Why Are Many Baptists Losing Their Children?

You probably know that Filings are most often submitted via our own membership via the contact form.

We used to have a blurb about what a filing represents. I cannot find it right now but the general idea is that a filing is not necessarily the position of S/I (as a matter of fact we recently had a filing from the Archdiocese of Washington DC that lamented about couples not marrying).

About “small church … backwoods … no educational credentials”

• I once pastored a small church. Once I had a large church pastor come to our church for a Bible conference. I apologized to him for the smallness of our church and the pastor gently rebuked me.
• Backwoods: seems like a perjorative expression. I mean to Maine … it’s someplace nice to them (I’ve been to Maine!)

Filings vs Articles:

• It’s dangerous to speak for another so don’t take this a from Aaron, S/I Publisher. I would say that articles probably represent the position of Sharper Iron.
• Filings, to me, are like the proverb to “eat the meat and spit out the bones” (Sounds like a recent church potluck :) )

Conclusion:

• I hope this helps
• As the Filings Editor, I take direction from our Publisher

Thank you Jim. I in no way wanted to demean my friends from Maine though during my time in Rhode Island we did have comments about those from Maine and Massachusetts… well and as I think about it New Hampshire and Vermont too, it looks like Connecticut was the only one that got a pass. :-)

Though it was appearing to me that he had developed some sort of voice on SI with a post of his blog happening more frequently. I was failing to make a connection as to why we would be that interested with the many blogs out there.

Point by point-

#1 I agree that the Gospel is often watered down, and kids make professions without a true understanding of salvation will eventually do what is in their nature to do, probably wondering why the Christian life is so hard for them.

#2 I agree in the sense that if we are going to teach our kids what is right/wrong, we need to do so from a strong Scriptural basis. We are obviously going to teach our kids our preferences, and what is important to us as parents might not be important to someone else. I remember a friend who was horrified that I read books like The Lord of the Flies and Fahrenheit 451 to my kids, and she considered me apostate for doing so. Modesty is important, but everyone has an idea of what that looks like. I also once had a conversation with a woman who believed bras were vain and immodest. Also watches, rings, and shaving.

#3 Inconsistency is a problem for all of us, so I prefer the term ‘unstable’, which carries a different connotation of being double-minded and without firm Scriptural roots.

#4 It depends on the criticism. If we hear something questionable from the pulpit, we do not salute and say “Because he said so”. We discuss and study. Too many preachers say the most inane things from the pulpit, and I think we have to address these things with our kids, and with the preacher if possible.

#5 I’ve never seen this, and I think that would be very creepy.

#6 Sounds like an elaboration on #5, and is still weird and creepy, but I get it - we want our kids to succeed, and in our culture, success has many materialistic trappings.

#7 As I have said before, so say I now again - I generally do not like youth groups, and I really don’t like it when it is assumed that kids need to serve God regardless of whether or not they are saved, and woe be to the poor teen who admits they are not saved. They will not get another wink of sleep until they do.

#8 True of all of us at times.

#9 Left a church a few years ago because of this - we did not want our kids to grow up in a church that hid some people’s sin and scapegoated others.

#10 True of our culture, period.

#11 Definitely need a balance. I think we had a generation that was motivated solely by fear that is now marinating in love and grace in order to recover, only they’ve stayed so long their fingers and toes are pruny.

#12 Preaching is an issue, period. Three verses and 45 minutes of stories and illustrations. Angels forfend.

#13 As I have said before… I don’t recommend college as an extension of parenthood or adolescence.

#14 I’ve seen this. It seems to be more difficult to maintain a balance of family life, job, community, and church, but worship with a local physical congregation is not ‘optional’.

If I were to take issue with this article, it would be to place the responsibility for the ‘loss’ on the children themselves. At some point, regardless of the influences in their lives, they will or will not choose to listen to the Holy Spirit, to accept Christ, and to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

[Susan R]

I remember a friend who was horrified that I read books like The Lord of the Flies and Fahrenheit 451 to my kids, and she considered me apostate for doing so.

Good for you for exposing your kids to classics such as those. There are reasons that some books transcend so many others in time & influence—reasons that too often are ignored or overlooked (to their inestimable loss) by many Christians.

Twelfth-grade Literature class (in a Christian school) was a milestone for me. For an assignment, we read George Orwell’s Animal Farm. For me, that led to immediately reading 1984 outside of class. Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea was assigned. Outside of class I devoured The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby would have been verboten as an assignment; outside of class I read and then re-read it. Sinclair Lewis’ great series of novels from the 1920’s were toppled one-by-one before me: Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth. (These are just a few of the many unassigned books I read.)

Over the course of my senior year I’m sure I read probably five times as many novels as were assigned in Literature class. Many of the books I electively read then would not have met with the school’s approval, but each of them has stuck with me to this day in ways both tangible and intangible.

Thanks, Bro. Nelson. I think parents who weren’t readers or taught how to teach/analyze literature don’t understand that just because something ‘objectionable’ happens in a book, it doesn’t mean immorality is being promoted or excused. One of the things I discuss with my kids is the consequences of the characters’ actions. I love dystopian lit in particular because it often shows a world at the bottom of the ‘slippery slope’, places characters in worst case scenarios, and a few usually emerge as brave and noble in spite of the obstacles and danger. We also deal with bad people succeeding and seeming to not reap any harm, but then as we examine the story, the true cost of their choices is revealed.

One of the messages I think Bro. Mitchell may have been trying to convey is that parents need to remember their role/responsibility as the primary influences on their children, and as such need to spend time communicating with their kids. We teach and lecture and scold and give commands, but do we ever just shut up and listen to them, let them ask questions, and help them deal with their struggles? IMO literature is a great way to open doors of communication, exploring hypotheticals and learning about what and how our kids are thinking about life issues.