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Whose
PRIVILEGE is this? |
Whose
PATERNITY is this? |
Whose
PURPOSE is this? |
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Inspiration
through reading, observing and experiencing the struggle for parents
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I
begin this page with much anticipation over the answers to this central
question regarding our role as parents and guardian - whether to our
biological children...or children in general. Not to
taint the inspiration, but the negative. aspects and history behind the
question |
...is
my personal plight over the custody and care of my own
children. The courts will show some semblance of paternalistic
nature in their allegations or rhetoric; but I have yet to read or to
observe the working of love and... |
...and
sincere interest in the lives of any children from organizations that
overtly disregard - and even despise - the instinctive nature of a parent
toward his children. In this understanding, I being to seek
the answer to the central question... |
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Already
Gone |
Why
your kids will quit church and... |
...what
you can do to stop it |
 |
Ken
Ham & Britt Beemer (2009); Ken is perhaps best known for his
"Answers in Genesis creation-science"; but this book is
obviously on the critical condition of young folk who quit church (if they
were ever active) at an increasing level or percentage of the population |
Researcher
Britt Beemer joins Ken in presenting an the results/conclusions and
projections drawn from a survey of 1,000 20 to 29 year olds who used to
attend evangelical churches on a regular basis.
Ironically, the outcome shows that those who attended Sunday |
...school
were more likely to question the authority of the Scriptures.
Ham cautions the readers, "This is a brutal wake-up call for the
church, showing how our programs and our approaches to Christian education
are failing dismally. |
|
Introduction
- Where have all the churches gone? |
Ham
& Britt Beemer begin with a trip across the ocean; that is, to Britain
- where the Christian church is spiritually in ruins and, what church
buildings are valuable, are being converted or changed for other
purposes. But why is this... |
...trend
important to America? Because the same trend is occurring here and,
with attention to the title of this book, is in large part because many of
the young folk are Already Gone... |
AlreadyGone_Introduction_06-24-09.pdf
 Attending
church is a privilege for some (in the world); to fellowship is to praise
the Father in corporate. But what of this trend they call an
epidemic?
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Already
Gone; yes, teens are leaving the church early-on; but why?
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In
this opening chapter, Ken & Britt describe their backgrounds in
conjunction with their research and genuine desire to understand the
trends and statistics that accompany the teens that have already gone
from church. |
Using
a collection of resources and survey methods, they begin to identify the
broad statistics of the "who" and "why" of the trend
and, through these methods, to draw conclusions and further details of the
"next generation" |
AlreadyGone_GoneC1_07-14-09.pdf
...on
exodus in America. Of course, the losses have serious
consequences for the health of the future church - but even now - the
epidemic is being felt....
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The
central issue is what they believe...or don't believe
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Continuing
toward answers to the departure of kids, the answers begin at core
beliefs. Using "watershed questions" as the means,
the study focused on the foundation for which church participation would
be... |
determined.
As one finding, 62% of the surveyed did not believe "all accounts and
stories in the Bible. On this unstable foundation is the
outcome or occurrences of doubt - which leads to loss of interest,
etc. |
AlreadyGone_ExpectC2_07-22-09.pdf
The
solution to the troubling trend is simply described as teaching the Bible
and living in accordance with Bible teaching - or a lifestyle of Christ
pursuing living...
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Road
to Irrelevance
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A
road where? To irrelevance - which means to somewhere that
just does not matter or is of no application. When
60% of kids growing-up in the church have left the church, than the |
church
must have little if any relevance to this post-Christian age.
Starting in England and spreading beyond, the authority of the Bible has
been greatly diminished in the eyes of many... |
AlreadyGone_IrrevalencetC3_08-26-09.pdfWith
this and other similar statistics, what's next for the church and its
once-occupied young folk?
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The
Ready Defense
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Set
apart Christ as Lord; always be ready to give an answer to everyone who
ask you to give a reason for... |
...the
hope that you have. Do this with gentleness and
respect. How important a strong defense can be;
especially, |
when
facing the figurative "giant". Remember that
David (The Shepherd) was the challenged - not the
challenger...
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The
Assault on Parenthood |
How
are culture undermines... |
....Parenthood |
 |
Dana
Mack (2000) begins in the preface with the purpose: "I wrote
(the book) with the intention of expanding the debate on the malaise of
American youth." Having written on the heels of
Columbine, she reminds the reader of the off-the-cuff response of critics
(of |
youth violence) that removing access to guns is not the complete
answer...but only a easy one. The much deeper and
decided answer lies in the possibilities the young people are being
"subjected to adult pressure and temptations...they
are not capable of dealing with." In |
her research, Dana went throughout America and, in her findings,
discovered that parents generally have two worries: the first
is the loss of childhood innocence; and the second is the loss of parental
authority. |
|
Introduction-
Why are parents more challenged in our culture today?
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The
verdict is in: divorce put kids at risk, and the crisis of our youth
has a lot more to do with family structure than previously
thought. The National Fatherhood Initiative has
spearheaded an movement to get fathers back in... |
...action
with their children. Other organizations such as The
National Center for Fathering are involved are in protecting families from
the ravages of unilateral or No-fault divorce. Aside
from the direct detriments of divorce, |
Parenthood_Introduction_07-06-09.pdf
Families
are "under insurmountable pressures from a culture that undermines
child-rearing efforts."
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Parents
are personified or profiled as abusive and unworthy; but why?
|
Mack
moves to the meat of the matter by introducing the public persona
of parents in such roles of abusive, irresponsible, and careless
behaviors. The media has been at forefront in its portrayal
through television and other modes. |
But
the question should be ask, "Are adults (of children) always of the persuasion
portrayed - or is there a deeper meaning behind this profiling of
parents? With the collection of comments and input of
many parents... |
Parenthood_Pariah_07-15-09.pdf
...she
begins to debunk the claims on parenthood and, at the same time, to
examine other conditions leading to the trends...
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Severe
tactics are used to compel children to testify against their parents...
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Tactics
to compel children to testify (as whistleblowers) against their parents go beyond a reasonable form; but instead, take-on the format of an
inquisition with interrogation....How can children (and parents) endure
such tactic aimed at... |
digging
deeper than the truth; if the end justifies the means, than such tactics
may carry such weight as to force confessions that are beyond the truth;
and are therefore, not completely or altogether true. |
Parenthood_Destruction_07-22-09.pdf
the
mission to find child maltreatment is yet another example of federally
subsidized programs with perhaps good intentions but bad outcomes for many
families...
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Children
are caught in the balance of this struggle for parenthood
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Parents
once again come to the table to air their grievances with government
intervention; this time, on the basic dilemma that parents are still held
responsible for their children while reduced in one form... |
...or
another as authorities in their children's lives. "They
impede parental autonomy and authority..." is the battle cry of
those who are embroiled in crisis such as unilateral divorce and the handy
work of the... |
Parenthood_Undomesticated_07-29-09.pdf
...legal
system that uses child custody as a bargaining chip. As a
rule, the children take the hit again and again. As Cat
Stevens wrote: 'Where do the children play?"
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What
are they teaching those kids in school today?
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The
"leveling" of schooling describes the changes in the public
school system that have demoted conventional educational curriculum in
view of "techniques" in the realm of psychotherapy...that are
aimed at... |
...affirming
the student more than imparting actual knowledge. With this change in
delivery comes the criticism that learning about themselves is superseding
learning the conventional curriculum. But there's more to such |
Parenthood_Leveling_08-13-09.pdf
programs
that steer children away from their parents and seemingly toward their
peers in an environment of paradoxes and confusion - not to mention
decline in education...
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School
of Hard Knocks
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Radical
changes have occurred in the introduction to sexuality and education in
our land. Parents have protested
over school policies and practices that issues condoms and |
introduce
subjects at increasingly earlier
agree. The dilemma is that by introducing kids at earlier
ages, "the system" promotes irresponsibility among the emotional
immature...rather than |
Parenthood_Knocks_08-18-09.pdf
...responsibility.
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Material
Kids
|
Madonna
sang, "We're living in a material world..."; and in this vein,
Materialism is alive and well - however... |
...unhealthy
it might be for the society. Beyond basic materialism, is the
mass media. The influence to children is a
key point of this chapter - |
Parenthood_Material_08-28-09.pdf
not just to exploit but to desensitize through
the distribution and advertising of...
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Alternative Schools
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Home-schooling
has grown exponentially according to Ms. Mack; in this chapter, she
presents the case nd
the cause for such growth in parent's taking charge of their child's |
...education. In
the backdrop of this change among other alternative education is the
prevailing conflict between parents who want to have control or authority
and a system that |
Parenthood_Alternatives_09-05-09.pdf
...of conspicuous or
altogether conflicting values and methods. With much
struggle,
parents have made some strides...
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