Are children growing up too fast?

A survey conducted by the Australian Childhood Foundation concluded that both parents and children are concerned that they are indeed growing up too fast. Their report makes interesting reading and raises some interesting questions.

In my day I was told that children were to be seen and not heard. My class at school was also told repeatedly by various teachers that they were not here just for our benefit. In so many ways I thank God we have moved on from those dark ages.

As bad as those views on children were though, they did have one positive. Children were kept isolated from some of the more pressing concerns of the adult world. We had room to create and enjoy childhood. We were even protected from aggressive marketing by multi nationals that would have us believe that things really did go better with Coke simply by parents who made the decision for us...no they did not...if you were thirsty...you were to drink water.

Now children are encouraged to enter debates on world environment, world politics and the economy. As a result they now have increased fear they will have a future- how can you enjoy being a kid with that in the back of your mind? Aggressive marketing has them captive to fashion and technology. They have to worry about what they look like as children before they can actually enjoy being children. More tragic is that some of this "look" is encouraged by the parents both directly and indirectly. (Tweenies keep the designer fashion house share price high.)

What is being done in this enlightened era of children's rights to give them the right to space... just to be kids?

Frank Sinatra Christianity

To be honest I don't know whether the late Mr Sinatra was a Christian or not. But I have often heard his song "I did it my way" being sung at funerals as a final salute to the deceased. Personally, I have requested my family play "I feel good" by James Brown! Whether they will or not remains to be seen...and I am in no hurry to find out.

But to live life "their way" is the aim of many an unbeliever. And I guess if you are going to reject Christ and wear the consequences then you may as well. And you may as well do a good job of it because you only get that one chance!

What I do have difficulty understanding though, is why a Christian wants to do church their own way. Maybe someone can help me out here because I just don't get it. But before you answer too quickly I want to say I do understand people get hurt in churches...I have been hurt and no doubt will be hurt further. But to say we follow Christ means we follow him. We start by going down the path of Calvary. We encounter the cross which slew Jesus. A W Tozer spoke of the cross in these terms:

"The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more."

The cross is such a powerful symbol to the Christian because no one who went to the cross was singing "I am doing it my way". Even Jesus, who chose to do His Father's will not His own. And as those who are raised with Christ are we not supposed to be doing it His way?

What part of "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" gives us the right?

Steve G

church...to go or not to go

The longer I walk with God the more convinced I am that it is just not possible to be a Christian and not be part of a local church. True there are people who cannot attend because of physical reasons but more often than not these people ache in their hearts to attend church again.

But believers who call themselves followers of Christ but shun His body are in a world of their own creation. Isolating one or two Scriptures and building a doctrine on them is the stuff of fantasy and dreams and yet people out of fellowship do it all the time.

Where two or more are gathered there shall I be...not where two or more are scattered. Wake up church!