Baccalaureate service - Political Correctness

Here we go again with some political correctness gone amuck.  Last week Cedar Cliff High School has sent a notice to parents and students that they will no longer host a baccalaureate service before graduation.  Gauging today’s intolerance for anything remotely religious it seems fitting that a standard tradition goes the way of the 10 Commandments and prayer in school further degrading our society and leading young people into the abyss.

The notice says that the West Shore School District received a complaint (imagine that) last summer that the program could cross constitutional boundaries separating church and state, since Cedar Cliff staff helped plan and hosted the religious ceremony in the high school auditorium.  One individual complaint is enough to once again scuttle a tradition that has been in place for years.  What seems to be different on this case from others is that the school district is actually planning and putting on the baccalaureate program.

When I graduated high school back in the 1970’s (from the liberal bastion of Lewisburg) we still had a baccalaureate program that was somewhat planned by the school but then held in Rooke Chapel at Bucknell University.  When my sons graduated from Milton HS, they each had the service held at a local church put on by the local pastors. Both services were voluntary but well attended.  The graduates that I talked to really thought the service was special.

Most schools in Pennsylvania stopped hosting the service several years ago and now Cedar Cliff is joining the group.  Pacificjustice.org from California says that schools can still hold the service in the host school.  Schools must turn over the interworkings of the baccalaureate program to a school religious club, a group of churches, or a single church.  There service can be still held at the school providing the group physically rent the auditorium from the school which is legal.  However, there are advantages to holding the service in an offsite location just to remove all appearance that the school has anything to do with it.

Nick Pantalone, student council president, said "I was shocked because it's been this way for such a long time," he said. "That's how society is nowadays. I guess I could see it coming, but I'm not happy with the results."

Unfortunately Nick is right.  There is always one party, one complaint, one disgruntled person that has to ruin a great school event just because there are religious overtones to it.  We are without a doubt marching to Gomorrah, make that running towards Gomorrah.  But you must ask yourself this one question – why doesn’t anyone fight to keep religious traditions going?  Administrators are so eager to throw Christianity under the bus in the name of being PC.

Workplace chaplains are a good idea

There is a rather unique start up business forming in the central Pennsylvania called Chaplain Care which is a workplace chaplaincy program.  Chaplain Care, based in central Pennsylvania (Lewisburg), was created to offer a unique care and assistance program for employers and employees to help with their personal and professional life issues. They provide this care by building a caring relationship between the chaplain and the employee by providing a level of care that is not usually experienced. All relationships are strictly confidential and are done with the employee's permission.  That way the employee is always in charge of how far they would like that relationship to grow.

Chaplain Care will care for employees in the workplace through a variety of programs. These programs may include some or all of the following depending on the company’s needs: advising company management, confidential employee encouragement, crisis intervention and critical incident assistance, programs for worship or prayer, referrals to other professionals and agencies as needed, death and serious accident and injury notifications, hospital and emergency room visits, and assisting by planning and speaking at "in-house" or outside special events. Whatever the scope of each family's problems or concerns, Chaplain Care can help.

Chaplain Care is sometimes called a "ministry of presence" and they are trained to work in a secular environment and be on call or on-site 24/7/365 to counsel any employee on any matter, either personal or professional.  The chaplain will wear "civilian" clothes and regularly visit with employees at their work stations or offices, establishing a relationship with the employee and making them aware that additional counseling is available at anytime, especially during emergencies.  The chaplain will also visit sick and bereaved employees and their families at their homes, hospitals, funeral homes, etc.  

This is a great idea whose time has truly come – caring for workers at their place of business.  So many people are un-churched today and reaching out to them in some way makes sense.  This is an unobtrusive way that professionals can provide the “ministry of caring” to those who need it most and are most unlikely to get it.  Chaplain Care can be reached at http://www.chaplaincare.us/.

Biblical free speech?

Westboro Baptist Church has made the news again.  This time it’s because they have won their case to protest at military funerals because it is considered free speech.  The Supreme Court voted 8-1 that it is against their 1^st amendment rights to not allow the church (I use that term loosely) to protest at military funerals and the like.  The decision upheld an appeals court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment to the York County father of a fallen Marine who sued church members after they picketed his son's funeral.

Chief Justice John Roberts said "What Westboro said, in the whole context of how and where it chose to say it, is entitled to 'special protection' under the First Amendment, and that protection cannot be overcome by a jury finding that the picketing was outrageous."  As much as this decision makes me upset, I believe it is the right one.  In other words, just because we don’t like something that others say does not mean that we can stop them from doing it. 

Chief Justice John Roberts explain that the court must protect hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate.  Timothy Nieman, the Harrisburg lawyer who filed the brief supporting Albert Snyder on behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said he understood the justices’ logic, but disagreed with their decision. I think that most Christian people will agree with Nieman.  Just because we don’t like it doesn’t make it wrong.  Bust as my wife always says, “Just because you can do it (Westboro Baptist) doesn’t mean you should.  Protesting a funeral for the purpose of getting your message across is hardly ethical, right, decent, moral, loving, merciful, or doing what Jesus would do – but that doesn’t make it wrong under the constitution.

But I find it interesting that other free speech like street preaching in Harrisburg at a bus stop is not considered free speech but ramblings of a deranged man who must be stopped now.  What the heck is going on?  How come when it comes to free speech issues those who speak against the Word always have their way and those that speak the Word must be stopped?

East Shore Baptist Church

Today, I will be looking at a local Harrisburg area church that seems to have a lot going on especially in the outreach they are doing.  Let’s take a look at East Shore Baptist Church (ESBC) located at 6721 Jonestown Road, in Harrisburg.  During my conversation with Pastor Brian Harrison he told me of a project that I found interesting and very much needed in the area.  ESBC has a ministry to the Keystone Correctional Services facility, a men’s halfway house nearby the church on Allentown Blvd.

Last year, Keystone entered into the neighborhood with much negative press and many hard feelings from local residents.  But ESBC had been praying for a way to do various types of outreach and Keystone has fulfilled that need.  Their opportunity came in the spring of 2010 when they were contacted by one of the facility’s counselors. So now in addition to a monthly service held at the Facility, usually on the third Sunday of every month, they engage the men in numerous activities at our church, including a special small group on Sunday mornings, Bible studies, breakfasts, and a steak night.  In an attempt to engage the families of those at Keystone, ESBC will be holding a their second family gathering to include food, music and ministerial outreach to help show the men and their loved ones that the love of Christ has the power to radically transform lives.  Pastor Harrison has even had the wonderful occasion to baptize men in the facility that come to Christ.  I’d say the outreach is working.

It has been my experience that churches do not do much outreach especially here in our own state and neighborhoods, but East Shore Baptist is making a difference in those men’s lives as well as touching the lives of those congregants in church.  Pastor Brian Harrison says the mission of the church is to set people free, and they are doing just that.  (John 8:32, Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”)

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Are abortion clinics medical facilities?

Abortion clinics are making the news again, this time in Virginia.  How this affects abortion clinics in Pennsylvania will be clear to see.  It seems that the legislature in VA has voted to make the abortion clinics as clean and up to date as most medical centers.  Why is this so important?  Because when these death clinics are unregulated or regulated very little you get atrocities like we had in Philadelphia.  That’s where the abortionist was charged with seven murders including one woman in her last trimester, often throwing baby body parts in the dumpster or storing them in bottles in the refrigerator.

I’m not sure that any reasonable human being would argue with the fact that when a woman is placed on an operating room table and invasive surgery is performed that they should be treated any differently than at a medical center, would they?  But this has the pro-abortion people in VA up in arms saying that regulations to make the clinics safer and cleaner will force most abortion clinics to close because they can’t meet the standards.  We are not talking about drastic changes to the way clinics are dealing death but they would be required to widen hallways and having increased training for staff as well as having modern and up to date equipment.  Even our own Harrisburg abortion clinics have been cited for various problems similar to these and the Corbett administration has vowed to regulate and inspect these death “clinics” more extensively.  So what is the problem here?  The problem doesn’t seem to be the cleanliness or medical standards, it’s about ideology.   How dare a republican governor (who is also a Catholic) and the republican house want abortion clinics to be as safe and clean as possible?  The outrage!

"It is not about banning abortions," said Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Winchester. "It is simply caring for women who are about to have an invasive surgical procedure and creating an environment for them where they have the opportunity to do that in a place that is safe."  Again, it sounds reasonable – to most people.  As I said in earlier articles we must continue to pray like nobody’s business on the abortion issue.  We must pray for our state legislators and our governor to look after the unborn and provide them with safe alternatives like adoption rather than ending a life.  Its time for our elected officials take a stand on the sanctity of human life and praise God that their mothers did not chose to abort them.  Catholics, Protestants, Jewish people and other religions need to take a stand here in Harrisburg and pray for a revival that will set this commonwealth back on the path of following the Almighty.

Lots of sex with no romance

That was the headline in The Daily Item printed in Sunbury, PA on Monday.  No doubt the headline on the front page was meant to grab the attention of readers who glanced at the paper.  It’s when you actually read it that it becomes less titillating and just plain sad.  The article goes on to show what college students are going through in their personal lives at our universities.  Even though the article was about Bucknell University it can be said it goes on every where.

This is not good news to those parents who have kids in college (my son is a senior at York College – so I know this to be true) and may be wondering what actually goes on during after school hours.  In case you are not up on the current vernacular, its called “hooking up”.  What this means is that kids get together, drink a little, party some, and then have sex.  Kids may not even know each other very well or at all and more than likely its unprotected sex since it is done in the “heat” of the moment.  Isn’t it great moms and dads, you daughter or son is having sex with someone just because it feels good.  Gone are the days that sex is saved for marriage, gone are the days that sex is for that someone special, and in are the days of doing it just because you can.  No wonder our young girls are disillusioned about relationships, and no wonder that our boys treat women as sex objects.  As I said earlier, its just plain said.

If there is any good news to this “hooking up” culture, it’s that most kids involved in it want out. It’s just that they keep participating in it.  Our young people want a normal relationship, just plain old fashioned dating, this according to Donna Freitas, a religion professor at Boston College.  Freitas goes on to say that there is not any dating on campus anymore and that is what students want.  Somebody needs to start the dating trend so it continues.  I’m sure we realize that a great percentage of marriages come from dating in college.  Today that does not seem to be true.  Just look at you son or daughter’s facebook page and see what goes on in your child’s life.  Scary, very scary.

Hats off to new Bucknell University President John Bravman for looking into to the “hook up” culture on campus.  Universities should be compelled to do this to at least cut down on the number of sexual assaults, unwanted pregnancies, kids dropping out of school and even worse – suicide.  But the thing that we must do as parents is talk to our kids in college and warn them of the impending eternal consequences of this activity as well as the consequences here on earth.  STD’s, depression, isolation, fear, peer pressure, and lack of good grades are all possible.  Bring your children up in the House of the Lord and teach them the way that Jesus wants us to live.  We need to get them involved in one of the many religious organizations on campus (Campus Crusade for Christ, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and InterVarsity just to name a few) so we can give our young people a fighting chance for some type of normal relationship that will carry through for the rest of their life.

Just one good man

Last week, I had the sad occasion to read a headline that just should rip the hearts out of Christians - “Minister found guilty of sex crimes”, it read.  After the initial holding back of the vomit in my mouth all I could do is think to myself, what the heck is going on with the so called leaders of religious organizations?  I really can’t even call these people ministers, preachers, or clergy of any kind.  They are not worthy of that moniker.

Samuel Jordan served as a “minister” at Laddsburgh Church near Towanda, in Bradford County and is facing prison time after being found guilty of child sex crimes.  In a bench trail, a judge found Jordan guilty of child sex crimes involving a 15-year-old boy. The boy’s family said, "Our family trusted this man who was the pastor of our church. He took advantage of these victims and forever stole their innocence. The effects will last the rest of our lives. "

Even more troubling is the word “victims”, which obviously means more than one person went through this horrible trauma.  And indeed there are more traumatized individuals. In 1986 Jordan was convicted and served jail time for another child sex crime and again, wait for it, he is also charged with sexually assaulting another boy and that case is still awaiting trial.

If you are like me, you are scratching your head wondering how an animal like this could ever get to the pastorate of a church.  Who did the due diligence on his hiring?  What were the elders, the deacons, or other supposed church leaders doing when Jordan got hired?  What were his qualifications, how about a safe sanctuary policy, how about state police checks, FBI checks, child abuse checks?  Some churches and denominations have these policies in place to prevent this type of crime.  All ministers, clergy, and anyone who works with children ought to at lease have the same background checks that school teachers have,  It’s not that hard or expensive to get – heck even I have all that stuff just to show that I’m not a pervert.

Churches, I admonish you to please check on every person that is in a leadership position and those who come in contact with children.  It is up to us to proclaim the word of God and to lead people to Christ not damage them for life.  Pastor’s, if you are tempted in any way, let someone know about it so they can be your accountability partner.  Always put Billy Graham’s policy in place – Never be with a female (or young male) alone, ever.  Make sure all church office doors have windows or the doors are not shut all the way (especially the pastor’s office).  Let’s look out together for the Kingdom of God.