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To Our School

By Dylan and Russell Stendal Sr.

May, 2013

To Whom It May Concern:

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. This means freedom to do the will of

God. The letter (of the law) kills but the Spirit brings life. If the life and love of the Lord

are flowing forth from our hearts, it will impact our children above and beyond any type

of religious ritual or requirement.

Therefore, we have raised our four children with a minimum of rules. We do not

require that they attend meetings, devotions or even that they adhere to a structured Bible

reading program. We impose no curfew, no dress code, no dos and don’ts if they are in

tune with the Spirit of God and under His discipline.

Instead, we offer them the opportunity to voluntarily be a part of ongoing ministry

24/7. They may participate freely on mission trips, missionary aviation, and in the

production of radio programs, operation and installation of radio stations, production of

feature films, and other events in whatever way the Lord leads. A clean heart or a fervent,

burning desire to have a pure heart is the only condition. And this has nothing to do with

age, gender, intellectual ability or level of education.

Lately, our young people have been invited to cutting-edge ministries in such

interesting (and sometimes dangerous) places as Iran, Cuba, and Vietnam, not to mention

the Colombian war zone where we operate numerous radio stations and have staged

dozens of events in so-called red zones. Supposedly closed to the gospel, no church

buildings or church meetings have been allowed – sometimes for decades. Close to four

hundred pastors have been killed in recent years, and the areas have produced almost four

million displaced persons, many of them evangelical Christians. This is where God is

moving, and a tremendous harvest is being gathered for Him. So far, thirty years into this,

we have a perfect safety record in both the physical as well as the spiritual realms. None

of our young people have been lost. No backsliders!

If they get in trouble with the Lord, He begins to correct and discipline them. We

stand by with wise counsel and befriend them in these times of crisis. So, this way, God’s

way, no matter what happens, our relationship and friendship with our children (and with

everyone God has given us in ministry) is always getting better and closer and safer.

(John 17:12)

Once we were at a school function, and someone unexpectedly set off some fireworks.

Most of the children ran out to see what was going on. Our children hit the dirt under the

vehicles! We had just returned from a harrowing missions trip where our seventy-foot

riverboat had blown up, and we had spent hours in the midst of a firefight between

hundreds of soldiers, police and guerrillas. Even the hospital where we were helping to

take the wounded came under rocket attack and had to be evacuated. But we fixed our

boat and continued the journey into the midst of serious opposition, and thousands of

unreached people received the gospel, including many in all the armed factions. And I

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believe that in this and many other horrible situations, none of our children have been

traumatized because we continue to reach out to our enemies in the love of the Lord (and

perfect love casts out fear) until God turns the tables, and there is a clear victory.

Contrast this with those who are forced to obey strict “Christian” rules and must attend

endless dry, lukewarm meetings, chapels, Bible studies, etc., so that even before they turn

eighteen, many are well on their way to becoming rebels that may never, ever return to

church. (They also tend to become very fearful of their personal safety.) In fact, churches

all across America are dying out because the vast majority of the young people leave and

do not return. Others become modern day Pharisees and attempt to continue the legalistic,

dysfunctional church order. Only a precious few seem to encounter victory in the

glorious liberty of the sons of God.

It is in this context that I would like to describe some of the difficulties and

frustrations that children (as well as parents) have with our local, lukewarm, spiritually-

dysfunctional Christian school. (Revelation 3:14, 15)

The first thing that troubled us was the paperwork required to enroll our son. Church

attendance must be documented for all of us, and we must belong to an approved

missionary organization or church; extremely detailed financial and other information

must be given (sensitive information that could even prove dangerous if filtered into the

wrong hands).

However, we found little or no reference to being clean or led by the Spirit of the Lord

in this huge stack of paperwork that would rival the inquisitions of the IRS. I kept getting

such a “check” in my spirit as I attempted to fill out what seemed to be inappropriate

questions and information that I was unable to proceed and turned the entire chore over to

my wife (who desired to enroll Dylan in the school).

Next, instead of giving us, the parents, and our son the liberty of choosing the Bible

translation that we would prefer, the school insisted on only using the NIV Bible. This

bothered me because we preferred not to use the NIV because of the potential for

misunderstanding – for example, if our son is required to memorize out of the NIV, and

supposing the memory verse is Matthew 5:14, Ye are the light of the world becomes You

are the light of the world in the NIV. So a child could easily think, “I am the light of the

world.” False. This could lead to New Age heresy and other problems. Ye is always plural

in the original text and in Old English, so it is clear that it is the many-membered body of

Christ (of which Jesus is now the head) that is the light of the world.

This is not an isolated example. I could give thousands more.

Our seven-year-old granddaughter, Gabriella, got into a lot of trouble in second grade

for asking questions that the elementary school principal apparently did not consider

politically correct. For instance, she kept asking the teacher things like, “Why is the story

of Moses so different in my Grandpa’s Bible?” She also had a hard time accepting

contrived and sometimes religiously humanistic values. Much of what the teachers were

saying was different from what she had been taught at home and in church.

So, even though she had good grades and excellent behavior, the school decided that

she had a psychiatric problem and began pulling her out of class for special tests and then

insisted that her parents send her to a psychiatrist, who could not understand why they

would stigmatize a perfectly normal child! Needless to say, this perturbed my daughter

and son-in-law. And come to think of it, this same tactic was attempted on most of our

children from time to time in previous years.

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The real kicker came, however, when I started to take a close look at Dylan’s seventh

grade Bible class. Dylan has always loved the Bible, and one of his favorite pastimes is to

get me to read entire chapters to him before he goes to bed. When he was little and we

were home schooling him, Elvira (who taught me when I was little, taught my daughter

Lisa, and now was teaching Bible stories to Dylan) told me that he accepted all the Bible

stories just fine except one. It was the story of the children of Israel in the desert, and

their clothes and sandals lasted for forty years without wearing out (until they got to the

Promised Land).

Little four-year-old Dylan, who was hyperactive and always wearing out his clothes

and shoes, said, “I am not believing that one unless you show it to me in my Daddy’s

Bible!” I had just finished spending about ten years completing two major Bible

translations – the Reina Valera 2000 in Spanish and the Jubilee Bible 2000 in English.

Dylan was promptly read the story of the Exodus out of “my” Bible and was not only fine

with it but has continued to request that I read him the Bible ever since.

Now, at age thirteen, in the seventh grade in a Christian school, Dylan was failing

Bible class. So, we started going over the usual things about homework and spending

enough time, etc. The fact that our ministry has involved a huge amount of travel this

year complicated the matter. Sometimes by default or by circumstances, Dylan was left

home alone. Even our housekeeper had an accident and was out of commission for over a

month. So Dylan had trouble finding someone to sign his homework, and Marina and I

had trouble calling the school because sometimes the school phones were out. At any

rate, we were never able to offer acceptable excuses to the school either for absences or

for lack of signatures.

And apparently no one at the school would believe Dylan or give him the benefit of

the doubt when he tried to tell them about the ministry of our family and the wonderful

opportunities for the kingdom of God in such strange, dangerous and far-away places. He

found himself in what he perceived as a harsh, legalistic environment where few of the

staff seemed to trust him or go out of their way to help him if he somehow upset their

legalistic apple cart. This told him that even in the midst of so many “nice” people, when

push came to shove, he was really alone (yet he never gave up because the Lord was with

him!).

Dylan had started out the semester eager and motivated, but began to lose that

motivation little by little over the course of the semester. Knowing that we kept coming

home exhausted from dicey missions trips, he almost never complained to us. However,

when questioned, Dylan says that when he would speak up in class or witness for the

Lord, he was mostly told to be quiet and sit down. Or he was given demerits. Or if he

tried to say something in Spanish, he was given demerits.

It was not until a few days ago, at the end of the school year, that I saw what I

consider to be another major part of his problem. I got home and was able to spend a few

weeks in the house, and Dylan asked me to help him study for his Bible final exam. This

helped me to understand the kind of spiritual oppression and warfare that Dylan was

facing, in addition to being very sick and in the hospital on IV’s while we were away on

back-to-back, multiple trips.

Dylan’s Bible teacher had given him a Final Exam Review Sheet (annexed) that

appears to have come from an established curriculum which introduced teachings

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inconsistent with Scripture. This sheet had fifty-one points, and Dylan and I review some

of the ones he has serious problems with here:

2. When was Kings written? Answer: “during the exile.”

Note: We would never teach something like that as gospel truth when it cannot be

clearly proven from Scripture. (We preach and teach through the Bible in a non-sectarian

manner for our radio ministry that airs on almost fifty stations throughout the Colombian

war zone and elsewhere.)

The beginning of religious humanism seeks in the end to discredit the spontaneous

authenticity of the Scriptures being inspired by the Holy Spirit. The level of detail is such

in the book of Kings that it would have been highly unlikely that it was written during the

exile instead of by a succession of godly scribes at the palace in real time who had to

stand for the Lord similar to Dylan at school. (Like the scribe Baruch in Jeremiah chapter

36 who clearly wrote down parts of the Bible during the latter part of the Kings time

frame and in the midst of some of the most troublesome events.)

3. When were the Chronicles written? Answer: “After the exile.”

Where does this come from? This answer did not come from the Bible. So, should this

topic not be the subject of open discussion and honest debate? Instead, if the student does

not give the teacher’s answer on the test, he will get the question wrong! (This type of

thing when done repeatedly distressed Dylan.)

5. What is the primary concern of the author of Kings? Answer: “Theological

interest.”

So now we have a human author who writes the book of Kings due to Theological

Interest? How bad can this get? This encourages human authors to write their own

material with their own goals, and secular humanism takes off! And if the students

answer from their study of the Scriptures in the light of the Holy Spirit and stand true to

their heart-felt convictions, they will get the question wrong!

13. Who founded the prophetic office? Answer: “Elijah and Elisha.”

Dylan and I beg to differ! God founded the prophetic office, and the earliest mention

is when God calls Abraham a prophet in Genesis 20:7. This theme is wrapped up in

Revelation 22:9 with a key line in Revelation 19:10, for the testimony of Jesus is the

spirit of prophecy. So now, according to the school and the teacher, we have men

founding the prophetic office about 1400 years after God started using the Word! This

disregards what God said and did through Moses!

36. What is the emphasis in Chronicles? Answer: “priest and temple.”

For Dylan and me, the interesting emphasis in Chronicles is where God, the author,

chose not to remember some things, giving credence to the view that the Chronicles were

written down by the priests of the godly line of Zadoc after God cut off the ungodly line

of Eli (1 Samuel 3:11-14 and Ezra 7:2-5). It is written from the perspective of how

history goes down in God’s eyes for all eternity for He says that when we are forgiven,

He remembers our sins no more. David’s sin is not in Chronicles, but all the gory details

are in Kings. Solomon’s sin is also not in Chronicles, validating the fact that Solomon

was also forgiven. Saul’s sin, however, is recorded in Chronicles along with the

explanation of why he was not forgiven.

37. Chronicles seeks to answer what 2 questions? Answer: “What is our connection

with the past? and how do we act now?”

Again, this is the same problem as with #2, 3 and 5.

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A human author with human reasons is given dangerous and unmerited priority. God

is the real author, and His thoughts are beyond our thoughts. How dare we put words in

His mouth and suggest hypothetical questions He would answer!

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. (Psalm 36:9)

38. What is the difference between the Major Prophets and the Minor Prophets? Dylan said the teacher said something about “the length of the scroll.”

There is no difference; both are equally valid Scripture. Scripture makes no distinction

between Major or Minor prophets. This is pure conjecture by theologians. The thought

that some Scripture might be just from a “minor” prophet is troubling.

39. What is the primary focus of the prophets? Answer: “relationship with

YAHWEH.”

No, the primary focus and essence of being a prophet is to say what God wants said,

no matter what the consequences, if and when God tells us to do so.

40. What was NOT the primary focus of the prophets? Answer: “Predict the

future.”

This was certainly a primary focus; so much so that it says in the Law of Moses that if

the prophet’s prediction did not come true, they were to be killed because they were false.

See Deuteronomy Chapters 13 and 18.

41. Did the prophets typically write their prophecies down? Answer: “No.”

This answer most certainly did not come from the Scriptures. Why are there so many

written Bible stories where there is only one true prophet surrounded by hundreds of false

prophets? Why did Jesus refer to the Old Testament as the law and the (written)

prophets? Why would Jesus preface his remarks on so many occasions with the words,

For it is written . . . ? Why were there no prophets from Malachi to the father of John the

Baptist? This answer from the school and the teacher would imply that there were all

sorts of prophets out there, and only a smattering was written down? This further

degrades the importance of the prophetic Scriptures all of which are profitable for

doctrine for reproof and for instruction in righteousness as the apostle Paul writes to

Timothy. This line of thought, if carried out, will damage the fear of the Lord, which is

the beginning of wisdom.

48. Why was the author of Chronicles interested in the building of the first

temple? Answer: “The temple is the instrument of God’s forgiveness.”

Jesus is and always has been the instrument of God’s forgiveness. He said that He was

the Temple of His Father. Solomon’s temple was only a type and shadow looking

forward to this truth. Now, we can be living stones, part of the body of Christ. In Christ,

we are part of the real temple, not made by hands, and are given the ministry of

reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18, 19). The Bible is clear; Jesus is and always has been

the only way to salvation. There has never been any other instrument of God’s

forgiveness. Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away our sins, and none of the other

lambs sacrificed were the real thing. As David was contemplating the beauty of the Lord,

he was given the plans for Solomon’s temple.

Again, the problem of setting up a straw man as the supposed human author of this

book and making this primary in the thinking of the student leads to this horrible error

which is an indoctrination (forcing this on innocent children by not allowing them to

think or express their own convictions).

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51. What pattern do we see in the Roller Coaster? Answer: “Sin, Grace; Sin, Grace;

Sin, Grace.”

How does this apply to our lives? Answer: “When we sin, God is always there to lift

us up?”

What? Just where is this Roller Coaster found in the Scripture? When we sin, does

God always lift us up? Tell that to King Saul! Tell that to Judas! Tell that to Ananias and

Sapphira! Tell that to the false apostles described by Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude!

So, the bottom line in this Bible class is: No Victory!

Is this wise to teach to seventh graders who are just now entering puberty?

So I asked Dylan, ”Is this Final Exam Review Sheet typical of your daily Bible

classes?”

And he said, “Yes, and sometimes the class is even worse!”

I said, “What happens if you answer the questions according to the leading of the Holy

Spirit from your heart?”

He replied, “I will probably get an F. The teacher repeated over and over that we have

to give her the answers she provided us with, and we cannot think or respond differently.

The Bible is being treated like any other history book and essentially being put on the

same footing. That‘s why I lost interest in this class.”

This cheap grace, roller coaster message is given by the same teacher who punished

the entire class when she lost her marker! She thought one of the students stole it. Dylan

came home with a sheet telling about the collective punishment – including him, even

though across the top of the page was a note saying he had been sick that day!

After I complained about this, the teacher was apologetic, and I had the opportunity to

invite her out to dinner with Alethia and my wife, Marina. She turned out to be a

beautiful twenty-six-year-old with what appeared to be an extremely nice disposition

(except, Dylan says, that she occasionally flies off the handle and loses the respect of the

children).

Now, in hind sight, I think the teacher was in way over her head, regurgitating her

Bible school indoctrination while attempting to fulfill the school curriculum. The school

should have never drafted her to teach seventh grade Bible, let alone give or allow her

such an atrocious curriculum.

These children are not dumb. I find it absolutely chilling that they are being taught that

the Christian life is a roller coaster of sin, grace, sin, grace. And then, if Dylan is sick or

late for class, there is absolutely no grace for him. Demerits! Unexcused absence! And no

amount of input from us can change any of this? Once the school puts you down for a

demerit or for an unexcused absence, it seems to be set in stone because no one will

change it.

What if we taught this roller-coaster message that denies victory and belittles the

Word of God to the terrorists we are sharing the gospel with? For the teacher it may be:

Sin, Grace; lose her temper with the class, Grace; give a demerit to someone who angered

her, Grace . . . Oh, my, what a wonderful roller coaster at this nice Christian amusement

park! But can we tell the guerrillas: repeat this prayer after me, and now if you kill

another hostage, God’s grace will always lift you up; just say another prayer; or find a

church or temple, some place that is the “instrument” of God’s forgiveness. If you slip up

again and put another bomb in the market place, just call upon God’s grace, and God will

always be there to lift you up! Roller Coaster time! Whoopee! Here we go!

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What kind of message is this sending to our children? What will be their concept of

God after all this? Where is the authentic respect and fear of the Lord?

Yes, our children are resilient and can roll with the punches, but isn’t this a bit much?

Even the President of the United States can be impeached over high crimes and

misdemeanors. (Even the secular news media has finally got this one straight! Stay

tuned.)

Three days ago, I was told what happened to a guerrilla commander named Yesid,

whom I had witnessed to on several occasions. He accepted our ministry and us but also

made friends with a pastor who taught along the lines of the Bible class at Dylan’s

school. Soon, Yesid was getting the pastor involved in helping to collect his extortion

money (not too different from the way the pastor went about collecting the church tithe

money from the local drug growers). If people did not pay the guerrillas, they would be

disciplined (kind of like demerits), but the pastor said that whoever did not pay him

would be cursed by God (now who is the real terrorist?).

A friend of ours gave a prophetic warning to both of them. The pastor got into trouble

with a paramilitary death squad and apparently came to a bad end. When our friend told

them that she felt seriously from the Lord that he and all his men had better repent and

desist from their evil deeds before they all got killed, and that this would to happen

shortly, Yesid said, “Nothing is going to happen to us because we are with the Lord, and

He will protect us!”

Famous last words. That night bombs fell on the guerrilla camp, killing all the men

and women except Yesid, who was found the next morning by our friend. He was shell-

shocked and running around in circles in a cow pasture in his underwear. After being

clothed and fed and hid from his enemies by the (Good Samaritan) prophet, Yesid

demonstrated a completely different attitude. Now we think that he may actually have

become converted! Time will tell. For ye shall know them by their fruit . . .

The fact that we are human and can and will make human mistakes and omissions

does not mean that we cannot have the victory over willful misdeeds. (Read Romans

chapter 8 and Revelation chapter 22.) The Great Awakening that dynamically affected

the history of the English-speaking world is predicated on repentance and faith leading to

victory.

John Wesley read about victory in the Bible – victory over sin, over the flesh, over the

world, over the Devil. Even though he knew this was not a reality in his life, Wesley

decided, by faith, to preach about victory until God’s grace became real. At first, he was

not allowed to do this in church. He was exiled to the churchyard and adjacent cemetery

where, perched upon his father’s tombstone, he gave message after message, week after

week.

God moved. Conviction of the Holy Spirit fell amidst much persecution. Reality

prevailed. Hundreds of thousands of people were awakened into victory in England and

in America. The English-speaking world was irrevocably changed. The first Christian

schools were started on Sunday so that illiterate coal miners, farmers, and factory

workers could learn to read the Bible for themselves. This went down in secular history

as the Great Awakening, second only to the Reformation in Protestant Evangelical

history.

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What happens to those who graduate from modern Christian schools? There are many

sordid, twisted tales out there. What can we do now for those who are coming up through

the grades?

Here are some recommendations:

1. End the Inquisition. Allow parents and students to freely choose their Bible

translation. This will have a long-term effect over the entire life of the student, starting

with memory verses. Garbled, mistranslated, or over-simplified verses will cause trouble

throughout the life of the individual and contribute to them having a trite concept of God

and of what He says that will undermine the fear of the Lord. If there is a shortage of

qualified, mature Bible teachers with clean hearts and victorious Christian lives, don’t

continue the program! Unless Jesus baptizes us into His Spirit and Fire, unless He deals

with our hearts, unless He brings us into His victory, we are just spinning our wheels or

worse. (Matthew 3:11)

Modern translations such as the NIV remove a high percentage of key words, such as

judgment, holiness, blood, etc., while they inflate the word love multiplied by a factor of

four. This could be an attempt to recreate God in man’s image! They also make serious

and repeated mistakes with simple prepositions. Instead of waiting on the Lord, the

original in many places says we are to wait for the Lord. Because without Him, we can

do nothing. We must be willing to go with Him and do what He wants, instead of the

other way around.

Regarding almost sixty New Testament verses that our modern translations render

faith in Jesus or faith in Christ: the original texts render half of them faith of Jesus or

faith of Christ. Yes, we must place our faith and trust in Jesus, but unless the faith of

Jesus, the faith of Christ, comes forth in us as He reigns and rules from the throne of our

hearts, there will be no steady victory.

We are hopeless sinners and can only be saved by His grace. But He is not a sinner,

and He wants to live in us and take over complete control of our lives. It is only as we

yield to Him, as His love and life comes forth in us, as He brings us into clean

relationship with His Father, as the Heavenly Father disciplines and corrects us, that He

can use us and bless us and keep us safe and secure!

2. Allow parents and children to opt out of chapel and Bible indoctrination classes if it

continually goes against our witness from the Holy Spirit and core beliefs. Also, if Bible

classes and chapel are voluntary, it will give incentive to the teachers to hold the interest

of the students and to not deviate from or do things that grieve the Holy Spirit or cast

doubt on the inspired Scriptures. There will be a difference between those who are

hungry for God, and those who are not.

And more important, it will cultivate the environment of liberty to ensure that the

presence of the Holy Spirit is not quenched. Then the students will be more stimulated to

love God, love the Scriptures and fear the Lord. If this does not happen, the children will

most likely turn away from church and maybe even from the Lord as soon as they are

able to make their own choices. Observe the absence of those between the ages of

fourteen and forty at most church services (particularly males).

3. If you really believe in grace, then demonstrate it in your administrative procedures.

The bottom line is this: Unless God intervenes in our lives directly, we will not really see

His grace. If we do not receive His discipline, we will not change from the heart. If you

continue to be obsessed with the letter-of-the-law interventions in the lives of your

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students, it may obstruct some of the students from a direct relationship with the Lord. In

our churches and Christian schools, real righteousness is many times confused with self-

righteousness. In most cases, the children can tell the difference even when most of the

staff cannot. Real righteousness only flows from a transformed heart where Jesus is on

the throne.

Academic qualification or theological training can easily produce modern scribes and

Pharisees (Matthew chapter 23). We do not want our children to be alienated or corrupted

by these sophisticated instructors. They are whitewashed on the outside, so remember

that they are also rotten to the core. Their defeated personal lives will always be a

disaster, and this means that they should be kept at an arm’s length from our precious

children. (Matthew 18:6 and Luke 17:2)

Remember, according to the Bible, grace is not just unmerited favor, it is the power of

God coming on the scene to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, to change us from

the inside out, to convict us of sin, to help us repent, to bring us into victory over all

known and habitual sin. This grace brings us into victory over the world and victory over

the devil.

4. Bottom line: Go over your entire institution with a fine tooth comb and make sure

that nothing is being done that grieves the Holy Spirit. Encourage the students to share

from the heart and do not slam them or give them a failing grade if they are expressing

the genuine convictions of their hearts (let alone send them in for psychiatric review!).

Make sure that the Holy Spirit has liberty, and this will help steer everyone clear of

legalism and licentiousness.

If you decide to make changes, remember that every step must be led by the Lord.

Otherwise, you will tend to over-correct, and everything will go in a zigzag, instead of

straight forward into the will of the Lord. For the steps of a good man are ordered by the

Lord . . .

Many Blessings,

Dylan Andrew Stendal and Russell Martin Stendal (Senior)

PS It is amazing, but our children have actually come out of this in extremely good

shape. Even though it was hard, and at times devastating (especially the psychiatric

evaluations and potential stigmatization), these children have gained much greater

discernment. Since Dylan felt muzzled many times in class and was on occasion not

allowed to express what the Holy Spirit was putting in his heart (even in the corridors of

the school, he was given demerits for speaking out), we decided to follow Malachi 3:16

and write this book of remembrance together so we can claim the entire promise in the

context of Malachi 3:16-18.

16. Then those that feared the LORD spoke one to another, and the LORD hearkened

and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for those that feared the

LORD and for those that think in his name.

17. And they shall be mine, said the LORD of the hosts, in that day when I make up my

jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.

18. Therefore become ye converted, and ye shall make a difference between the just

and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that did not serve him.

All Scripture from the Jubilee Bible 2000 (now available on Amazon.com for free

Kindle download).

Above all, Dylan and I wish to clearly state that:

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we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,

against the lords of this age, rulers of this darkness, against spiritual wickedness in the

heavens. (Ephesians chapter 6)

Those who are under the influence of these “religious” spirits or are being bombarded

by religious spirits can one minute declare Christ and at the drop of a hat require the

rebuke that Jesus gave Peter when He had to say, Get behind me Satan! (Matthew 16:15-

23). We realize that over the years some of those who have been very nice and friendly to

our face at the Christian school have, when given the chance and when provoked by

another spirit, been nasty to our children behind our back because the spirit influencing or

maybe even controlling them hates the Spirit in us.

Cloaked in self-righteousness, they cannot stand real righteousness, and the unclean

spirit manipulating them will blow a tremendous smoke screen if cornered: Your child

was late! Your child’s absence is unexcused! You missed the parent support group

meeting! Your child forgot his or her homework! Or spoke Spanish at school! These are

all big, big no-nos; some even insinuate that the parents need the psychiatrist! Others are

like those described in Ezekiel chapter 9, who sigh and moan at the abominations yet

have been unable to significantly change the situation. Even so, they qualify for the mark

or seal of God that will spare them in the soon-coming judgment that begins at the

sanctuary of the LORD. (Revelation chapter 7)

Even though Gabriella and Dylan will probably not go back to this school next year,

and even though I, Russell Sr., have not been asked to speak at a school chapel or Bible

class in at least ten years, and even though our older children, Lisa (30), Alethia (26), and

Russell Jr. (21), have never, ever, been asked to give their testimonies at a school chapel

despite being among the most successful alumni to ever graduate from this school, we all

wish to be on record that we are available and willing to speak at chapel and Bible class

this coming year as our schedule permits if invited. We would also love to show one of

our movies.

Afterword by Russell Stendal Jr. (Alumni 2010) But legalism does work on a few individuals. When I was in your school and Mr. C

was our Bible teacher, we had theology classes about Arminianism and Calvinism, post,

pre and mid tribulation, mixed with a little hermeneutics and a whole lot of other

nonsense imagined by man. We were forced to take a position, as a Calvinist or as an

Arminian; no matter how much I argued, there was no "middle" ground.

They didn't understand that what I was saying wasn't in the middle; it was beyond.

Calvinism probably is as bad as Arminianism; although both have some truth, they both

include lies – much like most theologies. God doesn't belong in the box made by man. He

can choose a select individual who might be predestined for something; and He can let

others choose whether or not to follow Him according to their own will. According to

their free will. In Ephesians 2:8, it says that both grace and faith are involved.

For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of

God.

And the gift that God (the Father) sent us is really Jesus; so He can reign and rule from

each one of our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we have to repent and turn from our

own way (from our own works) so He can take us with Him (He is the only way) and do

His work in and through us. Only His work will stand for all eternity. This is why

Scripture is clear that we will be judged by works. (We will either be found lost in our

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own dead works, or there will be evidence that His eternal life and love are flowing out of

us and blessing others, for out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks . . .)

It is obvious that our own good works cannot save us (or anyone else for that matter),

but it is essential that God work in our hearts and cleanse us by the power of the Holy

Spirit. Then He will be able to do His work through us as we reach out to others in the

power of His love. This is only possible as we yield to Him. If we are fully under His

authority, then He provides us with complete security as well as discipline and correction

when we need it. This is how I have come to understand this as I have walked with the

Lord Jesus and allowed Him first place in my life and as I have studied my Bible in the

light of the Holy Spirit as well as listen to anointed teaching and preaching of others.

For unless there is evidence that His life and love are flowing out of us (the fruit of the

Spirit), the Bible says that we are not really His (Matthew chapter 7). According to

Scripture, ye shall know them by their fruit, not just by doctrine, miracles, traditions, etc.

As much as all these theologians think they are going to understand God, the closer

they think they get with human reasoning, the farther away they really are. And as for

legalism, it works on a few, but those that it works on learn to depend only on what

individuals say and not what God is trying to speak to them. They are like a few students

who hung on every word that Mr. C said or the advice he gave, instead of actually

listening to how God was moving on their hearts.

Needless to say, these theologically-packed Bible classes definitely drove people away

from God; no surprise there. My best friend (in the school) started having doubts whether

God even exists. The majority of the boys in the class of 2009 turned skeptical at a

certain point, even though their class leader was Mr. C. And nothing was done, that I

could see, to remedy it. Gratefully, they didn't do what they did to Kessel. (He was

expelled, or should I say forced to call it quits because he created too much of a problem

in school.) I'm thankful our class leader was our own Mr. T, who taught us how to listen

to the Holy Spirit. He is probably the best teacher to have ever taught at ECA, and you

lost him too.