CCOB Conference
Helping Families Face a Changing Culture—Part 2
Story by Margot Bass
Photo illustration by Christine Kidd
This is Part 2 of a two-part story describing a March 31 conference sponsored by Calvary Chapel Old Bridge, NJ. The Call to Action Presentation addressed several issues relating to the forced indoctrination of the LGBT+ agenda on families, especially children. To read Part 1, which described its signs and dangers, click here.
“According to the Word of God, parents are responsible for their children. You see that over and over, the idea of parents pouring into their children,” proclaimed Calvary Chapel Old Bridge (CCOB) Senior Pastor Lloyd Pulley. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). We want to challenge parents to not give that up.”
During CCOB’s Call to Action Presentation, Shawn Hyland, Director of Advocacy for the Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey, warned the audience about New Jersey laws affecting the state’s public-school curriculum. He also shared practical ways that parents can speak up, share their concerns, and get involved. Another speaker was Patti Height, founder of Out of Egypt Ministries, a nonprofit that helps churches reach out to those who identify as part of the LGBT+ community and those with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion. She shared her perspective as one who previously lived that way. Pastor Lloyd moderated and addressed the issues as the shepherd of his church. To watch the entire event, go to Calvary Chapel Old Bridge — SHAWN HYLAND RECAP (ccob.org).
Guidance for Parents
The skewed message on sexual identity begins early, Patti warned. “It’s starting in kindergarten. That’s the age we need to start talking to our children about this. Because whatever they hear first, they’re going to believe. If you are a child with gender confusion or same-sex attraction, and you do not hear a voice of truth, you’re going to listen to all the other voices screaming at you from society.”
Shawn, who is watching the progress of educational changes in New Jersey, cautioned that parents should closely monitor school curricula. “The end-game of government education is to control the culture for the next generation. Early on in school, [children] become aware of sexual orientation and identity; in middle school, they become allies; and in high school, they become activists,” Shawn observed. Parents should be concerned about the ideology being imposed on their children. “They have to, in a real sense, agree to, affirm, and adopt the sexual beliefs of the state government. If not … they will be stigmatized in the classroom.”
He acknowledged that this doesn’t happen everywhere, or always, and that school districts have the right to implement laws as they see fit. “However, it’s on [parents] to find out what’s going on in their school district,” he challenged. Parents have the right to view lesson plans and observe classes. They can also serve on local curriculum committees and contact their state legislators with concerns—if not in person, a letter is most effective, he suggested. For a downloadable 124-page booklet describing trends in America’s public schools, go to familypolicyalliance.com/back-to-school-for-parents/.
Shawn contended, “Talk to your students about what they’re learning and reading. Drill down and ask them more questions. Don’t just assume that books that ‘seem’ innocent are harmless.” He recounted an experience at a conference talking to a mother and daughter. “The daughter told them, ‘There are times that my teacher tells me to read things and tells the class not to tell their parents.’”
He urged parents who don’t know how to talk about transgenderism or sexual orientation to get help from pastors. “You really can’t avoid the conversation—you have to engage with them at some level.”
Talking to Children About Difficult Issues
Shawn explained that talking to younger children about transgenderism and sexual orientation is more difficult than with older children, who are more open to having conversations regarding your beliefs about sexuality. “With young kids, just reaffirm the fact that they’re not mistakes, that the way God made them is beautiful and perfect,” he related. “And if they feel somehow that their bodies don’t match their feelings, don’t repeat the mantra of the world: You’re right, honey, you are an absolute mistake, and we have to alter you."
Rather, Shawn advised, “Have the conversation that they’re beautifully and wonderfully made, that they shouldn’t be ashamed of their bodies or their gifts and talents, or pressured to be something they’re not. Reaffirm the fact that you love them just the way they are, and that they don’t need to change for you, or anybody else, to be accepted.”
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26
Pastor Lloyd strongly emphasized that as parents talk about these issues, they must be careful to not show bias against—or hatred towards—those who hold different views. “Whoever people are, I treat them with the dignity and respect that a person made in God’s image deserves, no matter what they believe or how much I believe that what they are doing is sinful or wrong,” he clarified. They also are valuable because they are eternal souls and worthy of hearing the truth in love for their eternal salvation. “It’s very important to teach your kids to have that love and respect for everyone, even those who are different. But beware of indoctrination—what they [may] incorporate into your [or your children’s] life.”
For more information, Shawn recommended genderresourceguide.com, a parent resource guide about transgenderism. Another resource is a full-length documentary from the American Family Association entitled In His Image: Delighting in God’s Plan for Gender and Sexuality (AFA.net - Watch 'In His Image' Documentary Now for Free).
The serious concerns raised in this story are at stake in the pending Equality Act (HR 5) in the U.S. Senate. Christian leaders, warning that the Act is one of the most far-reaching, discriminatory bills ever written against religious freedom in U.S. history, are urging believers to contact their senators immediately to vote against it.
What You Can Do:
Email your U.S. Senators (senate.gov)
Call the U.S. Capitol at 202-224-3121
Find out more about how your rights will be impacted by the Equality Act at lc.org/hr5 or adflegal.org/equality-act and consider supporting these nonprofits.
All verses above are quoted from the New King James Version, unless otherwise noted.
© 2020 Calvary Chapel Magazine. All rights reserved. Articles or photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of CCM. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.® Used by permission.