How the Homeschooling Battle Impacts You

We made the decision to homeschool our children because it fits our family situation, lifestyle, and personal convictions. Being a youth pastor means that my summers are slammed with ministry opportunities, mission trips, and camps. Because this is a crucial time in my ministry I do not get to take summer vacations and family trips have to wait till the fall. If our children went to public school they would be on summer break while I was in one of the busiest times of my year, and they would start back to school before we had the opportunity for family vacation or extended outings. In regards to our personal convictions, we feel that homeschooling is the best way for us to teach our children a Christian worldview and prepare them to be godly adults. For Sharon and me, it is the most effective way to live out Deuteronomy 6 and honor God by caring for what He has entrusted to us as parents. We believe parents have to make this decision for themselves and homeschooling is one option. You should have the right to choose the best option for your family and your children. Most of you are probably sending your children to public schools, and you may have checked out wondering what in the world homeschooling has to do with you. Let me show you.

The battle for the legal right of parents to homeschool children has been heating up for years. A recent article from Baptist Press reports that other countries, namely Germany and Sweden, are fining parents thousands of dollars because they are homeschooling their children instead of sending them to government schools. Germany has been particularly harsh on families who homeschool. The article reports that a 15 year old girl in Bavaria was taken from her home and placed in a psychiatric facility "because they believed the girl had been brainwashed by her conservative evangelical parents who homeschooled her." But that is only in Europe right? It is for now, but there are some alarming trends happening in the US.

The number of families choosing to homeschool is rising every year and with it a number of court cases and legislation challenging the right of homeschooling is increasing. This means that homeschooling is going to be taking center stage in our political arena in the years to come. The Baptist Press article notes that there have been past efforts to quash homeschooling in our country. The first was based on the argument that homeschooling fails to provide the proper education needed for children to succeed in college and the work force. That has been disproved with homeschoolers exceeding standards in all testing areas and colleges are now looking for new ways to recruit homeschooled students. The second effort to stop the homeschool movement was directed at the idea that homeschooling leaves children socially inept. That too was proven to be false. However, according to the article, there is a third wave of attack coming that is expected to be more intense than the last two. The article says that those wishing to stop the homeschooling movement are asserting that "Christian homeschooling parents are effectively transmitting values to their children...that are dangerous to the well-being of both these very children and society as a whole."

What exactly are those values they feel are dangerous, threatening the well-being of children and society?

1. Homosexuality is a sin.
2. Men should be the leaders of their families.
3. Jesus is the only way to God.
4. All other religions are false.

Now, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ and believe the Bible you hold these beliefs as well, even though you most likely send your children to a government school. Homeschooling is an easy target because even though it is on the rise, it is certainly not the norm. It is also closely associate with our Christian faith because the majority of homeschooling families profess to be Christian and teach the Bible as part of their curriculum. The opponents of homeschooling are fighting against the movement in the name of tolerance, which is hypocritical as they have no tolerance for the values embraced by Christians. One professional interviewed in the article states, "The people who are preaching tolerance are actually opponents of liberty...Persecution is on its way. It is in the law reviews today. It will be in the courtrooms tomorrow." As I stated from the beginning, you should be free to choose how to educate your children and no one should be allowed in impose a particular philosophy on you or penalize you for making a responsible informed decision. Yet, I feel that this next attack on homeschooling is just an arrow aimed at a larger target...evangelical churches.

My question is this. If they are successful in stopping homeschooling because Christian parents are teaching values that are seen as a threat to society, how much of a stretch is it for the opposition to move from attacks on homeschooling to attacks on evangelical churches and pastors? I don't think that it is a stretch at all. In fact, I believe it will be the next step. If opponents get a court to declare that teaching these values is a danger to the well-being of children to whom they are taught and to society, the door will have been swung wide open. Anyone who teaches or professes these beliefs will be seen as a threat to society. That means you, Christian.

The current political mood of our country is certainly positioned against Christian values. Only days ago President Obama stepped away from the defense of marriage, opening the door for same-sex marriages. This didn't surprise anyone, but it was disappointing none the less. The atmosphere is right for these kinds of battles and the voice of "tolerance" is very loud in our country today. The battles that are coming against homeschooling are an attack on the beliefs of our Christian faith. While a decision for or against homeschooling in our country may not directly affect you or your children, a decision against the liberty of parents to choose how to educate their children, based on the argument that Christian values are a threat to society and to the well-being of the children to whom they are taught, will create momentum for those who wish to silence evangelicals in this country.

Either way, we must trust God to know what is best for His church and we must stand firm on the Word and proclaim truth with love at all cost. Maybe persecution is exactly what is needed in this country for the gospel of Jesus to advance. In that case, may it be so. In the meantime, may God grant us the wisdom and courage to stay the course and proclaim Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation and His Word as true.