What is the Meaning of Life?

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2 kk What is the Meaning of Life?

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4 Three Questions 1. Are we, as Body of Christ, having the impact on lives and the culture that God expects? 2. What happens if we continue doing for the next 20 years what we ve done for the last 20 years? 3. What must we do differently to get different results?

5 What is God s Plan for Passing the baton of faith to the next generation Raising children who think and act Christianly instead of secularly Reaching the lost in America s cities, suburbs and small towns for Christ

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7 Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because he was seeking Godly offspring. Malachi 2:15 PARENTS ARE THE BRIDGE BETWEEN GOD & THE NEXT GENERATION

8 God s plan for passing the baton: TEACH THE CHILDREN He commanded our fathers to teach their children so that a future generation, children yet to be born, might know. They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God s works, but keep His commandments Psalms 78: 5-7

9 KINGDOM EDUCATION Kingdom Education is A life-long, Bible-based, Christ-centered process that Leads a child to Christ, Builds a child up in Christ, and Equips a child to serve Christ, & Deploys them to serve Christ Kingdom Education is doing education God s way.

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11 Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism, and every American public school is a school of humanism. What can the theistic Sunday schools, meeting for an hour, once a week, and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching? Charles F. Potter, an American humanist and former Baptist minister Humanism, America s New Religion, 1930

12 FAILURE TO PASS THE BATON And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and Joshua died and they buried him. There arose another generation after them that did not know the LORD. They did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. and the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies, so that they could no longer stand, and they were greatly distressed. Judges 2:7-15

13 Spiritual Battle A spiritual battle for the hearts and minds of each generation of children. To the winner goes the spoils and souls! For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. Ephesians 6:12

14 Whoever wants the next generation the most will get them Sherwood Baptist Church, Albany, GA The Battlefield? Homes & Schools! Children are the prize to the winners. Those who determine what young people are taught, experience, see, hear, think and believe-will set the course for the future of this nation. James Dobson and Gary Bauer

15 Who is Winning the Worldview Battle? Today s Dominant Worldviews Atheistic materialism or naturalism Pantheism (Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, New Age) Secular Humanism Postmodernism Spiritism and Polytheism Theism (Judaism, Islam and Christianity)

16 Who s Discipling the Children? 5%: Catholic schools 2%: Evangelical Christian schools 2%: Homeschooled

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18 The Forrest Gump Philosophy of Life

19 Who s winning? 5%: Catholic schools 2%: Evangelical Christian schools 2%: Homeschooled

20 The Forrest Gump Philosophy of Life Do we have a destiny, a purpose in life? If so, who ordained it? OR Are we just floating around like a feather on the breeze aimless, pointless, purposeless? OR Is it both?

21 Who s winning? 5%: Catholic schools 2%: Evangelical Christian schools 2%: Homeschooled

22 Which ones are Sacred Secular Both? Church Entertainment Work Education Hobbies Marriage Politics Money Relationships Recreation

23 EVERYTHING IS SACRED! And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men. Colossians 3:23 O, LORD all that is in the heaven and in the earth is yours. 1 Chronicles 29:11

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25 BROKEN HOMES, CHURCHES, RELATIONSHIPS The Southern Baptist divorce rate is higher than any other denomination. 52% of teens believe that Jesus was a sinner. 60% believe that their good deeds will earn salvation for them. 67% believe that Satan is NOT a real being. Barna Research

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28 1.4%: America s birth rate-nearly three times our Southern Baptist growth rate. North America Mission Board Fact Sheet

29 51% baptized fewer than 5 people. North America Mission Board Fact Sheet

30 LifeWay Christian Resources, Dr. Tom Rainer

31 OF WORLDLY TEACHING IN TODAY S CULTURE Born before % Born between % Born between % Born since % Born since 2000???

32 New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and LifeWay Christian Resources

33 Children are a Church s LIFEBLOOD! What happens to a church that has lost it s children?...

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39 Cross Tu Es Petrus Chi Rho & Alpha Omega

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41 Discipleship Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. Matt 28:19-20 Jesus took around hours/day = 16,000 hours to train his disciples. Your students will spend days/year for 7 hours/day = 16,000 hours being discipled. Church alone (Sunday School and youth ministry) on average provide around 1,000-1,500 hours of discipleship K-12. Less than 5% of Christian parents spend any time discipling their own children, according to pastors estimates.

42 How many hours does it take to make a Disciple? Three Examples from Scripture Daniel Chapter 1 3 years Discipling Saul (Paul) 3 years Jesus discipling the Twelve 3 years

43 How Is The Bride Doing? 3 Questions QUESTION # 1 Are we, as the Body of Christ, having the impact on lives and the culture that God expects? QUESTION #2 What happens if we continue doing for the next 20 years what we ve done for the last 20 years? QUESTION # 3 What must we do differently to get different results?

44 How many hours does it take to make a Disciple? Example of Nebuchadnezzar s Babylonian Academy: Daniel 1:2-6 The Israelite captives living in Babylon were taken to King Nebuchadnezzar s court to learn the language, customs and learning of pagan Babylon for a period of.. 3 years = 1,000 days X 16 hours/day of teaching Total = 16,000 hours!

45 How many hours does it take to make a Disciple? Example of the Apostle Paul: Galatians 1:13-19 Following Paul s conversion on the road to Damascus, he was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert of Arabia and for 3 years was instructed by the Lord himself, not by men. 3 years = 1,000 days X 16 hours/day of teaching Total = 16,000 hours!

46 HOURS DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A COMMITED DISCIPLE? Jesus Example: 3 years = 1,000 days X 16 hours/day of teaching Total = 16,000 hours!

47 TIME SPENT IN SCHOOL

48 TIME SPENT IN CHURCH

49 Barna Research

50 SBACS Survey

51 Time spent in church plus time if actively discispled at home.

52 BY MOST FAMILIES IN CHURCH & AT HOME

53 THROUGH A KINGDOM EDUCATION Home + Church + School = God s Plan

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55 Three Ways to Educate 1. Do it yourself homeschooling 2. Outsource to public schools 3. Outsource to private or Christian schools

56 THE SAME RESULT: KINGDOM EDUCATION AND TRUE DISCIPLES!

57 GOD HOLDS THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO: Produce Godly seed Turn children s hearts toward Him Be sure they are not captured by the enemy s philosophy and ideas. Look and act like Jesus Be fruit-bearing disciples Pass the baton of faith to their children and grandchildren

58 SECULAR MINDED Secular families Secular parents Secular children Godless nations Children Families and Nations

59 KINGDOM MINDED Godly families Godly parents Godly children Godly nations Children Families and Nations

60 Beautifying the Bride How Can Christian Schools Help Build Up The Church

61 Who is the Bride?

62 The Church is the Bride of Christ, Her Head Christ is head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as also Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, to make her holy. He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and blameless. For no one ever hates his own flesh, but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, since we are members of His body. (Eph 5:23-30)

63 The Church is the Bride of Christ, Her Head I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.then one of the seven angels came and spoke with me: Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. (Rev 21:2, 9) With a church and school, the church is the bride and the school is a like a bridesmaid whose role is to help beautify the bride for husband.

64 What is the Bride s (Church s) Job? To serve as Christ s Body on the Earth 1. Missions: Introduce others to Christ, beginning with her own children 2. Discipleship: Teach them to obey Christ s commands 3. Good works: Show Christ s love by relieving the misery caused by sin 4. Christ-likeness: Grow in beauty and holiness so that we become like Jesus

65 % Born Again Christians in America In the Last Four Generations Results of Worldly Teaching 100% 80% 60% Pre % 40% % 20% 0% % Since %

66 How to help the Bride get a needed make-over! A Focus on discipleship not merely membership or converts (baptisms) A Focus on relationships Individuals with Christ Husbands and wives (marriage) Fathers and children (parenting for discipleship) Mothers as homemakers (godliness, safety, nurturing)

67 The School as a Bridesmaid Churches and homes must fulfill Scriptural mandates (Deut 6, Psalm 78, etc.) Neither the home nor the church are currently succeeding alone or even together. Three strands make a strong cord Home Church School

68 What is YOUR Church & School Relationship Like? Our School is a Ministry Of our church we are one ministry and it shows. We are thriving together. With our church we live together, but there is unresolved, ongoing friction. At our church we share a campus but we are like tenants. There is little true relationship. In spite of our church we are a ministry and share a campus but there could be a murder/suicide any day. Credit for this idea goes to Dr. Phil Graybeal, Graybeal & Associates.

69 The school is a ministry the church OF WITH AT IN SPITE OF Integration Partnership Alliance Competition us us and them us -- them us vs. them joining together of various parts into a unified whole two separate entities with official connections two separate entities with cooperative interaction two entities at odds with each other cloth masking tape velcro like poles of a magnet softball team three legged race group hide and seek tug of war Strong Marriage Weak Marriage Separated divorce pending Copyright 2003 by Graybeal and Associates, LLC

70 The school is a ministry the church OF WITH AT IN SPITE OF Church Ownership Church Ownership School Ownership Church Ownership School Ownership Church Ownership School Ownership Pastor/ Church Board Pastor/ Church Board School Board Pastor/ Church Board? School Board Pastor/ Church Board School Board School Board Church Staff School Staff Church Staff School Staff Church Staff School Staff School Head School Staff Copyright 2003 by Graybeal and Associates, LLC

71 Integration Partnership Alliance Competition Philosophy/Theology / Statement of Faith Core Values Overall Vision / Ministry Identity Accountability Policies Finances Geography Facilities Personnel Clientele Copyright 2003 by Graybeal and Associates, LLC