FAMILY, CHURCH AND STATE

March 2004

God has chartered these three institutions. Each has its own purpose and associated obligations. God alone transcends them all, making all subservient to Him, and He has not granted deity to any of them. He has, however, given direction for right standing amongst these institutions. There are right ways for families to relate to the church and to the state, and there are wrong ways. As families, we find ourselves on both sides of the accountability fence amongst church members and leaders. In America, we also find ourselves on both sides of the accountability fence for both national leaders and constituents. Still reading?

As tempting as it is, this is not a letter regarding the constitutionality of our laws, civil disobedience, impeachment of activist judges, secession, election year activities for home school families, or the "two party" system. No, those would be too easy to discuss, and too easy to swallow. Instead, this letter aims to address an issue closer to home: how the home school family relates to the local body of Christ.

Many of us have become disenchanted with the local church. I hear stories of churches that have turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to home schoolers, counseling women to go back to work, parents to put their children back in school, full participation in youth groups and Sunday school, and (over) commitment to church programs.

On the other side of the spectrum, I hear of fathers stepping up to their role of Priest of their home, and sequestering their families for church meetings either by themselves or with a few other families. There was a season only a few years ago when my family was amongst these ranks.

Each extreme solves some problems while creating others. Regardless of your family's church membership status, I urge you to seriously consider these issues regarding your relationship to the church:

Authority and Submission. As home schoolers, we take seriously our authority in the home. Vigilance over the protection of our families is in the forefront of our minds. But are we "men under authority" as well (Luke 7:7-8)? Men of God are not simply under the direct authority of King Jesus. They are also to be submitted to each other, and the elders of the church. It is entirely possible to be in a main-line church with installed elders, without living under their authority. I am not talking about submitting to cultic manipulation, but rather submission to the wisdom and instruction of the elders. How do I know that submitting to elders is part of how a family relates correctly to the church? Because elders are charged with overseeing the sheep.

Shepherds and Sheep. Are you a good sheep? To understand this, we will have to look at the charge given to elders. We have already talked about teaching, but if Shepherds are to oversee their sheep (Acts 20:28), then they have a need to know where the sheep are. We sheep, therefore, have an obligation to live in such a way that the Shepherds know where we are.

When is the last time you sat down with an elder and emptied your mind with what you were wrestling with, and what you believed? "A Mocker resents correction; he will not consult the wise" (Prov. 15:12-13) "…rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still…." (Prov 9:8b-9) Which are you? Are you avoiding correction altogether? Do you let elders in your life? Do they meet the stringent tests in I Timothy 3:1-7? Do they know where you are? "Savage wolves will come in among [us] and will not spare the flock." That is a fact. We need qualified shepherds to be on their guard against men who arise and distort the truth. (Acts 20:29-31) - especially if we are those men.

Discipline. As unpleasant as this is, and (unfortunately) as rare as this is, the local church is God's ordained instrument of correction. Matthew 18:17 instructs us to ultimately bring a wayward brother before the church. Does your church structure lend itself to this procedure? Further still, it is the church that is given the authority of turning the unrepentant brother out of the church (I Cor. 5:1-5).

Where are you going to bring your wayward brother? And perhaps more importantly, where are your brothers going to bring you?

For further study, read "A Time for Maturity" By Doug Phillips, at Vision Forum Ministries

Yours truly,
Brett

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