8/12/2019 1996 Issue 5 - Book Reviews: Books by Dabney and
Mansfield - Counsel of Chalcedon
1/4
A Village or A City?
By now
many
Americans
are familiar
with a
formerly
obscure
African
proverb,
It
l ~ e s
a village to raise a child.
t
has been
made familiar
since it is the basis
for the
title of
Mrs.
Clinton's,
book,
t
Takes A Village. ,
11us o o l ~ does not speak
of a
small
village so much
as i t
speaks
of central
government's role in
helping
parents raise
their
children.
Under many
such
proposals
it would
see:r:n
that parents
would take
a
backseat
to
the
. parenting overSight
provided by civil
government.
My purpose here
is not
to
discuss
these
possible
ramifications.
That has
been
done in
many
other
publications. Instead
I
want to concentrate
on
the
proverb itself. Does one
need
a village to
raise
a
child? I would propose an
alternative
- a city. No, I
do
not mean Newport
News,
Hampton
or
any
other
earthly
city. I mean
the city of
God's
people.
Speaking to Christians,
Christ
said, "You are
the
light of the world.
A
city
that is
set
on a hill cannot
be
hidden,
(Mt. 5:14).
A
covenantal
responsibility shared by
Christians is
helping
others Christians nurture
their children. Very often
when an infant is
baptized
in
our
denomination,
tbis
question will be s l ~ e d
to
the congregation, Do
you
as a congregation
u n d e r t a l ~ e the
responsibility
of assisting
the
parents in
the
Christian nurture of
this
child?
This
question
is
far more
than a formality.
t
is a
commitment
by
those who raise their
hands
to
assist
the
parents
in
their
Christian
parenting responsibilities.
So often a major need is
in teaching parents
how to
be biblical
parents.
Writing
to
Titus, Paul
gave
the older women within
the
congregation
the
responsibility
to
admonish the young
women
to
love
their
husbands, to love
their
children, (Titus 2:4) .
Older
women
Can often
beneficially
share wisdom
gained by years of prayer
20
t
m COUNSEL of Chalcedon June, 1996
and
experience.
o f
course,
tbis
requires a
teachable
spirit on behalf
of young
mothers. Fathers
also
have
to learrl
how
to
be godly
fathers. There
are
video comses
available
that
can profitably be
used
to
teach parents
how to
.
parent. Elders ought to
seek out these courses and
make. them available
within the
< hurch . .
These
coUr es
may
come
from a
non-reformed
f r a m e w o r l ~
Those
who teach
them
must
do
so
discerningly.
Of
course, a local.
church can: develop
its
own
course.
Included
within
any ,course should ,
be the primacy of
a
husband and
wife's
relationship to
God
and
then to
each
other.
Spouse relationships
will
determine
a
great
deal
regarding a proper parenti
child relationship.
Providing
a godly
education
for
children
is a
responsibility of parents.
There
may be parents who
desire
to
send
their
children to a Christian
school but
show
clear
evidence of insufficient
funds
to
realize this desire.
There
may well be families
within the congregation
who jointly
will
help meet
8/12/2019 1996 Issue 5 - Book Reviews: Books by Dabney and
Mansfield - Counsel of Chalcedon
2/4
this need.. Perhaps this
can be
a line item 'Within a
church
bud.get.
This
is a
way one chUrch can assist
another church who may
not have
fanIilies able
to
llelp fanIilies
witll
this
d.esire in
their
congregation.
o
course
proviJing
a
Cluistian
school
as a
churcll
nlinistry is
another
option.
n
important
aid. is that
of
praying
for
covenant
families. You
may know of
particular needs of some
fanIilies.
All
fanrilies need
prayer in the nlidst of
spiritual
struggles
-
the
fighting
of temptation
and
sin, particularly as we
realize
those temptations
with
which we so often.
struggle are the very .
temptations with which
our children
have
great
problems.
We need to p ~ y
that families would seek to
maintain proper family
time, fanill
y
devotions and
lmow
how
to consistently
teach their children to
learn how to tltink from
God's
perspective on a
daily
basis
. Prayer is
needed
for
those children
who have yet ,to approach
elders with a .testimony
of
God's
worlz
in their
life
and a
desire
to come
to the
Lord's Table.
It
is never
too early io pray for
covenant children to marry
Christians when they
reach adulthood.
At a churcll building or
function
i t
is
all too easy
for
parents to become
preoccupied
in
conversation and neglect
to
overllee
their
children's
activity.
The children may
be left to run tluough tile
hallways
or
on tlle parlzing
lot
tlueaJing their way
around moving
vellicles.
As a fellow
Cllristian
you
cannot
ignore their
activity
.
Call
them
down
if their
behavior
requires
it. You
may
also
take
them
to their parents
or
bring
their parents to them.
These are only
a few .
eXanIples
of
a city
helping to
raise a cllild.
In
a
fallen world,
we
must
expect man
to talze a
covenantal truth, SUcll as
our responsibility as
Christians to help otllers,
and corrupt
tllat
huth. As
in
so
many restatements,
here
m n nd
rn an
1S
governlllent rather
than
God and His
order
are
cenhal. While we must
deny interference by
civil
government, we must also
keep
our eye
on tlle
positive
implications of
properly
stated
covenantal
truth. Q
Y ue Courage: A
Discowse ommemorative
o Lt. Gene,a Thomas J
"Stonewall"
Jackson by
Robert
L Dabney,
Covenanter Press, 5602
old
Mission
Road,
Chattanooga, TN
37411,
27pp., $2.95.
Because of the absence
of true
courage
on llluch
of
our current scene,
the title
alone lllalzes tins booMet
worthwhile of our
tillle
and
reflection. Based upon
Lulze
12:4-5 this
printed
address was delivered by
Dr. Dabney in
June,
1863
following Lt. General
Jaclzson's
death
the
previous
lllonth.
The
author Scripturally
examines llloral courage.
One who has
true
courage
fears
God,
and
for
that
reason,
fears
notIling
else.
There is an intelligent
apprehension of
danger;
there
is
the natural instinct
self-love d.esiring to
preserve its own
well
being; but
i t is curbed and
governed
by
the sense
of
duty,
and desire for
tlle
approbation
of
God.
p.3)
Tlle autllor,
in
very
clear
terms, explains
why
tlle
true God fearer
will
have
true
courage. After his
explanation
he
malzes valid
application to the lives
of
June,
1996
THE COUNSEL
of
Chalcedon ' 21
8/12/2019 1996 Issue 5 - Book Reviews: Books by Dabney and
Mansfield - Counsel of Chalcedon
4/4
evidences
his resting in
Jesus Christ alone as His
Lord and Savior.
One
flaw
must be
noted.
Mansfield notes that Ius
speeches were punctuated
with Scriptural
references
(p . 88 . He then follows
with
an example. Sadly,
the example
he
uses
is
from
a speecl, in whicl,
Clmrchill quoted from
First Maccabees, a bool. in
the
uninspired Apocrypha.
It
would have been
better
not to have made a
reference
to
Biblical
quotations or to have
found a quote from
Judy Rogers' tapes ' oneoi
a klnd 1IibIk:aIIy co a . . .
ad s should
obtain
diem
at
a D - ~ a y Adams
To order: Send$16.95 10:Judy
Rogers,
4517 Whitehaven Dr.,
Jackson
MS
39204, Home Phone:
(601) 3726858; S&H
lLL =k.IJU,1
2 or more=l.OOea. total running
Scripture
to
baclmp
the
statement.
Prom
reading
the
book
I
developed a better
understanding of
Churchill
and of tl1.e leadership
qualities
he
employed
.
Our day
is
in
need of
Biblical
leadership
being
taugl1t and lived out.
'l1us
bool.
and
forthcoming
volumes provide material
to
enrich our learning on
this subject,
as well as,
providing a
basis
to
teach
our chJdren
and
grandchJdren.
WhJe
learning
about
leadership,
the reader of
each
volun>e
also becomes better
acquainted with the life of
a particular leader.
'l1us
approach is a
great
idea.
Hopefully
n>any volumes
will be included in the
series. Q
Our
day is
in
need
o
Biblical
leadership
being
taught
and
lived
out.
y
k eariIsJehder
~ ~ ~ e r s
Teach
Me While
MyHelirt
ls
Tender
is a collection of
30
of
Judy
Roger'S
best
loved songs
on CD for childrenandyoung
adults. Plus a neW song,
Desert Storm, based .ou the
whole
armor of God
froIU
Eph.
6, and favorite songs from
Judy's previous recordings :
"Why
Can't
I
See
God? , Go
To Tlte Ant", "Walkin Wise ,
and Stand Up "
udy Biography
Jndy Rogers is a l1l\live of Virginia and
is
married to Rev. Wayne
Rogers, pastor of the St. Paul Presbyterian Church, Jackson,
MS.
They have three children. The Rogers have home schooled for
many
years.
Judy has
performed concerts for Churches, Conferences,
Schools, Youth Rallies, Camps, Bible Schools and Retreats,
from
Texas to New York. Contact Judy about coming to your church
at:
4517 Whitehaven Drive,Jackson,
MS
39204
June, 1996 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t 23
