Media Release

Contact:
Mrs. Elizabeth Watkins, Executive Director, Southern Baptist Church & Home Education Association (SBCHEA), Phone: (972) 213-5460, E-mail: ewatkins@sbchea.org
Dr. David Scarbrough, SBCHEA Advisory Council, Phone: (731) 514-8595, E-mail: dave@scarbrough.net

April 27th, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Southern Baptist Pastors, Theologians, Historians and Parent Educators Stress Importance of Christ-centered Education at 2006 Summit

Summit Theme 2006
"Exit Strategy: From the world to the home, from the home to the world."

(SBCHEA, Inc. West Monroe, Louisiana) On Wednesday, June 14th, 2006, theologians and scholars at the highest level of Christian Education will meet with concerned pastors and parents at the 2nd Annual Kingdom Education Summit,
hosted by the Southern Baptist Church & Home Education Association. The conference will be held during the 2006 SBC Annual Meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, and all pastors, homeschooling families, ministry leaders, and encouragers are invited to attend.

There were several significant events that led to the creation of SBCHEA, but two in particular brought awareness to the unique needs of the Southern Baptist homeschooling community, for theological training, family-integrated missions and evangelism opportunities, and guidance in college preparation.

On May 8, 2003, the Baptist Press published the article, Wanted: Deliberately Christian Parents, by Nathan Finn on May 8, 2003. ..."The good news is, there are some encouraging trends in evangelicalism that just might help bring about a needed reformation in Christian parenting. First there is homeschooling. While not for every family, many a parent has realized that homeschooling provides a natural atmosphere where they can actively evangelize and disciple their children. The teaching parent, normally the mother, spends quality time with their children every day. Many homeschooling curricula are Christ-centered, making it easier to talk to children about spiritual things. By all indications, homeschooling is only going to become more popular as time goes on."... http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=15878

On April 13, 2004, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the first Southern Baptist seminary interviewed Dr. David Dockery, president of oldest Southern Baptist university, on Choosing a Christian College. http://www.albertmohler.com/radio_show.php?cdate=2006-04-04 By listening to this program, we realized with horror how ill-prepared many homeschooling parents are to choose a Christian college or university they can trust for continuing the Kingdom Education of their children.

Therefore, SBCHEA is very excited to announce Mr. Nathan Finn and Dr. Gregory Alan Thornbury, of Union University are among the honored guests at this year's conference.

Nathan Finn, writer, church historian, and Associate Archivist at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. "Baptist history is critically important for Baptist ministry. Our history tells us where we have been, provides perspective to where we are and helps instruct us in where we are going...And let's all pray that the sovereign Lord of history would teach us how we can turn our world upside down with the Gospel. " - Nathan Finn, http://www.sebts.edu/olivepressonline/index.cfm?PgType=2&ArticleID=404

Gregory Alan Thornbury, the newly elected, first Dean of the School of Christian Studies at Union University, and co-editor of Shaping a Christian Worldview: The Foundation of Christian Higher Education. Dr. Dockery has this to say: "Greg Thornbury is perhaps the brightest young theologian in Baptist life today. His deep commitments to the church, to Baptist life, to Union University, to the orthodox Christian faith and to the vision of this institution make him an ideal person to lead the expanding work of the School of Christian Studies." http://www.uu.edu/news/NewsReleases/release.cfm?ID=999

The mission statement of SBCHEA, the homeschooling ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention is, to unite the teaching ministries of the church & home for Kingdom education. While the ministry enthusiastically endorses the 2006 SBC Resolution Urging an Exit Strategy from the Public Schools, as it did the 2004 and 2005 resolutions on Kingdom Education, homeschooling families are painfully aware of the lack of a true partnership between church/denominational leadership and parents to provide Southern Baptist children with a genuine, Christ-centered education. Resolutions have come and gone over the years, with no subsequent plan of action. The hard work and dedication of T. C. Pinckney, Bruce Shortt, Voddie Baucham, Grady Arnold, David Scarbrough and Roger Moran will all be in vain, if a true church-based support system is not developed to assist parents, grandparents, and guardians in removing their children from the government-based system.

The Kingdom Education Summit, to be hosted annually by SBCHEA, will bring together those ready to make a significant difference, for the sake of our children. (Last year, summit participants voted to endorse a new ministry by Exodus Mandate, Homeschooling Family to Family. We are looking forward to a report from the new National Director, Mrs. Jube Dankworth.) Topics to be discussed are how to begin homeschooling, how can a pastor make his church more homeschool-friendly, how do I help start a homeschooling co-op in my church, how can we plant a family-integrated church, how we can we design a rigorous, Christ-centered college preparatory program for our homeschooled highschooler, how can we help our children become eligible for scholarships to our Southern Baptist colleges and universities, are there workshops and internships available within the Southern Baptist Convention, and much more!

.."In an age of encroaching barbarism, now is the time for the Christian church to reassert and reclaim its educational role and responsibility. The Bible teaches clearly that parents bear the first and most fundamental responsibility for the education of their children. Informed Christian parents may partner with others in this great task, but this parental responsibility cannot be given to others as a franchise. Faithful Christian parents may choose from among a number of educational options, but the failure to exercise parental responsibility is an option foreclosed from the beginning. ...Churches must also be involved in this recovery, developing ministries that partner with parents, encourage the development of Christian alternatives, and instruct the entire congregation about the centrality of the educational task." - Dr. R. Albert Mohler http://www.crosswalk.com/news/weblogs/mohler/?adate=8/17/2004#1279573


Individual 2006 Kingdom Education Summit tickets (lunch is provided) are available until May 31st, for $15.00. Summit details, sponsor information and tickets are available at our SBCHEA website: http://www.sbchea.org/custpage.cfm?frm=2736&sec_id=2736

Our ministry is deeply grateful for the following early and dedicated sponsors of the 2006 summit:

David S. Dockery of Union University
Mark Beuligmann of Christian Liberty Academy School System
Crystal Paine of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
Jube Dankworth of Homeschooling Family to Family
Gary & Denise Kanter of Morningstar Educational Network and Considering Homeschooling.

Without their encouragement, faithfulness, and support, this conference would not be possible. Please consider joining them today!


Who Else Supports Kingdom Education?

Dr. Paige Patterson: (President-SWBTS Seminary, SBC President 1998-99) He said that if he were rearing his children today he would home school them "for the sake of relationship, academic accomplishment, safety, and Christian commitment." (Lee Weeks, "Homeschooling-SEBTS Style" Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Outlook, Vol. 48, p.7) In 2002, under his leadership at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., over a hundred faculty, staff, and student families had chosen to home school their children.

Dr. Jack Graham: (Sr. Pastor of Prestonwood Church, SBC President 2003-2004) "The world is too much with us and so, while we are not trying to cocoon our children, we don't want to put our children in a position to fail," Graham said in a Nov. 11 interview with the Florida Baptist Witness. "I think Christian schools put children in a position to succeed spiritually." Graham is pastor of Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano ..."That's the whole purpose. To train a new generation of leaders to make a difference. ... To develop a new generation of young dynamic leaders who understand their faith, who are able to communicate their faith and to live their faith in whatever their career or calling may be," http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=14723

Dr. Jerry Johnson: (President-Criswell College) "We, Dr. Streett and I, have chosen to homeschool. We see it as the best way, your first option, for educating your child."

Dr. Tom Elliff: (Vice President-International Mission Board, SBC President 1997-1998) "We have a large homeschool group here at First Southern Del City. I think what you are doing with SBCHEA is wonderful, and I can think of several families right now who would be encouraged by the ministry. Everywhere Jeannie and I go we talk about homeschooling."

Dr. David Dockery: "We are to have the mind of Christ, and this certainly requires us to think and wrestle with the challenging ideas of history and the issues of our day. For to do otherwise will result in another generation of God's people ill equipped for faithful thinking and service in this new century. A Christian worldview is needed to confront an ever-changing culture. Instead of allowing our thoughts to be captive to culture, we must take every thought captive to Jesus Christ."

Dr. Albert Mohler: (President-SBTS Seminary) "Far too many Christians neglect to pay attention to what is distinctively Christian about Christian education. In Romans 12:2, Paul wrote, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." That powerful sentence represents the very heart of Christian education. Rather than conforming to the prevailing worldview of the secular culture, Christian education is to be transformative--demonstrating the power of God's truth in human lives. A true Christian education is like a light shining in the darkness. In a day when the prevailing secular culture is not even certain that truth exists, Christian education is established in the name and to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-05

C. H. Spurgeon: (The "Prince of Preachers" 1834-1892) "Withdraw from a child the only divine rule of life, and the result will be most lamentable. An education purely secular is the handmaiden of godless skeptics."

Martin Luther: (The "Father of the Reformation"1483-1546) "I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution that does not unceasingly pursue the study of God's Word becomes corrupt"



--
Mrs. Elizabeth Watkins, Executive Director

Southern Baptist Church & Home Education Association
900 Harrell Road
West Monroe, Louisiana 71291

ewatkins@sbchea.org
www.sbchea.org
(972) 213-5460

Thanks for sharing this Elizabeth! Wish I could come ... Will you give us the high points when it's over?

Blessings,
Christine

Thank you Christine, for letting me post the press release here! We made the Baptist Press today, http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23227

and also released a Summit update, with new sponsors and speakers. We hope all homeschooling families and pastors near Greensboro, NC will come!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Elizabeth

May 10, 2006
2006 SBC Pre-Annual Meeting Weekly Update

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4


SBCHEA invites you to join us for the
2nd Annual Kingdom Education Summit
Wednesday June 14th 2006 12:00 - 4:00pm
at George K's in Greensboro, North Carolina


We have 3 new sponsors this week, and a wonderful addition to our list of 2006 Summit Speakers!


*New Sponsors*


Christian Liberty Press


Mark Beuligmann was the very first supporter of the Southern Baptist homeschooling community, back in 2004. Thank you for your loyalty, Fellow Pilgrim!


"Christian Liberty Press is dedicated to finding, evaluating, and producing curriculum materials which are rooted in the Word of God and express a biblical worldview."



The College at Southwestern / Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary



Thank you from the bottom of my heart Dr. Dorothy and Dr. Paige!! From the very beginning of our homeschooling ministry, you have been there for us. Neither of you has ever backed down from a Kingdom fight, (or wild animals!), and you are wonderful Titus 2 role models. We love you, and are honored to have your schools represented at the summit!


"Whether your calling is to pursue full-time vocational ministry or to be an effective witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ as a lay minister, The College at Southwestern will prepare you to live with a heart on fire and with a head full of wisdom of God."


"Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary exists to provide theological education for individuals engaging in Christian ministry. Southwestern strives to provide a community of faith and learning that develops spiritual leaders with a passion for Christ and the Bible, a love for people, and the skills to minister effectively in a rapidly changing world."



Boyce College / Southern Baptist Theological Seminary


With one foot out the door, the discovery of Dr. Mohler's ministry at SBTS is what kept the Watkins Family in the SBC and a Southern Baptist church! His courageous stand for TRUTH and our CHILDREN, no matter what the cost, is what has endeared him to many, many Southern Baptist parent educators. We love you, Dr. Mohler, and are so proud of you and your precious family!



"At Boyce College you will receive the finest academic preparation from professors who are committed to Great Commission Christianity. You will also find a strong emphasis on spiritual development at Boyce. We know that what is in your heart is as essential to serving Christ as what you learn. And at Boyce College you will have an opportunity to merge classroom concepts with real world Christianity."


"Under the lordship of Jesus Christ, the mission of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is
to be totally committed to the Bible as the Word of God, to the Great Commission as our mandate,
and to be a servant of the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention by training, educating, and preparing ministers of the gospel for more faithful service."


*New Speaker*


Dr. Russell D. Moore
Dean, School of Theology
Senior Vice President for Academic Administration
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"It is exciting to see all that the Lord is doing these days through the SBCHEA.... As you know, we (Dr Mohler and Dr. Moore) are solidly behind SBCHEA and the Kingdom Education agenda."


Bio from SBTS:
Dr. Russell D. Moore became Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice President for Academic Administration of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in January 2004. Moore is the author of The Kingdom of Christ: The New Evangelical Perspective (Crossway, 2004) and co-editor of Why I Am a Baptist (Broadman and Holman, 2001). He has written articles for various publications including Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and SBC Life. Moore is a senior editor for Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity to which he is also a regular contributor. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Carl F.H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement and is a regular columnist for Baptist Press. Moore has served on the pastoral staffs of two Mississippi Baptist churches. Prior to entering the ministry, Moore was an aide to United States Congressman Gene Taylor.


Wow, when I received his email, I did a little Southern Baptist-happy dance all over my floor! Last spring, I went to the Criswell Theological Lecture series presented by Dr. Moore. He was a wonderfully inspiring speaker, and I have thoroughly enjoyed his book, The Kingdom of Christ.



It's beginning to look like our 2006 Kingdom Education Summit will be THE PLACE to be, during the Southern Baptist Annual Meeting! Please reserve your summit luncheon seat by May 31, 2006. We must reserve a limited block of tickets to sell at the Annual Meeting, June 11-14. The tickets left over will be all that is available at the door. You will have to call us on Wednesday, June 14th, to see if seats are available. 972-513-5460


Are you unable to come to Greensboro this year, but would like to support SBCHEA at the Annual Meeting? (In 2007, the SBC Annual Meeting is in San Antonio.) Please consider purchasing luncheon tickets for summit scholarships. We've had several pastors and homeschooling families contact us, saying that they would love to come, but are bringing their children to the Annual Meeting, but the $15.00 per person summit cost would be too expensive. The vast majority of homeschooling families must survive on one income, (including the Carl Watkins Family!) We are also child-friendly, (as long as they are threatened to within an inch of their lives to use "respectful, company manners" at the summit, including the Watkins girls! ) To donate ticket/tickets, please visit our website, and indicate in the "Message to Seller" box that they are scholarship tickets. http://www.sbchea.org/custpage.cfm?frm=2736&sec_id=2736



Other News:


Well, it has certainly been an interesting week. Even through all of the May showers here in Northeast Louisiana, we felt the heat from Southern Baptist conversations all over the country. SBCHEA has tried to archive all media coverage for the 2006 Kingdom Education Resolution Debate:

Resolution on Developing an Exit Strategy from the Public Schools That Would Give Particular Attention to the Needs of Orphans, Single Parents, and the Disadvantaged, Submitted by Roger Moran and Dr. Bruce N. Shortt, April 24, 2006

SBCHEA greatly appreciated the comic relief provided by one Rev. Jim West in Tennessee:

"The only people who pull their kids from public schools out of fear are the same sort who haven�t ever read the Bible in Greek or Hebrew. In other words, they are the sort of people who get all their information second hand. This whole crusade is nothing but another in the long line of senseless crusades entered into by frenzied, uninformed, twaddling and prattling mobs of unwashed peasants. And it is doomed to failure. Fortunately."

After google-ing "unwashed peasants" you will find some very interesting comments this accusation has inspired within the homeschooling community. Thank goodness our distinguished summit speakers are willing follow Jesus's example, and get down in the dirt, and bless us by their words of wisdom!


And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. Mark 2:15-17

Maybe after that we will be better informed twaddlers and prattlers! Sadly, homeschooling mothers can do nothing about living frenzied lives.



On a very serious note, what can you do to help support Roger Moran, Bruce Shortt, and the resolution?


1.) Take one minute and express your support on our SBCHEA guestbook. This was very effective last year, and SBC leaders did take notice!


2.) Take two minutes and email Dr. Mohler at mail@albertmohler.com or call his radio program at 1-877-893-8255. He wants to hear from us on this issue! Every Wednesday is "Ask Anything Wednesday" and the first caller last week asked about Dr. Mohler's stand on an Exit Strategy. The response was bold and convicting. My post to the Deliberately Christian community includes an "unofficial" transcript of Dr. Mohler's response. (Please listen to the show first, his number of website hits is important!)


3.) Take another two minutes and email Dr. Jerry Johnson, President of Criswell College at talk@jerryjohnsonlive.com or call his new talk radio program at 1-800-881-9270. He is a homeschooling father, very supportive of SBCHEA, and we need to let him know of our support of the resolution. Unfortunately, his radio programs are not yet archived on the website, so we don't know if this has yet been a program topic.

4.) If you really want to help make sure this resolution passes out of the 2006 SBC Resolutions Committee, write or email the committee and SBC President Bobby Welch. This is a great homeschool writing project, so include your children in this! Actual letters have proven to be more effective than email, if possible, but please do whatever time allows. Letters from supportive Southern Baptists are what led to victory for our children in 2005!

SBC Annual Resolution Committee, 2006 [Total of just ten]

* Rev. T. C. French (Pastor & Chairman of the Committee)
Jefferson Baptist Church
9135 Jefferson Hwy.; Baton Rouge, LA; 70809;
225.923.0356. [Appointed by Rev. Bobby Welch, First Bap. Ch., Daytona Beach, FL]
pastor@jeffersonbaptist.org.

* Dr. Robin Hadaway.
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
gharris@christianindex.org

* Mrs. Martha Lawley
818 Sagebrush Dr.
Worland , WY, 82401
307.347.8228
Member of First Southern Baptist Church in Worland, WY

* Pastor Dwayne Mercer
First Baptist Church
45 W. Broadway St., Oviedo, FL, 32765
407.365.3484
dmercer@fboviedo.org

* Pastor Darrell Orman
First Baptist Church
201 SW Ocean Blvd , Stuart, FL , 34994
772.287.7422
tstrike@fbcstuart.org

* Pastor Frank Page
Taylors Baptist Church
200 W. Main St .
Taylors, SC, 29687
864.244.3535

* Pastor Forrest Pollock
Bell Shoals Baptist Church
2102 Bell Shoals Rd., Brandon , FL, 33511 [Go to web. He has six young children!]
813.689.9183
pastor@bellshoals.com

* Ida South (Member, SBC Exec. Comm.)
Rt 2. Box 618; Mathiston, MS; 39752.
(662) 263-5323. .

* Pastor Mike Stone
5283 Rose Austin Ln, Blackshear, GA , 31516
[He is pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church. We're assuming the above is his home.]
912.449.1839
______________________________ ______________________________ ____________

Not on the Resolutions Committee

Dr. Bobby Welch (President of the Southern Baptist Convention!)
First Baptist Church; 118 N. Palmetto Ave.; Daytona Beach, FL 32114.; 386.253.5691.
www.firstbaptist.org .
bwelch@firstbaptist.org.
(Bobby Welch is a highly decorated VN War hero. Please visit their church site.)






SBCHEA greatly appreciates the support of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, and their recent endorsement of the resolution:

"...Home School Legal Defense Association welcomes the debate within the Southern Baptist denomination and endorses the proposed resolution. Many current homeschoolers have already considered the issues outlined in the resolution and freely concluded that public school is not an acceptable alternative for the provision of a Christian education..." (full endorsement) http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/20060502.asp





One more event happened this week, LifeWay announced the most serious issue in the
Top Ten Issues Facing Today's Family series: #1 Anti-Christian Culture


This has been an informative project on LifeWay's part, even though none of my answers were chosen to be published. Take a moment to read the comments from pastors and ministry leaders. (It's worth a visit, even though LifeWay / Broadman & Holman is not yet a sponsor of our summit.)


"The NEA and Public Schools have access to our children more than any other entity. Even the church struggles to get even a portion of a child's time. Due to this fact, the children are indoctrinated into a worldly, politically correct mindset. A mindset in opposition to God's mindset." -Colby M., Independence, KS

http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0%2C1703%2...253D200634%2C00.html



There is a lot going on this week, and it's an exciting time to be a Southern Baptist homeschooling family! Things are changing quickly, literally by the hour. We are rapidly transitioning from the ugly ducklings to the beautiful swans of the SBC! If we will just show up and speak up, we can help remove those stumbling blocks keeping our Southern Baptist children from Jesus.


"He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble, because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the pleasure and happiness around him..." - Hans Christian Andersen




1 Corinthians 1:27
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.



Quack, Quack...
Elizabeth
SDG

Elizabeth,
I dearly wish I could attend! Sounds fabulous.

Christine

Thanks for the post regarding the Summit because I didn't realize Lifeway had this online support group for homeschoolers ! Thanks Elizabeth for the link and thanks Christine for the work !

Hi Hoosiermom!
Welcome to the board! Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your family.
Blessings,
Christine