Making Enemies At Church :-0

Our church has a business meeting on a monthly basis. To be honest, I know they need to be done but, they can get quite boring. They always follow a pattern of reports from various committees, update on old business, then ask for new business to be brought up.

Ah, the new business. Here is where I made the fatal error of going against the status quo. In my church we have several public school employees, both current and retired. We also have a few families (mine included) which are planning to homeschool. Nothing against the school. We feel it is the best thing for our family. Alabama law has two choices for homeschool families: Option 1 is to have a certified teacher/tutor instruct the students, Option 2 is to be a part of a church school. Most people choose option 2 because, well, most certified teachers have jobs in schools.

To be a "church school" does not mean that you have to be a traditional school with a campus that holds classes. Basically a church has the status of "school" but the classrooms are in each home rather than on church grounds.

So when our pastor asked if anyone had any new business I merely stated that within a two-week period that three families had been asking questions about homeschooling and how to go about the legalities of getting started. I asked how our church would feel about hosting a church school to help these families (and mine). There are no churches in our county that provide this for families. For a few seconds you could have heard a pin drop. Then a few old ladies started ranting and raving about how they did not approve of homeschool and how so-and-so was homeschooled for eight years and he is just shy, and how so-and-so worked all her life as a teacher and her daughter homeschools her kids and that just broke so-and-so's heart because she worked all those years as a teacher and now her own grand kids don't even go to school. Then they asked who the families were. Two of whom were sitting in the meeting. One dad just hung his head. Another mom looked like she was going to stand up. I shook my head and said that it really did not matter who it was because the point was not who is planning to homeschool and why, the point was are we or aren't we going to provide this as a service to people in our area.

The decision to homeschool is not just something to take lightly. There are many reasons why a family would choose to do so. You would think that with school violence what it is, teen pregnancy rates, the homosexual agenda plaguing the schools that people at church would be supportive. Oh no!!! You would have thought that we were insulting them, personally. No one has bothered to ask why are choosing this route for our kids. There are several things that could be said. The school system here is sub par, to say the least. That is not the reason. Some of the kids are really mean and nasty. That too, is not the reason. There has been a student at my children's school who is being expelled for threats made to both students and teachers. (his is one of the families looking into homeschooling) That is not the reason. They are kicking him out; the danger is gone. The boys each have some health issues that are not anything too serious, but make them feel like not going occasionally. Even that is not the key to why this is the best choice for us. The more we study the Bible, the more we see a recurring theme: parents teaching their children is the way for faith to carry over from one generation to next. "Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.' Deuteronomy 4:9-11; ...and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2nd Timothy 3:15

The main verse that sealed the deal in my heart was Proverbs 13:20-He who walks with wise men will be wise,But the companion of fools will suffer harm. Did you catch that? THE COMPANION OF FOOLS WILL SUFFER HARM. That really made me stop and think. We send our kids to school from 7:10(first bell) to 2:51(dismissal bell) each day. They get up at 6:00am, get home from school around 3:00pm, get in bed by 8:00pm so they can get up at 6:00am the next morning. That only leaves five hours a day of awakedness for us to be the ones influencing them. They spend 10 hours sleeping. That means (the most part) of the other NINE hours is spent with other children, many of them fools. Today at school a 10th grader crushed smarties and sniffed them. Do I need to give any other examples of why I say they are surrounded by fools?
Tomorrow is Wednesday. I managed to get out of church pretty quick the other night before anyone the chance to come attack me. (lol) I doubt I will be so lucky this time. ;-}