| Faithful Readers:
Here is the long-delayed first edition of the newspaper. May it be to your benefit, enjoyment, and edification to read it. Thank you to the brave contributors.
Article 1: What is worship?
Too often we associate worship with praise music. Even more often, we associate worship with the church.
If this is you, if you’re one of these people, you could not be more wrong. There is no Biblical basis to the thought that worship occurs only through song in a church setting.
As a matter of fact, it’s quite the opposite. The song and praise is only a means for our worship to be expressed to God, although it could be worship if it’s done right, under the right conditions
Now, I see you may be perplexed. “Well, what is worship then?”, you might be asking. Let’s look to God’s Word.
Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Romans 12:1
When the priests would sacrifice an animal according to God’s will, they would have to kill the animal, cut it into pieces, and then place it on the alter. This was a strict law that the priests followed to ensure their offering would be acceptable to God. They paid attention to every little detail of the sacrifice. The Sacrifice was very important in the Old Testament, but God makes it very clear that obedience from the heart was much more important. Paul writes this verse in Romans to show that God wants US to be his sacrifices. We are to be living sacrifices unto Him.
There are a couple of things that I want you to get out of all of this.
1. Worship is our lives—literally. Whatever we do, wherever we go, whatever comes from our mouths is an act of worship to God. When we look at the stars, when we read a novel, when we play a sport, and yes, when we sing a praise song at church, we are involved in an act of worship. But there is a key to this: that key is your heart. The only way that any of that is worship is if your heart is in the right place with God.
2. The second thing you should note is that the priests of the Old Testament took a lot of time and poured over every detail of their sacrifice. We are our own sacrifice. Therefore, we should pour over every detail of our own lives to make sure that they are worthy of sacrifice to God.
I urge you to follow Paul’s example and live your life obediently to God, so that you are truly worshipping our Creator. And the next time you’re in chapel singing a hymn or contemporary praise song, remember that you’re only involved in an act of worship if your heart is actively involved as well. ***All for Him.
-Author’s name withheld for the time being.
Is this writer correct? Did you feel convicted when you read this article? Was the author pointing at “them” or at you and your heart?
Article 2: A Thought From Outside the Bubble
“With Love…”
By Jordan Graham
[Insert school name here] is a bubble on a hill. The world outside of the bubble is nothing more then flowers, fields, and streams that flow gracefully and are filled with people eager and ready to be told about God and Jesus and how they are all going to Hell if they don’t accept him. Well… POP! I figured I would let you know that this world is not very open and willing to be told REPENT. And though that is a very important message that many people should hear, we forget one thing… LOVE.
For many years now I have walked hundreds of streets and passed many corners hearing the same message over and over. I have even had it yelled in my face a few times. That message being “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near.” Well, that is a good message, yes... but it is the same old message preaching to the same old choir that is quickly tuning them out. The main reason being so is they are not preaching it out of love. They are saying, “You are gay… You are going to hell,” instead of first going up to someone and asking, “WHY are you gay?” With that one simple word “WHY,” you can turn someone’s ears on, because you are now showing a concern for their feelings. You are no longer trying to remove the speck from the eye of a random person while they stare down the plank in your eye. You are building a relationship and showing someone you love them and care for them. America no longer needs the message of “Repent” yelled at them; most of them know they are screwing up. They need a loving example and a relationship with someone who is a Christian. Many people have a perspective of Christians is not a good one, mainly because all they hear Christians yelling is how God is sending sinners to hell and not how that same God loves them so much that He does not want them to go to hell. So from now on when you are out in the streets, build a relationship with someone and find out why they live the lifestyle they live, so that person can see you love them and that you are concerned for them. It’s a great way to break down someone defenses towards Christians.
Also ask yourself this question: “If I saw someone pull a gun randomly in the streets and aim it at someone, would I step in front of the gun because I love that person who is getting aimed at so much, even though I don’t them, because I don’t want to see them go to hell?”
What do you think, kind reader? This writer is a former student of this school. Is he accurate? Do you agree, or is there more that you would like to add?
Article 3: Where have all the students gone?
At the school I attend, several dozen students have been dismissed within the space of a semester. I have listened to several complaints from students, and have heard counter-arguments to the same complaints. Let me elaborate for you…
When students first choose to attend my school, they are asked to sign a document that states that they are aware of and will follow the rules of the school. They supposedly have read the rule book and know the rules and consequences for breaking these rules. Therefore, it is totally fair, just, and moral for those in authority to request that the student withdraw if they have broken the rules.
However, the question I have to raise is this: Is it Christ-like to respond to students this way? True, God works this way on who He allows into His Heaven. It’s an all-or-nothing deal. But this school is not Heaven (far from it), nor is anyone here God. I pose this question to all of you, and ask that you respond: is it better to turn students away who act in ways unbecoming of a Christian and that may mar the reputation of the school, or to extend needed help to truly repentant students? For example, one student who withdrew was seen smoking the day he was asked to withdraw. He simply stopped caring once he knew he could no longer stay. This is the case with many of the students: they are either unsaved or they are “backsliding” Christians, and once they realize they are no longer required to obey the rules, they easily step into a mode of living that demonstrates a heart condition that is worse off than what we can see. If they knew, however, that they were going to receive help in a real, practical, tangible form, how do you think their actions would change?
Would these be better options?
-Having a class period (in freshman fun, or something) that explained the rules and allowed students to question the reasoning behind the rules. After all, if the rules are good are sound, the administration should have no problem explaining and defending the rules to inquiring, sometimes misled students. (Some students have the opinion that rules were made to be broken. The fact is most rules were made because someone did something stupid a long time ago.)
-Having real accountability either encouraged or set up for the students.
-Having more campus guidance counselors. As of now, there is only one real counselor that wayward students are sent to, usually when it is “too late”.
-Having rehab programs encouraged or set up. Yeah, students do have problems with drinking, smoking, pornography, sex, and drugs. Yeah, those are all addictions. Yeah, Christians do go to AA meetings. Why are we so afraid to admit that we are messed up sometimes? (I know the answer. I’ll address that some other time.)
-Setting up a re-instatement program. Using levels of probation doesn’t work. Every student I know who has been put on probation for, say, tobacco, has simply written the paper… and gone right back to the tobacco. Why? Because that didn’t mean anything. Students on academic probation go to probation meetings; why don’t students on disciplinary probation have any form of accountability or help? In the case of student withdrawal, instead of asking students to withdraw immediately, a better method might be to SOLVE the problem by working closely with the student over the course of the semester until that student no longer has that addiction. And two birds are killed with one stone. (The reason we “don’t have enough staff” to do this is partly for the same reason we are afraid, as a college, to admit that we have problems. Follow me?)
I want to exhort you, my fellow students, to stop waiting for the administration of this college to come up with a better idea about how to deal with student misconduct. They seem to have their hands full as it is. Be bold. Don’t be afraid of people who you know do stuff they shouldn’t. Help them! Some of them want the help; all of them need it. Approach those you know are doing wrong, and address the issue in love.
-The Editor
Letter to the Editor:
This sounds good. It really does. In fact, it sounds too good to be true. And what I mean is...well, what you want to start here is probably not going to be what happens. In the end, you're going to get a bunch of whiny people who want to express whiny opinions. Did God give you this vision? If so, what do you think God wishes to accomplish through this? Is this something you want to do in order to glorify God, or are you using God's name as a springboard to amplify your own agenda? I'm not making accusations here; I'm just wanting you to REALLY think about why you're wanting to start this publication. I hate to just diss everything you want to do, but really, I don't see this as a good idea. The thing I like about the Skyliner is that you MUST submit your name if you write any letters to the editor. You seem to be giving students a way to express themselves while hiding in the shadows. And that bothers me. There's a time and a place for secrecy. Jesus was secretive at times. There were secret movements such as the Underground Railroad or Corrie Ten Boom hiding Jews. But this is a newspaper for a college. Is it that big of a deal? If God's given you this vision and you are serving His will and not your own agenda, then forget I said anything. But please, really think about what you're doing...and more importantly...why.
-Ruth
Response: Honestly, Ruth, I had to ask myself the same thing, and I appreciate your spiritual accuity. As of yet, I cannot tell all of my reasons for this paper. (Part of that is because I do not know all of my reasons.) However, when things get to the state that they have come to here, people can be driven underground, and produce such things as this. If this was simply for my own agenda, I would have written things a long time ago. However, I am attempting to be sensitive to the needs of the students and publish the truth when it is needed. In the process, some things will be said that may step on a few toes. (Take, for instance, the outside-the-bubble article above. I probably would not have used the same tone to convey the same message, but that is how the author wrote it.) Also, I am attempting to preserve the freedom of the press. Did you know there are some things the Skyliner is told NOT to publish? That's right; it's not just opion articles from a certain writer (who has been falsely accussed of being me), but information that students know should be written about are not. This, of course, is to train them for the real world of media. (Yes, it does happen everywhere.) In a roundabout way of answering your question, no, this is not using God's name as a spring board for my agenda. This paper may not survive long. That's ok. I simply hope to do some good while it lasts. |
