Begin the New School Year With Boldness

". . .and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Ephesians 5:19-20 NASB

The theme of this blog is upholding Christian teachers in public schools, who in some way are like Paul in chains: ambassadors for Christ who live and serve under restrictions placed upon them by worldly authorities. In our workplaces, we seek to live out the servanthood and love of Jesus, even though we are forbidden from verbally testifying of His salvation to those around us.

In the passage above, Paul at least was able to speak, and speak boldly, as the Spirit gave him utterance. That was the request he wrote to the believers at Ephesus, to pray that he would "make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel."

Not "that I will be released from these chains." Why complain about the chains? It was for the Gospel's sake that he wore them. He knew God would work despite them.

At the beginning of this new school year, I pray that God will use all of us to accomplish His purpose. I pray for boldness, not to utter the mystery of the Gospel, but to live the good news in our daily lives in the classroom and the break room and the hallways of our schools.

May our faces reflect the joy of sinners who have been saved by grace. May our hands give freely because we have been given much. May our ears be quick to listen and our feet quick to serve. When we speak, may it be with confidence that we are fulfilling God's call upon our lives to teach.

It's so tempting, while we're at it, to pray for an easy year. "Lord, let us have smooth sailing." But I think it's our responses to the tough times that allow our lights to shine before the unsaved most clearly. If we have smooth sailing all year, how will they know what God can do in a life surrendered to Him?

So please, dear Lord, let us shine as lights for you in a darkening world, even if it means we face difficult days ahead. You promise to walk beside us and uphold us. We submit ourselves to your teaching, that others may see you in us.

Blessings on your new school year, my friend.

Public Schools, Transgender Kids, and a Breakneck Run Toward Totalitarianism

"Have a nice weekend," Obama says to the world. "And here's my latest totalitarian manifesto for your reading pleasure."

What the Department of Justice and the Department of Education call "guidance," Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calls "blackmail" and Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas "social engineering."

David French of National Review puts it bluntly: "You may not have realized it yet, but the Obama administration just destroyed the traditional American public school." The battle has come home. If you are a parent, it now affects your child. If you are a public school teacher, it now affects your workplace, your calling, your livelihood.

This isn't about what the Bible says about sex. (For biblical perspective on the transgender bathroom issue, I wouldn't steer you to the usual passages about sex just at this moment. Instead, check out Romans 9:20, and in the King James at that: "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?") Instead, this is about what the United States Constitution says about government interference in the daily lives of American citizens.

Even before legalized gay marriage, the Obama administration was passing off the word "sex" in Title IX for the word "sexual orientation." Now schools are told, under threat of being defunded, to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their sexual orientation. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Students and staff alike will have a new lexicon to learn.

The letter, while not legally binding, has Texas considering cutting ties with government-funded schooling altogether. And how will Christian parents respond? Will there be a mass exodus from public schools? As Christian parents, what is the right response?

The Christian citizen should not react by saying, "I believe homosexuality and sex changes are sinful, so this is an outrage." We're talking about a fallen world, a human-made government, and a government school system. Expecting that system or that government or that world to follow the laws of the Bible would be naive (or worse). America does have a Constitution, however. It's there to protect the citizen from tyranny by government.

I commend to you the words of Ronald Reagan: "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Obama may be on his way out, but voters have bleak options at the polls this election cycle. The likely nominees of both major parties appear all too willing to issue Obama-like fiats guiding individual Americans toward more help from the Government. Is it time to lose hope?

God would not have us despair. Paul wrote to the Romans, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." That's not just for when things are going well and the economy is good and there's a conservative President and Congress and Supreme Court doing things our way. It's for when we need hope the most. Paul certainly knew persecution for faith--he'd doled it out to others, and, after his conversion, endured it.

Teachers, let's continue in hope. And let's be praying.