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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Flirting with Trouble

Last week I drove out to visit the Baptist Bible College that has been established on the other side of Hartford (I can't remember which town). Brian went with me.

I was expecting a sober environment, not stale, but a health sober. Instead the leadership had arranged a series of childish games. It started with a version of musical chairs and ended with the random selection of six "strong" young guys. Three of them sat in chairs placed at the center of several hundred youth inside the gymn, while the other three were told to sit on their laps. They were then given baby bottles... a contest to see which pair could drink down their bottle the fastest.

Disappointment does not begin to describe my feelings upon walking out of there. I kept hearing the passage in Scripture running through my head: "...exort the young men to be sober..."

If the leadership of that school cannot see the foolishness that they allowing, then they are blind. And if they do not realize that it is foolishness, then I would say this: ask the pastor of that church to sit in that chair in the gymn, with a respected deacon or assistant pastor in his lap, and feed him with a baby bottle. Or, why not Christ with Peter on his lap?

I do not mean this as a joke; it is no laughing matter. If those Christian youth cannot behave with sobriety and both consider and treat each other with respect, then they are on a fast track downhill, away from spiritual maturity.

Consistency! It is essential in our lives if we are to share the gospel effectively. Now I am not saying that I am always consistent, far from. But I do strive to be so and I am fighting. Let's be examples of righteousness, and thus we will have the strength to lead people away from this godless society... instead of melding into it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen!
It's so sad how much Christians are letting the world's ways and foolishness dictate in what they do. Especially as young people and the fast coming, next generation, we need to think seriously about our actions and how they represent or disrepresent Christ. We are to be Christ-Followers, not world-followers. Fitting in with the world and doing foolish things are definately not letting our light shine as Christ tells us in Matthew 5:16.
Kelley

Anonymous said...

That's disheartening news. Are you still considering that school as an option?

Author Scott Appleton said...

Considering the school? ...after that? Shayna, I am surprised you would even suggest it! (:

But, on the serious side, no. I am not considering that school. I would like to go to a Bible school though. I'm hoping that once my book gets out there I'll be able to afford to go to Bible school, it would greatly help my writing by giving me a respite from the world.

Kelley, I couldn't have said those point better than that: fitting in with the world is a dangerous thing. I know that I more often 'fit in' than I'd like to admit, but I am striving to go back to the child-like faith. Only with that can we keep the world out and live differently.

WELCOME TO THE WRITING SITE OF SCOTT APPLETON

"Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." -Proverbs 16:24

In a world where morality is forsaken and Christ neglected, wholesome books are uncommon. The themes of my writing are love, self-sacrifice, and honor.

I see my generation turning from God to the gods of this world. I see homes torn apart in the pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification. Children are murdered by the millions every year . . . without ever seeing the world outside their mothers' wombs. Through fiction I strive to encourage those who are willing, to stand against these things and be heroes and heroines; chivalrous, gentle, full of righteous indignation, and the fear and love of their Creator.