A Son! ... and the Father's Love

Papa and Caleb

I am a proud Papa again. Tonight I held Caleb and looked into his eyes. Just five days old and I have yet another vein of pure love to share with another child. It is funny, now, to consider the questions that came to mind before parenthood like "How can I find enough love for each new child?" Laughable from this position.

Children teach you much about love. They teach you that love is the strongest purest of emotions. You find that love motivates all manner of action and behavior. Love reveals its nature even in the most intense of anger; love is often at the heart of it. The love of a father is like this.

As a believer and father, love teaches me even more deeply about my Heavenly Father - God the Father, the origin and sustainer of creation, the origin and sustainer of love. When I realized with the birth of my second child the boundless nature of love, I saw God. I knew the moment I held Julia, our 2nd, and now again with Caleb that I could love a hundred more children equally. Love as God authored it is not a commodity, not a volume that is ever expended. It is not even like a muscle that can be worn out. It is a position and a decision.

We can see this more easily in the love of a new-born because they offer little in return. They come to us totally dependent without even the faintest concern for what they may reciprocate with. When we choose to love them, we take our position in relationship to them. From that oint forward, we approach them from that position of love regardless of what we bring. Grace, discipline, reward - whatever it is, it comes from love.

To consider the love of God in this light is humbling. He has chosen to approach us with His love - His easily boundless love. His grace comes from his love. His discipline and reward come from His love. While we are weak and imperfect and prone to failures - even the failure to love, God is perfect. His love never fails. It rather serves to drive out fear and founds our position in him.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear...
- (1Jo 4:18a NASB)

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"
- (Rom 8:15 NASB)

His Heavenly Father's Son

Today - this day Isaac confessed Christ. My son professed to me his trust in Jesus. Today I am as sure as an earthly father can be that my son has come to know his Heavenly Father and placed his trust not on his own merit but on the merit of Christ who died to set us free. My son. His son.

I've played this day out in my head a thousand times. I've wondered what would bring it about. I've wondered if I would even be there to witness. And, at some level I've had a degree of discomfort about it, too. Discomfort at wondering how I would know it is real. My greatest fear, honestly, was that i would go to pick him up from sunday school or a kids camp and they would tell me he had accepted Christ.

My fear came not from selfishly wanting to be there, but more so from the frequent stories I've heard and even witnessed where well-intentioned leaders impersonally offer a "sinner's prayer" and declare whomever raises their hand a new believer. My fear was born of the numerous testimonies that I've heard from believers who have lived a life of hollow religiosity after being swept up in an emotional night at summer camp.

My fears, today though, were relieved. Isaac and I went to the garage this AM to eat peanuts and watch the sun come up (our standing Saturday AM tradition). We piddled and eventually moved to the workbench to work on his model rocket. At a quiet point, he asked me, "Papa, can we talk about God?"

I turned around casually, but he had my full attention. "Sure, so what have you learned about God lately?" Isaac answered that God can bring a dead person back to life. He also noted that Jesus had come back to life. I asked if he knew why Jesus had died, and he knew it was to save us from our sin. At this point I realized that Isaac understood the basic tenets of the gospel, but did he believe? I began to explain that Christ offered to cover our sins asking only that we trust in his sacrifice over our own good deeds, but he stopped me. In his own words, he said, "I trust in Jesus, I just haven't told anyone yet." It was at that moment that my hesitancy to urge him into anything that he wasn't sincere about disappeared. We went immediately to tell Mama about it. We all rejoiced together, and then we prayed to thank God for this wonderful gift.

Isaac will deepen his understanding of God and his faith will grow, but by the grace of God he will forever be a child of The King.

Mat 19:14 NIV - Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Learning From the Best

Recently I had a chance to do some woodworking with a friend, Ken. In fact the friend is actually a pastor at our church - the very one that conducted our ceremony when Cheryl and I married. Before that, he and his wife did our pre-marital counseling, and before that, he spent a lot of Friday mornings at the local Denny's letting me weigh my heart on the subject of this beautiful, fun, caring, godly woman I'd met 3 years into giving up on dating.

It was a real treat to tag along. The project was moderate in scope - 2 tall boxes with minimal trim to serve as offering collection places in our church. From the beginning, though, it was easy to pick up bits of wisdom in everything from how to saw the sheet goods to how to set up your shop. If we'd never said a word, I would have learned a lot.

It is interesting how that process applies in so many areas. As Cheryl and I have begun working with the college and career group at our church, many of the things that I learned from Ken early on have come back to me. I try to use them to bless the men in the group that I now get to sit with.

As the Lord would have it, one of these men, is now about to marry Ken's daughter who was in the early years of high school when I first came to our church. Drew and I have met for coffee a number of times and I can only hope that I've been half the help Ken was to me. If I've done any good at all, it is because of those like him that showed me how. Ultimately, we owe it all to our ultimate teacher, Jesus.

The boxes were completed, by the way. Ken wrapped up the project and had them in the sanctuary by Sunday. They looked great!

Family Building

I have been trying to connect with the men's ministry at our church more recently. I was able to attend the men's retreat weekend a month or so ago and this weekend was blessed to be at the men's breakfast on Saturday! Hearty food and even better teaching.

I have been really hearing it from the Lord lately on being busy. I am too busy. It is a way of life for me. But I have admitted it, confessed it and now I'm going about claiming my freedom. In light of that struggle, there was a scripture that I ran across lately that came up this weekend again. It is this:

Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved {even in his} sleep. Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate. Psalms 127

I've been rolling that one around a lot lately and it hits home ... hard. I work hard. I work late. I take on extra projects and duties. I rarely stop to even consider relaxing. I am a work-a-holic in a lot of ways. It is easy to justify this - two kids, single income, etc. but the short of it is that I work so hard that it easily can sap time and energy from my family. The scriptures are clear that we should be industrious (Pr 6:6) and do good work (Col 3:23), but they are even more clear (above) that our work has to honor the Lord in every area.

My work to build a family is far more eternally consequential than any amount of stuff that I do in the workplace. In 100 years (if the Lord taries!), no one will likely remember any of the websites I've built, nor even my name. But, in Christ I can build a legacy of faith. Each generation will have it's own decision to make but the heritage is eternal.

It is the Lord that builds me and mine; it is time for me to stand back and let him.

Becoming a Missionary

I have had this thought developing in my head over the last few days. How would their life change if someone were called to be a missionary. What if when they got there, their missions organization required them to support themselves by taking a job. As this scenario rolls around my head I can think of a few things that would change in my own thinking.

I'd get up in the morning and prepare for a day of ministry the way I've done when on a mission trip or at a retreat or camp. That extra measure of focused prep. I'd be a lot less concerned about my 'career' because it no longer defined me in the same way. I'd be a diligent worker, no doubt, but it would not be quite so the center of my life.

This weekend I've unexpectedly been called on to lead worship for a men's retreat - something that I haven't done in any real leadership capacity for a while. I go up this AM and prayed with focus on the weekend - for my heart and those of the men who'll be there. I prayed this way because my experience as a worship leader in the past has taught me it is vital. It strikes me that this new sense of mission was what the Lord has called us to every day.

As a child of God, I am the missionary from my hypothetical question at the beginning. I am called to the field right here where I am living ... at the ends of the earth. My prayer today is that I would be a faithful missionary.

A Little Quiet Time

I'm not the most disciplined man in the world in any realm of my life. Spiritual disciplines included, I have to confess to a high degree of 'flux' in all of my routines. Still I know the value of quiet time and try to get some in before leaving for work as often as possible.

Coincidentally, Isaac often gets up early. We normally send him back to his room to lay down. But, recently I've started letting him come into the living room with me. The understanding, though, that I try to make with him is that mornings are for Quiet Time. I'll let him come out 15 mins early, but he has to spend that time looking through his picture Bible. Somewhat to my surprise he has accepted it readily. The photo was one I snapped just before sitting down with him at the end to pray. We pray together on these mornings.

If my greatest fear is that I'll not lead him properly, somehow cripple him emotionally or, worse, spiritually, my greatest joy is when I see him growing, maturing and best of all moving toward a spiritual life.

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Prayer for a Portal

I'm filing this one in under odd, funny, faith builder. A little backstory: I've been working on the "Topical Memory System" from Nav Press in an effort to grow in the area of scripture memory. Currently I'm working on "Prayer" and the verse that I'm memorizing is Phillipians 4:6&7.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God. And the pease of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NAS)

At work I have a major project - our 'portal' website - to get off ASAP and we're having LOTS of troubles with it. I sat this morning at my desk after a frustrating round of calls and meetings with people trying to get this up and running. I looked at my memory card and read over it a few times when I realized that this is what that verse is talking about. So, I prayed. When I looked up, there was the log on screen where only gray had been before.

God sometime chooses the oddest places to reveal himself to me. I was humbled and yet again in awe of Him.

Science vs. God

This is an old post that I never published. A while back Intelligent Design was pitted against Evolution in a very public court battle originating in a school district. Eventually ID was ruled against and out of the curriculum. It serves as an example of the strong bias many unbelievers have against anything that smacks of God. Original post follows:

CNN.com - Professor: Evolution cannot fully explain biology - Oct 17, 2005

This CNN article touches on but still falls short of why Intelligent Design (ID) deserves a fair shake in the science curriculum of our schools. It deserves fair treatment by science because it is science! The view that is constantly assumed in the media - that ID as a theory is somehow a non-scientific theory - is a false one. In fact, saying that ID is not scientific is unscientific.

Scienctific Method generally tries to assume nothing - not even the falsehood of a claim. It demands rational proof to call something a "fact," and this is where the communication breaks down. ID supporters aren't advocating that it be taught as a fact, merely a theory. One among others. Most ID supporters don't even mind that the time spent on each would be hugely unequal in favor of evolution. The ID camp merely says give it a fair shake because it has earned treatment in our curriculum by virtue of it's enormous historical influence and, more importantly, the fact that it is still a valid interpretation of existing evidence. Think of it like this - throwing out ID because it hadn't been conclusively proven by verifiable and replicable facts would also rule out Evolution!

Nudge, Nudge, American Believer - You Awake?

Afghan Court Drops Case Against Christian - Yahoo! News

Wow, what a wake up call for the averageAmerican Christian. The press rarely reports much on the persecution of Christians. Though I don't know the circumstances of Mr. Rahman's conversion, this story certainly candles a vast difference in the freedoms that people enjoy world wide.

Kieth Green wrote a song "Asleep in the Light" that cut to the bone of the American Church's sleepy passivity toward their faith. He sings

The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can’t fight
’cause it’s asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you’ve been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can’t even get out of bed

If Mr. Rahman could talk to the Christian Church in America, I wonder if he would have any of the same sentiments - Probably not. His whole view of American Christians is probably built around the lives of the missionaries he has encountered who may have even led him to Christ. He probably has no idea how much apathy runs through the Body in America.

I've heard it said that persecution makes the church stronger. Hopefully Christians in our Country will be able to be strengthed 'remotely' by our support of these brothers and sisters worldwide.

Is Your Religion AP Approved?

Yahoo News published an Assoc. Press article today, Robertson Links Sharon Stroke, God's Wrath - Yahoo! News. Whats wrong with that you say? The tone of the article is to point out Pat Robertson's views as outrageous, but since when does the AP have the perogative to define a religious stance? Without endorsing Rev. Robertson's comments, I'm concerned more about the main stream secular press setting itself up as a regulator of religious thought.

Unintelligent Decision

CNN.com - Court rejects 'intelligent design' in class - Dec 20, 2005

Wow - this is scarey! A US District Court banning discussion of an idea in our classrooms.

The courts have made clear that they reject Intelligent Design because it is associated with religion, and that is somehow unconstitutional. But, the court itself is the one injecting the specific religious abuse into the ID argument. The ID community consists of many disparate people - christians, to be sure, but also muslims, jews and even a few who perceive something greater behind the universe while remaining outside of any religion. Admittedly, Christians are the biggest proponents of ID in America, but no one today calls the civil rights movement 'racist' simply because it was most strongly supported by African Americans. Christians just happen to be the largest part of the group unfairly affect by the status quo.

Science rejects ID as non-scientific, but I beg to differ. Science is about proof, but it begins with a hypothesis - venturing to explain the world around us and by testing our thoughts to learn. Science has certainly never avoided a hypothesis because it could not be proven (That would eliminate Evolution itself!). Instead, science carries on testing what it can. But, somehow an "intelligent designer" in the universe is outside the realm of circumstances science can evaluate. Honestly, many scientists are committing intellectual suicide just as much as the unquestioning religious zealots they resent. Who's close minded now?

Interestingly, this does illustrate the true nature of our constitutional protections: they are little stronger than the prevailing national sentiment. Almost 100 years of slavery sanctioned under our current constitution bears witness to the fact that we the people aren't as altruisticly democratic as we like to think.

Christians have been 'on top' for a long time in this country - long enough for hem to forget that this is just not normal. True Christianity has been consistently under attack and reviled since Christ himself was crucified. In fact, he even said as much. In John 15, He says not to be surprised if the world hates [Christians, ergo Christianity] - it hated Him first (my paraphrase).

Bill's Thoughts: Some thoughts on Xmas

Bill's Thoughts: Some thoughts on Xmas

Bill makes a great point in this post! It sheds some more light on the myth that many Christians live under, that this is a "Christian Nation" and we should have some special place in the society.

It would be great if the world would recognize God for who He is and give him the glory he is due but that is not what we're told to expect. Instead we should expect the opposite (John 15:18).

New and Improved, Christianity 2.0!

"That's right, folks! The religion you've used for years has been improved! With minimal commitment, easy to follow rules, and increased control over your own salvation, why not upgrade today!"

Okay, I imagine that sounds a bit silly, but its not far from the claims of quite a few new and old religions (cults?) alike. It seems that there is no end to the number of people who have taken it upon themselves to recreate Christianity with their own improvements.

This weekend marked the opening of a new Mormon temple in San Antonio. While the Mormons were offering an open house, many Christians attended with the intent of sharing the truth. You can imagine that this was characterized as one "version" of the truth, though. Many are offended by the lack of "tolerance" but this brings us right to the heart of the issue - is there more than one version of the truth?

Modern western sentiments often suggest that "all roads lead to the top" and "what is true for you may not be true for me." But that denies first the nature of truth. "All roads lead to the top" is a faulty analogy because it contradicts what many religions believe. Christ said He was "THE way" and that "NO man" (emphasis mine) gets to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). So, sorry, but the "Budda" road along with all other roads is washed out. Sadly, though, many who can see the problem with an "alternative" religion like Buddism get completely lost when the Truth is added to.

Groups like the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and even Muslims offer a new twist on the truth. The uniting factor between these and many others is that while they start with the truth, they then add to it - Christianity new and improved. The perfect truth of God is mixed with the nature of man. While God desires to save us through Christ's perfect sacrifice, these religions add "good works" to the mix and diminish the uniqueness, necessity and even deity of Christ.

Sadly, because they use the name of Christ, some like the Mormans even calling themself "Christian", many are led astray. Truth is always going to draw the human heart to itself - we are geared for it. We instinctively desire truth. But many will see the seed of truth in these false religions and be led astray just at the point that they begin to seek it.

For Christians it is not only for the purpose of evangelism that we should know the truth and know it well, it is a matter of self defense! Paul warns the Galatian Christians and sums it up best.

Galatians 1:6
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
1:7
not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
1:8
But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed!

Keep the faith.

Why The New Pope is Dizzy

The Roman Catholic Church has elected a new Pope and I bet he's getting dizzy by now! Dizzy from getting 'spun' by all the different media! There is something out of place when the modern secular press covers something like the election of a new Pope. It's a bit like bringing in John Elway to do color commentary on Olymic Iceskating. He's a great athlete and iceskating is certainly athletic, but he's from a different world of athletics all together. As the world's pundit's all dive in to create their own 'delving and insightful' pronouncements their outsider perspectives not only show that they don't know the game, but even more menacingly, that they are still going to influence it.

Upon Cardinal Ratzinger's selection as Pope the talking heads immediately went into action! Quickly, he was pegged a 'conservative.' His life's history was almost instantaneously digested into its principal (read: 'newsworthy') events and a shortlist of his most significant (read: 'controversial') events. We learned immediately that this 78 year old Pontiff was know for his conservative stance on several key (...to westerners...) issues such as homosexuality, gays and women in the ministry, moral relativism, etc. But, all of this served to tell us less about the Pope and more about where the individual reporters felt Catholicism should be headed.

"What do you mean? Aren't the reporters just giving an unbiased, objective account of the situation?" (For the record a full 5 minutes of laughter have just passed since I typed that last bit.) NO! Of course they are not unbiased any more than 'Christianity Today' would be unbiased in its coverage of a gay rights parade. We're human. Bias is part of who we are. "Prove it! Where's the bias?"

Let's start with the selection of issues. Of all the activities and theological distinctions that could describe Pope Benedict XVI, what is getting the most print? An MSNBC story on April 20 summed it all up under the heading of "Relativism." No judgements were made in the article but the point was clear that the Pope's most controversial characteristic was that he believed that relativism was dangerous.

The language used in coverage is especially telling. The same story noted that he had "upheld church policy against attempts by liberals for reforms." Isn't reform a good thing? Why would he oppose that? Did the Roman Catholic Church characterize these attempts as "reforms" to church doctrine or as "attacks" on it. Language reveals how we see the relationships involved and what we value. Coverage has often sent the clear message that the Catholic Church's moral positions just needed to "progress" or be "reformed."

The worldview is clearly that of an outsider who does not believe in absolute truth. Without going into any defense of the Roman Catholic Church (or attack), it should suffice to say they stand closer to Biblical Truth than the secular realm does. Their moral positions are ostensibly based on Truth which never changes. This doesn't leave room for change unless the belief is found to be untrue. But the worldview found in most media sources is one of relativism where truth is whatever a situation calls for. In this worldview faith and religion are merely phycological constructs that help us to feel good and therefore can be manipulated and 'reformed' as needed to maintain our good feelings.

The danger in all of this is that while they speak from the outside, many on the inside begin to follow their lead. Churches and people of faith far beyond the realm of Roman Catholicism begin to use the secular language and this shapes our thoughts. We've been led to believe that what Christians need is good dialogue with Muslims and Jews. We just need to be more "tolerant" of other faiths. This makes perfect sense if our faith is nothing more than psychic insulation from the fear of a big, impersonal, God-less universe. But if we are standing on the Rock of Salvation that doesn't move, then it is they that must move and abandon deceit, lies, and false religion. Paul says to do it with gentleness and respect, but we're supposed to "correct those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim 2:25).

Keep the faith

Prayer in School Part 3: "What we should do"

Simply put, the answer to how Christians can "put prayer back in school" is to just do it! There are no laws barring prayer in school. There'd be no way to enforce them if there were. No one can stop a person, Christian or otherwise, from praying. The only beef the law has with prayer is whether the state can mandate it ... and that answer is NO!

So, why aren't Christians satisfied with this? Because, the fight over prayer in school is a comfortable alternative to true spirituality. How many times has a passel of parents shown up at the school board meeting demanding a prayer before the football game. How many times have they shown up early to the game and pray in the parking lot instead? They don't. If you want to join other believers in prayer before the game, it's not illegal. The laws only have a problem with it when those who do not choose to pray are obligated to.

Why do we cling so dearly to this prayer at the beginning of the game or school-day anyway? Is it sacred or called for scripturally? No. Is it honestly our belief that somehow we might convert someone to a truthful, saving knowledge of our Creator by exposing them to our prayers? I certainly hope not. Prayer is a communication between the believer and God, not an evangelistic tool. If we were serious about leading people to God, we'd spend a lot less time trying to coerce them into praying and a lot more in private prayer for them.

Let me be clear here about my beliefs. I believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior. His sacrifice on the cross served my penalty for falling short in the eyes of God, and His resurrection was the proof that He had the power to do that. My belief compels me to be a witness of this truth to the world around me. I see mandating prayer in school as an abdication of this responsibility and on those grounds I must oppose it.

Prayer in School - Part 2 "So What Are You Trying to Do?"

When I hear comments calling for prayer to be put back in schools, I wonder, "So what is it that we are really trying to achieve here?" Let's face it, humans have a nasty habit of digging in when we feel attacked and issues tend to polarize quickly. The finer points of our beliefs are often lost in the act of closing ranks against our opponent. In the end, the cause we're fighting for has little resemblance to the original source of the conflict. This is what has happened to the fight over prayer in schools.

When Christians, who are at the heart of this issue, really think about their faith, they find that their motivation comes from a desire to see others come to know the truth about God and Christ. Among the highest Christian goals are the desire to know God and to see others come to know Him. Our desire to proselytize is natural and a healthy expression of true faith in the God who has saved us from eternal separation by offering Christ as a sacrifice. Of course we want to share that with others. This is the goal that should underlie our interactions with society as Christians. But this honest desire to share Christ with the world around us seems to have gone out of focus.

When America began, it's influences were predominantly Christian. The large Christian majority grew comfortable with a State that was sympathetic to their values. That became a norm within the Christian community. But, as our population has grown in diversity, Christians are no longer such a powerful majority. As our laws and institutions have matured, we've refined a Constitutional moray that government should not be involved in religion. Whatever its other faults, this moray rightfully bars state institutions from mandating a religious exercise. Accomodating religion is fine but we can't demand religiousity as a state.

Here is where Christians have lost focus. Our energies have shifted from sharing our faith to maintaining a stronghold on the government. But, this is not legitimately ours to claim. A huge debate still rages over whether our country was founded as a Christian Nation. But regardless of our origins, everyone needs to look at where our country is today. The country we live in is a pluralistic democratic republic. While Christians may know the truth of Christ, we cannot expect our government to to give us any favor because of that.

John Rawls provides some strong support for this in his discussion of the "veil of ignorance." In crafting (or debating) the morals/laws of society we should try to decide what prejudices the law has without knowledge of which side of the prejudice we will be on. Therefore, we will theoretically choose laws that are generally fair for fear that we suffer under any unfair law we create. In considering the issue of prayer in school, we must stop and think, "What if the tables were turned and Christianity were not the dominant religion?"

In the end, I have to say that I can't honestly advocate state mandated prayer. Accomodation is a different story entirely. But, I would not want my children to be obligated to pray contrary to our family's beliefs.

Prayer in School - Part 1 "Prayer is illegal! What?"

As a teacher, a member of an evangelical church, and part of a family that has Christian roots, I get a pretty good view of the whole "Separation of Church and State" debate from several sides - fellow teachers, students, administrators, ministers, citizens of all stripe, and my own family. Most issues have more or less predictable and logical battle lines. But, when the issue of Prayer in School comes up, I tend to get ready for some hard core tongue-biting because I find myself outside the traditional camp.

In Christian circles the topic usually comes up in the form of a sarcastic, somewhat bitter lament. "Well, you can't even pray in school anymore!" or, my personal favorite (sarcasm intended), "They've taken God out of Schools." The understanding that seems to be pervasive among Christians is that somehow a law now exists (and is being enforced) that says prayer will not be tolerated. The image of children being rapped on the back of their little bowed heads comes to mind. You can imagine the cafeteria monitors trying to ferret out those that might say grace.

In reality, Prayer, per se, has not been affected at all. The only thing that has drawn the attention of our laws and courts is Mandating Prayer. Let's make this clear: "praying" - legal, "forcing others to pray" - not legal. If its still not clear, take this as an example. Little Billy praying in school is legal. Principal Smith praying in school is legal. Principal Smith requiring Little Billy to pray is NOT legal.

The issue here is not prayer. It is about coercion. Schools and their employees are "agents of The State." The 1st Amendment says The State shall not "establish" any one religion. No one minds the individual volunteering to pray, but when the school as an agent of The State requires its students to adhere to a religion or religious activity, it is tantamount to establishing that particular religion.

So. Students, Teachers - pray! Pray often! It's perfectly legal! Just don't try to use the State to coerce others to do so!

Keep the faith!