Group Activities

Here is a quote, from a friend of mine: "Group activities can motivate, but they cannot get it all done."

To this I say, "Amen."

A major fallacy in the church and homeschool world is that we need to be with other people often in order to be successful. Churches that are consumed with numbers fall into this mindset. Community is what holds people together in churches like this, under some false assumption that the community is under-girded by sound biblical doctrine. Because it's a church, and the Bible is there and Jesus is talked about, everyone is treated the same, like they are part of the brethren. Is this right, though? Can light have fellowship with darkness?

Martyn Llyod-Jones says it well-- we cannot have Christian fellowship with people who are not true believers in Christ. It is a myth. Likewise, we cannot worship with unbelievers because they do NOT worship God. They worship themselves or some other idol. Yet, we see churches bring in hoards of people, mislead, thinking great numbers prove their success. To this I say they are filled with people who fall in to 2 Tim 2:3, 4. Many do not want sound, deep theological teaching, instead they want a social group that talks about meaningless dribble. We wonder why kids in these establishments fall away from the faith; they have nothing solid to fall back on when the hard knocks of life come. This opinion is what differs from the church model that says, "Look like the world, bring in the masses, don't study the Bible too seriously while at church." This other model believes that community and alternatives to the world's fun are what will keep our youth from straying. But are the youth in these buildings really solid, true disciples?

How does this thinking relate to homeschooling?

There is quite a parallel actually. Homeschool moms, many of whom are the heads of their home and school, flock to various groups doing all sorts of things with their students. Those things are often enrichment; they aren't reading, writing and arithmetic. Moms get burned out running all over, consumed far more with their own social engagements and that of their children instead of hitting the books. It is hard to be home most days of the week, educating, training, correcting. Fun is needed, and time with others is too, but that cannot take the place of the hours required to actually educate children. There is a time for what matters most, and a time for what matters less.

Today's churches often get it backward, and so do moms. We must pray that our husbands will help us run our schools and be honest with them on how it is going. We ladies must remember it was Eve who was deceived and be wary of groups run and comprised of all women. If the women running the groups are not in subjection to their own husbands, how can we not see a risk of the train getting off the tracks? Men offer a perspective which is needed in our homeschools and churches. If our own husband won't help us with our school, we need to seek the advice of a woman who IS getting help from her husband.

As in Christianity, the narrow path is one that is not easy to walk. Discernment and wisdom are needed with each. But more than that these days, in this culture, we need to stop being so insecure and consumed with our social calendar. Nothing fulfills like a job well done or fellowship with true, solid believers. All else may offer a short-term balm, but that comfort quickly fades, and we have to spend valuable time recharging; time that should be spent on more lasting and important things.


Cheering you on,