Category Archives: Home Tracks

Home. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

November 27, 2012

On Choosing Leaders by Dan Smithwick

Below is a letter written by Dan Smithwick and forwarded to me by one of the recipients. Seldom have I seen anything written with which I so completely agree. I would support Smithwick at more than 100 percent were it possible, and that goes for the entire letter including the brilliant Ps at the bottom. If you think you lack the time to read it all, at least scroll down and read the Ps. – Dennis Rowan

On Choosing Leaders
Dan Smithwick
President, Nehemiah Institute

November 7, 2012

A good friend died this week; he was simply known as “Republic.”

Exodus 18:21 (KJV)
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

Romans 13:4 (KJV)
For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; — for he is the minister of God, –.

These verses of scripture have long been used by the Christian Church to foster an attitude of how people of any faith should select civil leaders for providing an orderly, God-fearing society based on objective truth for the way life is to be done. For decades in America, we have ignored the commands of these verses- to be a Bible-based community of people. This week, in my opinion, we struck bottom. We chose an administration that will not base public policy around the axiom of ‘hating covetousness,’ but rather will likely promote it at every turn of society. There can hardly be anything more threatening to a nation’s liberty than such an action.

Yet, we must remember, God is sovereign. He was neither surprised nor disappointed with the results of this democratic selection of leaders. I say this because of another ‘proverb’ that Christian philosophers have stated for eons: God always gives His people the type of government they deserve.

We simply do not deserve liberty and prosperity. What would you point to over the past 40 years to convince God that liberty and prosperity should be the ‘fruits of our labors?’ Or that because of our faithfulness to His Word we are deserving of good things? I would like to see your list.

What convinces me that we ‘got what we deserve’ this week, are the results of biblical worldview understanding that I have been observing from a front-row seat for over two decades. Most of the recipients of this short essay know of our worldview assessment program called, The PEERS Test. It measures a person’s basic worldview beliefs in five areas: Politics, Economics, Education, Religion and Social Issues (PEERS). The results are then categorized into one of four worldview classifications: Biblical Theism, Moderate Christian, Humanism, or Socialism. Please note: Socialism is based entirely on the attribute of covetousness.

For a quarter of a century of PEERS testing, with approximately 100,000 tests of youth from Christian homes, we have been observing results move away from a mature Biblical Theistic worldview, toward a Socialist worldview. Let me share a very recent example:

Last week we conducted PEERS testing for a pricy Christian school in one of our nation’s largest cities. This is a large school with the following claim in its mission statement:

[name] is an independent, Christ-centered college preparatory school that integrates learning with biblical faith — for the Glory of Jesus Christ.

Note: I am not criticizing the statement per se, all Christian schools have similar such statements about why they exist. What I am criticizing is that the mission statement does not fit with their results.

The rating of worldview understanding of the PEERS test is based on the following numerical scale (+100 to -100):

70—100 Biblical Theism

30 – 69 Moderate Christian

0 – 29 Secularism/Humanism

-100 – 0 Socialism

About 5% of Christian schools score in top category, over half score in the bottom two categories, with the trend dropping about 2-3 points per year for 25 years.

The school I referred to above had a composite PEERS score of 13.88, well on the way to Socialism as a desired worldview.

The outcomes at this school are extremely relevant to what happened in America this week, politically speaking. Here is why:

There is a sixth index on the PEERS Test called, Limited Government. This index includes all test items (out of 70 total) that have any view with the question, “What is the role of civil government regarding the topic being addressed?” This school (with testing from two high school grades) scored -1.30 in the Limited Government category, ranking them in the Socialism category of the PEERS test. Yet, 75.4% of the students marked themselves as “Republicans.” I am convinced that they selected Republican because their parents have been telling them for years, “We are REPUBLICANS!” But what these kids want is a Republican president who offers a Socialist view of life.

Here is one example from the PEERS Test that cause them to think in this direction:

“In a democratic society, citizens have a civil right to an education and this right must be protected and enforced by civil governments.”

Both constitutionally and biblically speaking, this statement is wrong. Education is not a “right,” (entitlement) and civil government does not have responsibility for education, certainly not at the high school level. Note: I am happy to provide a detailed Position Paper on this test question if you care to read further.

But for this Christian school, 94.7% of the student body missed this test question, siding with the Humanist/Socialist view- “education is my right.”

If our young people (Church attending families) believe that they are “owed” an education which others are obligated to provide, guaranteed by our civil government, it is a very short step to also view things such as a job, housing, health care (the good life!) as a “right to be guaranteed.” May I say Greece?

This is Socialism; this is covetousness.

But this is not the worst of why we (the Christian community) deserved the political results that we received. In spite of all the rhetoric from the Christian community about the need for godly values and principles, 85% of church families still send their children to the government’s school system, an officially Socialist institution where entitlement thinking is the norm. Yes, we are just getting what we deserve. The political results of this week in America were simply the result of decades of educating youth that government is there to “ensure quality life.” The winning party presented this argument better than the losing party.

So, what now?

I don’t pretend to have a clear answer on where we go from here- how to once again become a nation based on Exodus 18:21 and Romans 13:4, and all that that means. But this much I do know; we don’t need a 4-year plan to right the ship; we (the Christian community) need something like a 24-year plan. We need to think long-term, very hard and very carefully. Before thinking about ‘who we will nominate next time,’ we MUST rethink our views about leadership. And we MUST educate our youth with this view of life.

I have been working at Nehemiah Institute for 25 years; a ministry we founded in 1986. Our mission is all about doing just what Nehemiah of the Old Testament did: rebuild a fallen city. We are a fallen city today.

If you share the views I have expressed here, and want to help, and I do mean HELP, then I would like to hear from you. I want to take Nehemiah Institute to a new level, very likely into new hands that can truly result in a rebuilding of America. It will be hard, long and expensive.

Like Nehemiah of old, I want to start building a team of people who are willing to rebuild “in front of their own house,” (Nehemiah, chapter 3). If this is your heart today, send me a note, please:

dan@nehemiahinstitute.com

If you would like to discuss this matter in person, give me a brief summary of your views and a phone number.

Dan

Ps- If it is your ambition to simply find a way to help get more Republicans elected to civil office, let’s not waste my time or yours.

Also, please circulate this article to others as you like.

The Elephant in the Middle of the Sanctuary – Why Pastors Ignore the Dangers of Public Schools – Part 5

Lamb Rescue.

I remember it as though it was last week, but it was a day in March about 60 years ago. My Dad had a sheep flock of about 30 ewes in addition to a dairy cowherd and some beef cows. That March day was sunny and warm, so Dad put the ewes and their lambs in a meadow to take advantage of such a day. Late that afternoon a snowstorm quickly swept through the valley, the same place where I now live. After milking the cows, Dad and I hustled to bring the sheep back to the barn in what seemed like blizzard conditions to a 10-year old boy.

After the sheep were safe in the barn we counted and found that one lamb was missing. We went back to the field, about 0.3 mile away, and found the week-old lamb, appearing to be half asleep, in some tall grass near a fence. The lamb was already covered with snow. Left in the field alone the lamb would have had little chance to survive the night because the nutrients in that lamb’s digestive system would be used up, and such a young one would not survive the cold night without the mother’s milk. We took the rescued lamb back to the barn and it did survive.

My Dad had some smarts about caring for young vulnerable sheep. He was smart enough to know he had no control over the weather, but he did have some control over his flock of sheep, specifically how to care for them during severe weather. Now these 60 years later, I too know something about what I can do to help my flock of sheep. I have some of the same challenges, but one in particular, is different. Coyotes did not live in this area 60 years ago, but there are plenty here now.

I have spent most of my adult life observing, reading and studying how children in America are being trained. And I have spent the past 29 years raising sheep. At times I am literally overwhelmed with the parallels between lambs and children, meaning that I see clear, concise realities about how we fail our children. Let me be clear; it is the “how we fail our children” part that overwhelms me.

During the entire year I keep a focus in the back, if not the forepart, of my brain…and the focus is ALWAYS on the YOUNG sheep. I plan the breeding season so the young lambs will be born during a favorable time. I manage the pasture, hay, and minerals in the winter for the ewes in a manner that will be best for milk production from the ewes after they lamb in April, which will in turn be best for the lamb. I plan the breeding season in such a way that birth of the lambs will be under conditions that best foster proper bonding between the ewe and her lamb. I could go on and on through the entire life of the lamb, but I trust that you get the point without all the details.

My Dad knew the probable outcome of lambs in a cold, harsh environment without the life-giving milk they so badly need when they are very young. I have a PhD in Animal Science, but Dad’s common sense was all he needed. I can’t control the weather any more than my Dad could, but just like his common sense wisdom, I can exercise some control over the environment where my lambs spend their early days.

I don’t have direct control over the coyotes that roam the mountains and valleys here, but I do have some control over where my lambs spend their time. Would a person with all his mental faculties in tact believe that the way to protect the lambs from coyotes would be to plan and conduct some elaborate scheme to train the coyotes to lie down with the lambs, and not eat them? Obviously the coyote cannot be trained to do that. In a like manner public schools will never be changed into places for children to obtain Christian based training. For emphasis, let me put it in other words: Public schools will never become places where our young children can receive solid, comprehensive Christ-centered training, just as coyotes can never be trained to lie down with young lambs and not devour them. We do prefer Christ-centered training, right?

When Dad counted the sheep and found one missing, he didn’t close the barn door, say a prayer for the lost lamb, and then go to the house to eat supper in the warm house. Neither should I. Neither should you. Neither should your Christian friends. Neither should your pastor. But, you know what? I have heard people say that is how they handle the government school problem. They say a prayer and shut the door as their child ventures out into an environment that is hostile to God and therefore very hostile to all children. Does that perhaps work for some families? Absolutely. Does that sound like something we should recommend for the masses? Absolutely not, and that is why Christians need to be proactive about providing biblically based education five days a week. The school desks have already been rearranged on the government Titanic too many times.

We can’t control all the storms that will assail our children. We can’t spoon-feed them every bite they take. However, we need to be wise enough to realize that we have a responsibility to provide the best environment possible to care for them while they are very young. I have to ask; what are big church buildings for, some of them multimillion-dollar complexes? Are they for adults to go in each week to be fed? Why, so they can get fat? Could they also be used for school children Monday through Friday?

I hate to put it this way, but most Christians don’t get it! Pew-sitters don’t get it and pastors don’t get it, and most people who direct high-profile national Christian family oriented ministries don’t get it either. Wake up America, this is not happy days circa 1950s. New management is necessary for rearing our children in the Monday through Friday time slot. Christians need to lead the culture, not follow it. Christians need to set an example for what is quality, God honoring training for the precious young children God has placed under our care so they can become disciples of Jesus Christ to take the Good News to the world. We have lambs to rescue.

Sometimes I think we are living in la la land, strolling along as if on a sunny Sunday afternoon walk in the park, completely oblivious, having absolutely NO CLUE as to what is happening in our culture, our world, and our Church. Would your church leaders, directed by the pastor, allow a member of the ACLU to stand in the pulpit to spew some Marxist ideology to the adult pew-sitters some Sunday morning? Pastors are even afraid to let Christians with a slightly different believe system get in the sacred pulpit, so it would be ludicrous to think an atheist ACLU member would be allowed to speak in a Sunday morning service. The answer is no, the pastor would not let someone like that in the pulpit, but Marxist ideology is precisely what is being given to our innocent and vulnerable children five days a week in government schools. Answer this question: If you had a choice as an adult, would you rather sit and listen to a Marxist, or have your children sit at the feet of that type instructor?

Where is the common sense like that a sheepherder would use, to protect and care for our young by providing a proper environment? Honestly, every one of us, all who claim to be Christian, should be ashamed of ourselves for continuing this charade. We build huge edifices so we adults can be comfortable while leaving our lambs out in the raging storms. And we call it spreading the Gospel and worshipping God! If we want to spread the Gospel, let us first disciple our own children. Why not focus on the very young while they are under our care so they won’t fall through the religious cracks at an 80 percent rate like we currently encounter?

Dennis Rowan

Related Articles:

The Elephant in the Middle of the Sanctuary – Why Pastors Ignore the Dangers of Public Schools

Part 1 -Outline
Part 2 – What will Christians Do About the 20:80 Ratio?
Part 3 – Truth Versus Tradition
Part 4 – In Defense of Pastors

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Filed under Articles, Church Tracks, Elephant in the Sanctuary, Home Tracks, Sheepherder Blog

March 27, 2011

The Elephant in the Middle of the Sanctuary – Why Pastors Ignore the Dangers of Public Schools – Part 3

Truth Versus Tradition.

When I was about 13-14 years of age two of my cousins and I went spelunking in a cave located on a neighbor’s farm. A distinctive cliff, or rough rock wall can be found about one mile deep into the cave. It is was our first trip into that part of the cave, and we had heard that going deeper into the cave would involve crawling on hands and knees a bit after climbing the wall. Not desiring that challenge, we turned back at the wall to exit the cave. I led the way back, but soon found that we were walking in mud. Walking out in mud is one thing; noticing that there were no incoming tracks was something else. We were on the wrong path, and LOST.

Almost immediately we decided to sit down, turn off our flashlights, and talk about our situation. While sitting in the pitch-black environment we concluded that we should try to re-trace our steps back to the rock wall, and then proceed slowly back out looking for signs written on the walls and any other clues that might take us on the correct path to get out of the cave. It worked.

Following the steps of others can be a tricky. If the path is correct, fine. On the other hand when we blindly follow others we run the risk of going down a long, long road, in the wrong direction. The study of Church history can be very important once we realize we have chosen one or more wrong paths. Since our culture, including our church-reared children has moved so far from Christianity, it is imperative that we re-trace some steps to some “cliff-like wall” from which we can make a new beginning. Where would that be? The Bible is an obvious quick answer.

Most of us tend to look at the good ole days as if things were near perfect as we remember the past. Many have emphasized that we began to have some real problems in public schools once prayer was taken out, the 10 commandments removed, plus other actions that were apparently meant to scrub God from the schoolhouse. However, an honest analysis of these changes would reveal that these things were merely symptoms, not the disease, and things would likely get worse in the future. We can twist and tweak all we want, but it is impossible to blame anyone other than ourselves, those of us who claim to be Christians.

There are a lot of places in the past that we can point to and say the government did this, or Christians didn’t do that, and therefore we now find ourselves in this mess of seeing that most high school graduates are academically ignorant and biblically ignorant. I have talked to several people who are advocates for removing children from public schools and placing them in private Christian schools, or better yet, homeschooling. I agree with these people when they point out that children of Christian parents should never have been placed at the feet of Caesar’s system in the first place. (Well over 100 years ago). Traditions can be difficult to break. I grew up believing that church and school were two separate entities in my life and my community. They still are separate entities for most people, but I am adamantly against that thinking now. How can we take the Scripture that says “train up a child in the way he should go, ” and then split the child’s time between parents and Caesar, with Caesar getting more waking hours per day “to train up a child to believe that Caesar is god?” Seriously, who can believe the Body of Christ would deliberately select this method to train “the least of these” in our midst if we had a choice to do otherwise? In the final analysis, money tends to be the main limiting factor for Christian training, but I do not wish to take time and space to address that problem here.

Back to the lost boys in a cave: We got lost because we were walking too rapidly and had our lights focused immediately in front of our path on the cave floor. When we retreated and started out the second time, we walked slowly, were very deliberate, shining our lights up and down, all around, and on occasion we saw handwriting on the wall placed there by previous adventurers.

Christians often live their lives like inexperienced boys in a cave, constantly keeping a focus on what is directly at our feet. It may be ballet lessons, soccer practice, the men’s meeting, the ladies meeting, the golf outing, the haircut, the paycheck that’s too small, the shopping, etc. Roger Miller had a song many years ago with the title, “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd,” that may appropriately describe the busy lives we have, and the challenge to live as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. It can be very difficult to hold firm to biblical principles and properly discern all that is happening in the world, while trying to “roller skate in a buffalo herd,” so to speak. If we don’t slow down and take time to read the handwriting on the wall, we may very well fail to see what our children are being taught.

For just a moment, stop and forget the cost of Christian schooling. Forget that your local Christian school is not what you would have it to be. Forget about the long held tradition of training children in public schools. Forget about the sports program at the local public school. Forget about the fact that your child has a great Christian teacher in a public school. Forget about the fact that the Church has given power, authority, the lead role and responsibility to the government for training our young children. And lastly, forget about the fact that your pastor may not be a strong advocate for Christian schooling. Remove those factors from your thoughts for a moment.

Don’t wait until you, your family, friends and neighbors are sitting in a pitch-black environment trying to develop a strategy for finding the Light. Return to the Rock. Travel slowly, looking up and down, and all around. Pledge to become like the sons of Issachar “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” 1 Chronicles 12:32 (HCSB). And then … follow Truth.

Dennis Rowan

Category Archives: Home Tracks

On Choosing Leaders by Dan Smithwick

The Elephant in the Middle of the Sanctuary – Why Pastors Ignore the Dangers of Public Schools – Part 5

The Elephant in the Middle of the Sanctuary – Why Pastors Ignore the Dangers of Public Schools – Part 3

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