A Guest Post: Great Expectations?

While perusing the blog Waiting To Go Home, by our reader, Sarah, I came across the following excellent entry about the low expectations of her college professors. A sophomore at Olympic College in Washington, Sarah has given Brett and I permission to share her post with the rest of our readers. Her insight is one that, sadly, very few young men and women come to understand before it's too late. We would encourage all of our readers to carefully consider what Sarah has written, and to take it to heart.

I’m being cheated out of my college education. I made this appalling discovery when I received my worst ever grade on an English paper. Plentiful teacher scribbling covered the pages, and a note at the end included this sentence, “There is much room for improvement should you choose to revise.” I was shocked. Since I started college, I had not received such a devastating comment on any of my papers.

My most challenging English professor, Pearl Klein, saw right through my attempts to skim the material, and she didn’t give me a ‘one size fits all’ evaluation on my paper. She didn’t write, “Needs work, grade B.” She said ‘much room for improvement’, added lengthy comments, and I could tell she had read and seen potential in my pathetic paper.

I had to revise, but I doubted my ability to write any better. However, two hours of extensive reworking produced a much different draft, and a revelation. If I wanted to be truly prepared for adult life, I would have to take more responsibility for my own education. I could see now how much potential my other teachers had failed to elicit.

One might think that doing the assignment and fulfilling the professor’s expectations would produce a quality learning experience, but not when the said professor has created a class that should be titled, ‘Credit for Dummies.’ After a year at Olympic College and ten different professors, I’ve realized that five of those ten professors didn’t expect enough out of me.

At first I felt relieved by the low expectations; I could hold down my job, do the minimum amount of homework and still make the grade. However, when I revised one of my mediocre papers and saw how much better I could do if challenged, the light went on. The ‘Oh! I’m not actually learning anything’ light.

My own experiences, coupled with the realization that many of my classmates still didn’t have a grip on basic punctuation, make me wonder if college professors don’t demand enough out of their students.

Student supervisor Ralph Givens said, “Both high school and college classes are ‘dumbed down’ when they try to make one size fit all.” On a college campus where diversity and uniqueness are emphasized, the last thing one would expect is the ‘one size fits all’ attitude, which fails to provide an exemplary education.

I’ve written papers that I knew lacked originality, understanding, and professionalism, and yet I still made the grade. From past classes, I’ve realized that I can’t rely entirely on teachers to provide me with the necessary challenge and incentive to produce quality work. If I desire to turn into an educated adult, I will have to set my own bar, and exceed that bar.

A good grade may be easier to come by if you take the ‘easy’ teachers, but you’re only cheating yourself. Did you come to college to hide in your comfort zone or to prepare yourself for a career in the adult world?

Visual Onslaught: A Diversion of Focus

Four weeks ago, fellow blogger Agent Tim and I teamed up to interview American expatriate and rebelutionary, Hans Guenther, regarding the persecution of homeschoolers in Germany (to read the interview click here). Thrilled with the quality of content in Hans's answers, Brett and I invited him to write a guest post for The Rebelution. Please pay heed to the following, excellent, critique of modern man's obsession with the superficial.

About the Author: Hans Guenther is a 19-year-old Christian homeschool graduate from southern Oregon. He has been living with his parents and four siblings in Germany for the past ten years. Now studying online at Troy University, Hans is also an assistant to his father, Richard Guenther, who manages German homeschool legal defense organization Schulunterricht zu Hause e.V.

Living in secular Europe for the past ten years has given me a great amount of insight into what lies behind the rapid secularization that is taking place in all of western culture. With immoralities on the rise, most conservatives would agree that, generally speaking, the western world has been heading down the wrong path. But few realize the complexity of our problem. Let us now examine an issue I believe deserves more attention.

Being confronted on all sides with television, movies, and photographs, we are constantly being forced to focus on everything and everyone’s surface appearance. Pop stars, movie stars, and models are screaming out at us: “Focus on outward things, desire outward beauty and acceptance!”

This contributes to a strong negative trend we have been experiencing throughout the past few decades: The focus on the surface rather than what is underneath – for Christians, the focus on the physical realm rather than on the spiritual.

These are not new problems. However, the inventions of the photograph and television have caused problems like these to escalate like never before in recorded history. By focusing on the surface, our eyes become dimmed to the inner realities that lie beneath it. People begin to
forget inward beauty and the spiritual realm. Love has become a physical infatuation rather than love in the biblical sense: selflessness with a focus on one another’s needs. As a result, relationships have become increasingly shallow. Selfishness has increased. Under these circumstances, high divorce rates come as no surprise.

While this diversion of focus is not the only factor in the high number of today’s failed relationships and marriages, it is undoubtedly one of the most underrated causes, as well as a leading factor in countless other of today’s problems.

Obsessed with outward beauty, women terminate pregnancies. Men commit adultery. Wisdom and knowledge, which used to be highly regarded by society, are now replaced by physical or outward appearances. Why should youth strive for wisdom and knowledge when it is propagated everywhere that hip appearance is all you need to be acceptable in today's society? Subconsciously, we follow society's lead – judging everyone by their outward appearance. This also plays a dominant role in today's society's worship of adolescence.

Voters are beginning to choose candidates based on their looks rather than their political agenda. This has been a growing trend in Germany, and is a logical outcome of our society. Politicians put a lot of time and effort into their physical appearance. Changes of eye color, make up, and hairdo are becoming increasingly popular among today’s politicians. Prior to the 2004 Vice Presidential debate, I laughed when the news showed John Edwards looking into a mirror adjusting his hair for over a minute. But is this really funny? It shows the importance our society is placing on outward appearance.

I admit that I myself am too often caught up in judging based on outward appearances. Of course, the outward realm is not to be altogether neglected, and photography is by no means wrong. However, the technological advances in photography pose a danger to the unsuspecting eye.

Unless Americans wake up to subtle, seemingly harmless assaults on our senses such as this one, our nation will likely continue on the same course that has all but ruined Germany and many other western nations.

Please take the time to consider the following questions and to share your thoughts with the rest of our readers:

1.) Nearly everyone would recognize that American culture, as a whole, is too caught up in the superficial. What about the Christians? How do you think this way of thinking has effected the church?

2.) Many people like to think that they are invincible to outside influences. How susceptible do you think the human mind is to the subtle effects of media and culture?

Ms. President Twinkle

Tom Shales, style columnist of the Washington Post, demonstrates the very concern I raised in my recent post, "Commander in... Chieftess?" In yesterday's column, Shales lauds actress Geena Davis, star of ABC's new primetime drama, "Commander in Chief," saying:

Geena Davis can veto my legislation anytime. Starring as the first woman to hold the highest office in the land, Davis reminds us what we have missed in most of our past, real-life presidents: cuteness. She's got a twinkle in her eye, a twinkle in her smile, a twinkle everywhere. She's President Twinkle -- just what we need to tame the extreme, charm the militant, inspire the troops.

My initial reaction to this statement was that of alarm. Such an approach reduces the presidency to nothing more than a beauty pageant. And yet, the indubitable Mr. Shales was miles ahead of me, saying:

Davis is [a] tantalizer all sublime. Maybe the presidency should be a beauty pageant; it's hard to imagine that the results would really be that much worse than we get already.

This is exactly what we do not need. In a time that requires increasingly careful thought and cautious action, too many Americans, much of whom are already fed up with the Iraq war and President Bush, will consider a female Hillary to be a great improvement. While I do not see this moving the most loyal of the party faithful, it will have a profound effect on the ever-growing category of the independent and moderate conservative.

Clinton for 2008. Vote peace. Vote cute.

Commander in... Chieftess?

Tonight marks the premiere of ABC's new primetime drama, "Commander in Chief."

Geena Davis is Mackenzie Allen, vice-president of the United States, until President Bridges unexpectedly dies. Pressured to resign in order to make way for the speaker of the house to assume the presidency, Allen makes a last-second decision to take the oath of office and become the first female president of the United States.

While the first episode has received mixed reviews from critics, many expect the show to be popular with the American public. Earlier this year, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll found that over 70 percent of Americans would be likely to vote for a female presidential candidate in 2008. According to a Fox News Poll in January, 56 percent of Americans believe that America is ready to elect a female president, up from 51 percent in 1998.

With oft-mentioned presidential prospect, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, likely to make a run for the White House in 2008, and with speculation swirling around Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice as well, ABC's new show may well serve to further soften the political ground for a real life female president.

In an echo of a common theme on The Rebelution, Marie Wilson, president and founder of The White House Project, is quoted as saying, "Culture is a powerful tool for moving us to where I think we have to go." Likewise, Martha Burk, chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations, hailed the primetime drama as an important political step "because things in the popular culture often do become legitimized in real life." In other words, as Chicago Sun-Times columnist, Lynn Sweet, writes, "[T]he abnormal becomes the normal."

The primary agent for this change? As always: Mainstream Media.

It is only a matter of time before a woman presidential candidate becomes a reality. I will be voting in 2008, and so will many of you. Regardless of the outcome, it will undoubtedly be marked as a historic landmark in America's political history. Unfortunately, a show like "Commander and Chief" only serves to foster a media-saturated culture that will cast their ballot, not for a candidate, but for what they perceive to be the most interesting real "reality TV show."

Here's to hoping...

Here's to hoping your Monday started out better than this:

If Boys Would Be Men, Would Girls Be Ladies?

Fellow-blogger, Agent Tim, posts an interesting opinion piece published in Thursday's edition of USA Today, regarding the severe lack of men on college campuses today. The article reads:

Currently, 135 women receive bachelor's degrees for every 100 men. That gender imbalance will widen in the coming years, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Education...

The piece cites employment rates, annual income, incarceration statistics, and even, adultescents, to support its argument that the male sex is facing great inequity in the world today. It concludes:

[T]he inequity has yet to provoke the kind of response that finally opened opportunities for women a generation ago. In fact, virtually no one is exploring the obvious questions: What has gone wrong?... Surely, a problem that creates crime, increases unemployment and leads to hopelessness deserves attention. Where are the boys? Too often, going nowhere.

As would be expected, such a piece sparked protest among feminists. Nancy Gandy, the president of NOW (National Organization for Women), was quick to dismiss the editorial as nothing but a "panicky article" that misrepresented the true facts. She writes:

[D]ominant groups find ways to protect their members. Much as they might deny it, people get special privileges for belonging to dominant groups (whites, men, heterosexuals).

In fact, in seemingly ironic deviation from the historical feminist view, Ms. Gandy is not even happy about women holding such a large edge in post-high school education. Rather she forecasts that women attaining greater education will only serve to decrease the emphasis that businesses place on education and capability, instead leading them to focus on the number of hours employees can work. This, she argues, will greatly discriminate against women, because of their housekeeping and child-raising responsibilities:

Women do more than 80% of unpaid family work, even though two-thirds of us work outside the home. Let's face it — women can't "have it all" if we're expected to do it all! Women's greater education will be a moot point until our society provides better policies for working parents.

Ms. Gandy then points out that while men and women have had equal post-high school education for the past 30 years, little has changed. To prove this, she lists statistics of women as percentages of Congress, law firms, mayors, judges, and Fortune 500 CEOs, before finally concluding:

Bottom line? I don't see a few more degrees signaling the fall of patriarchy. We already know women are smart. But no matter how smart you are, it's tough to win when the rules keep changing and you have to choose between work and family... [O]ur movement for genuine equality is still needed, NOW more than ever.

There are several obvious errors in Ms. Gandy's arguments, as well as a few alarming and revealing statements regarding NOW's true social objectives. Among them: Her call for better (read "more") government childcare policies to free parents from the home, and the statement that true equality cannot exist while women must continue to choose between work and family.

However, the primary fallacy in her argument was her failure to address the main focus of the article she was refuting. In a word, men. The heart of USA Today’s editorial was the failure of modern boys, not the success of modern girls. Its focus was, “Where are the boys?” And not, “Look at the girls!” To highlight equal education opportunity and current statistics of women in high positions of state and business, is to effectively miss the entire point. The disappearance of young men on our college campuses is a relatively recent phenomena. Consequently, the concern must not be for the NOW (pun intended) but for the future generations of our nation, generations full of boys, girls, and women, but entirely devoid of men.

I believe the editorial was right on target when it theorized that, "a smart-isn't-cool bias has seeped into boys of all racial and ethnic groups." What is this "bias" but yet another demonstration of the effects of social conditioning and the myth of adolescence? While our culture's media is full of feminist empowerment rhetoric, there is little social pressure or encouragment for young boys to aspire to anything greater than a future spot on a professional sports team; a statistical rarity of high degree. The problem is not that women have risen, that's not even an issue here. The problem is that men have fallen.

Historically low social expectations are only beginning to show their long-term fruit, and they affect both sexes. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is our young men who are suffering most dramatically. In fact, a recent New York Times article, mentioned by Dr. Al Mohler earlier this week, reports a surprising new trend of young women in elite colleges planning on motherhood over career, despite the social pressures for them to do the opposite.

While several feminists quoted by the article attempt to argue that such decisions are the result of nothing more than a society still steeped in the strictures of archaic gender roles, there is no correlating trend among our nation's young men to verify that argument. If such was the case, we should have expected a very different editorial in USA Today. The truth is that young men today possess little incentive, whether archaic or otherwise, to pursue excellence in career, marriage or family. True men are not only disapearing from our universities, they're disapearing from society's most fundamental institution, the family. Unless men, as the heads of their families, return to the historic call of biblical manhood, the family will continue to decay. This is a battle our generation must fight.

The USA Today editorial uncovers a disturbing, but not surprising trend. However, its focus remains too limited. A college degree is not absolutely necessary, but character, competence, and a true understanding of what it means to be a man are. The question presented to our generation is not: "Where are the boys?" But rather: "Where are the men?"

Requesting Assistance: Blog Viewing Problems

It has come to our attention that certain people's browsers are doing "funny things" to The Rebelution's sidebar. If everything is working correctly, you should see a bonafide sidebar to your right. It will include a photograph of Brett and myself, a quote from Dawn Eden's New York Daily News column featuring our blog, links to our current series, recommendations from our readership, and links to popular posts, fellow rebelutionaries, etc... And it should not be at the very, very bottom of the page.

If you would be willing to assist us, please take the time to leave a comment notifying us as to the status of the sidebar in your browser. Be sure to include what browser you are using. Thank you!

UPDATE: It appears that a majority of our readers, those using MSIE 6.0, do not see our sidebar. This greatly detracts from your visit and we hope to remedy the situation as soon as possible. Until then, the sidebar is available... At the bottom of the page. Or, of course, you could always just switch to a Mac.

Agent Tim Interviewed By Dr. Al Mohler

A hearty congratulations to fellow blogger Agent Tim for his recent interview on The Albert Mohler Program regarding Christian teens in the blogosphere. We are thrilled that Tim is receiving the greater attention that his consistently high quality work deserves.

Agent Tim was also generous enough to mention the blogs of several other rebelutionaries, including Spunky Jr., Mission 3:6teen, and The Boyscout Blogger, which have now been linked to from Dr. Mohler's blog. The Rebelution was also mentioned on the show, with reference to the messages of The Myth of Adolescence (Part 1, Part 2), "Rebelize" Your Youth Group, Runing Our Lives With Fun, and Tim's and my interview with Hans Guenther regarding the persecution of homeschoolers in Germany.

Congratulations, Tim. Thanks for drawing attention to the work of your fellow rebelutionaries. Keep up the fantastic work.

The Rebelution, According To Dad

To be a rebelutionary, we must constantly strive to reduce the focus on ourselves as individuals, and to place the focus on the community of the Church. The only way to truly combat cultural expectations is to create a culture that results in an entire community of mature and responsible young people. To effect widespread change, we must produce such a communities in churches across the nation. Sadly, the average youth group in the U.S. today is falling incredibly short of this calling.

~ From the post, "Rebelize" Your Youth Group ~

In response to the above post, our father, Gregg Harris, posted the following comment. We want to make sure all of you read it:

As I follow this discussion, I thought I might jump in and comment on the issue of how an individual can rebelutionize his or her youth group, church or any other social context. This question goes to the heart of why the Apostles went about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and not merely the Gospel of individual salvation. The Gospel of God's grace purchased for us by Christ on the cross brings regeneration or new birth to each individual who believes in his or her heart that Jesus is Lord (i.e. Sovereign over all that is) and that God the Father raised this Jesus from the dead. This believing sets off a chain reaction in one's soul that literally recreates and reorganizes all of reality. It is more than a paradigm shift, but it does include a new way of looking at everything. If Jesus is Lord then nobody else is Lord. Not your self, not your parents, not your spouse, not your boss, not your pastor, not the government, not money, not sex, nothing. Jesus is Lord. His will is now more than your law, it is your delight. Doing His will is the only sane thing to do in light of who He is and what He has accomplished. Anything else would be crazy.

Now just because Jesus is Lord, and all of these other people and things are no longer Lord, does not mean that they have no more place in your life. They are all very important in their proper places because they comprise the context in which you are to walk in the obedience of your faith in Christ. This is where the Gospel of the Kingdom comes into play. God's kingdom comes where God's will is done on earth. That is what we pray in the Lord's prayer and it is happening now as born again people trust Jesus enough to actually obey Him in a situation. As Paul wrote in Ephesians, having been saved by faith alone without works, "You are now Christ's workmanship, prepared for good works that you should walk in them." God has prepared you for the good works and He has prepared the good works for you.

The good works God has prepared for you to do are all in the contexts of relationships you have with others in your family, your church and your community. You are a rebelutionary. You have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Now, Jesus commands you, through Paul, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." So, as a Christian young adult, you are to honor and obey your parents for the Lord. Even if they are not Christians, or if they are not yet mature Christians, God wants you to "obey" them in ways they may not even have thought of yet. Be an example of a believer. A believer in what? A believer in the person, Jesus Christ, who is Lord. and a believer in the objective historical fact that God raised Jesus from the dead and so will raise you from the dead too. As one free from the fear of death and the fear of lack, go love others from a pure heart, fervently. In the Old Testament circumcision was the sign of the covenant, but in the New Testament "neither circumcision nor uncircumcision are anything, but faith working though love" is now everything! By this love all will know that you are Christ's students, because you love one another. By this you yourself can know that you have passed out of death and into life, because you love your brothers and sisters in Christ. Love is now the sign of the covenant. Love is the keeping of the entire law of God. We are to build one another up in love. We are to spur one another on to love and good deeds. God's kingdom on earth comes in power whenever and wherever redeemed human beings trust God enough to actually obey Him by loving one another in practical ways. In fact, God asks us to show our love for Him by the way we love one another.

So how do you "rebel against the darkness and the lies of this world." Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness in relation to that kingdom. Get into relationships of love and respect and watch what your King can do with a little leaven hidden in three measures of flour. It will ultimately permeate all things as God reconciles all things in heaven and on earth to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. That, my young friends is "rebelutionary."

Pursuing The Inevitable

In response to Brett’s recent post, Guess What? Adolescence Is Permanent, one of our readers, Allegra, made the following comment:

I find what you guys said scary. I myself am still a younger teenager, but I dread growing up. For some reason, I have it in my head that growing up is one of the worst things that can happen to someone. This idea
probably comes from observing kids my age or just a little older who are maturing, but don't have time to play with the smaller kids and less grown-up teens. Doesn't growing up involve keeping your sense of humor, playing with little kids, but just getting more responsibility and learning how to deal with it effectively?

First of all, thank you for your comment, Allegra. We greatly appreciate all of our readers’ input. You have correctly identified a common negative tendency among adults. That is, their seeming inability to reach out to others, especially those younger than they are. However, this is not a result of growing up, but rather, a result of growing up the wrong way.

The reason that growing up can be so scary is because it’s inevitable. Every 365 days, we’re older by a year. However, what we need to remember is that growing up is also completely natural and good. It does require preparation, but that’s exactly what the childhood and teen years are for. The habits, personality, and character we choose to develop during this phase of our life, decide what kind of adults we become. We can’t keep from growing up, but we can choose what kind of grown up we will be.

Therefore, the solution is not to avoid responsibility and maturity (just look at the adultescents), but to start developing it now. You don’t learn to effectively deal with added responsibility by avoiding it, but by becoming accustomed to it, bit by bit. It’s like working out. When you first go to the gym, you never go straight to the heaviest weights you can find. You wouldn’t be able to lift them, let alone control them. Instead, you start small and work your way up.

In the same way, if you want to be able to deal with responsibility when you grow up, you must start building up your “muscles” right now. One reason many grown ups lose their sense of humor and their ability to spend time interacting with young people, is because they’re overwhelmed when responsibility comes. They failed to adequately prepare themselves when they were younger, and now all their attention is focused on trying to manage this “weight” that is far too heavy for their untrained arms. The problem is not that they grew up, but that they weren’t ready for it. And when they aren’t ready, important things are inevitably neglected.

So what are ways that we can work up to the responsibilities of adulthood?

1.) Learn to manage your current responsibilities. Do you let stress in one area of life spill over into your interaction with younger siblings and family members? If you can’t keep your sense of humor and interest in others during the stresses of homework, don’t expect to be able to when the stresses of college, marriage, career, and family weigh on your shoulders. He who would be faithful in much, must first prove himself faithful in little. Learn and practice good time management skills to allow time for the truly important things. Cut back on activities and pastimes that isolate you and absorb large amounts of time but accomplish little. Things like TV, surfing the web, reading magazines, watching movies, etc… Remember that God does not give us conflicting responsibilities.

2.) Choose your companions wisely. Spend time with the type of grown ups you would like to become. Surround yourselves with friends who understand the importance of learning responsibility at an early age and encourage one another in your pursuit of maturity. Remember that your companions are not limited to people.

3.) Pursue progressively greater responsibilities. In a society where responsibility is not expected, young people are rarely given the opportunity to develop the maturity necessary to become a responsible adult. Discipline yourself to pursue and accept progressively greater responsibility. This is the way we grow.

Growing up spoils childhood, only if childhood is misunderstood. If childhood is about having everything you could possibly want, with no responsibility, the result is adultescents, who avoid “growing up” at all costs. But if childhood is about preparation, as it has historically been defined, the result is great men and women who define adulthood as it should be defined: As the fulfillment of childhood. With such an understanding, growing up is not to be avoided, but pursued.

The Rebelution, According To Joel

We must not be satisfied with simply being better than the average teenager. Such a classification reinforces, rather than combats, the myth of adolescence. As the old saying goes, "The exception only proves the rule."

~ From the recent post, "Rebelize Your Youth Group" ~

Joel, of www.chezjoel.com posted the following excellent response to my above statement. I post it here in it's entirety because he develops our thoughts in a wonderfully articulate way:

You have really hit the nail on the head. When I was a youth a great deal was often made about how well behaved I was, and how I never rebelled against my parents. It always disturbed me. One of the reasons for this is just what you've pointed out: by lifting me up as exceptional, the grown-ups were giving implicit acknowledgement of the "rule" my exception supposedly proved. The truth is that the question "will you or will you not rebel against your parents" is a remedial question to begin with. If you decide "I won't get my eyebrows pierced and sell crack," you're then left with a bigger and better question: "what will you do then?"

The real danger for youths intent on rebelution is that these smarter-than-the-average-bear kudos can become the new (and easy) standard. Unfortunately we often get praise for things which weren't particularly difficult to achieve. If we focus on the props and encouragement of those who have low expectations for us, we become mediocre.

It can be challenging to set our sights on excellence, particularly when we're hearing that we're already there. One of life's greatest lessons, which we all must learn could be expressed in the phrase, "That was nothing. Watch this."

Now on to the application: I think it is appropriate for excellence-focused rebelutionaries to call their youth leaders, pastors, teachers and parents on their faint praise for standing out. Challenge yourselves and others to call the normal things "normal", and save that word "excellence" for things which really are.

[Continue to The Rebelution, According to Dad.]

"Rebelize" Your Youth Group

I have pondered the “specifics” over the past week, and I finally came to the following conclusion: Brett and I can’t tell specific individuals exactly what they’re supposed to do. That’s between you, your family, and God. We can, however, give you specific “generalities” for all types of roles.

In two previous entries, My iPod Is My Best Friend and A Shining Salty City On A Stand, I laid several foundational, but general, principles upon which to base a rebelution. The first was to recognize the importance of carefully choosing our companions, both human and non-human (books, magazines, television, blogs, etc…). The second was to accurately understand Christ’s commandment to be salt and light. In the comment section of the second post, an interesting discussion arose regarding the nature of a rebelution. Several comments stood out, beginning when Karen said:

My parents started homsechooling over a decade ago with the goal of being world-changers. They have had to come to terms with the fact that they probably won't see a total reformation of American culture in their lifetimes. They have played a part in what God is doing, but it has not been a very glamorous part. Their battle has been one of being disciplined and keeping the faith.

I believe the time is right for a reformation, and I want to take part in it more than I want just about anything else. But I have to have enough faith to remain disciplined and steady no matter what God has for me.

Later on David added:

Too many people have lost the zeal for God's House that once marked the Church.

While this was not the extent of the discussion, I would like to focus, in this post, on the need for a specific type of reformation. The big focus of A Shining Salty City On Stand was the necessity of both individuals and community. While I did not directly mention this in that post, what we were talking about was a perfect description of the Body of Christ, the Church. A body has many different parts, all of which have different strengths and weakness, different functions and responsibilities, but who work together to accomplish the purpose of the Head, Jesus Christ. This is also true of a rebelution, which is why our first step must be to awaken the church.

It’s flattering when the world admires your maturity and vision. It’s incredibly gratifying when people jokingly say, “Wow! Whoever’s taking the democratic presidential nomination in 2040, watch out!” The problem with this is that it places you into the category of a “statistical anomaly.” We must not be satisfied with simply being better than the average teenager. Such a classification reinforces, rather than combats, the myth of adolescence. As the old saying goes, “The exception only proves the rule.”

When we’re an individual exception, we stand out as an individual. The tendency is to get comfortable with being “one-of-a-kind.” We then fail to encourage others to reach their full potential, because we don’t want them to steal our limelight. Such an attitude goes directly against the heart of a rebelution and is detrimental to its cause.

We cannot be elitist. We must fight for humility. Even while we decry the state of our fellow youth, we must not condemn or separate ourselves from them. The heart of a rebelution is the truth that all young people have the ability to accomplish much greater things than our culture would have them to think. Because of that, we must be constant encouragers. As Jesus said, “Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.”

To be a rebelutionary, we must constantly strive to reduce the focus on ourselves as individuals, and to place the focus on the community of the Church. The only way to truly combat cultural expectations is to create a culture that results in an entire community of mature and responsible young people. To effect widespread change, we must produce such a communities in churches across the nation. Sadly, the average youth group in the U.S. today is falling incredibly short of this calling.

I challenge each of you to become a reformer among your church’s youth. Change the cultural expectations of young people in your local church. Create a local community that defies our culture’s expectations. The homeschool movement started with a vision to change the culture by reforming the home. The next step is to reform the church.

I want the comment section to be brainstorm central. Start by thinking about, and then pooling your answers, to the following preliminary questions:

1.) What is the current state of the youth culture in your church? Does it embrace or resist our society’s expectations?

2.) Who do you need collaborate with within your church in order to bring about change?

Please do not limit yourself to the above questions. Further questions and thoughts on the posts are encouraged. Soli Deo Gloria!

[Continue to The Rebelution, According to Joel.]

A Tactical Blunder Exposed

Announcing an excellent post by Karen Kovaka of Rhetorical Response regarding one of the greatest strategic oversights of those seeking to reform their culture. Essential reading for the rebelutionary.

An Interesting Discussion

Be sure to take a look at an interesting discussion developing in the comments section of Agent Tim's and my interview with Hans Guenther. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate.

A Shining Salty City On A Stand

In my previous post, My iPod Is My Best Friend, I began my response to Lauren’s question regarding corporate change, by laying a personal foundation. In response, Jake posted the following:

Assume for a second we, as teens, really get it. We are watching/listening to the right things, choosing our friends wisely etc. But what do we really need to do to affect the people around us?

First of all, I’m very glad Jake asked this question. If people weren’t asking these kinds of questions after reading our posts, something would be very wrong.

However, before jumping right in, we would do well to recognize that reading, watching, listening, and spending time with wise companions is a mammoth task. I’m ashamed to say that yesterday I sat down with a book of Foxtrot comic strips and wasted a good 20-30 minutes. I don’t say that to be legalistic about reading comics. I enjoy a well-written strip. In fact, our country could use a Christian Amend (Foxtrot), Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), Adams (Dilbert), or Schultz (Peanuts). Still, I cannot deny that after spending that particular time period reading about the exploits of Jason and his pet iguana, I felt convicted of hypocrisy. This is a continual battle against the culture. You can’t just “get it.” Furthermore, even if you could just “get it,” the change doesn’t happen instantaneously. We’ve grown up in a media-saturated culture whose expectations of young people are incredibly low. The residual effects of that social conditioning cannot be wiped away with Windex.

With that said, we as Christians, imperfect as we are, are commanded to be salt and light to the earth. How do we rise up to that calling as young people? In this post, let us examine exactly what Jesus meant when He told us to be salt and light.

[Note: The following is still more foundational, rather than specific, but the specific is coming. Don't worry.]

A common misconception regarding the command to be “salt” is the idea that it means that we’re to give the world flavor. Christians make the world taste good. However, while salt was used to flavor foods at the time of Christ, this was not its primary purpose. Rather, in a time before refrigeration, pasteurization, and pressure cooking, salt was highly valued as a preservative. A little salt rubbed into meat would slow decay. Our calling as Christians is not just to make the world taste good, but more importantly, to preserve it. As rebelutionaries, we are called to fight against the push of our culture towards moral and intellectual depravity. We must do this individually and corporately; if we lose our saltiness, we accomplish nothing; if we are isolated, we accomplish nothing.

The command to be “light” is also open to misconception. One common misconception is the notion that being a light involves being very careful not to draw attention to yourself, but just standing around and letting your little light shine, wherever you happen to be. But this is the exact opposite of the examples used by Christ. “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” If you’re traveling nearby at night, you cannot help but see it. It arrests your attention. In the same way, a lamp set on a stand lights up the entire house. Light is incredibly invasive. Our calling as Christians is not only to shine our light brightly, but most importantly, to do so in such a way and in such an arena that we cannot be ignored. Again, we must do this individually and corporately.

As you might have guessed, the most important thing to recognize here is the necessity of both individuals and communities. A community is made up of inviduals. We must each take on the responsibility of reforming our own lives, and then come together in order to effect change in the culture around us. In the posts that follow, we'll be examining exactly how we do that.

“And though the culture might prevail against one who is isolated, two will withstand it—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

[Continue to "Rebelize" Your Youth Group.]

My iPod Is My Best Friend

In Part 2 of my series, The Myth of Adolescence, I examined the effects of our media-saturated culture on our youth. I argued that it is squeezing young people into a mold where the attainment of Christian character and competence is nearly impossible, while offering in its place an ersatz maturity—technological, sexual, and superficial in nature—that will result in a generation of empty heads and shallow hearts.

My cry was not one of hopelessness. Rather, it was a challenge to my fellow young people to recognize that their restraints are illusory, not inherent, and to free themselves from the shackles of our culture’s expectations.

In response to that challenge, one of my good friends commented with an excellent follow-up question. In short, her inquiry was this: “How do we alert our fellow young people to what is happening? How do we fight this on a larger scale?”

Thank you, Lauren, for taking the time to really think about these things and ask questions. When our fellow young people take the truths that Brett and I have been discussing and begin to act on them, it validates everything that we’ve been talking about.

[Note: If you have not yet read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, I would strongly encourage you to do so before continuing.]

Before we can change the culture, we must first change ourselves. To do so, let me begin by outlining a foundational concept of a rebelution.

In Proverbs 13:20 we read, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” The meaning of this verse is clear. To put it plainly, we become like our companions. This is a simple but foundational truth. For us as young people to make our peers our primary source of companionship is to effectively pool our ignorance and foolishness. To walk with the wise is to walk with those who are older, wiser, and godlier than we are.

However, we will not glean the full wisdom of this verse unless we recognize that our companions are not limited to just people. Our companions include, not only our friends and family members, but also the books, magazines, newspapers, and comic books we read, the movies and TV shows we watch, the video games we play, the blogs and websites we surf, and the music, radio shows, and podcasts we listen to.

In today’s information-charged world, many people spend more time with these non-human “companions” than with their peers. According to a study published by Business Week, the average American spends 9 1/2 hours a day watching TV, going to movies, renting videos, reading magazines, listening to music, and surfing the web. This was in 1998. Since then, Internet use has skyrocketed, DVDs have supplanted VHS, and the iPod has ushered in a new era of isolation from fellow human beings.

The mistake that many young people fall into is this: while we may be careful as to who our human companions may be, we give little to no thought regarding the countless other companions that we constantly allow to influence us. This is why media, of any kind, is such a powerful societal weapon. We do not think of it as a companion.

If we truly wish to walk with the wise, we must choose the media we read, watch, and listen to, with the same care we apply to the selection of our friends... Because, they are our friends.

[Continue to A Shining Salty City On A Stand.]

Hurricane Katrina: How You Can Help

If you want to help, but you don't know how...

Stephanie Freiss of Louisiana is heading up a drive to supplement relief efforts of organizations like the Red Cross.

Karen Kovaka (Rhetorical Response) has posted information on how to help homeschool families suffering from the devastation of the hurricane.

Finally, continue to pray. Our country needs it desperately.

Persecution in Germany: An Interview with Hans Guenther

Agent Tim (a.k.a. Tim Sweetman) and I recently had the opportunity to “sit down” with American expatriate, and good friend, Hans Guenther.

Hans lives in Germany with his parents and siblings. His father, Rich Guenther, is the director of School Instruction at Home, the German equivalent of HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense). Serving his parents as a secretary in their endeavors to legalize homeschooling, Hans graciously consented to the interview, giving us an inside look at the current situation for homeschoolers in Germany.

Agent Tim, a highly recommended fellow blogger, has been following the developments in Germany on his blog, where further information can be found here.

The Rebelution (TR): To begin, would you be able to share with us a brief history of your family's involvement in the homeschool movement in Germany?

Hans Guenther (HG): My parents, Richard and Ingrid Guenther, were early homeschool pioneers in Oregon, and saw the need for legalizing home education in Germany. Together with HSLDA’s senior council, Christopher Klicka, and several other attorneys, they founded the legal organization Schulunterricht zu Hause e.V. (Schuzh) [School Instruction at Home]. The organization was formed to provide legal help for homeschool families in Germany. My parents’ involvement with Schuzh has since become a family ministry. We have been serving the German homeschool community for over ten years.

TR: Would you be able to give us a brief introduction to the current political situation in Germany and Europe? Are there any distinctive features of the German government that are relevant to our topic?

HG: Germany is a constitutional democracy similar to the United States. Something most people fail to recognize is the fact that East Germany and Russia had good constitutions throughout their socialistic regimes. However, in order for a constitution to be effective, the courts of the land must uphold it. When the courts fail to uphold the constitution, the people lose their rights. Germany is often said to have a post-democratic statism, a government that manages its citizens. The interests of society override individual rights. Since Germany is the most influential country of the European Union, the development in Germany is very significant and dangerous for the rest of Europe.

On a side note, we have an election coming up here in Germany this month (Sept. 18) and both parties are socially more liberal than the American Democratic party. Openly. The only party that is socially conservative gets less than 1% of the vote.

Agent Tim (AT): Quoting from an interview I did with a German last month “According to our Basic Law the State is the guardian overlooking the parents’ performance in their upbringing and education of their children and especially over the whole schoolsystem. This includes that also the State has a constitutional duty for the education of children. So the State can interfere with the parents’ right to education.” What’s your opinion of this statement?

HG: That is a [Court] interpretation. According to the German Constitution, the parents have the right to choose the education of their children. While the State has the duty to oversee the school system, it is unconstitutional for the state to determine the education of the children against the educational goals of the parents. The Constitution ensures that the parents have the primary duty to educate their children. Unfortunately, Germany’s Constitutional Court interprets the obligation of the state to include mandatory school attendance.

TR: What are some of the primary reasons why Christian parents are so adamant in educating their children independent of the government school system?

HG: Christian homeschool parents became aware of the immoral social contents and new teaching methods in the schools. Others see that the schools cannot fulfill the academic needs of their children. The teachers insist on their own methods and agenda including immorality and occultism, opposing the educational goals of Christian parents. Mobbing and violence in the schools is also a great concern.

[Note from The Rebelution: Further information on the shocking state of the government schools can be found here and here.]

AT: I know that, according to law, it’s illegal to homeschool. What steps would we take to change the law, and even the constitution? Is it possible?

HG: As I said, the Constitution or federal law does not need to be changed. All school laws are left up to the individual states. While all 16 states have adopted mandatory school attendance laws, most of them have a clear exemption clause. The officials may legally grant exemption should an important enough reason be given. The problem is that the authorities refuse to grant this exemption. Religious reasons are not an acceptable argument, even though the Constitution guarantees a freedom of religion and conscience.

TR: How bad is the persecution against homeschoolers in Germany today?

HG: Generally speaking, the government first applies financial pressure by issuing tremendous fines of up to hundreds of thousands of euros [Note: 1 euro = $1.24]. The next step often taken is taking the child by police force to school. Most families comply or leave the country before this takes place. In some cases, the state takes the custody of the children away from the parents, forcing the child to live in a foster home. In such instances, the state typically refuses to inform the parents of their child’s whereabouts. The authorities argue, and judges affirm, that a child cannot develop properly apart from public school attendance.

AT: Is there really a feeling of animosity towards homeschoolers in Germany? Or is it just “concern for the kids”?

HG: There is a strong animosity towards Christian convictions in general. The society here is extremely secular. According to most Germans, homeschooling parents misuse the custody of their children by denying them school attendance. There is a fear of religious parents keeping their children at home in order to indoctrinate them. The idea is to integrate all children into society and society’s standards. Most Germans believe that, apart from the school system, a child cannot develop properly and will not fit into today’s society.

TR: What are the Christians in Germany doing? Are they protesting the government's treatment of home educators?

HG: Good question. What we have in Germany is a collapse of traditional family values, even in Christian circles. Even though many Christians are dissatisfied with the school system, they are afraid their children would not be qualified for life without school. There are only 75 Christian schools in all of Germany, all of which use state curriculum and fulfill the state’s educational goals. So there is no real alternative to public school. On a large scale, Christians are closing their eyes to reality. However, Schuzh has been successful in persuading many major publications to publish positive articles on homeschooling. Christians learning about the government’s unreasonable actions taken against homeschoolers, as is happening now in Paderborn, are slowly beginning to show sympathy to the cause.

AT: Would you say that the actions by the government are “control of society”?

HG: The government is enforcing integration. In their own words, multiculturalism is over, now everyone must integrate into the society. The government defines the societal values.

TR: Now, is the situation with homeschoolers in Germany receiving much media attention in Germany or the United States?

HG: Schuzh constantly receives requests from major TV stations, newspapers and magazines. We supply them as much as we can. Most homeschool families wish to remain underground. Germany’s top TV show invited a very well versed homeschool mother. The national press, which has been surprisingly open-minded, is eager to explore the issue. Local press, agitated by the government, tends to slander Christian homeschoolers.

AT: As for media coverage… [Assuming it is anti-homeschoolers.] What can we do to change that? What’s our action plan?

HG: As I said, the national media coverage has been relatively neutral or even positive. We continue to work with them. Our main problem has been government interference with the media.

TR: What are the most important steps that concerned, Christian young people in the United States can take to support your efforts to legalize homeschooling in Germany?

HG: Other than through prayer, I really am not sure what to tell you. American homeschoolers need to continue to be an example for the rest of the world and strive for excellence. Through you, we have the statistics. For example, Dr. Brian Ray’s study, Homeschooling Grows Up, has been very effective in raising interest in and arguing our case. Through you, we have proof that homeschooling works. You must continue to lead the way.

[Continue to Hans Guenther's guest post, Visual Onslaught: A Diversion of Focus.]