Baptist Leadership Should Leave School Choice To Parents

May 19, 2004

I was disturbed recently by a so-called news report I read in a Nashville paper. It seems that a gentleman by the name of T.C. Pinckney out of Alexandria, Virginia has submitted a resolution to the Southern Baptist Convention urging them to adopt an anti-public school stance. Mr. Pinckney proposes that the SBC adopt a resolution recommending parents remove their children from public schools and either home-school or enroll them in Christian schools. I say “so-called news report” because I find it to be no more newsworthy than if I were to submit a proposal to the SBC.

 

Still, as a Southern Baptist, it's disturbing to see such a proposal seriously discussed. Mr. Pinckney, who publishes a Baptist newsletter, calls the public schools “godless” and “anti-Christian.” That's painting the entire public school system with a broad brush, to say the least. Sure, there are some public schools that have problems. There are even some public schools that could be considered hostile to Christianity but certainly not all schools.

 

The school my kids attend has shown absolutely no hostility toward Christianity or religion. In fact, our recent 5 th -grade graduation ceremony included an Irish prayer mentioning “God” and “His blessing.” I could point to other positives along those lines but I dare not invite the wrath of the ACLU down on our little school. The point is, Mr. Pinckney has a problem with his school in Virginia and just assumes they're all that way. They're not.

 

Mr. Pinckney also contends that public schools are “harmful not just spiritually and worldview-wise, but terrible academically.” Is that a fact? Well, Mr. Pinckney, I just witnessed that majority of my son's 5 th -grade class receiving certificates for averaging 90 or above for the school year. Your school may be failing but mine certainly is not.

 

It's also extremely important to point out that the Southern Baptist Convention has given no indication that they will even consider such an asinine and irresponsible proposal. The news report mentioned that the SBC has already passed resolutions supporting home-schooling and Christian education. Well, so do I. There's absolutely nothing wrong with either. It's a choice, oftentimes difficult, that parents have to make based on their own set of circumstances. However, that's a mighty long leap assuming the SBC will recommend leaving the public schools.

 

I don't know Mr. Pinckney but I know this. There is nothing at all Biblical behind his call to abandon the public schools. In fact, the teachings of Christianity are just the opposite. We are to bear witness and be an example to Christians and non-Christians alike. The New Testament makes it clear that we are not to sequester ourselves and hide from the rest of society.

 

I would also remind Mr. Pinckney that many of these “Christian” schools he's so fond of were formed for the express unchristian purpose of keeping little white children from having to be educated alongside little black children. Times have changed and so have many of these schools but their legacy is no less tarnished than any public school.

 

If Mr. Pinckney is concerned about all of God's children, he should be in there fighting to change what he sees as bad public schools instead of urging everyone else to run from them. No fight was ever won by running. No problem was ever solved by sticking your head in the sand. Being a Christian means making tough decisions. These are decisions that should be made by each family based on their individual circumstances. The SBC would be well-advised to urge that kind of dialog in every household.