Pioneer Christian Monthly - October, 1997

The Forgotten Mission Field
Ken Turner

As we enter into another school year, I would like to share some observations I have made and some reflections that I have been led to.

I am a Christian teacher in the public school system.

When I enter my place of employment, I ask the Lord to use me as an instrument of His will, for I enter an environment just as primitive as the jungles of Borneo or some other exotic mission field. I enter this environment with the understanding of three things:

1. I am entering an environment where I will be surrounded by people, young and old, who do not fear God. As an example, I came to class one day and was confronted with two students who were wearing identical T-shirts with the words "Beware of God" on the front and are the words "He is the shepherd" on the back. Upon being faced with this sacrilege, my reaction was one of fear. It was not the students I was afraid of but of God's righteous and Holy anger. As I have come to know the character of the one true God of the scriptures, I have come to realize through the reading of the Bible how Holy and omnipotent God is. There are many instances of this in scripture, but I confess that Isaiah 40:6-31 is one of my favorites because not only does it lay out the majesty of God but it also reminds me of how unworthy a creature I am because of my Sin. It has also led me to understand how great God's love for me is through the sacrifice of His innocent Son on the cross. It is this re-assurance that allowed me to ask the students to go to the vice-principal's office with a note stating that as a Christian, I found their shirts offensive and would not allow them back in my classroom with them on. The vice-principal responded by having the boys turn their shirts inside out.

2. 1 also understand that the only time the name of Jesus Christ will be used is in the form of a curse, not only by students but also by other staff members. At every opportunity, I talk to staff members about Christianity and why this curse above all others hurts me when I hear it.

3. I realize that I am surrounded by people who are dying in their Sin. There are times when I wish that I was standing on a bloody battlefield surrounded by the visibly wounded and dying because it is in such instances that people are visibly moved and want to intervene to prevent further carnage.

The reaction of my brothers and sisters in Christ to what is happening in the public school system has been mixed. I remember at a congregation meeting warning parents about what is happening in the public school system and found some of the comments both interesting and troubling. One parent indicated that that is why parents put their children in Christian schools. Although I understand parents' concerns over protecting their children from the temptations of the public school system, I am troubled by a number of questions that this action raises:

1. Do we have so little faith in our own Christian instruction of our children, as so amply provided throughout scripture such as in Proverbs 22:6, Deuteronomy 11:19, and many others, that we feel the power of God's Word would fail them when faced with pagan influences?

2. Are our own children not included in the call of the Great Commission of Matthew 28:16-20? Are they not also called to be the 'salt and rights that Matthew 5:13-16 talks about? The early monks in Christian history felt that they could achieve true communion with God by living in isolation from the world. Is this where we are leading our children? Will our children, in their prayers, be like the Pharisee in the parable in Luke 18:9-14 and thank God that they are not like those other children?

3. Is the public system becoming more of a "mission field,' in the true sense of the word, due to the fact that so many Christian families who make a Christ-like difference are abandoning it?

With regard to preachers of the Word, I have heard many comments in numerous sermons about the serious ills and the evil nature of the public education system and the teachers who, as a group, teach in the system. Yet, if the truth be known, I have rarely seen a preacher in any of the schools in which I have taught. Some would say that is not a fair comment since preachers have not been invited by the principal. My question is this: 'Did the apostles only speak boldly of God's Word before 'home' crowds and only preach God's Word in places where they were invited to do so?" I would encourage ministers of the Word to visit with me, for a time, on my battlefield; get a real understanding of what is happening and why; and then, perhaps, they will obtain a greater understanding of the true dimensions of Christ's compassion for the people He walked among and taught. Maybe God, in His Grace, will convict their hearts to defend Christ's cause in such a hostile environment.

I am thankful to God for equipping me to do this work and will be content until He sees fit to remove me from it. I only ask that you pray fervently for the children of this mission field.

Grace and God's love be with you all.

Ken Turner is a member of Emmanuel Reformed Church in Woodstock, Ontario.

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