Welcome!!We are a body of believers chosen and saved by God through the blood of Jesus Christ to serve one another and the community in the power of the Holy Spirit. To give evidence of God's love, concern, and compassion by meeting people's needs so they may see Him clearly through His word as we call them to a life in Christ.
Green Meadow Christian Reformed Church is a 9 Marks Church. General Information Sunday worship: 10:00 am -followed by coffee, desert, and fellowship then Sunday School from 11:35-12:15. -Potluck is always on the first Sunday of the month unless specified in the bulletin. All are welcome! Pastor: Donald Jabaay |
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A Word from Pastor Don
ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON SANDY HOOK
Since the terrible tragedy that killed and wounded over two dozen children and adults at the Sandy Hook School in Connecticut, there has been a vigorous debate going on in the United States Senate and across our nation about how we can prevent violence from taking the lives of more Americans.
Some have said that we need more gun control laws and background checks for people who want to purchase guns. Others have said that we need more oversight over mentally ill and violent people owning firearms. But there are more ways of making our schools and our streets safer. One of those ways is to address the epidemic of fatherlessness that is plaguing our nation. The vast majority of shootings is not in schools, malls, or theaters. Much of our violence in on our streets and many of the shootings, such as in Chicago, are committed by fatherless teens and young men.
When I have led worship services in jails and prisons, I have asked the men if they had a father who was actively involved in their lives. I would be lucky to have one man raise his hand to my question. It is reported that 70% of black children were born out of wedlock. The rate among hispanics and whites is lower but is also rising. An analysis by the Wall Street Journal found more than half the nation's homicide victims are black, though African-Americans make up only 13 percent of the population. Of those victims, 85% were mostly young men killed by other black men.
Young men with no active father in their lives are often angry young men. Just listen to the rap music and to hip-hop. Some sing of violence towards women, police, and other authority figures. These young men want to belong, and so, they join up with the gangs. A good number of those young men who have shot and killed a large number of people, did not have a close relationship with their fathers.
Any male can impregnate a woman, but it takes a real man to step up to the plate and to raise that child. A real father is one who feeds, clothes, and provides for his sons and daughters. A real dad demonstrates to his kids how to treat women, parents, the elderly, and how to respect authority. A responsible man teaches his children morals and provides them with spiritual training that is found between the covers of the Bible. The wise King Solomon wrote, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
The entertainer and educator, Bill Cosby has spoken out on the devastation that absentee fathers has brought upon the black community. Some have criticized him, but I think he is a wise man who has been speaking the truth. Young boys and men of all colors and races are more prone to do violence than males who were brought up with loving fathers who were actively involved in the lives of their sons.
I am not saying that we can't do more to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, the violent, and those who are mentally unstable; but I am advocating that the blight of fatherlessness that plagues this land could be a bigger factor upon violence than all of the others put together.
Since the terrible tragedy that killed and wounded over two dozen children and adults at the Sandy Hook School in Connecticut, there has been a vigorous debate going on in the United States Senate and across our nation about how we can prevent violence from taking the lives of more Americans.
Some have said that we need more gun control laws and background checks for people who want to purchase guns. Others have said that we need more oversight over mentally ill and violent people owning firearms. But there are more ways of making our schools and our streets safer. One of those ways is to address the epidemic of fatherlessness that is plaguing our nation. The vast majority of shootings is not in schools, malls, or theaters. Much of our violence in on our streets and many of the shootings, such as in Chicago, are committed by fatherless teens and young men.
When I have led worship services in jails and prisons, I have asked the men if they had a father who was actively involved in their lives. I would be lucky to have one man raise his hand to my question. It is reported that 70% of black children were born out of wedlock. The rate among hispanics and whites is lower but is also rising. An analysis by the Wall Street Journal found more than half the nation's homicide victims are black, though African-Americans make up only 13 percent of the population. Of those victims, 85% were mostly young men killed by other black men.
Young men with no active father in their lives are often angry young men. Just listen to the rap music and to hip-hop. Some sing of violence towards women, police, and other authority figures. These young men want to belong, and so, they join up with the gangs. A good number of those young men who have shot and killed a large number of people, did not have a close relationship with their fathers.
Any male can impregnate a woman, but it takes a real man to step up to the plate and to raise that child. A real father is one who feeds, clothes, and provides for his sons and daughters. A real dad demonstrates to his kids how to treat women, parents, the elderly, and how to respect authority. A responsible man teaches his children morals and provides them with spiritual training that is found between the covers of the Bible. The wise King Solomon wrote, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
The entertainer and educator, Bill Cosby has spoken out on the devastation that absentee fathers has brought upon the black community. Some have criticized him, but I think he is a wise man who has been speaking the truth. Young boys and men of all colors and races are more prone to do violence than males who were brought up with loving fathers who were actively involved in the lives of their sons.
I am not saying that we can't do more to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, the violent, and those who are mentally unstable; but I am advocating that the blight of fatherlessness that plagues this land could be a bigger factor upon violence than all of the others put together.
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