grandparents

“… I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith …which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois….” -2Tim1:5

My wife and I have totally different perspectives on grandparents. My experience was threadbare at the best, disappointing at the worst. By the time I was of age to take in and remember, only two grandparents were left; a grandfather on my mom’s side and a grandmother on my dad’s side. Grandpa was a rather reclusive figure who loved to fish but never took us fishing, who retired to a little farm I never remember visiting, and who was an artist and musician who never shared his gifts with us. My grandmother came to live with us not long after I started school. She was cold and distant, a bit grumpy, and soon beset by delusions of a relived childhood. We knew her presence only from the weight of her restrictive presence upon the family as mom labored hard to care for her and retain a victorious spirit in doing so. I did not realize, at the time, that anything was amiss in all this family dynamic. My brother and I simply did not know anything else. But there was an elderly couple that are favorably remembered. Thea and Jake were childless and quite old but were still fun to visit. There were treats such as milk and cookies, some stray candy, robust jokes, and even doting comments now and then. Somehow it was not robbery to have to steal moments from our play time to visit them. Their home was a warm and inviting place, and we did not resent being dropped off there for a few hours when mom and dad were out of pocket. Today, I have no idea who they were or how they entered our lives, but their names still evoke good memories as my brother and I had come to know that we were the gleam in someone else’s eyes.

My wife, on the other hand, knew her grandparents well for they were all the home she knew for the first 4 years of her life. That home became her emotional and spiritual anchor as they were her refuge amidst a storm of dysfunctional parenting. She learned a love for fresh cornbread, wilted (or “kill’t”) lettuce, the smell of fresh, plucked feathers off a chicken that grandma had just killed with a deft twist of the neck, knitting on the backyard swing, ever fascinating stories of deeds and kin long past, sitting together on the front porch rocking chair during a rainstorm, plucking and eating raw green beans out of the garden, and a hundred other endearing facets of simple, southern living. But most of all, she remembers being the apple of their eye; simply adored and treasured. Whether it was the words they spoke to her or the proud bearing in front of others, she knew the love that was there, that it was strong and real. She is still a sucker for a gentle rubbing of her hands, just like grandma used to do. Those grandparents were simple country folk but possessed a fountain of folklore, colorful expressions, and were lovers of Jesus that left behind a rich, rich tapestry of memories; enough to fill a book. They left such an indelible mark on her that she credits them with actually saving her from a life of bad choices.

Being a grandparent now gives me the opportunity to leave behind a treasury of memories. I have a unique role to play in this pageantry of life, and I hope I can do the part justice. I have opportunities to enrich the lives of my little ones in a way that only I can do. Moms and dads do their part, but who but I can play the special games the kids have never seen before, who can make the bottom of their piggy bank ring with unexpected and unmerited favor, and who but I can share a ride down the hill in the Nordmobile? It is that little bit of frosting on top of their cake which makes life sweet and memorable. Grandmas and grandpas can be such a blessing. If you have them, encourage them, treasure them. If you don’t, go adopt some. There are still plenty of Thea and Jakes out there for the taking.

media

“So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” KJV Galatians 4:31

I am old enough to remember living through the 1960’s when revolutionary changes were rocking our cultural world. We didn’t realize it at the time, but “free speech” agitation on college campuses opened the gateway for all forms of profanity in the public forum and the right to protest, nay, denigrate all cultural norms and icons. Black Power salutes on Olympic platforms and the burning of the American flag as protected rights were some of the inevitable results. In the midst of the storm, it was hard to assess the damage or long term effects.

We are going through a wind storm of change at the present, and it is hard to see just where it will land us. One thing is for sure, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore. Our children are not just using technology at a pace undreamed of ever before, they are becoming obsessive and compulsive in their use of it. The Kaiser Family Foundation reported the results of a study in January saying that daily media use among young people had risen to 7 hours and 38 minutes per day, 7 days per week. When you separate combined use such as listening to an ipod while texting, the number rises to 10 hours 45 minutes per day. Either easily eclipses any full-time job.

That is not all bad news in the eyes of many. Our young are developing multi-tasking skills and honing them to a degree unparalleled in previous generations, a very positive outcome in an increasingly competitive world where efficiency is paramount. Young people are also totally fearless when it comes to new technology and embrace it eagerly with a thirst that is unnerving to their parents. There is also a familiarity with accessing untold numbers of sources and prodigious amounts of information that continues to amaze their teachers. Powerful graphics and visual effects are as much a part of their daily repertoire of available tricks as riding a bicycle or bobbing a yo-yo was to my teen-age peers.

The concerns are piling up as well. Tom Kersting, a student assistance coordinator as well as a psychotherapist, worries that the new media is creating “digital zombies” whose addiction to this flood of instant entertainment and communication is having a negative effect upon the way in which youth think, process information, and relate to one another.* Because they communicate in short, quick bursts of information, they are having a difficult time developing critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Kersting is concerned that students are losing the ability to communicate in person with one another, a definite skill that is necessary to navigate complex social situations. Teen-agers now are confessing that they would rather text than actually talk on a phone. Another psychologist, Andy Yeager, questions its effect upon the development of the teen-age brain in its ability to plan ahead, foresee consequences, set long-term goals, and work through them. English teachers are horrified at the mutilation of our language and all constraints of grammar that are now passing for common, everyday, acceptable usage. Taken together, we easily share a “collective shiver” at future prospects.

My simple and unlicensed lament is the loss of basic manipulative skills I see in the rising generations. I look to them to untangle my drivers and internet options, but they look to me for help in hanging a picture. Studs? What are those? Sheet rock? You mean it’s hollow? Painting a wall is like learning a foreign language. Cooking is something the Colonel does. Sewing is an ancient art. And a dripping toilet is something only a plumber could possibly understand. Perhaps I exaggerate. Yet I feel the corrosive effects in my own life as one who was raised to “do it yourself.” My fingers spend more time at a keyboard than manipulating the strings on my acoustic guitar. I have to pry myself away from email to work in my shop. I do not want to become a one-dimensional person, bond-servant to an electronic mistress whose siren call has already enslaved so many. May we be wise enough to recognize the obsessions and compulsions of our age and keep a healthy distance.

        *Knoxville News-Sentinel, 8-10-2010, p. D2, “Hours spent plugged in change kids thinking”  

conflicts and fears

“…Conflicts without, fears within.” -2 Cor. 7:5 NASV

How do you know if you are alive? Besides the obvious, Paul gives a succinct and honest clue as he opened his heart wide to the Corinthians in a very transparent moment. He summed up his present existence with four words, “Conflicts without, fears within.” That little phrase captures so much of human reality. Sounds like life to me. Hopefully your conflicts don’t assume the proportions that Paul experienced as he was chased around the Mediterranean by stone throwing mobs and other unhappy customers. Yet, who among us does not feel the daily tension of conflicting priorities, the demands of our many jobs, and the feedback of differing opinions? And fears? My anxiety closet is never empty. There lurks a thousand assorted beasts of every sort that love to go bump in the night and rattle their chains to let me know they are still there.

If there is some bliss in early childhood, it is the minimal presence of either of these two commodities to any intense degree. There are many childhood tears, but they fade fast and memories heal with amazing speed. Yet, all so soon, children, too, will feel the pinch of daily tensions as they begin to experience life that doesn’t always agree with their preconceptions and self-centered wishes. And fears start to grow like June weeds in the fertile plots of young imaginations.

School presents a liberal dose of both conflicts and fears. Students are roused from their summer doldrums and challenged to do battle with multiplication and algebraic functions, gerunds and participial phrases, Napoleon and the dissolution of European kingdoms, phylums and taxonomic ranks, and all that good stuff. Some take the conflict in stride. Others get snowed under. For all of them, it is work, nevertheless. And then there is that class/peer thing. Others are watching, listening, and always eager to pounce on any excuse for a good laugh. Laughter is so delicious, so wonderful, except when it comes at our expense. Life would be so much simpler if it were not for those “others” who include or exclude, applaud or jeer, appreciate or diminish, love or ignore. Adding to any child’s list of fears are those overheard conversations that echo up hallways in the most sacrosanct refuge for a child, the home. Children can sense when adults are worried, have their moods, or are wrapped up in fears of their own which spill out at times like a glass of overturned milk.

I guess what I am trying to say is that kids are human, too, experiencing conflicts and fears in full measure. Paul rejoices that God comforted him by the coming of Titus who was himself encouraged by the Corinthians. We, as parents, are Titus to our children bringing good news with a personal touch that gladdens the heart. If the Apostle Paul needed a piece of good news and a friendly face in order to bear his trials, how much more our children need this as well. And as the Corinthians encouraged Titus, so we grandparents need to encourage our grown children laboring through the child rearing years. Letters are great and Paul used them to maximum advantage, but the personal presence of Titus did something for Paul that nothing else could match.

In looking back, I ask myself now, “Did I hug my kids enough, or extend a gentle touch (that powerful but under-rated human connection that says so much yet is totally wordless)? Did I pull apart from my own worries and preoccupations enough and invite myself into the quiet rooms of their inner worlds; and once there, offer a listening ear interspersed with words of truth and encouragement?” Paul did not shrink from using emotive words like “beloved” in addressing the Corinthians. Did I tell my kids that they were my beloved and precious ones? Paul corrected his children but then rejoiced when they corrected their course. “Great is my boasting on your behalf” and words to that effect. Did I boast enough of their good choices and let them know it? I wish I could remember more clearly doing so. May you remember unmistakably and have no doubts or regrets.

margins

"Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds." -NIV Genesis 32:16

I have just come through what was, I believe, the most crammed full, jam packed, strenuous, stress filled week of my year. I am not complaining, really. I just hope that was it and that it is over. And I imagine it was near-so for many of you as well. Getting summer wrapped up and gearing up for another school year is always stressful for families. Our staff has had a double portion getting ready for your families as well as preparing their own for the first day of school. We are constantly trying to streamline our prep week to take as much stress out of it as possible, but in spite of our best efforts, it is what it is: a runway strewn with sharp objects, substantial litter, some stray goats, a few serious potholes, and some occasional landmines. But we got off the ground somehow in spite of them.

Now I am in the business of searching about for some routine in my life whereby I can find and set a pace that I can afford to maintain over the long haul. Another week like the last one would push me dangerously close to taking up coffee drinking or other some-such risky behavior. And it was not all the school’s fault. I was contracting the dropping of trees, finishing a leftover kitchen rehab job, visiting with family passing through, orchestrating a men’s breakfast, overseeing a new roof installation on our back porch, attending a sing-fest, teaching Sunday school, and entertaining church dinner guests on Sunday. I did skip the Deacon’s meeting that week but only because my children from Texas were in for less than 24 hours.

That I survived the week was admirable. That I would consent to such a crazy schedule, questionable. That I would allow this to continue, sheer madness. The word that has come into my vocabulary this week is margin. I am realizing the value and need to build some margins into my life. Margins give hope to any printed page. A page printed from edge to edge is perceived as tedious, tiresome, overly busy, and fills one with dread at the thought. So, we too, need to frame our lives with some margins of peace so that we will not become drained of all life and substance. Americans, by nature, live very full lives. We love to run, build, play, work, and live life filled to the brim. But if we leave no margin for error, no margin of time to refresh and rebuild, we run the risk of a serious crash landing.

I took some serious time off this summer in a deliberate attempt to get ready for the madness that began last week. It helped get me through, I am sure. We know full well the wisdom of saving money for a rainy day so when lean times come, there is something to fall back on. In the area of relationships, Scripture tells us that mercy shown to others creates a well of reserve for us when we need it. Forgive and you will be forgiven. From the beginning of time, God made provision for man to rest one day out of seven. He knew we needed that. But even that is not always restful for us Christians who love to fill that day with church busyness.

I couldn’t help but notice that Jacob sent his flocks ahead in coming to meet Esau for the first time in years and carefully spaced them out to give Esau time to reflect upon his brother’s desire for reconciliation. Our minds need time to process things, to turn them over in our hearts. Quiet reflection is the greatest scarcity of our age.

Margins. Sitting quietly on a front porch is not necessarily wasting time especially if it allows us to be fully ready to respond in full measure when hard duty calls at an unexpected moment. Spending a quiet evening home is not always a wasteful thing if it enables us to face the next day refreshed and ready for battle. May the Shepherd of your soul lead you beside some quiet waters, and may you keep some space between your herds.

ambassadors

“...he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors,
as though God were making his appeal through us.”
2 Cor. 5:19-20 NIV

I can’t help it. I watch people at Kroger’s and Lowe’s and at times it fills me with a curious sadness tinged with despair. So many people pass by looking so ordinary and even their demeanor communicates “ordinariness.” And many are obviously submerged in despair and unhappiness or are burdened down with afflictions of multiple kinds. To travel down past the homeless shelters and missions in town these days brings a definite sadness as I see figures in doorways or sitting on street corners waiting, forever waiting but never seeking. The sadness creeps into my bones until I cannot think about it, and I must simply pass on. My theory is that 95% of us are so terribly ordinary, totally undistinguished in any way, and would probably never qualify as one of “the beautiful people.” Every morning my mirror reinforces this theory with alarming force. Our talents, intelligence, and charm are usually quite ordinary, as well, leading many of us to come to the frightful conclusion in our more daring moments that we, indeed, are quite average. This combination of the commonness of the common man coupled with the overwhelming spiritual lost-ness of so many people in general can be depressing if it were not for the promises of Scripture.

First of all, I must constantly remind myself that we are created in the image of God. It is a concept that will change any life if properly and fully understood. A friend in ministry to inner city children writes, “Ronnie is an example of how God is freeing some of our teens from ( those) labels. He has been bitter towards his dad (and let me say he has reasons) but the bitterness has made him angry at everyone. At camp a counselor spoke into his life, “Your dad gave you his name, but God gave you His image. You don’t have to be like your dad.” Those words set Ronnie free. He’s not angry any longer. His summer has been amazing! He even felt the need to apologize to his dad for the way he felt. That action was a “God” thing—I know many adults who would not do that. Ronnie is allowing God to mold him into His image.” It also changes the way I look at people, even that balding man shuffling his way across Lowe’s in his ugly shorts with the protruding waistline and the aimless look on his unshaven face. There is something God-like there if I will but look closely.

Secondly, there is available to all who would choose to walk in it, a high and holy calling as ambassadors for God and given the ultimate mission of helping reconcile the world unto Himself. Look up any ambassador on-line and you will see a polished person of impeccable credentials who epitomizes the best of the best. They are addressed as “His (or her) Excellency,” “Mr. (or Ms.) Ambassador,” to recognize their position of prestige and power as representatives of a whole nation. It is an exciting job with much honor. So, we too, are called to be ambassadors of Christ to a lost world. There is no more awesome calling or mission in life than this. Christ wants to operate through us as his vessels to accomplish his continuing work on earth. Whether it be from a polished pulpit or through a cup of cold water given in His name, the work of Christ is world changing, and we get to be a part of it!

The good news is that there are no mean or obscure lives. Or at least, need not be. “Average” need not describe our lives nor those of our children. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, all can achieve the rank of ambassadorship fueled with a life mission that will propel us throughout our years with a sense of purpose and excitement. And credentials? We have them in spades. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). We are completely new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). We are the children of God, joint-heirs with Christ, whereby we cry, Abba, Father (Rom. 8:15-17). Talk about connections.

There is no reason for anyone to live a common, non-descript, obscure life if they walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. In this sense, there are no average students at River’s Edge nor should you have any in your household. They are all bound for the rank and office of ambassadors for the King. I pray we awake in them this year their destiny in Christ and fire them with a vision for what they can be through Him who strengthens us for all things.

suicide

“Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” 2 Cor. 4:1

Summer is all about fun in the sun and all that good stuff. I hate to spoil the mood, but I come to you with some good but somber reflections regarding suicide. It is the 11th most common cause of death in the U.S. and takes the life of an American on average every 17 minutes. The highest toll is among the elderly over the age of 60 who account for 40% of the statistics. Being in that age group, I speak to myself first of all. But the most disturbing trend is among our youth. It is the 2nd most common cause of death among teens.

I have been studying 2 Corinthians, chapters 3 &4, and I think I see an antidote and a way to suicide-proof our children and grandchildren. Paul writes at length about the indwelling power of the Spirit of God to transform a life and to empower it for the work of the ministry. Moses had a ministry that was glorious in his day yet it faded and only worked death through the Law. We have a much superior ministry of the Spirit that produces righteousness (3:9) and liberty (3:17). It is the same ministry of the Spirit that empowered our Lord to “…preach good tidings unto the meek; … to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” (Isa. 61:1-3). Paul makes it quite clear that we are not adequate in ourselves for such things (2:16, 3:5) but that this is the work of the Lord; that our adequacy comes from God.

“THEREFORE, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” (4:1) Suicide claims as its victims those who have totally lost heart. They have lost sight of any purpose for living and certainly of any role in God’s kingdom as His royal agents and ambassadors of Christ. We have this treasure, the ministry of the Spirit of the living God, in earthen vessels that brings purpose to life and hope to every circumstance. Those who have a clear understanding of the ministry and mission that they have been given by God may be afflicted but will not be crushed, may become perplexed but will not despair, may be persecuted but will not feel forsaken, and may even be struck down but cannot be destroyed (4:8-9). They are immune to the despair that breeds thoughts of self-destruction.

I am picturing three little boats in History that were built with very humble purposes in mind but ended up shaking the world. One was a small and simple sailboat that sat neglected for years in an old cabin in Russia. A young prince named Peter discovered it one day, retrieved it, and learned a love for sailing. His dreams escalated from there as Czar of all the Russias to seek for his country a warm-water port on the ocean that would bring Russia into the modern age and make her a world power. Another simple fishing boat sat on the shores of the island of Elba in the Mediterranean where it served no major purpose until Napoleon Bonaparte appropriated it one night and escaped his exile to return to the mainland where he went on to force the world to a bloody showdown at Waterloo. Another simple rowboat here in America went on to great fame as the boat that carried General George Washington across the Delaware, a critical and victorious turning point in the American Revolution. In each case, the boat was nothing, but the personage it carried was everything.

If we can instill in our children (as well as the aged) a sense of destiny as to the personage of the Holy Spirit they carry within them and the grand purposes He is about, we will not have to worry about them becoming another grim statistic. They will not lose heart. Nor will we.

play

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

The resurrection and play: two disparate terms but beautifully joined together in C.S. Lewis’s classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Susan and Lucy witness the resurrection of Aslan who recovers his strength only to indulge in a purely, playful romp with the two girls. “Catch me if you can!” he cries as he leaps across the great stone table. “A mad chase began. Round and round the hilltop he led them, now hopelessly out of their reach, now letting them almost catch his tail, now diving between them, now tossing them in the air with his huge and beautifully velveted paws and catching them again, and now stopping unexpectedly so that all three of them rolled over together in a happy laughing heap of fur and arms and legs.” It is a wonderful portrayal of joy unspeakable and full of glory, wholly suited to the occasion of occasions.

I was challenged by Mark Buchanan’s book, The Rest of God, this weekend. In exploring the proper dimensions of the Sabbath rest, he poses the question, “Do you play enough? Do you risk enough and bask in God’s creation enough and do some things for no reason other than that you’ll be dead soon enough anyhow, so why not live a little now?” As Americans, we are very much driven by the twin taskmasters of time and utilitarianism. Play does not come easy. There is always way too much work to do. Play seems wasteful and uncomfortably close to slothfulness.

Buchanan argues that there are many things that cannot be proven to be of any utilitarian usefulness but that life deprived of these things becomes dull, drab, and lifeless. Imagine a world without ice cream cones, spring picnics, slow hot showers, fireplaces, and front porch swings. None of these things will add to the gross national product, enhance our intellect, hone our skills, or make us better neighbors. “But they just might make us feel more alive, more ourselves, and that’s use enough.”

At 5:00 AM this very Tuesday morning, I stepped out of a simple and rugged shelter on top of Mt. LeConte in preparation for an early start home. I looked up and was immediately arrested by the drama of that opening prequel to the day. The half-moon was still proud in the clearest of skies making my steps quite known but yet not so bright as to mask a thousand stars sprinkled across the velvet heavens. A trace of a left over vaporous cloud stretched across the lower third of my field of view highlighted by the moon’s deft rays. And uppermost in the unfolding drama was the perfectly straight and brilliant white contrail of a high flying jet who winked his little red light at me while heading for the moon. As far as I know, no one saw it but me, and I caught it at its zenith form of perfect composition. A matter of minutes and the picture was ruined. It was at that moment I felt very much alive. The whole business of climbing 5 miles up some 3,000 feet just to stare at the world below doesn’t make a lot of sense. But it afforded a wonderful taste of that Sabbath rest that restores the soul.

I have to agree that play can be subversive. “It hints at a world beyond us. It carries a rumor of eternity, news from a kingdom where Chronos [time] and utility are no more welcome than death and Hades and the ancient serpent. When we play, we nudge the border of forever.” I trust that your totally useless Spring Break was full of the joy of the resurrection of the One who came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly; a life which includes some time “…producing nothing but adrenaline, laughter, and memories.”

the heart

“I will bring the blind by a way they did not know.” ~Isaiah 42:16

Mily Cyrus is portrayed on the cover of Parade magazine this week as an emerging teen who declares with new found certainty, “I know who I am.” We would only pray that this is as true as it is remarkable. I certainly had no idea of who I was at 17 and still struggle at age 65. Just who am I? I am afraid I have much more in common with the Apostle Paul than I do with Mily Cyrus. Paul, that mighty defender of the faith, openly admitted, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

I have a young friend who is one of those folks who has the appearance of polish and success written all over him. He is an educated professional with a wife and newborn child. Together they radiate the model young Christian family. Well-mannered, well-spoken, prosperous, athletic looks, and knowledgeable in all manner of Scriptural truth, he epitomizes for me any young man’s dream or ambition. He shared with me his story-book upbringing in a Christian home in the hills of West Virginia where he spent every Sunday in church and where he met his wife-to-be as a teenager in the church nursery. He says he was raised in “Mayberry” and was every bit the good son that would conform in such a setting. Yet he looks back and declares that as a young man he was every bit a rank sinner that was fully headed for and deserving of hell. It was his own secret self that was out of control that could also admit with Paul of being the chief of sinners. I sat a bit stunned at hearing this self-deprecating description. The disparity of image and truth jangled my sensibilities.

I am always intrigued by the spiritual journey stories when interviewing new families as they join with us here at school. Many of them indicate they have dull testimonies because of having accepted Christ at a young age in a Christian home. Indeed, a dull testimony is what you desire for your children as well. We would not wish the heartbreak of a prodigal-come-home testimony on anyone. The risk and pain is too great. Yet, I have come to understand that all of us who name the name of Christ, no matter of age or experience, have been fished out of the miry pit of sin by the grace of God. We were all standing in the cesspool of lost-ness, alone and covered in guilt, totally unworthy of any merit or favor. We may have been the elder brother who stayed at home, but we were as equally in need of a savior as any who have traveled to a distant land to waste our substance in riotous living “…for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

I think it is easy to become confused as to who we actually are. Those of us who have lived the straight life all these years can easily grow comfortable with our middle-class, respectable selves and assume a creeping smugness that belies our actual nature. Jeremiah laments that the human heart is desperately wicked, who can know it? Such a picture of who we actually are is not popular or cheerful. It kind of reminds us of Jonathon Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God,” a picture or message we do not necessarily enjoy. While I would dare suggest that Edwards rename his message, “Sinners in the hands of a just and holy God,” I think he had the rest quite right. We are all quite deserving of eternal damnation. This perspective should do two things for us. It should help us bear a posture of true humility as those who have “nothing in our hands to bring.” Secondly, it should renew within us a sense of profound joy that we, who were lost, have now been found. Though we were blind, we now can see.

It should also make us fully aware that our children, though good and pleasant and obedient on the outside, still need a new heart and a cleansing that only God can give. And when they blow it, we should not be shocked. They are, like we, emerging from the pit and the miry clay of sin into which they were born. That is the real truth of who we are and the most vital truth of all.

The Rivers Edge Advantage

“A perverse man sows strife” -Pro. 16:28

You have been there and known the difference.  It may have been a class,
a work place, or even church where you noticed a huge shift in the general
atmosphere within a short period of time after a change of just a few
personnel within that group. It sometimes happens when even one
particular person leaves that the whole demeanor of the group changes
for the better. There is greater openness, more laughter, and even
episodes of joy break out where there was always a bitter edge to the
relationships afore.  It demonstrates the power of one.  Scripture proclaims
that where there is no talebearer, strife ceases (Pro. 26:20).  Sinful
attitudes on the part of a few have a way of reaching out and contaminating
the mood and tone of a whole group.

I remember a number of episodes where group dynamics shifted dramatically
within a short period of time and affected my feelings and attitudes.  The first
involved my high school church youth group.  As a teen-ager, I grew up in a
relatively small church with a peer group of about 20 youth.  Many of them were
related but more importantly, they were secretly living a double life style.  They
did their churchly duties in deference to their parent’s wishes, but at school and
away from church, they were flirting with all the worldly stuff that they could get
away with.  Church youth activities were thus laced with ambivalent feelings on
my part.  It was not a safe or accepting place, and God was definitely not the
center of interest.  I felt estranged and alone.  After I was off at college, the
makeup of the youth group changed dramatically as youth groups are wont to do.
I found myself sucked in whenever I was home and during the summers.  We
became a family and even the least of these was affirmed in some way or another. 
Those friendships continue to this day.

As a young boy, my parents moved to a farm in rural Illinois, and I found myself at a
one-room country school with four grades.  After acclimating, I experienced a
tremendously bonded group of children who affirmed one another in many ways.
I enjoyed school and looked forward to the studies that were quite up to speed in
spite of the many limitations that such a situation entails.  Well, good things like
that can not be allowed to continue, and so the county built a brand new junior high
school and bussed us all to town each day.   Hence, my 7th and 8th grade years
found me swimming in a social pool that was downright terrifying at times.  It
colored my whole middle school experience and was less than satisfying in many
ways.

Many parents at the middle and high school years right now are puzzling as to the
best academic path for their students. We live in a highly competitive age, and we
want to give our students the best edge possible.  But I urge any in this category
to think in terms of the learning environment as well as all of the course offerings
that a school such as Farragut High School could afford.  A student’s performance
can be colored by the dynamic of the group that inhabits any particular class.  I
first learned to love History because of a friendship with another student who
relished with me the chance to discuss the subject matter and the teacher’s
eccentricities.

We, at River’s Edge, have a vision for our new high school that it become a place
where like-minded students will be able to bond and form positive friendships
that will color their attitudes towards the subject matter in a positive direction. For
this purpose, we hope to involve students together in activities ranging from
student government to mission trips. We desire to create a place where students
feel safe from ridicule, worldly peer pressure, and negative attitudes. But more
than that, we desire to bring students together who actually enjoy the challenge
of math, who have a love for the arts, or who delight in literature.  The right kind of
student chemistry can be priceless in developing a passion for learning,
something that will seldom happen in a place where students feel threatened or
burdened with hostile forces arrayed around them.  Our new school will be small
but that can turn into a tremendous advantage as we recruit students who are
people of passion and character.  It is the River’s Edge advantage. 

Twenty Questions

The Twenty Most Pressing Issues to be Faced by the Next Generation

1. Law, culture, and politics: Will the homosexual lifestyle become a protected sub-group with all who speak against it be deemed guilty of ‘hate speech?’ Is there room for religious based knowledge in the public square? What will happen when all religious views are excluded from public life? What is the true definition of “religious freedom” enshrined in our Constitution? What does the separation of church and state really stem from?

2. Education I: It says in Daniel 12.4 that "people will be running to and fro and knowledge shall be increased". Then Paul says in II Timothy 3:7 that people will be "ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth". So from that perspective, I think we should be concerned with "What to teach and how to teach it" as educators. What can we teach that will enable our students to be able to "discern between good and evil" and what do they need to know to avoid "the tree of knowledge of good and evil". These are deep issues with no simple solution.

3. Education II: Will the public schools destroy themselves on the opposing priorities of raising standards and insuring that all students graduate? What will Christians do in the face of this protracted stalemate?

4. Technology I: the kids of this generation have instant communication and know all kinds of things that grandparents don't know. How will we control the influx of knowledge that they are receiving from all of these devices? And should we?

5. Technology II: Although we are able to communicate instantly from almost anywhere in the world, we are an increasingly isolated people. How do we balance this “time for which we are fitted and chosen”? We must keep fellowship with God and His believers, we must battle all of the increasing lures of time and resources, and, yet, we must remain sane while doing so.

6. Technology III: King Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new’? It has been in ancient times before us. ” Perhaps modern challenges are, at the core, not new challenges, just restated, rehashed problems of old in somewhat different scenarios. Technological development has a way of magnifying what is already in the human heart. It is a means of enhancing the capabilities of man to promote good or evil in a swifter, more efficient, more effective manner, to make one either more productive or more destructive. Technological development, while benign in and of itself towards good and evil, most certainly has an impact. Technological development changes the scenario so that exercising the sin nature is relatively easy and effortless, perhaps as easy as pressing a button. However, the same technology can be used to promote God’s truth to the world in a more efficient manner than has ever been possible before. One person, regardless of age, money, or influence can be a world missionary from his own home. I propose that a worthy challenge we have as a generation is, “How can we use the technological resources available to us in creative ways, to impact this generation for Jesus Christ?” and “What dangers do technological development present to us because of the nature of the human heart?”

7. Environment I: The synergistic effects of multiple contaminants on the human body and environment. (In layman's terms, we have some understanding of how single contaminants impact us and the environment at different concentrations but how do they work together to impact us when they are mixed and what effect do different mixes have on impacted individuals).

8. Environment II: What is the true impact of humans on our environment and how should that affect the regulations that govern our lives. (The global warming issue falls under this question but it is much broader than that single issue.)

9. Culture and faith: “How do we teach and strengthen our faith and dependence on God when we live in a society of gross over abundance?” He has been to Ukraine a couple of times on mission trips. He is awed by how much they do and how happy they are with so few resources. A friend of our living in Ukraine has told us more than once that when a Ukrainian moves to the States, their faith often dies.

10. Economic: If and when the economy collapses in some way or another under the crushing load of debt currently being amassed, how will our children survive and flourish? How can we best achieve financial independence for families in a world economy founded on unstable premises? How much of the world’s system do we buy into and how creative do we need to be in regard to education and job training?

11. Science and sociology: What does it mean to be “human” and what, if any, distinguishing features and rights separate us from the animal kingdom?

12. Culture and politics: What foundational principles are at risk when we elevate diversity as a supreme value as opposed to the Christian consensus upon which this country was based?

13. Medicine and politics I: What protections need to be placed upon human life? How has legalized abortion affected our attitudes towards the sanctity of all human life? Can we contain our schizophrenic viewpoints without a total breakdown of the American health-care ethos?

14. Medicine and politics II: What will be the future of medical care in view of its spiraling costs, government interdiction, and uncontained litigation? Can we manage to find a creative, affordable, and compassionate alternative for our families and the body of Christ?

15. Culture and Faith: Pornography has become one of our major industries, and its allure and ease of access has penetrated nearly every home in America at some point in time. Can we stem this tide personally or as a nation, and can we rescue marriages, families, and the participants in this deadly trade from enslavement and destruction?

16. World politics: What will be the ultimate result of the push for a global economy and one-world culture? Is nationalism totally dead? Are cultural differences real or imagined?

17. Culture and religion: How can we reclaim generations of children raised without fathers and turn their hearts toward the Heavenly Father? How can we uphold the standard of the sanctity and inviolate status of marriage and extend compassion to the single parents laboring under heavy burdens of raising children by themselves? How do we balance mercy and truth in this tender sphere?

18. Culture and politics: How do we retain any cultural, legal, and political identity as a nation when immigration continues to be largely uncontrolled? What forces are actively arrayed against controlled and restricted immigration policies? What will the face of our country look like 50 years from now? Are there any redemptive aspects of this shift in population make-up?

19. Economic growth, population: How will the declining birth rates remake the countries of the world and change the economic balance of world power?

20. Religion: Who will win the battle for the hearts and minds of the 10-40 window of world populations: Christianity or Islam? Will Islam continue its aggressive expansion or wither in the face of rapid communications growth?