By Mimi Rothschild

That seems to be the question on the minds of Southern Baptist leaders over the course of the last few decades. After all, how pastors answer this question determines very important policy decisions public and personal.

Take a look at a recent article in the Shenandoah Valley News Leader. While citing a family of Muslims who have chosen to deal with the pork-serving ways of their local school, many Christian families are leaning more towards the “withdraw” side of the continuum.

National leaders in the Southern Baptist denomination, citing a climate no longer compatible with the Christian faith, have wrestled internally with the idea of completely abandoning the public school system.

It seems to me that the crux of this issue is not whether we are called to engage the world positively. Christ calls us to go out into the darkest parts of the world, just as he did regularly in the New Testament. This is a moot point. However, are children equipped to cope with the dangers of an enviroment that is diametrically opposed to what they believe? Remember that Jesus did not start his ministry until he was well into his thirties. He spent the majority of his life training and growing with his family.

We need to remove the negative connotation from the word “sheltered”. As a parent, there are things out there that I’d like to shelter my kids from. We need to make sure we are not smothering our children, but sheltering can be a good thing!