King's Business - 1964-04

Church and

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the Family

by Oscar E. Feucht

M ost . chuhch leaders understand that the congregation owes a service to its own families. But does it also have a concern for and owe a service to the families of the commu­ nity? No church exists for itself. God placed each congregation in a neigh­ borhood to be a light and a salt. For this reason a congregation cannot dis­ regard family needs of the neighbor­ hood or larger community. Tiie church needs to be aware of the changes which have taken place in American society which have seri­ ously affected all families. They are: 1. The rapid shift from an agricul­ tural to an urban or, more accurately speaking, a suburban culture. 2. The breakdown of religious faith and of its by-product, the moral law. 3. The rejection of many traditions which made for family stability. 4. The nature of modem economic competition. 5. The emancipation of women. 6. The results of two world wars and their demoralizing effect. Actually our Christian homes have not remained unaffected by these changes. Pastors are dealing with many more marriage problems than formerly. Divorces have increased also within the church. The Christian family is exposed to forces and modes of thought which undermine Chris­ tian concepts of marriage and morals. Churches are faced with diminishing parental control, broken homes, pre­ marital sex relations, interfaith mar­ riages, juvenile delinquency, emotion­ al problems, crowded housing, both father and mother working outside the home, transfer of religious train­ ing to others. What has really happened? Certain external props which kept marriage together in another age, such as eco­ nomic security, social custom, reli­ gious belief, and legal pressure, have A P R IL, 1964

Since the family crisis of which the social scientists speak is due to the breaking down of true faith in Christ and its moral by-product, the church can supply what is needed most: 1. It can help people to a greater realization of human failure. 2. It can give relief for guilt feel­ ings t h r o u g h Christ-earned and Christ-assured forgiveness. 3. It can accept the sinner, also the sex offender, by practicing forgiveness and acceptance under the Gospel. 4. It can strengthen the moral sense of values of youth and give to adults firmer Christian standards. 5. It can give this generation a Christian understanding of sex as a creation of God to be used responsibly according to God’s plan. 6. It can sharpen the sense of sin but at the same time practice the for­ giving love of Jesus as seen in His conversations with the woman taken in adultery Christ is the answer to human need. In His substitutionary suffering for our sins the real nature of man is revealed. In Christ the way between God and man is opened up. Only God in His grace is the source of true heal­ ing and newness of life. There was a time when the family in the small town living in a Chris­ tian environment was protected in many ways. Families were strong enough to take care of themselves. The church’s influence was dominant and effective. Today in many commu­ nities this is no longer the case. As a result the local church must increase its ministry to families and make it functional in every way. Dealing ef­ fectively through the Gospel with the home, the church can do much to spiritually reinforce the strength of the modem family and help it cope with those forces which are under­ mining wholesome Christian family life. 15

been greatly relaxed. None of these has disappeared entirely. But their combined influence has weakened, and family living has suffered. Nowhere has the change been so great or so rapid as in the matter of sex conduct for the years between childhood and marriage. Social scien­ tists and religious leaders agree that this constitutes one of the real crises of our age. At a recent conference on church and family life, social scientists, each of them an expert in his field, gave to 500 church leaders a factual report of the status quo in regard to early marriages, premarital pregnancy, in­ terfaith marriage, problems of di­ vorce, freer sex attitudes of teen-agers, the high incidence of pregnant brides, illegitimacy, infidelity, homosexual­ ity, abortion, and related problems. But what the social scientists empha­ sized most was that many of Amer­ ica s people have lost a solid Christian and moral standard and need help desperately! The recent White House Confer­ ence on Children and Youth also re­ flected this concern. Many significant recommendations were passed encour­ aging homes, schools, and churches to work together to give our children a deeper sense of moral values and self-discipline and to lead them to re­ ligious commitments. Many proposals dealt directly with helping the fam­ ily. One of our Christian educators summed up his findings of this con­ ference in these words: “ The con­ ference underscored whpt the church leaders have long maintained, that no agency or combination of agencies can take the place of the family in making Christianity a meaningful experience for children and youth. Adults in family and congregation have the high responsibility of exem­ plifying Christian life in all relations and in all activities.”

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