Transgender Restrooms - The Loss of Common Sense

This past week, I have read articles on hearings being held for L.D. 1046, the so called "Bathroom Bill," and articles on the lawsuit going forward against the Orono Elementary School for violating the "rights" of a transgender student who was refused use of the girl's bathroom. As a society, have we gone insane?

The simple fact that we have hearings on "The Bathroom Bill" shows that we have totally lost common sense as a society. The bill would clarify who could use which bathrooms. The reason the bill is necessary is that the Maine Civil Rights Commission has left the situation in limbo, not issuing common sense guidelines for schools and businesses, but indicating that people need to be allowed to use whatever bathroom fits their perceived sexuality, rather than their biological sex. Can they be serious?

My wife and I are the old fashioned sort that never had ultrasounds before our babies were born. Every time my wife gave birth, it was always a surprise. the midwife would take a look between the babies legs and, "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" Not once did she ever say, "Well now, we'll just have to wait and see till the baby is older and can decide for itself." Of course not! Biology has already decided.

Actually, the Bible tells us that God already decided. Genesis 1:27 teaches, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He create him; male and female He created them." Psalm 139:23-24 also teaches that God "formed my inward parts, [He] covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise [Him], for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." That doesn't leave much room for choice. We are what we are born. We are what God made us. Why have we stopped encouraging people to be what they were meant to be? Why have we stopped expecting people to take responsibility for who they are?

A young woman we know, pregnant for her second child, recently had her husband come to her and say he wanted to be a woman. Hello? He left her to pursue the homosexual lifestyle. He had already done what a man does. He had impregnated his wife twice. Now he needs to be the man he was meant to be and protect and provide for his family. Rather than do the right thing, he chose to abandon his family all because he decided to choose a different sex.

We hear that transgender people feel embarrassed to use bathrooms designed for their biological sex - that they are more comfortable in the bathroom of the opposite sex. To my mind, it would be more embarrassing to go into a bathroom where everyone had different plumbing; although I can imagine some of the guys I went to high school with who would pretend to transgender just to get a peek. If the issue is self-consciousness, the answer would be to transition to single occupancy restrooms, or place a few alongside the communal restrooms, as some stores are doing now with family restrooms. But don't open the door to making every little girl embarrassed by a biological boy in their restroom, or open the door to pedophiles and sex-perverts to prey on little girls.

Our restrooms should not be open and inclusive. Especially, the restrooms our children use should not be open and inclusive. When will we stop worrying so much about the supposed rights of people's choices and start worrying about protecting our children? When will parents rise up and finally say, ENOUGH! STOP THE MADNESS! When will we make our stand?

Beyond Wisconsin - The Real Crisis in Education

Now that the standoff between the teacher's union and the governor of Wisconsin has faded from our front pages, it might be time to consider the greater scandal in education - that is the failure of our public educational system to produce well educated adults.

I shouldn't have to prove the statement. Anyone interested can find the statistics easily enough. recently, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a reputable organization of 34 of the world's most advanced countries placed U.S. fifteen year olds in the middle of the thirty-four nations educationally. Education Secretary, Anne Duncan, states that by next year 82% of all public schools could be failing. She writes,

"When a child is meeting the state standards, they are in fact barely able to graduate from high school. And they are absolutely inadequately prepared to go to a competitive university, let alone graduate."

That is the bigger scandal.

What is the problem? We have a multitude of dedicated, hard working teachers. We spend more money for education every year. As we have read, the teachers in Wisconsin are well paid with lots of benefits. All more money will accomplish is more of the same. Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Educationally, if we expect different results, we will have to look for different solutions.

Business guru W. Edward Deming stated, "Your system is perfectly designed to give you the results you are getting." This is true in every situation. Public education is accomplishing exactly what it is designed to accomplish. Unfortunately, the results for which they are designed aren't the same results most Americans want. This is because, instead of concentrating on teaching the skills needed to thrive in society, our schools are becoming more and more indoctrination centers for tolerance.

Kevin Jennings, our nation's "Safe Schools" Czar, is a good example. He has stated, "every public school, private school, or parochial school has an obligation" to teach a pro-homosexual curriculum. Even if your parochial school believes that homosexuality is a sin condemned by God? "Lord forbid a Baptist or Mormon school," he added, as he denounced private schools and school choice/voucher programs as "very dangerous" because they oppose his agenda. Very dangerous? They are the ones that have produced real educational results, they and home schools. Oh, but that isn't the agenda, indoctrination is. Do we really need pro-homosexual curriculum in, as he has stated, "kindergarten, and first grade, and second grade, every grade," especially when Little Johnny can't read?

These attitudes are not unique to Kevin Jennings. Check out these real headlines from our nation's newspapers over the past several weeks: "U.S. Teachers Tell U.N. Sex is a Spectrum - Advocate Mandatory Classes to Free Students From Religion." Principal Orders (Ten Commandments) Yanked From School Lockers." "University Defines Christians as Oppressors." "District Taking Money But Censoring Christians." "No Opting Out of Pro-Gay School Participation." These are but a sampling. It seems as though tolerance of everything is good except tolerance of traditional or Christian values.

Catherine Ross, a law professor at George Washington University, expressed their opinion well. She wrote,

"I am not primarily concerned here with the quality of academic achievement in the core curriculum areas of homeschoolers, which has been the subject of much heated debate. Instead, my comments focus on civic education in the broadest sense, which I define primarily as exposure to the constitutional norm of tolerance."

She continues,

"In order for the norm of tolerance to survive across generations, society need not and should not tolerate the indoctrination of absolutist views that undermine toleration of difference."

In other words, she doesn't think that homeschooling Christian parents should be allowed to teach their beliefs to their children,no matter how well they are doing academically. Indoctrination of their views is more important than achievement of core curriculum areas.

Parents should teach values to their children, while public schools should concentrate on teaching core curriculum. But as Mike Farris said,

"The 'It takes a village to raise a child' crowd believe that all children are the children of the village."

No! Parents are the ones responsible for their children. Perhaps it is time the schools again get serious about education and worry less about indoctrination. Maybe then they will have time to teach core curriculum, and maybe then we'll regain our place as the top educationally.

Three Cheers for the House

In the last blog entry, I asked where the outrage was in Congress over our President's decision to neglect his duty as Chief Executive to enforce and defend the law. I was specifically referring to his announcement that the Attorney General Eric Holder, and the Justice Department, would no longer defend DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act). They also won't prosecute child pornographers or investigate Planned Parenthood among other things.

Well, imagine how pleased I was to read that on March 9th, John Boehner, our Speaker of the House, organized and led a five-member Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) which will hire its own lawyers to fight for DOMA in court. Three cheers for them. The Republicans involved all signed the Pledge to America, and they are sticking to their pledge. They are committed to fight for marriage.

DOMA is now being challenged in the First District Court of Appeals. Pray for the right decision, and pray for these bold, principled congressmen. Let these congressmen know you appreciate their effort.

Defending D.O.M.A.

President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have announced that they will no longer defend DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) in court. Perhaps they have forgotten what their jobs entail. They represent the Executive Branch of government. This means they are not responsible to make law (the job of the Legislative Branch) nor interpret law (the job of the Judicial Branch), but enforce law. Nowhere do they have the authority to forget about those laws they don't like or don't think appropriate. The President and the Executive Branch is charged with the task of executing the laws passed by congress. Article II of our Constitution requires the President to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States." His job is not to re-interpret it.

The Defense of Marriage act was passed by congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. The house voted 342-67 to pass and the senate voted 85-14. Clearly, they reflected the mandate of overwhelming public opinion. In every state where homosexual marriage has been on the ballot, it has lost. Once again, he is trying to bypass the will of the people and allow the liberal judges to remake the law and the morality of this country. Clearly, President Obama is out of step with the American people.

But more importantly, President Obama is out of step with God. It was God who instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden by creating one man for one woman and uniting them for life. Throughout the Bible, we see God's anger at the distortion of His plan, and homosexuality is a distortion of God's plan for sexual intimacy and marriage. Homosexuality turns God's plan for the family on its head. It was never meant to be two guys playing house, but it was the institution for the procreation and protection of children so that they could be raised to productive maturity. God designed it best. He knew that not only would it take a male and a female to procreate, but He knew that children need both a mother and a father in the home to provide the best conditions to raise them. Society has always understood this definition of family.

I would urge President Obama and Attorney General Holder to do your job. Defend the law. Live up to your campaign rhetoric when you declared that you believed marriage was between one man and one woman. President Obama, do the right thing, not the politically expedient thing that panders to your base. I would urge our Republican Congress to stop playing the wimps. House Speaker John Boehner stated,

"While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the President will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversy that sharply divides the nation."

Real tough, John. Where is the outrage at this abrogation of duty on the part of the president? Where are the elected leaders who will step up to the plate and defend marriage?

The Culture War Won't End

I recently received a picture from a family friend showing her beautiful baby boy. The picture showed a perfect baby with an adorable face. My wife and daughter "cooed" over him. Oh, I forget to tell you, the pictures were by ultrasound, and her baby is still two months from birth. This beautiful little baby could still be killed should his mother "choose" and should a doctor be paid to take his life. Beautiful babies like this are killed everyday in this country up to the moment of birth, most of them for the convenience of the parents. That is why the issue of abortion remains such a volatile and intensely fought battle in our country.

Not long after the Roe v Wade decision was handed down by the Supreme court on January 22, 1973, Carl Sagan, the popular TV astronomer, wrote an article in Parade Magazine, a magazine inserted in most Sunday papers. The headline over the article read, Abortion, Finding the Middle Ground. I read on to see if there could be such a thing. Sagan wrote, "One would have thought that the controversy was over when the Supreme Court took the middle ground." The middle ground? How could Roe v Wade, a decision that virtually allows abortion for any reason up to the moment of birth, be called the middle ground? No, that is the most extreme position, not anywhere near middle ground.

One would have thought the controversy was over when the Fourteenth Amendment to our Constitution reiterated the Fifth Amendment and the Declaration of Independence by saying, "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." Our Constitution guaranteed the right to life. Now the right to privacy has trumped that right, and abortion is the law of the land. As a result, 50,000,000 precious babies have been denied the right to live.

For those of us who believe that every life is a gift from God and that we are created in the image of God, this is an atrocity. That we have legalized the killing of our own children, mothers hiring their death in the womb at the hands of those committed to saving lives, is barbaric. Add in the fact that decent human beings should protect innocent life, and it is obvious why we can never give up the pro-life fight.

That's why I find it encouraging that bills have been drafted and sent to the Judiciary Committee in Augusta calling for a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion and to require parental notification before a minor can get an abortion. These are logical first steps, but only first steps, in the effort to overturn Roe v Wade.

Some would argue that Roe v Wade is established law as our local paper has said. As established law, they claim, it has somehow become sacred and untouchable. Unfortunately, that was the same argument that was used to preserve slavery. The Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court was established law, and it allowed property rights of slave owners to trump the right of the slave for freedom. It should have been the moral imperative of every decent citizen to oppose that wrong headed decision. It should be the moral imperative of every decent citizen to fight for the right to life of the unborn children.

When laws are made by man regardless of the transcendent laws of God, those laws are not sacred. They should be changed. As long as wrong laws are in force, people of character like William Wilberforce, who spent a lifetime fighting the slave trade, will be around. As long as abortion continues to take the lives of innocent, unborn babies, there will be people who oppose it.

Should we expect an end to the culture war? No! the war will continue. Those who would destroy the moral culture of this country have been winning battles over the past few decades, but the war of values isn't over. In the same issue of the Bangor Daily News on February 28Th that told of the bills to curtail abortion, you could also read articles on transgender bathroom use in schools and the decision by our President, who is our chief law enforcement officer, who announced he would not defend the Defense of Marriage Act. Can anyone say that we are better off as a country with these and other of the new social experiments? The culture war must continue because the stakes are simply too high.

Don't Squander Your Gift - Part V

In light of what we've been saying about spiritual gifts, the job of the pastor is to teach his congregation how to use their spiritual gifts in ministry. He is charged to equip the saints who are responsible to get the work done. For a pastor to neglect equipping his congregation and try to do all the work himself is to abandon his primary call. It is also a pretty ineffective way to build a church. Larry Gilbert writes:

"A pastor who cannot get his people to do the work and tries to do it all by himself is like a mother who says, 'Well, I can't get the kids to clean their rooms, so I will let them go out and play so they will be out of my way while I do it.' She is wrong. If her job is to train her children so they will one day be responsible adults, then she cannot clean their rooms for them and let them play."

By doing all the work, a pastor is developing an irresponsible congregation.

By doing all the work, a pastor is building a spectator church - one that has to be entertained all the time, and one that has to have all their needs met all the time. He is not building a spiritually mature church that actively ministers. As a result, the work is stymied, and that church won't grow. It puts too much of a burden on one man. There's no greater way of limiting church growth than for only one, or just a few, trying to do all the work of ministry.

Just how much can one man do? Even if you throw a few deacons into the equation, it's still too much work. It could never accomplish what all of us working together could accomplish. So, which makes more sense? Training your kids to clean their own room, or cleaning it for them? Teaching your congregation to use thier gifts in ministery, or doing all the ministry yourself? God's way sounds so much better. If God has given you a calling and a gift to do it, what will God think if you don't do it?

First Peter 4:10 says, "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." You are a steward of the gifts God has given you. God expects you to use those gifts in ministry. This is the whole purpose for which God saved you. Will you get to work?

Don't Squander Your Gift - Part IV

Our premise has been simple. God equips us for the job He give us. What God does to equip us is to give us a gift tailor made to allow us to do the job. OK, if that is true, why are so many churches dying on the vine? Could it be, at least in part, that believers in those churches don't know about their spiritual gifts, or that they are not using their spiritual gifts? Could that be it?

Why have 80% of the churches in this country either plateaued or gone into decline? Could it be that the majority of thoe congregations aren't engaged in ministry? Could it be they aren't using the spiritual gifts that God gave them? And why are some churches bursting at the seams with explosive growth? Could it be in those churches that a good share of the membership is actively engaged in ministry? Could it be that they are actively using the gifts God gave them?

Obviously, little churches stay Little for a reason. This could be one of the reasons: too few people are doing the work that God prepared for them. There is an old 80/20 rule of thumb that says that in a typical church 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people. That it is true explains why 80% of the churches aren't growing. How can they grow if so many of their people are doing so little work? God never intended it to be that way.

A good place to look at God's plan is Ephesians 4:11-12, which says:

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."

Historically as Jesus built the church, He gave apostles to lay the groundwork, along with the prophets. He sent out evangelists to plant churches. And He called pastors to teach.

But what was the purpose? The pastor-teacher was to equip or train the saints, the congregation, so that they could do the work of ministry. In other words, he was to teach peole to recognize and use their spiritual gifts in ministry. Why? So those people could use their gifts for the edifying of the body of Christ, the church. Edify means to build up. That's God's master plan for building His church.

What is the pastor's job? It is not to do all the work, or even most of the work. It is to train his people how to do the work so they can get busy. it is to tain them to be a more effective work force. The pastor is the coach. We are all a team. And we have all been given gifts to use in ministry. What we need is to be trained how to use them. We need to be equipped through teaching. Teaching is the most important job of the pastor. Doing the work? That's your job. That's what you have been gifted to do.

The apostles recognized this. In Acts 6, when a complaint arose that the Greek widows weren't getting as much charity as the Hebrew widows, the apostles called a big congregational meeting. They asked the congregation to pick seven men who could help them because it wasn't a good use of resources for them to do it all themselves. This is what it says in Acts 6:2-4:

"Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, 'It is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out form among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.'"

The disciples were to find some qualified people to do it. Let them administer the charity. That wasn't what God had called the apostles for.

Why, those slackers! How could they be so lazy? No! No! Not at all. God hadn't called them to wait tables, but to minister the Word of God. It would be a violation of their call to neglect it. They wisely chose to keep first things first. They were needed to teach. Other people could administer the charity. The pastor has a job that God has specifically called him to do - to teach the Word of God so you can be equipped to do the work. What work has God called you to do? Are you doing it?