Direction of Discipleship

“You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” - Deuteronomy 6:7

This verse comes on the heels of Moses pronouncing the greatest commandment: to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” So what does Deuteronomy 6:7 really mean for believers? The verse is essentially saying every waking moment of the day. As a mom who raised two boys, I can honestly say I fell very short in obeying this verse. As a matter of fact, I would say most of us miss the mark in this area of parenting.

In the United States of America, we currently have around 54 million children in schools. Of those 54 million, roughly two million are attending a religious school and about two million more are attending a Catholic school. So that means 50 million students in the United States alone are not hearing the Word of God, the good news of God, and the grace of God for at the very least seven hours a day.

In Bible times, when this commandment was given, learning looked very different than it does today. Children worked alongside their families to learn trades, chores, Scripture memorization, and who the Lord God was. Children were not sent away from the home to learn. I think in an ideal world, the Lord would still have the family unit operate in this way, but because of our fallen nature, we have moved into a new rhythm of raising families. As our country and world have become more developed, so have the needs of families. Today, we have to be more conscious of where we are sending our children for learning.

The late Voddie Baucham said, “Education is discipleship. Whoever is educating them is discipling them.” This is such a powerful statement and truth. Now think about all the places we send our children to be “discipled” in our busy lives! If our children are attending public school, they are exposed to many topics that may contradict what they hear in church, Sunday school, and youth group. Some of the things to consider that students are being taught in public schools include:

• The Big Bang Theory, which teaches that the origin of the universe resulted from a massive explosion billions of years ago.

• Old Earth Geology, which teaches the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.

• Science classes teaching naturalism to explain major phenomena.

• Human origins explained through evolution, migration, and cultural development.

• Premarital sex presented as a health choice.

• Education on different types of contraception.

• Topics pertaining to LGBTQ+ issues and sexuality.

• Gender identity theory, which claims that gender can be self-identified.

• Moralism shaped through cultural trends.

• The belief that all religions are equally valid.

• The idea that humans are naturally “good.”

All of these topics are introduced in some form at the elementary school level, and as students get older, more and more information is added. By the time a student reaches high school, they have been discipled to believe that it is normal to accept these teachings.

There is good news, though—there is always redemption. We can rescue these children from being discipled toward the ways of the world. The Lord has opened many families’ eyes to this over the years, and they have faithfully homeschooled their children. The Lord is also leading more and more of His kingdom workers to open and start Discipleship Academies. In the last few years, My Father’s World has partnered with over 150 microschool startups to help rescue and redeem our children and bring them back to the ways of Deuteronomy 6:7.

In today’s fast-paced world, we will most likely never be able to keep this commandment to the full extent the Lord intends, but we can do better. We can choose education for our children that is rooted in God’s Word and truth. We can choose education that does not conflict with what they are hearing at church, Sunday school, and in youth group.

Students who attend a Discipleship Academy begin learning from a young age that God created everything. They hear this truth repeatedly as they progress through the curriculum and grow in their understanding of the Lord and His ways through every subject. In a Discipleship Academy, students aren’t just seeing a verse at the top of a page; they are learning why science aligns with creation. They learn how the Lord is revealed in every part of history. Students who attend Discipleship Academies are part of a school whose main purpose is to help parents in the 21st century better fulfill the command and heart behind Deuteronomy 6:7.

Public schools, as we know them today, are designed to be religiously neutral and politically “fair,” often promoting ideas that do not align with our beliefs and standards as Christians.

We will never fully live up to the standard in Deuteronomy 6:7, and thankfully, the Lord knew that and sent Jesus. However, this does not give us a “get out of jail free” card. The Lord still calls us to live obediently to His Word. If teaching our children diligently about God was important in 1400 BC, then it is still important today. We must reclaim our time with our children so that their minds can be renewed in His ways.