The Ohio Independent Baptist, April 1970

OU an by Ken Nichols "li t n11t/1or f tlti" nrticl • '" 1>1c,c,11l,· .,er, i11g c1s Mi11ister f 7 t 11tl1 nr 1/1 c Bl< ,,e,l Ho1,e !Japt,,t ( "' /111rc l1 .~ 11ri11r:fie/(/, /1io. 1'11 L rd is 11,111g !1i111 great!)' 111 u·orki11g 1vi1!1 ''(>ttt/1. l .1 1 J",rli,1,1 1" n trc"l1111a11 at a 111,1 '-'r t1n1, cr"1l\ ;.ltlli l' )Illt.:!\ f rl1t11 a 111 t lt,111 t. 11111, t,~\ "'1'.grot1nd. Hi fan1- 1l, arc n1c111l,cr" tn gt1 i ta11d1ng at ll;t ll c.1l cl1t1rch J11d tr 111 all np– { t.:ar a11 c.: .. are lt: ad r ,, i th a re pccted rept1t" t1 n. arl is l () \ ar old no\v and ha ., att ndcd unda\ chool and \ outh " 1rot1p " inc he \\ a a n1all boy. Mr. ..: 11r ·. Jordan are \ 'er) much con- rned b au e the letter that they r e1, indicate that arl i falling a,, a, fr n1 the Lord. He ha rarely at– tend. d church er\'ice ince he left h me and r port no\.\- have it that he i n1Lxed up \\ ith a gang at chool. The Jordon· are heart- ick and ju t can't eem to figure out where their on \\ ent \\·rong. Or con ider John Cook who is now in Tiet am. Like many of our hurch· young men " 'ho go into the er,ice be write that he i having ome real problems with his Chris- tian tand. In fact he ay that be find it hard to believe that a loving God could allow such a war to take place at all. Hi buddie are always riding him about having a Bible and he i beginning to feel that what he ~'thought'. he believed just i n t worth too much in a place like Viet am. Hi folk . too, are very upset and are hoping that be will get involved with church v..~hen he return from the • service. Then there is Mary Ingle. She al– \Va)'S sang in the youth choir in her church and attended most of the youth acti\·ities. She graduated la t year from high school and met an un aved boy \vho111 he i lo n1arry in the pring. t fir. t , he brot1ght hin1 to church rcgttlarl . bttl no~' he argt1e with her f lk al1ot1t going every unday her– 'elf. Her Mon1 remind her that he ""a "practically rai ed in the church ' and "when he wa younger he won a four-year attendance pin." Mr & Mr . Ingle cannot under tand why he ha no real love for the Lord or why she eem to e perience no clo ene to Him. Some Turn Away Our young people continue to be 'rai ed' in the church and when they reach the time to make their own de– ci ion , ome turn away in disap– pointment and confusion. Becau e of thi the cht1rch family react in di may over the e young people ·who 'go a tray'. We need to explore and expo e rea on why thi trend i alarmingly consi tent. A leading author in the field of psychology and human under- tanding tates: ' Research eems to uggest that through the p ychological principle of IMITATIO A D IDE TIFICATIO the teacher be– comes a model for appropriate be– havior and students take on, assume, and ultimately reflect tho e personal characteristics most dominant in the teacher.· One major hang-up for our youth today i that they ee very little worth while in our adult Chri tians with which to identify or to imitate. Teens have a natural bent to identify with something that i on the move ome– thing that makes a difference, and omething that works . . . succes ! THE HEBREW AND -CHRISTIAN SOCIETY 6 AKRON COLUMBUS DAYTON CLEVELAND 291 -3280 928-5538 INDIANAPOLIS, IND. 237-1604 SPRINGF IELD, MASS. 434-6348 BOSTON, MASS. 787-3506 781-4825 926-9743 ~ BAPTIST MID-MISSIONS JEWISH MISSIONARIES IN CLEVELAND ~ Director: Leeland H. Crotts APRIL, 1970 Mes. Leeland Crotts, Mi ss Carolyn Renner, Miss Ca rol A. Me l ve r 4205 Chester Avenue Cl eveland, Ohio 44103 Mr . Kenneth Nichol s A most ignificant factor in the cau e of this pre ent-day dilemma i the ATTITUDE I DICATORS of ou parent and Sunday School teachers a well a the Pastor and other Churcl leaders. It is necessary first to estab Ii h a common definition of the tern "attitude." An attitude is a positio1 or manner indicative of feeling opin ion, or intention toward a person o thing. They are clear pictures of wha you truly are inside. They tell th, story of your life .. . just like it reall) . I 1 • The mes age that many pew warmers project i repul ive to th( teen who has been taught that ther1 is reality in Chri t and he replie with· "Even o faith, if it hath no works is dead, being alone." (Jame 2:17). Research in the field of educationa p ychology has without exception hown that the attitudes of teacher and parents have an indelible and ~ar reaching effect on the learning process Likewise in our churche the attitude· of today s adult Chri tian leaders hav< an alarming and lasting effect on th(.,. young teen mind. Our teen are learn ing through imitation and identificatior far more than is being taught by th t I teacher or parent in a purposed effor J at indoctrination. Attitude Indicators Regardle of the pur uit in life attitude make the difference in tht ultimate outcome. Whether it be sports bu ine marriage. chool, hou ework or the local church mini try, attitude~ will make a clearly definable difference in the re ults attained. Thi article is purposed to que tion exactly wha1 type of non-verbal me sage our teen~ are receiving from our church leader~ and parent . Remember that ATTI· TUDE I DICATORS are non-verba' communication which are clearly re· ceived and interpreted b,, the pupil. THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST