Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Time to Get Down and Dirty!!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a conversation I overheard about a year ago.  I was at a major Sunday School convention here in Kentucky in line for lunch, and overheard two youth pastors behind me discussing their youth groups and meeting with them at school for lunch or other activities.  About half-way through the conversation one pastor said to the other something along the lines of “well, the school won’t let me on campus to meet with my own students, but that is okay with me, because if I can’t come on campus, then neither can the Satanist or any other crazy group”.  Now, for clarification, this was not just any pastor, but a Baptist pastor.  And this wasn’t just any Baptist, but a Southern Baptist.  And if anyone has learned anything in the last 20 years about confronting problems, it’s the Southern Baptists.  We learned in the 1980’s the true cost of turning a blind eye to problems when we worked to overcome the liberals who had run the denomination for too long.  We shouldn’t be making the same mistake in allowing the liberals in society to erode our freedoms just because we don’t want to fight.  I say its time to bring it to them.

Since when did Baptists stop believing in the freedom of religion?  You see, if we cannot get into schools, like the Supreme Court has affirmed we have the right to as ministers to our youth, then no one associated with anything religious can, and that my friends is exactly the reason Baptists for so long have fought for freedom of religion.  Do I care if a Satanist comes onto the campus of any local high school?  NO WAY!!!  Why?  Because I believe in the freedom of religion, and because of the freedom of thought in the marketplace of ideas, I can rest assured that the best idea, the best system, always wins.  It’s the capitalist way.  Capitalism requires that the best system wins, and it does so without any external force or manipulation.  I don’t have to try to force out anyone except Baptists from the schools.  More than that, I can comfortably rely on the Truth of the Gospel to win out over the lies of Satan.  Since when did we start getting scared of Satan?  Let me tell you, he may have power over this world, but its time Christians start living the way they should.  We must stop living like Satan has beat us, and start living like we beat him, because Christ has won the victory.  We have to stop running around like frightened, victimized losers and start acting like bold, courageous winners.  WE HAVE ALREADY WON THE WAR!!!! There’s no good reason to fear the free exchange of ideas unless we are limited by the fear of failure.  But if your success comes from the Spirit, then it doesn’t matter who is standing against you, because He is on your side.  

So the next time you are told you can’t be somewhere, you can’t go somewhere, remember that its time to stop laying down and taking it.  It’s time to stand up tall and take on the liberals and beat them at their own game, because we’ve already won the war, they just keep trying to ignore our victory.  You have the right to be in the schools, kids have the right to be Christians even at school, and for the love of everything people, we have the right to stand up for what we believe and tell other people.  So get out there and do it!!!