Equipping the Saints

  Not long ago I received a letter from a chaplain -- one that reminded me why it's so worthwhile doing BreakPoint day after day.   The man wrote: "I am the [chaplain] at the Nova Scotia Youth Center for Young Offenders. My budget is zero. I don't think the spiritual welfare of incarcerated youth is considered to be important enough to spend money on. How wrong that thinking is!" Then he added, "What excites me about [BreakPoint] is the information that I can get and use with these youth, sometimes daily.... Most of the youth I deal with have little or no faith experience." With BreakPoint transcripts "on archaeological evidence and up-to-date scientific findings," he wrote, "I can at least give them something to think about as I try to plant the seeds of faith in their young hearts." What an encouragement -- and what a testimony to the aching need among young people today for solid, biblically based teaching to fill the moral vacuum in their hearts. I received another heartwarming letter from a Christian who teaches in the public schools. He admitted being discouraged in his work. But one day he heard my commentary on C. S. Lewis. And he wrote, "Sometimes we Christians can get very excited over our grandiose plans to reach the whole world. And then we get frustrated when we see the cultural tides shifting against us.... But the wonderful truth is that we need only to be at our posts, faithfully doing whatever we're called to do, as you taught from Lewis." The teacher wrote to me, "You have encouraged me to go on serving [God] in my little world." Thankfully, one more Christian is staying at his post! BreakPoint also helps Christian students combat the secularism that assaults them in school. I recently received a letter from a girl named Ann. Her history teacher, who is a Christian, had shared some BreakPoint material with her, including commentaries on Darwinism and the Intelligent Design movement. A few days later, Ann's science teacher brought up the topic of evolution. Ann was able to point out evolution's flaws as a scientific theory, using evidence from BreakPoint to support her argument. The science teacher was unable to refute Ann's logic, or dismiss her arguments as merely "religion." So she abruptly ended the discussion, saying they simply had a difference in "perspective." You see, armed with facts from BreakPoint, Ann and others like her are more confident as they challenge the secular-humanist worldview that is so misleadingly propagated in the public schools today. It's thrilling to know that these young people are thinking critically, and opening the minds of their fellow students -- and teachers -- to biblical truth. And that's the whole purpose behind BreakPoint: To equip people to analyze and understand current events and social trends -- and then to defend Christian truth in the marketplace -- with family members, neighbors, politicians, and school teachers. The huge response to this program has convinced me that Christians are not content to be isolated in spiritual ghettos. They want the tools -- they need the tools -- to expose the secular culture and to challenge its false values. Let me urge you to call for today's transcript or an audio tape of this week's BreakPoint commentaries. The examples I've used today ought to inspire you and your friends to do the same thing - to defend Christian truth with others. You can make a difference. Every day on BreakPoint we deal with issues at the very heart of today's cultural debate, to keep you informed and encouraged in your Christian walk. And right now I need your help. Please, call us today with your donation for BreakPoint. As we approach the end of our fiscal year next week we have a big deficit to make up, and we depend on listeners like you to keep us on the air. Let us know that you're listening, won't you? Call today: 1-800-995-8777. Or click here. Thank you, and God bless you.

06/20/00