The Education Issue
August 2015
Are you a teacher or someone who works at a school?
A parent of a child you're about to send back to school?
This is for you.

Are you about to skip this one because you're not a teacher?
Consider forwarding it to a spouse or friend who is a teacher!

Call for Teachers
Conquerors through Christ loves teachers! You are on the front lines of the battle for the souls of these children, and we want to do anything we can to bolster your work. To that end, we've already created the following resources that just might be the perfect thing for you this school year:

We're here for you, and we're here for your students. There are many ways the gospel will free your class this year - let the battle against pornography be one of them, for the blessing of your students and the glory of God.   

By Kyle Bitter 
The youth at my church have abundant opportunities to grow up with Christian education. Our congregation runs a large elementary school. We are right down the road from an area Lutheran high school and an easy drive from one of our synod's two ministry prep high schools. We are even within walking distance of a conservative, confessional Lutheran college. And yet, amidst this plethora of Christian education opportunities, Satan still works hard to steal the souls of our children. His attacks are many and varied, and far more dangerous than we give him credit for. The destructive tools of sixth commandment sin are among his most powerful weapons. There are lots of causes for concern and lots of dangers, but the powerful gospel message overcomes all of them.

Here are three concerns that are on my mind:

I am concerned that family members will feel exempted from their responsibility for each other.
It's easy to think that sending children to a Christian school lightens the spiritual responsibility of the parents. It's easy to think that home devotions really aren't necessary when the children get daily devotions in the grade school classroom and daily chapel services at the Lutheran high school. But nothing could be further from the truth. Despite the powerful influence that Christian education provides in the lives of children, it can never be more than a supplement to the lessons the children learn at home - often by watching. An entire catechism unit on the commandments can be easily undone when parents, who are more influential in the lives of their children than any pastor or teacher will ever be, show blatant disregard for sin and by bad example undercut everything that was taught in school. Everything a pastor or teacher might say about the dangers of pornography can be lost when a child or teenager sees his father whom he respects viewing it, or when he finds it by accident saved on the home computer.

When sin is embraced and accepted in the home, the impact on children is profound. Sending children to a Christian school doesn't exempt parents and family members from this important spiritual responsibility. I'm not trying to say that the family home life has to be perfect. That's an impossible burden for any family made up of sinful people to carry. But the solution to that sin isn't to ignore it or to accept it. The solution is to repent of it and turn to Jesus for forgiveness. And when that is modeled by parents for children, there is an equally powerful impact.

I am concerned that kids will be culture shocked when they leave the shelter of Christian grade school and high school.
One of the many blessings of growing up with a Christian education in the church is the opportunity to learn the basics of the bible without hindrance or opposition. While there certainly still is sin in Christian schools, and perhaps in some cases it might seem like the devil works harder there than anywhere else, there's no denying the power of the gospel alive and active in the hearts of God's people. By and large, Christian schools are a safe and sheltered place for kids to grow and learn, protected from some of the sad realities of a sin-filled world.

But one day graduation comes, and it's time to move out into the world. My hope and prayer is that the children and teens of our congregation have grown in their faith enough to be ready for the challenges that await them, whether it's public high school, public college, or entry into the workforce. Have their pastors spent enough class time giving them the tools and arguments to defend their faith when it is challenged? Do they understand the deceptive dangers that sin can present - even sin they hopefully were not exposed to in their sheltered childhood? Have they thought through what they will say when they see friends struggle (perhaps not always very hard) with pornography? What will happen when they realize that there is a while area of sexual knowledge that they have not yet learned - when their friends all seem to know so much more? Will they turn to pornography as a teaching tool? Or will they be able to save the details of that knowledge for their marriage? The colliding cultures present all sorts of dangers.

But perhaps most importantly of all, has the gospel been impressed upon their hearts so that they will know where to direct their friends who are struggling? So they know where to turn when they fall themselves? Christian education is a powerful tool in equipping a child or teenager for the challenges of life in a sinful world. God willing we will use this tool beyond just memorizing facts as we prepare the next generation of Christians for lives of service.

I am concerned that kids will become legalistic in their approach to sixth commandment sin.
It's pretty easy to hammer down on sin that you don't have much contact with. It's pretty easy to speak harshly about what is right and what is wrong when you aren't in regular contact with those openly practicing that sin. But what happens when there are real people involved? What happens when a high school or college student hears about their first friend who is pregnant out of wedlock? How might they respond? What happens when a teen sees the addictive hold pornography has on his college roommate? I'm concerned that young people (and more "seasoned" Christians too, for that matter) will react with a legalistic attitude - jumping on the sin and pronouncing condemnation with insufficient tact and a poor sense of timing - forgetting all about the fact that each one of us struggles with sin in our own ways, and perhaps forgetting also that had it not been for the grace of God shown through the blessing of a strong Christian background, any one of us might have fallen into the very same sins had circumstances allowed us to do so with minimal risk of getting caught. Condemning others for sin without seeing one's own sin is hypocrisy at the highest level, even if the sins of others are more noticeable or more serious in appearance by comparison.

I hope that through discussions and practical case studies in catechism class, students will come to embrace the patient and evangelical way that Jesus handled the sinners he interacted with in his life, as he patiently built relationships, instructed his followers time and again about what God's will is without losing his patience in their shortcomings, watching and waiting for the day when the Holy Spirit's work in their hearts would be complete and they would recognize him as the Savior of the world. I hope and pray that the approach of our young people to sixth commandment sin would be one demonstrating similar patience, humility, and love for the soul of the person caught in sin as they watch vigilantly for the opportunity the Lord places before them to proclaim the truth with love.

There are many dangers in the world that we live in, and Satan has a vast array of tools in his sixth commandment arsenal. There are certainly challenges to the next generation of Christians that perhaps on some levels seem more difficult than in years past. But there need not be fear in our hearts as we train the next generation of Christians, whether we have the tool of formal Christian education or not, because no matter what our ministry setting, we have the gospel message of Jesus, living, dying, and rising to save his children from sin. The world may present many dangers, but Jesus reminds us: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33). May God grant us the blessing of seeing that victory as our Savior and his gospel message overcomes our world today.


Does your school collect an offering (in a joint devotion or otherwise?) Do you intentionally send that offering out to different ministries to promote the gospel work those ministries do and to encourage your kids to love the whole kingdom of God? Conquerors through Christ is not funded through CMO, but is instead reliant on grants and gifts. Consider supporting this important ministry, and know that one of our top priorities is equipping the students and teachers of your school to fight the battle against pornography.

To make an online donation, click this link and select CSM: Conquerors Through Christ from the "Destination" drop down.

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Thank you!

If you are caught in the sin of lust, we want to help restore you.  
If you are in need of accountability, we want to help keep you from temptation.
If you are helping bear another's burden, we want to hold you up and encourage you.

No matter who you are, we want you to know the love of Christ - the only thing that will bring you lasting peace.

Your brothers and sisters at Conquerors through Christ

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