The Ohio Independent Baptist, April 1970

\Ve no doubt Jive in a day when ruth i ea i]}' poken but too often ,jther di tarted to our own fancy or ii regarded experientially. "Let your ight o hine before men that they may ;e ) our good ~·orks. and glorify your =-ather ~ hich i in Heaven. ' (Matthew 5:16) \Vhat }'OU ay by your ATTI– fL.DE I DICATORS will be received ith far greater impact than what you re con tantly declaring verbally. Consider These Take Carl for example. His parent re thought of a a leading couple in he church and they sincerely desired o rai e their on in a way that would ring glor}' to the Lord. Let,s analy e ome of the A'I "l 'ITUDE I DICA– fO RS that had a tremendous influence 1pon Carl. Carl ~ a alway to]d that it was mportant to pray and hi parent ere upset if he did not say hi prayers efore he went to bed . But Carl di - 1nct) Jr remembers that his folks did- 1· t attend prayer meeting at the church .. they just didn't have the time. He e er recall a time th at his family ra)'ed together over family problem 1r o, 1 er the oul of an unsaved one. ot once did he see his Dad or Mom ,n their knees really pouring their eart out to God. They told him it 'a important to pray but he got an– ther message! In Sunday School Carl's teacher was on tant]y pu hing Bible reading, and i family was quick to as ert that it as very important to study God' 1 ord. H e knew for a fact though that i folks rarely touched the Bible t1roughout the week and can't re- 1cmber them relating to him ome- 1ing that God had thrilled and ble ed 1em ~'ith through the Word. There– Jre J,e was not ver)' impressed with 1e need for feeding upon the Word. he Bible is a Book for unday! And talk about an5wers to life's roblerns! .. ver)'time omething went rong at the office for Dad, or '""hen 1001 had troubles at home, well, ) ou 1 t " 'ould n't think that they had any d,,antage over the un aved. At lea t it a n't ea }' to ee! 1r. Jordan Vt'as a stick]er for being n ti111e for l1i golf appointrnent and Jr V\'Ork. o the point, in fact, that often ,-.,ou]d cause a real family urden to insure that he wou]d not be te. arJ recall tl1ot1gl1 that j t ~'as a tlerent tor}' on unday 111orni11gs. 11 )' aJ,va)' J11ed to 1,e a fe"' 111in- Jate to cl1urch a11d the foJks ju t dn't e111 to car . 1od' 1, u ine s a 1101 tl at inlflOJ tant, arl con– ud d! J 11 , no , in \ Ii L m r \l.}1en lie "a ) utl1 dir ct r t a111, can re– cl1allcng~d l)}' nco11rage l1i OHIO I D P NDENT BAPTIST family to have devotion on a regular ba i in the early morning. He sug– ge ted th i to hi parents and hi Dad aid that "in thi type of work it \A. a important that he get plenty of leep.' The truth wa that they ju t couldn't get excited about getting up an hour or o earlier. Today John can't help but mile as he reflects back to the many times his Dad would get up at 4: 30 a.rn . to go hunting or fl hing or to tart a family vacation trip. But obviously it ju t wa not important enough to the family to put forth the ame effort for a time in family devo– tion . John really learned from hi parent ! He wa al o confused a to why hi · parent would alway leave early to go to the school play and practically be rude to other in order to get a front eat. Mu t have been terribly important to them but when it came to church and learning more of God and how to live a victoriou Chri - tian 1 ife, why they practically fought for the back pew and indicated that the ooner it wa all over the better. John got the me age! Mr . ook i involved in a bowling league and Mom in a couple of civic clubs, but when they were a ked to erve in the church they explained that, 'they were ju t too bu y" or "they didn't feel qualified to teach.' ' Once Mr. ook came home fron1 work complaining that the company had decided to give them a mealy ten per cent annual bonu . '"How cheap can they get" he exclaimed. But he has ome ort of di tarted pride when he occa iona l1 y manage to tithe hi weekly income. John read then1 loud and clear! Thi ame a ttitude wa carried O\'er into the Biblical concept of eparation. Hi folk approved of certain type of movie and felt that a proper]) chap– eroned dance wa n't in. and if John wanted to run aro11nd with the v.. rong crowd, well , he had to n1ake hi o~ n friend and ··after all, didn't Je tl~ eat with the publican\ and inner ?" The Bible ays that ,ve are to be v.. 1tne c and Mar) 's parent\ \\ ottld agree that th1 1 1n1portant ... \\ he11 you are led to w1tne ! Mary can never remember her folk 5har1ng a burden for ouls, or being concerned about their neighbor . The Pa tor wou ld announce vi itat1on from the pulpit each week but in vain. Tobod} bowed up and the youth got the me - sage! The minimum time pent in Mary· family each week watching televi ion wa ten hour and yet they couldn't find the time for prayer, Bible tudy, devotion , or for more than the regu– larly cheduled church ervice and activit ie . Who Is To Blame? Carl, John and Mary are taking one of two avenue ; completely leav– ing the church or being unu able pe\\'– warmer . They rarely if ever. at– tend prayer meeting; cannot ee the need for tithing; do not carry any re- pon ibility in the local church: have yet to lead their fir t oul to the Lord : ju t cannot eem to get anything out of the Bible or the Pa tor' me age and prayer i a real drag! They have never really e perienced a vital, vic- toriou exciting. fruitful. and uc- ce fu1 relation hip with Chri t. ad to ay. if our A TTIT DE I DI A– TORS are not changed, man)r other teen may f ollo~' in their path and well the rank of ton1orro~,, '"church– drop-out ... Today·, parent could a\e thou- and of \\, ord. and n1a n> frt1itle s effort telling the teen abot1t the Chri ti an life if they "'ould only pend the an1e energ) and time in per nal earch1ng and in fellO\\ hip \\ 1th the Ma ter. When they tndee i e p rience reality in hri t, \\ ord are not ncce - ary to con1n1unicate \\ 1th their teens. Tl1ey get the 111e -age. .:ind it i at– tract1 e to then1 ! Do not talk. real1t) 1n ( 'hr1. t. cl1e thrill of H1 tello,\ ~hip, hO\\ n1t1 h ) ou lo, e the Lord an(l Hi\ r11ini tr\. t111t1l ) Oll arc fir t rc~1gr1cd h\ i oJ· gr J c to e'\perienc, ,, hat \ Olt <lecl,1rc to he so right for <)thcr"' It 1\ Ill)t n~,lrl, o in1portant to be teaching and tc1Jk.1ng a it I"> to l1e le,.1rning anti l1\1ng! THE CHILDREN'S GOSPEL HOUR, INC. Livingston, Tenn. 38570 Presenti ng Jesus Christ to Youth by Radio and TV PRAY FOR THE SALVATION OF BOYS AND GIRLS , G el Hour · no..., on 70 rad io and 32 1 V station each week. The Children s osp 15 h f A I d t o hear Pray that more sta1ions will take the program. The yout o n,er ca nee the Gospel now. Wrhe for further inforrnation. OHIOANS TAKE NOTE: Now being televi!. ttd on WEWS-TV, Channel 5 of Cleveland each SATURDAY at 7 :00 a . n, . and on W TV-TV, Channel 33 of Youngstown each S turday t 7 :30 a.n,. Henry C. G iger, Executiv Dir ctor - APRIL, 1970 7