While we rode the train from a conference of publishers at Buck Hill Falls, Penn., going to the New York airport, staff members of two other Christian publishing organizations and I shared facing seats.
As we discussed their work with the young people of their home churches I asked, “How do you use the Bible in training your young people?”
The business manager of the publishing center of one of America’s major denominations slightly chuckled and said, “Sometimes we use Bible material if we can work it in without the kids knowing where it came from.”
The other man, a business executive of another church publisher, agreed. “That’s about the way we do it,” he said. They were not their denominations’ editors or theologians, but were well informed and in influential positions.
In our family, when our children were growing up, if one of them didn’t want to accept our explanation of why doing or not doing something was right or wrong, and kept insisting, “Why?” our closing answer was, “Because the Bible says so.” Even now, as adults they accept that as the final authority.
Today in our local church we hear reports of our young people studying God’s Word each week. On vacations, teams of them help teach backyard Bible classes, explaining the things their leaders have taught them from the Bible.
I wonder what message the world hears from the young people of churches that are timid about teaching the Bible.
Richmond Brown
Homewood, Ala.
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