CULLMAN – A public forum was held at Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church recently to discuss raising Christian children in the modern age. Speakers for the night were radio personality Rick Burgess from the Rick and Bubba Show and Larry Taunton, director of the Fixed Point foundation.
The Fixed Point Foundation was established in 2004 with the intent of opposing the secular viewpoint. They have sponsored many highly publicized events at universities ranging from Oxford to UAB. Larry Taunton and the foundation have debated many notable minds such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Peter Singer.
Thursday’s forum entitled “Passing the Torch” was a focus on how parents of the Christian belief system can help cultivate those beliefs in their children. The lecture portion of the program consisted of Taunton and Burgess speaking on the top 10 things parents need to keep in mind when raising children in modern times.
Topics about the public school system, discipline and secular influences were just a few of the topics covered at the two-hour event. Ten total angles were brought out and each one was discussed at length. Rick Burgess first spoke about the changes that have happened in the region that has sparked the desire to do these public forums.
“In this part of the world we were once called the Bible Belt,” said Burgess. “I think now unfortunately we have turned into the church belt, which is a completely different title. People go to church now because it is tradition or it’s part of the culture, but it is not at the center of the decisions they make.”
Taunton seconded the sentiment and added that parents focus too often on occupation.
“The spiritual training of your child must be your number one priority,” Taunton said. “The pastor of Christ Covenant Presbyterian and I were sitting in his office earlier, and we were talking about how often good parents put so much time into equipping their kids occupationally. There is a lot of talk about ‘You need to think about your major’, or ‘You need to intern’. Then we turn around and do almost nothing but drop the kids off at church or youth group and hope they will figure it all out.”
At the end of the program, the audience had their turn to ask questions about issues that were important to them. One man in the crowd asked whether Facebook for teens was a bad idea, while a mom in the audience wanted to know how to continue to teach while her child was in college. Both Burgess and Taunton took their time answering questions in as much detail as possible, as many members of the audience took notes.
For those of the Christian faith, it was a rare event and highly informative night to hear tips from those who share their ideas on parenting and life. Information on the Fixed Point Foundation and a DVD of the lecture can be found on fixed-point.org. You can also contact Christ Covenant Presbyterian located at 1310 Saint Joseph Drive Northwest or call 256-739-0505.
Chelsea Sparks can be reached by email at chelsea@cullmansense.com.
This story was published in the January 12, 2015 issue of CullmanSense print edition.
