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May, 1945
house and the minister as His representative. It is im portant, therefore, that the Released Time program be that of the churches and not of an individual or an out side organization. The Right Instructors I believe that when we ask the Lord for teachers, we may ask Him for the best. Slovenly work done in the name of the Lord is disgraceful. The Lockman Founda tion is run as a business. We want the best for our busi ness. We can expect the best for God’s. He provides it. We set a very high standard for our teachers, requir ing them to have the credentials of a teacher in the pub lic schools; to live lives consecrated for His service; and to feel definitely called to do this work. They are chosen for their spirituality and ability and not because they come from any particular denomination, college or insti tution. The Lockman Foundation at no time intends to become part of any denominational set-up. With a pro gram as extensive as ours, this would indicate lack of. vision. We see the need of the high standard and special training teachers must have in the following incident: A little boy came to one of our Released Time classes. Scarcely was he inside the door when he said: “Miss . . ., my Mother said she doesn’t believe what you told us last week.” Instantly a hush fell over the forty or more sixth- grade boys and girls. Their eyes were focused appre hensively on the teacher as they awaited her reply. “Let’s see what the Book says,” the teacher said quietly. Opening her Bible, she began to read the pas sage that related to the truth in question. The Bible was closed. As one person, the children relaxed and sighed. The Book said so. It was all right That night when Jimmy went home, he didn't say, “Mother, the teacher said thus and thus,” but “The Book said this, Mom,” and Mother and Dad got down the family Bible, dusted it off and began to read to see if these things were true. Recently Miss Nadine Warner, who has been one of the instructors at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles for ten years, has joined the staff of teachers in the Re leased Time teaching under the Lockman Foundation. She is an important addition to our staff. The Future— Youth For Christ We are fully conscious that Released Time instruc tion is educational and not evangelistic No matter what may be the longings of the teacher’s heart, she cannot give any invitation. If definite decisions were asked for, we would be forced out immediately and the door would be closed. “The entrance of thy words giveth light” (Psa. 119:130). As it is, with the outlined program of study we have, taught with visual aid, the homework and memory work the children are given to' do outside of school hours, a boy or girl who attends regularly will get the equivalent of one hundred hours of Bible study a year (including Sunday school) even if we can only have him fifty minutes a week in actual instruction. If he attends all through elementary school, at the end of six years, he will have had six hundred hours of Bible study. If at the end of that time he has not come to know the Author of the Word, the failure will be in his own heart. We are now planning a companion program to run in conjunction with the Summer Bible School work, to fit in with the Youth for Christ movement in Orange County. The district will be .divided up, with a youth center for every five schools, with,evening meetings for the Junior High, Senior High and Junior CoHege age groups, and the regular Summer Bible Schools for the [ Continued on Page 178]
of people. Modified honesty, within the letter of the law, is practiced by millions more. Our country is filled with people who are satisfied with the materialistic phil osophies, they fill our stomachs and starve our souls. They supply gadgets and disregard God. The time has come, and the hour is very late. We must 'make a decision. The choice before us is plain; Christ or chaos; conviction or compromise; discipline or disintegration. What is the influence of your church or mine in our respective communities? Ninety-seven per cent of these juveniles have not been in church for the past five to seven years. Only three per cent of so-called “juvenile delinquents” come from Sunday school boys and girls. Certainly this proves the value of Christian education. The Opportunity— Is Released Time Teaching In 1943, the California Legislature added to Chapter 3, Division 4 of the Education Code, by Chapter 367, a law relating to the California Public School System, whereby children could be released from school for not more than one hour per school week for religious instruction. The State of California was the thirty-ninth state to adopt this law. Specific requirements set forth in this new law: 1. Classes could not be held in the public schools. 2. Religious instruction is not to be carried on under the supervision or control of the school district: this must be done by others. 3. Pupils must have written consent of their parents or guardians in order to be excused for such instruc tion. 4. The School Board, at its discretion, may give their consent to these pupils’ being excused for religious instruction. In February 1944, some of the pastors and Christian leaders of Orange County, California, realized the great responsibility and opportunity, and Released Time class es were set up in six cities and one community, with eleven schools participating, and with a total enrollment of 727. The Lockman Foundation has been privileged to as sist in this Released Time program in the schools of Orange County, entering a community only as the Lord opened the door. We insisted that the Released Time work be discussed frankly with all the pastors of all faiths. Unless an agreeable solution could be arrived at by the pastors in setting up a program, we did not desire to participate. We felt the Holy Spirit would be unable to function where there was disunity. The operation of the schools was handled by a Board composed of the pastor and one layman from each church, the Superintendent of Schools, and four members of the Lockman Foundation. Our only desire was to be of assistance to the pastors.and churches of any com munity in setting up this wdrk. The Lockman Founda tion furnished the teachers and paid the insurance with out cost to the city or town in which the school was being held. The curriculum material w as, furnished by the Lockman Foundation, but charged to the churches. The responsibility for taking care of the teaching materials, the place of meeting, and escorts for the children to and from the school, rested with the churches in the com munity in which the school was being held. We found that the situation in each community varied, and the financial arrangement was adjusted accordingly. It is our desire that as little mention as possible be made of the Lockman Foundation because we wish to have the eyes of the people in the community fixed upon the churches and not upon individuals or organizations. This is not due to an inferiority complex. We realize that the church in the community is looked upon as God’s
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