Mentoring Monday

Mentoring Monday: Vision Forum

The mission of Vision Forum is to communicate a vision of victory to Christian families through edifying books, films, toys, curriculum, and other resources.

Every age faces crises that may prove defining to it. One of the crisis which history may record as defining our generation is the systematic annihilation of the Biblical family. The family was the first institution created by God and blessed by Christ during His earthly ministry. It is God's primary vehicle for communicating covenant promises to the next generation. It is the basic agency of dominion on earth.The mission of Vision Forum is to communicate a vision of victory to Christian families through edifying books, films, toys, curriculum, and other resources.

While the family is under attack from every side today, God's sufficient Word provides clear direction and hope to rebuild the family, and it is our goal at Vision Forum to promote courageous fatherhood, noble motherhood, virtuous boyhood and girlhood through vision-casting discipleship tools that teach, equip, and inspire. Whether you are a father who desires to better lead your family, a homeschooling mother who is looking for Biblically-based curriculum choices, or a grandparent, child or young person who desires encouragement in your Christian walk, we have something for you.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he" (Proverbs 29:18). True happiness comes when we obey God's Word, and it is our prayer that the Bible-affirming resources we offer at Vision Forum will help your family thrive with joy before the Lord.

Persevero,

Douglas W. Phillips, President

Vision Forum's web sit is : http://www.visionforum.com/

Full Time Parenting

Interview: Israel Wayne
from Kevin Swanson

"The average kid gets 19 minutes with a parent each day. But he gets 7.5 hours plugged into the media matrix. He gets his processed through his institutions for at least 15,000 hours over 18 years. Is it time for a radical shift in the way we view parenting? That's Israel Wayne's point in his new book, "Full Time Parenting." We get into some of the nitty gritty of parenting, training children, and education on this edition of Generations."

Listen to the interview here

Israel Wayne will be speaking at CHEA this year! 

The Romeike Family , Petition surges past 100K!

New Video: The Romeike Story | Petition surges past 100K! Dear Mr. and Mrs. James E. Dyer, We are excited to announce that the Romeike petition has blasted past the 100,000-minimum signature mark! And we're even more excited to report that the petition is still going strong, with eight days left to sign. We couldn't have done this without your support and help in getting the word out—thank you! Out of 149 petitions now posted on whitehouse.gov, the top-ranking petition holds the record of just over 350,000 signatures. Wouldn't it be great if the Romeike petition could leave that number in the dust? It would show the Obama Administration how deeply families across the United States are concerned about this issue! We sent our filmmaker out to capture the Romeikes’ story on camera so that you can “meet” the family and hear firsthand about their struggle for freedom. Click here to watch The Romeike Story. The higher the number of signatures on the Romeike petition, the more it will grab the attention of the Obama Administration and the watching world. The more they realize that hundreds of thousands of people across the U.S. and around the globe care deeply about the fundamental humans rights at stake, the more pressure this will put on the White House to grant the Romeikes permanent legal status in response to the petition. Thank you for all you have done! Please continue in prayer for the Romeikes and please help us to continue spreading the word about the Romeikes’ plight and the opportunity to sign the petition.

(www.hslda.org/legal/cases/romeike)

Mentoring Monday

German Homeschool Case May Impact U.S. Homeschool Freedom

Federal government tips its hand: you have the freedom to be like others, but not necessarily the freedom to be different.

The plight of a German family that fled to the United States for political asylum reveals threats to the freedom of all Americans. Many non-homeschooling Americans may think the U.S. government’s effort to revoke the homeschooling family’s political asylum has nothing to do with them. However, a close look at the U.S. Attorney General’s case before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reveals several startling and disturbing positions that affect everyone’s freedom.

Uwe and Hannelore Romeike and their five children fled German persecution for homeschooling their children and were granted asylum in the United States. Now the U.S. government is threatening to send them back where they may face fines, imprisonment, and loss of child custody. All Americans should be concerned. Why? The U.S. Attorney General’s arguments, by implication, (1) deny the fundamental liberty of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children; (2) deny that a right is being violated so long as the right is denied to everyone; (3) deny that religious liberty is an individual’s right; and (4) deny that persecution for a belief is genuine persecution because the problem would be solved if the “persecuted” person just changed his mind. According to HSLDA’s Michael Farris, Americans should stand up for the Romeike’s right to asylum, for in so doing we will be standing up for our own. Image credit: Wade Payne/AP through www.guardian.co.uk

Homeschooling is against the law in Germany. The German government wishes to “counteract the development of religious and philosophically motivated parallel societies.” It is astonishing that Germany—a country that has suffered so much in the past century under Nazi and East German Communist totalitarian regimes that viewed children’s philosophical training to be under state control—would ban homeschooling on this ground, essentially mandating social homogeneity, discouraging individuality, and overriding parental authority.. Nevertheless, German parents wishing to homeschool face fines and imprisonment. In 2007 Germany’s Federal Supreme Court ruled that parents could even lose custody for homeschooling their children. The Romeikes, having already accumulated fines and watched their children marched off to school by the police, fled in 2008 to “the land of the free and the home of the brave”—the United States.

U.S. law grants permanent political asylum if refugees can show they have been persecuted for religious reasons or for being part of a “particular social group.” The Romeikes were granted political asylum by a Tennessee immigration judge. Unfortunately for the family, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appealed the ruling. Now the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has appealed their case to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal court just below the Supreme Court.

Describing Germany, HSLDA Director of International Relations Michael Donnelly says, “It’s a democracy. They respect human rights. But in this area, it’s frightening how they treat people who want to do something very simple. There are 2 million children homeschooled in the U.S. . . . This is not a threat to the German state, but they are treating it that way, and it’s wrong.”

The U.S. Attorney General’s arguments should raise red flags not only for people concerned about the Romeikes and others who may seek asylum in their footsteps, and not only for homeschooling families, but for all Americans. If you value your freedom to raise your children as you choose, or even just your freedom as an individual free to think and believe as you will, then you need to be aware of the U.S. government’s contentions in this case.

Homeschooling is legal in all of the United States with varying degrees of regulation in each state. Laws regulating homeschooling vary a great deal. Some states make periodic efforts to usurp parental control of the education process. These range from raising the compulsory attendance age to a very concerning law currently under consideration in Connecticut that would require children undergo periodic “behavioral health assessment.”

The United States Supreme Court affirmed “the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the upbringing and education of children under their control” way back in 1925 in the case of Pierce v. Society of Sisters. The high court ruled that this right was guaranteed under the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868. The Due Process clause guarantees:

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United Sates; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court in Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) ruled that a parent has a fundamental right to “establish a home and bring up children” and the right to “worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.” And in Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), the court supported the rights of parents to keep their children out of public schools for religious reasons . Clearly, our highest court has affirmed that liberty to direct the upbringing of one’s children is a fundamental right.

The U.S. Attorney General’s office, however, now argues that Germany is not violating anyone’s rights so long as no one is allowed to homeschool. In other words, if nobody in the country is allowed a particular freedom, then no one’s rights are being violated. Taken to its logical conclusion, this statement alone should keep all of us awake at night.

As HSLDA chairman, attorney Michael Farris, points out, our constitutional rights consist of “fundamental rights” and “equal protection.” The U.S. Attorney General’s office is implying that there is no fundamental liberty to homeschool and that therefore if no one is allowed to homeschool then no one’s rights are being violated. In light of previous court decisions affirming the liberty of a parent to direct the upbringing of their children, this argument is most disturbing.

The U.S. government’s argument further stipulated that the Romeikes were not suffering from religious persecution because not all homeschoolers were religious and not all Christians wished to homeschool. Thus, the U.S. Attorney General’s office seems to think that religious freedom is only the freedom to believe like others of the same religious group. But religious freedom is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment to every individual. It is not just the right to pick a church and march lock-step with its members.

Finally, the U.S. government is arguing that the Romeikes are not being persecuted for being part of a “particular social group” because they could change. If only they didn't want to homeschool, they wouldn’t be part of that group. Therefore, our government claims their rights are not being violated.

While you read what the government has written in its case against the Romeikes, remember the immortal words of German pastor Martin Niemöller:

First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the socialists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Catholic.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.

And if you see your own freedoms in peril, then you probably are seeing the situation pretty clearly. Michael Farris says, “It is important that Americans stand up for the rights of German homeschooling families. In so doing, we stand up for our own.”

As the case is currently in the hands of the justice system, there is not at present a channel to receive public input. HSLDA is representing the Romeike case and monitoring these threats to our freedom. Their website offers the opportunity to keep informed. It may be that our federal lawmakers, as they consider reform of immigration laws, could, if encouraged by their constituents, include provisions to deal with others who may wish to seek freedom here to parent their children as they see fit. As to the justice department’s implicit threats to the freedoms of all, we must remain vigilant and watch for opportunity to make our voices heard.

For more information:

• Michael Donnelly, HSLDA’s Director of International Relations, explains more about the Romeike’s situation, the troubling implications for Americans, the roles of states in regulating home education, and a concerning piece of legislation in Connecticut that threatens to require intrusive “behavioral health assessment” of home educated children in a short video at www.cbn.com

Dear friend of homeschooling,

HSLDA is doing everything possible through the courts to help the Romeike family find safe haven in the U.S. But there is more that can be done! By signing this White House petition, you can help make the Obama Administration aware of the grassroots support for the Romeikes’ cause.

I’m writing this email to you on Friday, April 5, just 13 days away from the petition deadline. So far we have 52,313 signatures of the 100,000 needed to guarantee a White House response. Anyone who is at least 13 years old with an email address can sign the petition. If you have already signed the petition—thank you!

If you haven’t signed the petition, it’s very simple. It only requires your name and an email address to verify you’re a real person and not a spam generator or hacker. Providing your zip code is optional. (Step-by-step instructions available here.)

Privacy concerns with the whitehouse.gov website? That’s understandable—but we encourage you to think creatively…and courageously! It takes only minutes to set up an alternate email account (such as with Hotmail, Yahoo, or Gmail) for your public advocacy efforts. Anecdotally, HSLDA staff report signing other groups’ White House petitions in the past and receiving no additional email as a result.

Let’s not allow fear of the government to stop us from standing up for what is right!

Mike Smith

President, HSLDA

Visionary Parenting

Capture a God-Sized Vision for Your Family

Readers will capture a fresh, God-sized vision for their family. It begins with understanding God's purpose for the family and taking an honest look at the current state of the home. The author shares foundational truth that God created the family to ensure that the next generation grows up to know, love, and serve Him. He reminds readers of the instructions from God given to parents in Deuteronomy 6:5-7 that will transform your home.

Reviews

When we send people to a hard assignment, we should give them the best equipment

available. Parenting is a challenging assignment and it shapes the world. If we want to put the best equipment in the hands of parents, we should give each a copy of Visionary Parenting. Rob Rienow knows it is not enough just to tell parents they should be shaping the spiritual hearts of their children. He draws from years of study and conferences with parents to show readers how they are to lead spiritually. There are no guarantees in parenting. But those who follow the patterns in Visionary Parenting are likely to see their children and grandchildren adoring the majesty of the Son of God and joining Him in bringing His kingdom on earth, for the glory of the Father. -- Richard Ross, PhD, Professor st Southwestern Seminary

Rob Rienow is a modern day prophet holding up the banner for godly families. In Visionary Parenting he inspires parents to take up the call to parent with God's vision for the family.  --Dr. Scott Turansky, National Center for Biblical Parenting

I praise God for men like Rob Rienow who desire to be reformed by Scripture alone, who love church and family for the glory of God for a thousand generations. This book reveals the stuff that family reformation is made of and how your family can be changed by the heavenly vision. --Scott Brown, President of National Center for Family Integrated Churches

From the Publisher
2010 Book of the Year Award Winner in Relationship/Family Category from Christian Small Publishers Association

About the Author
Dr. Rob Rienow's most important ministry is loving his wife and children as he helps his family love God. He is the founder of Visionary Family Ministries. The mission of VFM is to build the church of Jesus Christ through a global reformation of family discipleship. He is a pastor, church planter, and international conference speaker.

This book will be available at a fantastic price at our End of the Year Vision Night . Hope to see you there!