Perhaps you’ve heard of Joe Kennedy, the Bremerton, Washington high school football coach who prayed after games. He privately prayed on the field and players, on their own volition, joined him. He was suspended in the fall of 2015 from his job for this public act of faith on school grounds. Is this right? Is it fair?
The bigger question is: should prayer be allowed in school ever?
Last week, my wife Arianna and I attended the “God’s Not Dead 2” premiere in Hollywood. We met many of the great people involved in this film. The premise of GND2 centers on teachers and students’ rights when it comes to “separation of church and state.” The terms “religious rights” and “separation of church and state” are phrases I don’t like to use for many reasons. But in our American culture right now faith and public institutions (schools often being the lightning rod) continue to be the center of controversy. As Christ followers, how do we respond, not only when controversy arises, but also when our faith collides with culture?
These are questions addressed head on in GND2.
I thoroughly enjoyed GND2 and the message of faith and hope that it brings. In the film a high school teacher responds to a question from a student about faith, and her response causes a lawsuit. I’ll leave the rest of the film’s story under wraps until you see it. To me what was great about the movie was the firm stance it took on liberty, while also keeping a loving tone. Too often the “angry right” or the “angry left” gets the press because it makes great news coverage. This is where GND2 strikes a balance and walks the fine line between making a statement and being over the top in defensiveness of Christian’s “rights.”
Go see this movie!
We have been privileged at Claim Your Campus to partner with this film in promoting its message of the power of the Gospel and prayer on campuses. The people at Pure Flix have created yet another great film that affirms the existing legal precedents between faith and public schools. Claim Your Campus, in efforts to unite 1 million middle school and high school students in prayer, is a movement that is growing quickly. As students meet weekly for prayer on their school campus, they are affirmed by movies like GND2 that they have every right to do so.
Learn more about student’s rights and hear from me personally at ClaimYourCampus.com. Find out more about how we are working with Pure Flix and God’s Not Dead 2. If you aren’t on our email list for CYC, you can sign up there as well.
Please join us in our efforts to unite this generation of young people in prayer! If you share our dream of this generation of young people turning to God in prayer at every school in America, please stand with us. We need your help. Here are some simple ways you can do so right now, even in just a few seconds:
- Share this post, and let people know about Claim Your Campus
- Like and follow us on social media @claimyourcampus
- Funds given of ANY size go a long way to help us promote the message of #prayerequalschange to students across America – Donate Here
And go see this movie, which opens April 1st in theaters across America.
Find showtimes and get tickets here:
www.GodsNotDead.com
Keep fighting the good fight!
Jeff Eckart, CEO
@jeffeckart
Never The Same
© 2016, Never The Same