Christ, The Church, & Our World Today

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER

CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH

BROWNSVILLE, TX

ILL. Many of you grew up in a little town much like the one that I am going to describe to you now. It isn’t very different from many small towns even today. So travel back with me for a few moments to your Hometown, USA.

It was a quiet little farming community where everybody pretty much knew everybody else. It had definite, discernible cultural centers. I’m not sure that cultural is the right word, but they were definite places where people congregated to do special things.

The school was one such cultural center. Almost everything that happened was connected in one way or another to the school. It hosted basketball games, football games, band concerts. It was the community gathering place.

The church was another cultural center. Some would point out that there were more taverns than churches, but no one much dwelt on that.

It had a local newspaper that consisted of one sheet, printed front & back, & folded in the middle so that it consisted of 4 pages. It was delivered to your home for 25 cents a week, Monday through Friday, & you could catch up on all of the latest gossip.

Main Street was dotted with locally owned businesses. They had been in the family for years, from one generation to another. And they provided a fairly comfortable living for that family.

There was a local bank, owned by local people. The money on deposit was earned locally. When you borrowed from it, you borrowed from your neighbors. When you paid it back, your neighbors benefited from the interest.

Your little town was surrounded by farms, family owned, passed on from one generation to another. Mom & dad, sons & daughters, all worked to plant the crops, working together to make a living on the farm.

About this time of year the leaves would begin to turn. Around Nov. 1st it would start to snow, & about the last of May it would stop snowing. Which is one of the reasons why you no longer live in that little town.

It was a quiet little community where kids gathered underneath the street lights at night to play "Hide & go seek." In wintertime they would take their sleds to the park & slide down the hills & breathe unpolluted air. A quiet little community where mom & dad still lived only a few miles from the place where they were born, & their parents before them.

Yet, when your generation came of age, you left that community, & now your children know hardly anything about it other than what you have told them, & the few visits you have taken back there to see relatives. Sometimes you have reminisced about that quieter & simpler & less complicated life. That is all your children really know about your hometown.

SUM. That is the world into which you were born, & probably very similar to the world into which most of the rest of us were born.

I. OUR CONTEMPORARY WORLD

A. But today, our world has experienced sweeping, revolutionary changes. The school is now a consolidation, & children are bused in from miles around. Now pupils are reported as statistics to government agencies for the purpose of receiving tax moneys.

ILL. It is obvious that schools have changed a great deal. I’m sure some of you have read the comparisons that have appeared in magazines from time to time.

One article compared the 7 most pressing problems faced by schools in 1940, & the 7 most pressing problems faced by schools today.

In 1940 the most pressing problems were these: "Talking, chewing gum in class, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of line, wearing improper clothing, & not putting paper in the wastebaskets."

Today, the 7 most pressing problems facing the schools are: "Drug abuse, alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery, & assault."

ILL. I wanted a copy of the new BISD Handbook, but evidently it hasn’t been printed yet. However, here is a section out of another Texas School District Policy Handbook. In it, they divide offenses in the schools into 4 categories, "Minor offenses, Major offenses, Extremely serious offenses, & Expellable offenses." Let me share some of these with you.

Here are some Minor offenses: "Copying the work of another student; Inappropriate display of affection on campus; Insulting or insubordinate verbal interaction; Profanity or offensive language; Secret societies & illegal organizations; Smoking tobacco products (where prohibited)." Chewing gum isn’t mentioned. Not throwing paper in the wastebasket isn’t mentioned.

Here are some Major offenses: "Abusive or threatening behavior; Boycotts, walkouts & protests; Fighting; Possessing & using fireworks; Forgery; Gambling; Indecent exposure; Insubordination; Obscene material; Stealing."

Here are Extremely Serious offenses: "Blackmail; Bomb threats; Burglary; Extortion; Coercion; Hazing; Immoral conduct; Possessing or Using explosive or dangerous materials; (It almost sounds like a war, doesn’t it?), Robbery; Theft; Larceny; Sex violations; Tampering with fire alarms or other equipment; & Vandalism."