed the spiritual condition of the people of England. One thing that Wilberforce noticed was that children growing up in England referred to themselves as Christians, but yet they did not know much about the doctrines of God’s Word. He addressed this issue with this statement:

They [parents] would blush, on their child’s coming out into the world, to think him defective in any branch of that knowledge, or of those accomplishments which belong to his station in life, and accordingly these are cultivated with becoming assiduity. But he is left to collect his religion as he may; the study of Christianity has formed no part of his education, and his attachment to it (where any attachment exists at all) is, too often, not the preference of sober reason, but merely the result of early prejudice and groundless prepossession.

In other words, parents were making sure that their children knew about the things in life that would help them be successful in business, athletics, or other areas of importance, but were not putting the same, if any, effort into the spiritual development of their children. Children were growing up with some tangential understanding of the Christian faith, but it was not central to who they were, how they thought about the world around them and how they acted toward others. The key, according to Wilberforce, was that young people were growing up not being rooted and built up in the Word of God. He wrote this scathing comment:

The truth is, their opinions on these subjects [subjects like slavery] are not formed from the perusal of the word of God. The Bible lies on the shelf unopened.

As a result of the life and work of William Wilberforce, England was literally transformed. The bill to abolish slavery introduced year after year for over 30 years was finally passed just a few days before Wilberforce passed away. We can learn so much from the example of William Wilberforce – the battle we are fighting, while having a practical political component, is really a spiritual battle. We must, as parents, ground our children in the Word of God – nurture a Biblical worldview so that they not only see the world through the lens of Scripture, they see themselves and others through that lens as well. When we see individuals with “special needs” as our brothers and sisters in Christ, not for what they can’t do, but for all the joy and opportunities they bring to remind us that we aren’t human “doings” we are human beings!

BWi THIS WEEK: God vs. Government!

What happens when Christians are mandated by government fiat to either take actions contrary to their belief system or are prohibited from doing or saying something that is integral to their religious practice? I know that’s a mouth-full and a very deep concept, but you don’t have to imagine this anymore. It’s a reality today…here in the U.S.! This reality is what our annual Biblical Worldview Institute student conference will address on Thursday morning, Nov. 12 and Friday morning, Nov. 13. This is not just for our 7th-12th grade students! As a parent, you should make every effort to attend as well!

Here’s what you need to know:

Thursday morning, November 12
Location: Worship Center, Prestonwood Baptist Church
Doors Open: 8:00 a.m., speakers begin at 8:30 a.m.

Speakers/Times:
8:30-9:00 a.m. Dr. Jim Denison, “God as the Ultimate Authority”
9:00-10:00 a.m. Panel Discussion: “God vs. Government: Who Do We Follow?”

• Christopher Corbett, Vice President for Strategic Communications at Liberty Institute
• Carly Gammill, American Center for Law and Justice
• Dr. Michael Lindsay, President of Gordon College
• Scott Turner, Texas State Representative

10:15-11:00 a.m. Kris Paronto, member of CIA Annex security team in Benghazi, Libya

11:00-11:45 a.m. Lily Isaacs, daughter of Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivors

Friday morning, November 13
8:30-9:00 a.m. Dr. Greg Thornbury, President of The King’s College (NYC)
9:00-10:00 a.m. Phil Cooke, “The Power of Influence in Today’s Digital Age”
10:00-10:30 a.m. Johnnie Moore, “ISIS and the Persecuted Church”
10:40-11:20 a.m. AXIS event, “We Are What We Love”

Again, you are welcome to attend any or all of these outstanding sessions and are welcome to invite friends, family, co-workers, etc. to attend. You can either register to attend at Prestonwoodchristian.org/bwiconference or simply show up – walk-ins are welcome. There is a small fee ($7) to help cover costs associated with this event.

Supreme Court Justice: Christians Should RESIGN!

When the famous French statesman and historian Alexis de Tocqueville visited America, he marveled at the differences he saw following the successful revolution in this country compared to the failed revolution of his own beloved France. He published his findings and thoughts in 1835 in a work entitled Democracy in America. Much of his assessment of the situation he found in this country related to the religious institutions and moral fiber of this nation. He wrote the following:

In the United States the sovereign authority is religious,…there is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America, and there can be no greater proof of its utility and of its conformity to human nature than that its influence is powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.

Much has changed in the 180 years that followed de Tocqueville’s assessment of the important role that religion, and specifically Christianity, plays in the role of this great nation. Justice Anthony Kennedy, author of the controversial Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015, sees the role of religion in this country a little differently than de Tocqueville did. Speaking to a group of law students at Harvard recently, Justice Kennedy was addressing the “difficult moral questions” that many Christians now face in this country because of his decision in Obergefell. Faced with the legal mandate that same-sex unions are to be given equal treatment, many Christian businessmen and women are confronted with a choice – to follow the law of the land or to follow their own conscience informed by their religious views and values. According to Justice Kennedy, the choice is obvious, at least for elected officials like Kim Davis. Davis, an elected county clerk of Rowan Country, Kentucky, chose not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. She didn’t want her name on those marriage certificates and refused to follow the law of the land set forth by Justice Kennedy and four other unelected judges. Justice Kennedy’s recommendation to Kim Davis and anyone else who would refuse to follow the law: resign.

“The rule of law is that, as a public official in performing your legal duties, you are bound to enforce the law,” is what Justice Kennedy told those law students. He added that “great respect, it seems to me, has to be given to people who resign rather than do something they view as morally wrong.” As an example, Justice Kennedy referenced three German judges who resigned rather than follow the dictates of the Nazi government. Did you follow his logic there? When the government tells you to do something that is contrary to your moral beliefs and values, you can either follow the mandate of the government (violate your own conscience) or resign.

Several questions come to mind from this statement.

1. Is Justice Kennedy saying that the mandate of THIS government from the Obergefell decision is akin to the mandates of the Nazi regime in Germany? It would seem that history has demonstrated clearly that even though Hitler came to power legally, his reign of terror resulted in an abusive and therefore illegitimate government. The real heroes of Germany where not those who resigned or followed the law of the land, but those who rebelled and refused to participate in the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Is there any worse example that Justice Kennedy could have used than Nazi Germany?
2. Wasn’t THIS country founded on the principle of rebellion against abusive and wrong government mandates? Our famed Declaration of Independence is a list of grievances that patriots had against the abusive government mandates of the King of England. Instead of resigning their positions of power and influence, patriots used those positions to not only bring pressure on the King to change, but as a course of last resort, these same patriots led a revolution against that abusive government.
3. Hasn’t THIS country learned that just because the Supreme Court says something, that doesn’t make it right? Remember the Dred Scott decision in 1857 in which the Supreme Court declared that African-Americans, whether slave or free, could not be American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in American courts! What about the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 where the Supreme Court mandated racial segregation in public facilities under the “separate but equal” doctrine? This ridiculous decision wasn’t overturned until the Supreme Court reversed itself in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.

The reality is that Christians shouldn’t resign from their positions of power and influence in this country, but should utilize those positions to right the wrong that has been forced upon this nation by unelected government officials! Just because the Supreme Court is the final arbiter in our governmental process, does that make their decisions right? As Abraham Lincoln reminded the country in his famous Gettysburg Address, the American people are not subject to our government, rather our government should be subject to the will of the American people. We have a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” As citizens of this great nation, Christians have a moral obligation to stand against the abuse of power from its government officials.

Founder James Madison, hailed as the “father of the Constitution,” knew that government abuses were real and must be addressed as the framework for this new nation was set. He wrote in The Federalist #51 the following sentiment:

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.

Notice the obligation that Madison requires for the legitimacy of government – “[a] dependence on the people.” Instead of asking those who disagree to leave or resign their positions as Justice Kennedy is suggesting, James Madison would say that government should listen to the concerns of her citizens when they disagree. If the government seeks to silence the voice of opposition, the result could be the proverbial fox watching the hen house – government run amuck.

What, then, can Christians do as citizens of this country to help?

1. Be an informed voter. Electing good representatives to positions of power and influence is an important role of the electorate.
2. Don’t resign or refuse to participate in the process. So many people are disappointed and disillusioned by the direction of our government that one voice in the wilderness seems to be insignificant. Let me remind you of the warning of Edmund Burke, who said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” One vote and one voice can make a difference if that vote is used well and that voice is speaking truth.
3. Raise a generation of engaged young people who have a passion to know and stand for truth…regardless of the cost!

Wise Words from Lady Gaga?!

Much has been made recently of the statements by pop singer Lady Gaga. Most probably don’t know that Lady Gaga’s real name is Stefani Germanotta and apparently Stefani has had somewhat of a revolution in her life. In a recent speech she gave at Yale University, Stefani made this comment:

I feel sad when I'm overworked and I just become a money-making machine and passion and creativity take a backseat. That makes me unhappy. So what did I do? I started to say no. I'm not doing that. I don't want to do that. . . . And slowly but surely, I remembered who I am.

Dr. James Denison, in his outstanding commentary called The Denison Forum on Truth and Culture compared the comment of Stefani Germanotta to the statement by billionaire investor Warren Buffet who said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” Denison went on to write about how Christians need to evaluate their decisions in life, based on the agenda that God has for them. Denison asks Christians to reflect on God’s purpose and plan for their lives and consider their plans in light of God’s call to “seek first the kingdom of heaven.”

Think about the statement from Lady Gaga – she is admitting that she got distracted by the things of this world that didn’t fit into the ultimate plan for her life. It reminds me of the warning that is given in John 10:10 just before the verse that says Jesus came to that we can “have life and have it abundantly.” What can cause us to miss this “abundant life?” Well, the plan of the Enemy is “to steal and kill and destroy.” If that’s the end goal, what’s the strategy of our Enemy? Simple: distraction!

C.S. Lewis in his incredible work The Screwtape Letters, tries to peek behind the curtain of the Enemy by sharing what a conversation may look like from one demon to another as they carry out the work to counter what God is doing. Lewis writes that our Enemy is busy at work distracting mankind from what Ephesians 2:10 calls our “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Consider this exchange from Screwtape, the older demon, to his young apprentice Wormwood (remember that the “Enemy” in this exchange between demons is actually God):

You can make him do nothing at all for long periods. You can keep him up late at night, not roistering, but staring at a dead fire in a cold room. All the healthy and outgoing activities which we want him to avoid can be inhibited and nothing given in return, so that at last he may say, as one of my own patients said on his arrival down here, “I now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked.” The Christians describe the Enemy as one “without whom Nothing is strong.” And Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man’s best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, in drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off.

You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,

The “safest road to Hell is the gradual one” – how profound! This reminds me of another of Lewis’ great works: The Abolition of Man. In this book, Lewis writes about the importance of education to wake and shake young people out of the distraction of ease and comfort into the understanding of the great and significant spiritual realm and war that is waging for the souls of men! Lewis writes this:

For every one pupil who needs to be guarded from a weak excess of sensibility there are three who need to be awakened from the slumber of cold vulgarity. The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts.

If I could write my perfect job description, it would include that phrase: “to irrigate deserts.” The great philosopher Socrates shared this idea with Lewis about the role of the educator. Socrates wrote, “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” Whether it’s called “irrigating deserts” or starting fires in the minds of students, the concept is the same. Our job at Prestonwood Christian Academy goes beyond teaching students to excel in the classroom or on the athletic court, but to excel in life, to make a difference in this world for the cause of Christ, to live a life that is “worthy of our calling” (Ephesians 4:1). I’m reminded of the incredible speech given by Theodore Roosevelt called “Citizenship in a Republic,” probably best known for a short excerpt that has been labeled The Man in the Arena:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

What can you do to raise students who are engaged in “a worthy cause?” Check out the following resources that are outstanding reads for you and for your students:

• Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper
• Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day by James Emery White
• In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars by Mark Batterson
• Through the Eyes of a Lion: Facing Impossible Pain, Finding Incredible Power by Levi Lusko
• Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex and Brett Harris
• Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis

Upcoming Wednesday Evening Class – Sept. 23

I am going to be conducting a class on Wednesday evening, Sept. 23 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Room W206 titled “Raising Your Student in a Same-Sex Culture.” The class will cover a brief history leading up to the SCOTUS decision in the Obergefell case that legalized same-sex marriage this summer as well as giving highlights from the legal and cultural landscape of what this means for all freedom-loving Americans, especially those whose religious views and values run counter to same-sex marriage. The one-night class is open to all, free of charge, but understand that the nature of the topic isn’t suitable for younger children, so please use discretion.

I’ll also be offering a five-week course called "Raising Counter-Cultural Students" on Wednesday evenings from Oct. 21 through Nov. 18 in Room A109. We will discuss some of the challenges and opportunities facing this generation of students as we prepare and equip them for what God has in store for their lives! Again, students from probably 6th or 7th grade and above are welcome to join us in this at your discretion. The topics for the five weeks will be:

1. Respect for Authority
2. Work Ethic
3. Sexuality/Gender
4. Technology
5. Misc. and Q&A

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Lessons from Miss America

I’ve had the privilege of working with pageant contestants preparing them for the strenuous and nerve-racking “questions-from-the-judges” section of a pageant. Pageant contestants have to be prepared for questions from the proverbial left field as anything and everything is fair game. The running joke is that contestants in the past could simply respond by saying that they wanted something like “world peace” or “clean water for everyone” and then smile and be done with that portion of the evening. Now, I wouldn’t normally comment on the Miss America pageant, but something struck me from this past contest – it wasn’t the questions – they were amazing questions – consider preparing yourself to answer a question on any one of the following topics:

• The Treasury wants to put the face of a woman on the $10 bill, beside Alexander Hamilton. Which woman should get that honor, and you tell me why.
• According to a poll released this week, Donald Trump is leading Republican candidates by thirty-two percent of the vote. Why do you think he's leading by such an overwhelming margin?
• Some legislators are threatening to shut down the government over federal contributions to Planned Parenthood, even though no federal funds can be used for abortions. Should Planned Parenthood funding be cut off?
• New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for his part in the so-called Deflategate scandal, then reinstated by the courts. Legalities aside, did Tom Brady cheat?
• America loves our 2nd Amendment, but gun violence continues to be a tragic problem. Do you support a ban on military-style assault weapons?
• Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis was jailed for defying the Supreme Court's order to issue same-sex marriage licenses. She claims the order violates her religious freedom. Does it?
• The Black Lives Matter movement grew as a reaction to unarmed African Americans being killed by police. Now there are voices raised who call it a hate group and think it should be called 'All Lives Matter.' What do you think?

Great questions – wouldn’t you agree? But wouldn’t you also agree that each one of these questions deserves some significant thought and dialog – that’s what struck me about this. Contestants are given 20 seconds to respond to these questions. 20 seconds. That’s enough time to state an opinion and maybe a brief reason to support that opinion, but it doesn’t allow the person to really digest the issue, ponder the concept and then respond with a thoughtful and reasoned answer. These questions are exactly the type of issues that our students in our Student Leadership Institute (SLi) program are given each year to help develop their critical thinking skills – a skill according to many reports that has diminished significantly. But what do we expect when we give a person 20 seconds to listen, think and respond – it’s ridiculous. The only things that a person can really respond with are sound bites and bumper sticker comments that fail to scratch the surface of profound and meaningful dialog. Two of the responses from two contestants clearly demonstrates my frustration.

First, Miss Alabama Meg McGuffin was asked the question about Donald Trump leading the Republican primary candidates. Her response was interesting – she called Donald Trump an “entertainer” and said that Trump is saying “what’s on a lot of people’s minds.” Entertainers don’t say what’s on people’s minds unless what’s on people’s minds is entertainment. Does that make sense? Author and cultural critic Neal Postman wrote about this concept in his amazing work entitled Amusing Ourselves to Death. Postman was tremendously critical of the effects of television which dumb down the mind. In his explanation of his book, Postman compared two landmark works that both reached a similar conclusion – that civilization was headed in the direction of a controlling state – but the path was quite different for each writer. Consider Postman’s assessment of the situation in light of what we know today:

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us.

This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.”

I agree with Postman – Huxley was right. What we desire has ruined us. Which leads me to the other question and response that caught my attention. Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson was asked the question about which woman would be a plausible candidate to place on the $10 bill. Now that’s a pretty profound question – and what a great place to ask – a pageant of young women looking to make their mark on the world. So what great woman of history did Miss Colorado propose? One. Not a great woman of history, not even a woman from history. But rather an entertainer – Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen, you see, is a champion for the great cause of “tolerance and equality for all” – which is the platform of Miss Colorado. How fitting on so many levels.

How would you have answered those questions? How about your children – what would they say? Why don’t you ask them – and give them more than 20 seconds to think about their responses to these meaningful topics that require great thought and consideration. I am thankful that my children attend a school that is training them to think critically and Christianly about these and other significant and meaningful issues – and challenges them to speak intelligently on topics of concern. From our Student Leadership Institute to our Lion’s Scholar Program, from the Great Books program to the Capstone project for seniors, from our Speech and Debate program to the Mock Trial program, from the Stand Up and Be Heard program to our annual Biblical Worldview Institute conference – I could go on and on about how Prestonwood Christian Academy is unwilling to allow this next generation to amuse itself to death!

Seriously, You HAVE to See This!

I’ll be honest: I’m a crier. Not a “town-crier” that heralds the news at the top of his lungs – those days are past. Simply put, I cry rather easily. I say it’s because I’m Italian and that we’re an emotional people – not sure if that’s true or not – but the reality is that if it’s an emotional movie or song (just play Les Mis and watch the waterfall), you can bet that I’ll either be fighting back the tears or wiping them from my eyes. Which brings me to a movie that I first saw a few months ago and recently saw again with our Bible Fellowship class. War Room. Have you seen it yet?

If you have, you get it. You probably cried, too. If you haven’t seen it, you need to…and quickly. This is an amazing movie – not only because it is a profoundly spiritual movie that dives deep into God’s Word and the power of prayer, but also because it deals head on with the complications, frustrations, realities and emotions of life. War Room doesn’t pull any punches. But at the same time that it deals straight up with some profound issues, it also has enough levity and humor to make the overall experience enjoyable. Simply put: it’s not preachy…but it’ll preach!

We Castrate the Gelding

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a C. S. Lewis fan and picked up on the reference in the title to one of the most profound works by Lewis titled The Abolition of Man. In this small booklet, Lewis examines the cultural crisis and gives his commentary on why the world is heading in the wrong direction. I think the key to this book is that Lewis tells us that we shouldn’t be shocked by what we see in the news. The debauchery, the senseless violence, the hedonism – we should expect all of it and more because it is the natural expression of a people who are unable to rule their own passions and desires.

I was reminded of this incredible book recently when I saw the video and headlines of two high school athletes from San Antonio who ran full speed into a referee on purpose to retaliate for some of their teammates who had earlier been kicked out of the game. Two young men with absolutely no regard for authority, no regard for the safety of another human being, no regard for a defenseless person. As you read those words, can you see how we got here? Pretty obvious, isn’t it?

These young men have grown up in a culture where disregard for authority, disregard for human life and disregard for the most defenseless among us is on display and celebrated every day. Gone are the heroes of yesterday who stood up for the weak and defenseless, who cried “women and children first” into the lifeboats even at their own peril. Our country is turning its back on the God who takes great pride in defending the defenseless, in rescuing the weak and needy (see Psalm 82). So what should we expect from our youth who have been weaned on disrespect and encouraged to pursue their passions regardless of the cost to others? Lewis would tell us that we are producing “men without chests” and that we “castrate…the geldings.” The irony, according to Lewis, is that we still expect things to be different – for men to be virtuous, but we take great efforts not to teach virtue. We simply cannot have it both ways. We cannot “castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” If we are to have peace and prosperity in our society but individuals lack self-control, then we must expect the restraint to come from another source – and not cry when the rod of the state comes across our backs. When we run from God’s laws, we can’t expect the protection of God’s rules. It simply doesn’t work that way. The direction our nation is heading will result in more and more of these senseless acts of violence, more and more disregard for authority and human life. It should be no surprise then that California is looking to be the fifth state to have physician-assisted suicide – and more will follow.

For Lewis the solution was to return to producing “men with chests” – those who are able to rule over their minds and their passions with self-control from something higher than themselves – call it the Tao, call it morality, call it the Word of God. As Christians we have an incredible opportunity in this crazed culture to provide stability, peace and harmony – first in our own homes and then to be seeded into others by the work of the Holy Spirit as the old becomes new, the flesh becomes spirit, the dead is brought to life.

Is Bruce Jenner Really a Woman?

Bruce Jenner thinks he is a woman. Many watched ABC News reporter Diane Sawyer interview Jenner as he revealed to the world what many have speculated (and ridiculed him) about for years. That interview was to be his last as a man – when Bruce Jenner reemerges, it will be as a woman. But the question must be asked: Is Bruce Jenner really a woman?

The answer is simply no. Now, there are many who would disagree with me and even take offense that I would make such a statement. First of all, the argument would go, Bruce Jenner has the right to define his own existence, to express himself as he sees fit, to be who he really is. That was the line of reasoning that Bruce used – this is simply who he is. The fact that he’s been fighting against this reality, hiding it from others for years, doesn’t dismiss the reality that he is not a woman trapped in a man’s body – he’s simply a woman (according to Jenner).

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said it best in the 1992 Casey decision that upheld a woman’s right to an abortion when he wrote this:

These matters, involving the most intimate and personal choices a person may make in a lifetime, choices central to personal dignity and autonomy, are central to the liberty protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.

Did you catch that? At the heart of liberty, at the core of what it means to be free, to be fully human is the right to “define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” If that’s true, think about the ramifications. First, why would we even need a Supreme Court to make any determinations or decisions – I define my own reality, not the court, or the Congress, or the law, or anyone else. I say with Henley: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

In reality, Jenner has not replaced the courts or Congress as the ultimate authority in his life, he has replaced God as the Author and Creator of life. In Genesis, God revealed that He was the Grand Designer of life and in His words He said that He created “man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). But God goes on to tell us why He created us male and female. In verses 23-24 of Genesis chapter 2 it says:

Then the man said, “This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

Can you see how God’s design for gender and sexuality is grounded in the concept of marriage and family in these verses? Man – husband. Woman – wife. Man and woman together – parents. Family.

But something happened and it has happened in other civilizations before ours. The family has not been protected; the family has not done its job of passing along a legacy of faith from one generation to the next; the family has not secured gender and sexuality and protected these gifts for the proper use and function; the family has failed. And what happens to a society when the family fails? Consider the warning of President Lyndon B. Johnson who said:

The family is the cornerstone of our society. More than any other force it shapes the attitude, the hopes, the ambitions, and the values of the child. And when the family collapses it is the children that are usually damaged. When it happens on a massive scale the community itself is crippled. So, unless we work to strengthen the family, to create conditions under which most parents will stay together, all the rest – schools, playgrounds, and public assistance, and private concern – will never be enough.

The family is the cornerstone, and like Christ, has been rejected by our culture. Well known Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau once wrote: “In the beginning, God created man in his own image. Man, being the gentleman, returned the favor.” We have created gods in our own image. n essence, Bruce Jenner is his own god. By his life, statements and actions, he has rejected the Creator God and replaced Him with his own definition of reality. Where God said male, Bruce Jenner says female.

Psalm 118:8 says, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in men.” I am going to follow that wisdom and trust that what God has said is right. My hope and prayer is that others, like Bruce Jenner, would learn to do the same.

Hollywood Turned Christian?

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such an incredible offering of outstanding Christian movies than is currently available or coming soon. Christian movies featuring the first special needs actor in a leading role. Christian movies about the power of prayer and the power of the cross. Christian movies about the faith of our fathers. Christian movies about standing up for truth on a college campus. Christian movies about the erosion of our religious liberties. Christian movies about purity and chivalry. Christian movies about one of the first African American football players in the State of Alabama. And Christian movies about the life of Solomon!

For the movies I’ve already seen, here’s a list of recommendations:

War Room

Going on record now – best Christian movie I’ve seen so far! Now, I loved Do You Believe (see below) and thoughtThe Song and Where Hope Grows (both below) were incredible, but War Room is simply awesome. Priscilla Shirer (the daughter of Dr. Tony Evans) leads a great cast, but it’s not the acting that will win you over – it’s the story! The story is about the power of prayer and it deals specifically with a family situation that is crumbling right before your eyes. But it’s not over – not when God gets involved and changes the lives from the inside out. Thrilled to see comedian Michael, Jr. who was at our BWi in November have a great role in this movie as well. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that this movie is the fifth from the Kendrick Brothers – the guys who gave us Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof and Courageous! If you only watch one of the movies listed, pick this one! Comes to theaters August 28.

God’s Not Dead and Do You Believe

God’s Not Dead came out last year and is the story of a young college freshman who stands toe-to-toe with an atheist professor. Great movie, especially for teens before they go off to college! The same creators released Do You Believe this year – an outstanding movie about the lives of twelve different people who are dramatically impacted by the cross of Jesus Christ. Powerful and poignant. This film doesn’t hold any punches and deals with the struggles of life head on.

The Song

I still can’t believe that this movie did such an amazing job of featuring the life of Solomon in today’s culture. You have to pay attention to all the details – the one-liners about his dad being good at throwing rocks, the fact that Jedidiah (God’s name for Solomon) built the “temple,” and that his dad, David King (get it) was a musician! Great message about the devastating effects of adultery along with the power of forgiveness and redemption.

Where Hope Grows

Amazing story about the impact that one life can have. The movie stars David DeSanctis who has Down syndrome and will bring you to tears on more than one occasion! Powerful story about purity and second chances. Rated PG-13 for some mature themes not appropriate for younger audiences. Where Hope Grows opens in theaters May 15.

One Generation Away

A powerful documentary demonstrating the erosion of religious liberty in America. If you haven’t seen this one, check it out and show the whole family!

For the movies I’m hoping to see soon:

Woodlawn

A movie about a Birmingham high school football team swept up in a spiritual revival and the racial barriers that some were brave enough to face and break down.

Old Fashioned

This is a touching story about purity and chivalry – hasn’t hit too many theaters yet, but keep your eye out for it when it comes to video.

Could You Defend Marriage Before the Supreme Court?

Just last week the Supreme Court heard arguments for and against the expansion of marriage to include same-sex relationships. Think about what you would say to the Supreme Court justices to defend traditional marriage.

Would you use Bible verses and talk about how God has designed marriage to be a relationship between one man and one woman? While this is true, the Court may have a problem with arguments grounded in one particular religious belief since they wouldn’t want to establish one particular religious belief over another in violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution. You wouldn’t want another religious perspective on marriage to be forced upon you here in the U.S. Are there additional arguments that can be made not solely grounded in religious language?

You could argue that marriage between one man and one woman is traditional – that’s the way it’s always been not only here in the U.S., but in most major cultures across the globe and across the centuries. While this may be true also, does this mean that the Court is beholden to the way things have been done in the past?

And what about the arguments from those wishing to expand marriage to include same-sex relationships – are you ready to counter those before the Supreme Court? Some would say that since marriage is such a positive and foundational building block for society, expanding marriage to include more families is clearly a positive for everyone! Others might argue that not allowing same-sex relationships to have the stamp of approval from the state creates what amounts to a second-class citizen and is discriminatory and unfair. Or there is the argument that marriage isn’t really anything special since nearly half of all marriages end in divorce – so why couldn’t same-sex couples who are in love and wanting to have a family at least enjoy the same status and tax benefits as heterosexual couples?

This summer I am going to be teaching a course that deals with this and other significant and profound cultural issues with the goal being that our students will be able to speak intelligently and persuasively defending what they believe. The course was originally slated to be in June, but has been moved to July 7-9 (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) from 9:00 a.m. to noon. If you are interested in having your student attend this course, please check out my Worldviews in Conflict course offered during our Summers at Prestonwood.

Worldview Lessons from Mayweather vs. Pacquiao

For most, Mayweather/Pacquiao was a boxing match – some were calling it the “Fight of the Century.” Undefeated Mayweather, 47-0, was facing fan-favorite Manny Pacquiao – the “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s and currently ranked number three on the Ring pound-for-pound list according to Wikipedia. After waiting for five years to make this fight happen, both fighters were rewarded handsomely for twelve rounds of boxing – splitting an estimated $300 million.

So, just a normal, over-priced boxing match – what’s the big deal? Most people didn’t even think it was a very good fight. Boxer Mike Tyson wasn’t impressed. He tweeted after the fight:

We waited five years for that... #underwhelmed #MayPac

Regardless of whether you watched the fight or not, were impressed by the boxing or not, or even knew the fight happened, there were some monumental things that happened because or during the fight that really are worth your time and attention.

First, let’s turn to Revelation chapter 11 and there we read in verse nine that in the end times God will raise up “two witnesses” who will speak for the Lord, but when they have finished their testimony, they will be struck down by the beast from the bottomless pit and “their dead bodies will lie in the street” for three and a half days. During this time, “some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies.” Think about this for a moment. Two men will lie dead in the streets and people from all over the globe will be able to see them lying there. How?

Well, I used to think that the invention of the television answered that question, but I learned about something even more powerful than that and witnessed it in use during the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight. Live video streaming. One of a number of live broadcast apps are available, I have one called Periscope. Periscople is the Twitter-owned live video streaming app which enables people to see what someone else sees live – from anywhere in the world! For instance, just imagine that in some country, there was a room full of people watching the pay-per-view Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight – but if one of those people simply pointed their phones at their TV screen and logged on to Periscope, they could broadcast the fight live across the globe! I only know this because I was thinking how incredible it would be if possible – so I checked my Periscope the night of the fight and there were literally dozens of people broadcasting the fight live while thousands of people were watching it live on Periscope! And there are other live streaming apps like Meerkat, which allows you to post live video streams on Facebook.

Someday, very soon, it will be possible for nearly everyone in the world to be able to see an event live with just their phones and the Internet – can you imagine?!

Another lesson from the fight is how messed up our priorities are today. I was thinking about the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 12 where He said this:

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Some quick research on the Internet brought some humbling statistics to light – consider the following:

• Nearly one half of the world’s population — more than three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty — less than $1.25 a day.
• 2.1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty.
• 805 million people worldwide do not have enough food to eat.
• More than 750 million people lack adequate access to clean drinking water. Diarrhea caused by inadequate drinking water, sanitation, and hand hygiene kills an estimated 842,000 people every year globally, or approximately 2,300 people per day.

Each boxer took home nearly $100 million. That’s money that people paid to see this fight…money that could have been spent on someone or something else. When we complain about our messed up world, I am often reminded that the world we live in today is a reflection of what we value – and we value entertainment and pleasure far too much. Consider the following statistics on what we, as Americans, spend:

• According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statics, the average annual expenditures were $50,486. Spending on entertainment was $2,827 or 5.6% of all annual spending.

• According to another source, although $2,504 was the overall average Americans spent on entertainment, averages vary according to a different income brackets. According to the 2010 Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumers who earned less than $50,000 spent less than $2,000 on entertainment. Americans who earned $100,000 or more spent an average of $5,500 on different types of entertainment, and those with annual incomes of more than $150,000 averaged $7,032.

Remember the words of Jesus – “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Great reminder to put our treasure in kingdom endeavors, so that our hearts will follow.

#FollowMe @PCADADS

With an amazing 21 tweets under my belt, I am not going to make any outlandish promises about my social media prowess. To the contrary, I am going to state from the beginning that I am a Twitter neophyte, but want to utilize this powerful media in a more productive manner to connect with you! So follow me @PCADADS and I will try to give you helpful information about worldview, parenting and spiritual issues. Let me know what things you find useful or what you would like more of and I will attempt to meet those needs. I would also like to utilize this social medium to ask questions and hear back from you as well – so be ready to respond or retweet or whatever that’s called. I consider it a blessing to be doing life with other Christian parents who are looking to raise their kids to be warriors for Christ and if Twitter helps keep us connected and engaged, let’s use it!

Lessons from Fifty Shades of Grey

First, let me begin with the disclaimer – I have not and have no plans to either read the book or watch the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. If you are wondering if you should be watching this movie, please check out the wonderful wisdom supplied by a concert of voices that should give you great pause and concern. Dr. Jim Denison wrote about the movie in his weekly commentary and Mona Corwin, PCA parent, addressed a number of issues in her blog.

Wait, what lessons can one learn if you haven’t read the book or watched the film? Plenty. The main lesson that I’ve taken away from the popularity of this book and film and all the controversy surrounding it is that most people don’t see the irony presented by this message. Simply put, the irony is that bondage (the underlying theme of the story) is the key to freedom. Think about that statement for a minute: bondage is the key to freedom. Fifty Shades of Grey is putting forth the claim that you haven’t truly lived life to the fullest until you’ve experienced the sexual “freedom” of bondage.

This false freedom is the same message that Satan used in the Garden – God’s best for you isn’t enough. God must be holding something back, something better – because it’s off-limits, it must be something pretty special and wonderful. Why trust God’s plan and design for things – God just wants to take the joy and fun out of life. That is the same old song and dance from the Garden repackaged for today’s audience. But while the message may be old, people are still buying it!

There have been numerous Christians throughout the ages that have seen that message and called out a warning to all who would hear. At the turn of the 20^th Century, that man was J. Gresham Machen. Some may remember Machen as that great Princeton Theological Seminary New Testament professor who ended up leaving Princeton to start a more conservative seminary called Westminster Theological Seminary. From one of his short essays called The Gospel in the Modern World, consider this profound statement from Machen:

The real indictment against the modern world is that by the modern world human liberty is being destroyed.

Machen got it. The message from the Enemy and the world is that there is something better than God’s plan, but the reality is that this false message leads to death and destruction. The modern world tells us that sexual liberty is our freedom, when just the opposite is true. The sexual “liberty” of the modern world – having sex without the restraint of marriage – results in sexual bondage, pain and heartache. The sexual “liberty” of the modern world – abortion – has resulted in over 57 million innocent and unborn children being killed in what should be the safest place in the world, the United States of America, and the loss of those individuals is having an adverse effect on our culture today!

Another person who saw the message of the world for the lie that it is was C.S. Lewis. Lewis talked a lot about the perversion of sexuality in this epic work Mere Christianity. Lewis would say that the message of Fifty Shades of Grey should remind us all that there is, indeed, a normal sexual life that God has created for good – and that this perversion of it should be expected since that’s all Satan does – twists the goodness of God into a “spoiled goodness.” Consider this from Mere Christianity:

Goodness is, so to speak, itself: badness is only spoiled goodness. And there must be something good first before it can be spoiled. We called sadism a sexual perversion; but you must first have the idea of a normal sexuality before you can talk of its being perverted; and you can see which is the perversion, because you can explain the perverted from the normal, and cannot explain the normal from the perverted.

Lewis got it. I have another quote from Lewis that says, “Our passions are not too strong, they are too weak. We are far too easily pleased.” I’m reminded of that statement with Fifty Shades of Grey – Satan would love for us to settle for lust and not work hard for true love. Satan would love for us to settle for the physical passion and not work hard for the spiritual and emotional connection as well.

Then there was Francis Schaeffer – one of my favorites. He, too, understood the false messages of this world and how damaging they are.

The world spirit of our age rolls on and on claiming to be autonomous and crushing all that we cherish it its path. Sixty years ago could we have imagined that unborn children would be killed by the millions here in our own country? Or that we would have no freedom of speech when it comes to speaking of God and biblical truth in our public schools? Or that every form of sexual perversion would be promoted by the entertainment media? Or that marriage, raising children, and family life would be objects of attack?

Schaeffer got it. And he was intensely determined that others would get it, too. He continued his thought process with this statement:

Sadly we must say that very few Christians have understood the battle that we are in. Very few have taken a strong and courageous stand against the world spirit of this age as it destroys our culture and the Christian ethos that once shaped our country. But the scriptures make clear that we as Bible-believing Christians are locked in a battle of cosmic proportions. It is a life and death struggle over the minds and souls of men for all eternity, but it is equally a life and death struggle over life on this earth…”

Schaeffer would say that Fifty Shades of Grey is much more than a book and movie that Christians should avoid. Schaeffer would say that Fifty Shades of Grey is part of a much larger battle that far too many Christians do not see and are, sadly, not engaged in. Sure, not seeing this movie is step one. But what about all those around us who are taken captive by the “vain and hollow philosophies of this world”? We must do battle not only for ourselves, but for others as well – that is the example that Christ gave us! Think about the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John:

I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Sadly, many of those reading Fifty Shades of Grey and watching this movie are slaves to sin. The solution is more than getting them not to read a book or watch a movie – the solution is found only in the freedom that comes through the blood of Christ shed for the remission of our sins! And as Christians, we should not only be ambassadors of this life-giving message, but we should also be models of what this life transformation looks like. We should walk in the light as He is in the light and not in the darkness from which we came.

I pray that we get it and that we give this understanding to our children as well.

Irrelevant: That’s a Strong Word!

Many of you have probably heard the name Rob Bell. Bell hit the scene as a pastor of one of the fastest growing churches in America as he founded and led Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, MI. In 2005, Bell published his first book titled Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith. From there he went on to produce the popular NOOMA® spiritual short films and was eventually named in 2011 as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World according to TIME magazine. Since that time, Bell has stepped down from the leadership of his church, moved to California, published a book titled Love Wins claiming that there is no hell, and joined forces with Oprah Winfrey hosting his own show on her network and sitting down to chat with her on Winfrey’s “Super Soul Sunday” where he talked about the nature of love and the future of the church.

Bell is making headlines again for his recent comments that a church which doesn’t support same-sex marriage is “irrelevant.” He has stated that the church’s acceptance of same-sex marriage is “inevitable,” and gives as his reason because loneliness “is not good for the world.” This line of reasoning is exactly what Matthew Vines puts forth in his book God and the Gay Christian. Vines espouses that the Genesis creation story demonstrates that God created man to be in a relationship with someone “similar” to himself – “it is not good for man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18). In this recent interview with Oprah, Bell went on to address the opposition to same-sex marriage from those within the church. “I think culture is already there and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense.”

Public opinion polls demonstrate that the majority of Americans agree with Bell and Vines. Support for same-sex marriage has remained above 50% consistently in polls since 2010 and the most recent polls show that nearly 80% of Americans age 18-29 support same-sex marriage! This June, the Supreme Court is expected to finally settle the legal dispute over same-sex marriage. While many states have passed bans on same-sex marriage, recently Florida became the 36^th state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to allow same-sex marriage. Many legal experts anticipate the Supreme Court’s decision in June to legalize same-sex marriage for the entire country.

With public opinion polls and the law of the land moving in one direction, what should the role of the church and Christians be in this day and time? Some feel strongly that if the church refuses to embrace homosexuals and same-sex marriage that it would be repeating the mistake made during the Civil Rights Movement, when many mainstream churches fought desegregation and found themselves on the wrong side of history. Others feel like the issues of homosexuality and same-sex marriage aren’t central to the Gospel message of forgiveness and redemption and should simply be ignored for the greater good of “saving souls.”

Listening to the likes of Rob Bell and others proclaim that the church must kowtow to the culture reminds me of the importance of being in a Bible-believing and Bible-proclaiming church. Remember the charge that Paul gave Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2-5:

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Seriously, did Paul write that over 2000 years ago – sounds like wisdom for us today! The role of the church is not to be relevant to the culture. The role of the church is to proclaim the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Notice that Paul tells Timothy to “endure hardship” – meaning that this isn’t always going to be easy and popular.

Of course we pray that we can be faithful and relevant to our times. Think of Daniel in Babylon. God gave Daniel incredible opportunities to minister to the highest officials of the land – but not because Daniel told them what they wanted to hear. Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar the truth about his dreams – in fact, listen to these words from Daniel to the ruler of Babylon:

Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.

Daniel had a fantastic balance of grace and truth. Remember that Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t sinning against Daniel – he was sinning against God. Daniel is simply a messenger. Are we prepared to deliver a similar message of truth and grace? This past November, PCA hosted our annual Biblical Worldview Institute featuring several of the nation’s leading voices on the issue of homosexuality, same-sex marriage and the Bible. Check out these videos posted on the PCA website to be challenged to think Biblically and speak persuasively on this issue.

This summer I am offering a course for students to learn to think critically and Christianly about cultural issues such as homosexuality, same-sex marriage and other relevant topics. The course will be June 23-25 from 1-4 pm and is offered through Summers at Prestonwood. This would be a great opportunity for your students to engage in the hard work of thinking about these very important issues – hope to see many of them this summer! Let’s follow the example of David, who refused to sit on the sidelines with the rest of Israel’s warriors while the godless giant Goliath mocked his God – David stepped out in faith – let’s encourage and equip our students to do the same!

Your Spiritual Journey

At the beginning of this month, Prestonwood Baptist Churches and dozens of other churches in the area invaded thousands of homes in the area for their annual Freedom/Discipleship Now weekends! Thousands of students were swept up in the worship and the Word, and hundreds of students surrendered their lives to Christ! But then the weekend ends, and the students are back into their normal environment and routine – how does a “new creature in Christ” return to “normal”?

The Campus Ministry Team saw an opportunity to help students continue their growth in Christ and offered a five week mini-discipleship class on Tuesday mornings at 7 am. For the first Tuesday morning session, 32 students came and sat as they were told that the first step toward growing in Christ is taking an honest look at where you are currently. Students were given a document to help them on their journey – a way to do a quick self-assessment so they can determine the hurdles and opportunities for their spiritual journey.

PCA wants to encourage all students in their spiritual journey. For those new or young in their faith walk, a list of valuable resources is included on our website on the Campus Ministry under the “New Christian” tab. Also check out the Resources page in the Campus Ministry section of the website for additional resources to assist you in your spiritual journey.

Calling All Parents!

We all want our children to be “rooted and built up” in Christ – to find their identity as new creatures and children of God. Not so easy when they are constantly bombarded with messages and images from the world that tell them their worth is found in how they look, what they wear, how they can perform or where they go to college. This year’s Biblical Worldview Institute (BWi) is focused on helping students find their IDENTITY in Christ! Not only do we have a great line-up of speakers and topics, but we have some additional resources on our Campus Ministry Team webpage that will help you engage your son or daughter in meaningful and intentional dialogue on these important topics.

First, listed below are the speakers for BWi on Thursday, November 20, and Friday, November 21. All sessions (except for the Middle School session on Thursday morning) will be in the main worship center at Prestonwood Baptist Church. Doors open at 8:00 a.m., speakers begin at 8:30 a.m.

Thursday, November 20

• Rob Wilton, pastor of the Vintage Church in New Orleans
• Sean McDowell, professor at Biola University and co-author with John Stonestreet of Same-sex Marriage: A Thoughtful Approach to God’s Design for Marriage
• John Stonestreet, author and cultural commentator with The Colson Center and Summit Ministries
• 7^th and 8^th grade students will listen to Pastor Wilton and then have a special session in the Choir Rehearsal Room with Pastor Dono Pelham from Life Changing Faith Church in Frisco and Margaret Kay Tucker

Friday, November 21

• Dr. Joe McIlhaney, medical director for the Medical Institute for Sexual Health and author of the profound book titled Hooked: How Casual Sex is Affection Our Children (Middle School students will have a time of review and reflection and will join the other students following Dr. McIlhaney’s presentation)
• Jonathan Evans, chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys and co-author of Kingdom Man with his father Dr. Tony Evans
• Austen Williams, current Mrs. North America will help our students understand that their true value is not found in their outward appearance
• Michael, Jr., tremendously funny comedian

Parents are invited to attend any or all sessions. Check out the PCA website to register for the conference.

Now, for those additional resources. PCA Parent Pages are resources that are filled with valuable information to help you, as a parent, engage in meaningful and intentional dialogue with your students. The PCA Parent Pages can be found on the Campus Ministry resources page on the PCA website. In addition to the two new topics, there are PCA Parent Pages on the issues of technology and pornography as well. Hopefully you will find these resources helpful – and feel free to pass them along to other parents even if their children do not attend PCA.

• PCA Parent Pages: How Do I Talk to my Teens about Same-sex Marriage?
• PCA Parent Pages: How Do I Talk to my Teens about Sex and Dating?

November Election

Tuesday, November 4, is Election Day – early voting has already begun! On the ballot in Texas are important races including the following hotly contested statewide offices:

Governor
Rick Perry assumed the role of Governor of Texas in December 2000 – that’s nearly 14 years ago! Running for Governor in this election is Democrat Wendy Davis, a former Texas State Senator, known for her eleven-hour-long filibuster to block Senate Bill 5, a bill that included very strong restrictions on abortion procedures. The bill was ultimately passed in a special session, but this effort by Davis sprang her to national attention and to the lead in the race for Governor from the Democratic ticket. On the Republican side is Greg Abbott, the 50^th Attorney General of Texas and only the second Republican to fill that office since Reconstruction. Before serving in that office, Abbott was a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, appointed by then-Governor George W. Bush. He is best known for his efforts to protect the display of the Ten Commandments on the Capitol grounds.

Lieutenant Governor
Two Texas State Senators square off for the position previously held by David Dewhurst. Dan Patrick, who defeated Dewhurst in the Republican primary, faces Democrat Leticia Van de Putte. The Lt. Governor is one of the most powerful positions in the Texas government since this position essentially controls the Texas Senate.

Attorney General
To replace gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott, two attorneys face off on the ballot. Sam Houston (not that one!) is the Democratic candidate and an attorney practicing law for 26 years in Houston, TX. Ken Paxton is the Republican candidate and has served most recently as a Texas State Senator and before that as a Texas State Representative. Paxton also practices law in McKinney, TX.

Of course, dozens of other elections are on the ballot as well – current U.S. Senator John Cornyn is up for reelection and has a number of opponents, including long-time member of the U.S. House, Sam Johnson. There are literally hundreds of places you can go to find out more information on the candidates – one place that I found valuable was a website called www.IVoterGuide.com – you can select your own preference in terms of liberal or conservative, and it shows you how the various candidates compare to your own preference. This website and information is coordinated by Heritage Alliance and is entirely free to the user. Also, there is an exciting new documentary out promoted by former US Senator and Presidential candidate Rick Santorum called One Generation Away – it shows the attack on religious freedoms across the country and encourages people to be informed and involved!

Check out their website to learn more about this important film: http://onegenerationawaymovie.com/

O2 Experience

Loud music, solid teaching. Teens, pre-teens, young adults. Life, death, sex and romance. Sound interesting? The O2 Experience is coming to Dallas on Friday night, May 16, hosted by Prestonwood Baptist Church. From their website, here is a description of the O2 Experience:

"Like our bodies need oxygen, our souls need God. In a world consumed by sexual smog the O2 Experience is a breath of fresh air. This is an opportunity for young people to hear the life-changing message of the gospel and understand God's plan for their sex lives.

This is a hard-hitting and fast moving event that includes music from the dynamic O2 band and special guests, but the cornerstone of the night is a presentation of the Gospel. Levi Lusko brings a culturally relevant and clear message, providing an opportunity for people to make a decision to accept Jesus Christ.

The O2 Experience shows that God's plan for our lives includes our sex lives, too. It exposes the polluted approach to dating and sex that dominates our culture and sheds light on God's call to live on a higher level. It covers real life questions like, 'Is it realistic to wait until you're married to have sex?' or 'How far is too far?' and 'Is there hope even if I’ve already messed up?'"

World Impact Day

Thursday, March 6 was the annual World Impact Day at Prestonwood Christian Academy. The emphasis was on the persecuted church with special attention given to the imprisonment of Pastor Saeed Abedini. Pastor Saeed’s sister Zizi Abedini shared a brief testimony of her brother’s faithfulness to the Lord in a country closed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A former Muslim, Pastor Saeed, converted to Christianity in 2000. After meeting and marrying Naghmeh, an American citizen, in 2002, Pastor Saeed and Naghmeh became very involved in the house church movement in Iran in the early 2000s at a time when it was still tolerated by the Iranian government. Under Pastor Saeed’s leadership, nearly 100 house churches with more than 2,000 members were established in Iran. When Mahmoud Ahmedinejad was elected in 2005, the Iranian government cracked down on the house church movement and Pastor Saeed and his wife moved back to the US. In 2008, Abedini became an ordained minister in the U.S. and was granted American citizenship in 2010.

Then on July 28, 2012, Pastor Saeed returned to Iran to finalize plans regarding an orphanage he was building and was arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard charged with subverting the government. At first Pastor Saeed was placed under house arrest, but he has recently received an eight year prison sentence which he is serving in Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. U.S. President Barack Obama asked for prayers for Pastor Saeed at the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast bringing international attention to the plight of Pastor Saeed.

When talking with your children about Pastor Saeed and the persecuted church, consider the following “talking points” that will hopefully help you in those important conversations.

• Paul encouraged Timothy to “enduring suffering” and warned “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy) – as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can pray for Pastor Saeed and his family to remain faithful during this time of tribulation and ask for God to comfort them and provide for their needs.
• To learn more about Pastor Saeed watch this YouTube video
• According to The Pew Research Center, over 75% of the world's population live in areas with severe religious restrictions. Many of these people are Christians. Also, according to the United States Department of State, Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution from their governments or surrounding neighbors simply because of their belief in the person of Jesus Christ.
• It is estimated that between 100,000 – 150,000 Christians worldwide are killed for their faith each year.
• To learn more about the persecuted church, visit the websites of OpenDoorsUSA, The Voice of the Martyrs, and the Persecution Project Foundation.

Grammylon: The Wedding of the Grammys and Babylon

Take a little advice from Mandisa, a former Grammy winner…it may be best to avoid the Grammy Awards in the future. Mandisa posted on her Facebook page that she was not in attendance at the awards ceremony, even though she ended up winning a couple Grammys, and the reason she did not attend was because of her faith in Christ. Grammy-nominated singer Natalie Grant and her husband did attend the Grammys, but ended up leaving early. This is what Natalie Grant tweeted about her decision:

"We left the Grammy's early. I’ve many thoughts about the show tonight, most of which are probably better left inside my head. But I’ll say this: I’ve never been more honored to sing about Jesus and for Jesus. And I’ve never been more sure of the path I’ve chosen." -Natalie Grant

In the Gospel of John, Jesus spends a great deal of time talking to His disciples about the conflict of living in this fallen world as a Christian. In John 15:18, 19 Jesus says, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” And later in John 17:15-19, Jesus prays, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Since those words were spoken, followers of Jesus have tried to figure out how to live “in the world but not of it.” Over time, the pendulum has swung from asceticism to immersion. Some Christians choose to avoid getting tangled by the things of this world – no TV or movies, only read Christian books, kids educated at home or in a Christian school, etc. Other Christians choose to walk where Jesus walked, ministering to the “untouchables” of our day – guys like Mike Foster and Craig Gross who started the XXX Church, a Christian ministry to those struggling with pornography or trapped in the porn business.

Scripture provides the Christian with a battle plan to avoid being taken “captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends of human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Col. 2:8). First Scripture instructs the Christian to recognize that the battle is in the realm of ideas – not the physical world. Ephesians 6:12 tells us “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” In addition to putting on our spiritual armor, Paul instructs followers of Christ to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1, 2).

As Christians, it is wise that we avoid sin in our own walk. This doesn’t mean that we won’t encounter sin in our fallen world, but there is a difference between encountering sin and embracing sin. Paul warns Timothy that in the last days, followers of Christ will suffer persecution writing “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). The life of Daniel is a fantastic study to see how a godly man lived and walked in a godless culture. Resolving not to defile himself, Daniel established boundaries for his own personal life and was willing to suffer the consequences for his choices. Yet at the same time, Daniel prospered in this godless culture. The prophet Jeremiah wrote to encourage his brothers and sisters living in exile in Babylon and gave them these instructions from God: “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:4-9).

For those who know my story, this is one of the reasons that brought me to Prestonwood Christian Academy years ago. I mistakenly believed that all Christian schools were fortresses that protected children from the culture, but were not training students to engage the culture for Christ. After meeting Dr. Larry Taylor and hearing his heart and seeing his strategy to train students to make a difference in the world, I was sold on PCA. I truly believe that PCA strikes a great balance between that concept of being “in the world, but not of it.” Programs like our Student Leadership Institute, the Biblical Worldview Institute, and the Lions Scholar Program prepare students to stand strong in a godless culture while Minimester mission trips and Service Project days help give students a Christ-centered and others-centered perspective.

Re-enrollment is here once again. My hope and prayer is that your son and daughter are here to get equipped to make a difference in the world. If the Grammy Awards are an accurate reflection of our current culture, we have much work to do and no time to waste! I am reminded of the great statement by Isaac Ambrose who wrote:

"Soldiers of Christ, be aware that you are highly advanced in God's creation, that you occupy an important station, which you have an arduous work allotted to you, and you have neither time nor talent to throw away. For you are enlisted under the banner of Christ; you have entered the armies of the Most High, have taken an oath of allegiance to the King of Zion, and bound yourselves by an oath to fight the good fight of faith against sin, Satan, the world, and the flesh."