To further distinguish between the biblical concept of ekklesia and the modern concept of the church, consider the example of education. The education of children starts with the father. God placed the care of children in his hands, which includes education (cf. Eph. 6:1). Of course, our culture has placed education within the jurisdiction of the government. It has become a popular tradition that rules the day. Regardless of how old this tradition becomes, does it align with the teaching from God? Jesus asked a similar question when he asked the Jewish leaders of His day, “Is it from heaven or from men?” Where does it originate? Similar to a church, the state schools have robbed the father’s place of accountability and responsibility and given it to another. Perhaps, some sincere people saw some imperfection or abuse and decided that the government could do a better job. After all, parents have to work for a living. Instead of acknowledging the failures of fathers to educate their children and to come to his aid, our culture now allows the government to do more than it should while parents are permitted to do less than they could do. Once you give an organization the license to fulfill a personal obligation in one area of a child’s life (education), they soon seize control away from the parents in other areas. They become the authority, and thus the one to whom the child should give attention. Undoubtedly, a majority of cases prove that a school teacher knows more than the parents. The prevalence of humanism and evolution has, no doubt, had a terrible effect on our youth. Even though children are being raised under the influence of others, parents feel justified to give their children over to those most qualified. Yet, they have lost their credibility and/or position. This causes children to disregard parents’ teaching when it conflicts with their public teachers. Values are questioned, and children grow up thinking that they should express their own individuality and uniqueness. Once this shift is made, parents are replaced and, therefore, no longer think that it is their role is that of teaching. This is where we are today as the home becomes a personalized motel suite with the option of a continental breakfast. If we inherit this present condition in the home and accept it as the tradition handed down to us, any fix in the system will only be short-lived. It is interesting to note that many supporters of public education will frown at the education received by today’s home-schoolers, even though they have proven to fare well, academically. The point is that public education is not the “old path” in education but a relatively modern innovation. Because it is old to some of us and home-schooling was reintroduced as the “new” in our lives, we must not assume that it is an inferior method. Home-schooled children are back in the hands of the functioning home where they are not only getting a great education but restoring the position of the parent while building great character untouched by the tremendous social pressures of the world. We recognize this is still a debated subject, but even if home-school education is undeniably recognized as superior to public schools, public education will go on and thrive in this country. Too much money, employment, aid, and politics are involved to end these traditions in favor of returning to the old paths. The very idea would be met with a resounding, “We will not walk therein” (Jeremiah 6:16).
Religious organizations are parallel in many ways. Individual obligations have been given over to the religious organizations and like the fathers, they are made to feel comfortable by becoming contributing members of the corporation that allow their professionals to do for them what they are unwilling or unprepared to do. Once established, like the schools, churches are not about to close their doors. Even though this pattern is the accepted tradition of “church work” that robs individual accountability, hinders the proper application of individual commitment in the same way schools rob it from fathers, there are too many church-sponsored programs, religious schools, paid employees, big bank accounts and church buildings to abandon the system. This traditional system has been argued to be the most “expedient” plan of action. While that remains debatable, we should be equally concerned with its lawful right to exist (cf. 1 Cor. 6:12; 10:23). A choice must be first lawful before any law of expediency is applied.