One small kiss for a teen, one giant slap in the face to "Christian" legalism

Tyler Frost, who was suspended and kept from graduating by the principal of Heritage Christian School in Findlay, Ohio for the "sin" of taking his girlfriend to her prom, is shown here giving Rebecca Smoody a kiss that in the immortal words of Andy Griffith was "right smack-dab on the MOUTH!"

Said kiss also took place within ready eyesight of Heritage Christian School, which has ridiculously banned its students from dancing, hand holding, kissing, "rock music" and other things... both on campus and off.

I hope and pray that the windows of that school were filled with the gazes of curious students who beheld Tyler's act of rebellion against "the rules".

Does this mean that Heritage Christian principal Tim England will have Frost expelled?

Well, like I've said already (maybe too much at that): Tyler Frost did nothing wrong as a follower of Christ. This is all about Heritage Christian School and Calvary Baptist Church that runs it, throwing its own legalistic weight around. The school and church are a pack of Pharisees: setting up stumbling blocks that keep people from knowing the real love and grace of Jesus Christ. And so far as this blogger is concerned, Tyler Frost is being way more a sincere follower of Christ than Tim England and Gordon Dickson, who have placed worship of their church's doctrine above that of serving Christ in loving humility.

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A question for my fellow Christians

If we are commanded to "test the spirits" (1st John 4:1)...

...then how much more so should we boldly question the motivations of mere men?

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Tyler Frost gives his girlfriend a "great" night at her prom... and his "Christian" principal punishes him for it

This is gonna be another one of "those" posts that lately are coming all too frequently. The sort where I succumb to the angels of my lesser nature and resort to vernacular that in days of enforced polity would have seen me heavily fined or banished from the Realm.

(But hey, I figure that I've earned enough cred as both a serious writer and a follower of Christ, that I can open up the proverbial "can o' whup-ass" when the situation demands bringing out the heavy guns. So it is here...)

I wrote here on Saturday about Tyler Frost of Findlay, Ohio, the 17-year old high school senior who was excited about taking his girlfriend to the prom. But alas! Young Master Frost's dear lady is a student at a public high school... while Frost is weeks away from graduating from Heritage Christian School.

And the merciless, soul-less automaton of cultish Churchianity named Tim England - the principal of Heritage Christian - gave Our Hero an ultimatum: deny your girlfriend her senior prom or you don't walk with the other graduates.

Heritage Christian School bans dancing, hand-holding, "rock music" (whatever that means these days), and basically anything else that was verboten in the days of Puritan extremists. And this doesn't mean just on school grounds but everywhere the students might happen to be.

Frost had to get a form signed by England so that he could be a guest at Findlay High School's prom. England signed the form, then told Frost that he would be suspended for the rest of the year if he went.

So what did Tyler Frost do?

He took his girlfriend to her prom.

Behold the photograph of the beautiful young couple, holding hands and having what Frost called a "great" time!

(Photo credit: KENT TARBOX/ The Courier/AP)

Tyler Frost chose to sacrifice graduation with his classmates (a group that was only going to number four students anyway) so that he could have memories of a wonderful night that would last him and his girlfriend the rest of their lives.

Tyler Frost chose to put the happiness of the one that he loves over the ridiculous and non-biblical rules of Heritage Christian School.

And in doing so, Tyler Frost, as his principal Tim England put it: "In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God. (Frost) chose one path, and the school committee chose the other." Frost is now suspended, as England had threatened.

But you know what? I think it's very obvious who in this situation is pleasing "self", and who is pleasing God.

We are told in all four Gospels that one of the biggest reasons why the Pharisees sought to have Jesus killed was because He broke "the rules". Jesus healed the sick and lame on the Sabbath, and because He violated "the law" that was enough motivation for His enemies to want to see Him dead.

Someone in the previous post commented an extremely powerful point: "If his girlfriend were in a car accident and lay dying, would Heritage Christian School expel Tyler because he chose to hold her hand in loving compassion?"

Hey, according to "the law" of Heritage Christian School, it would have to expel Tyler or any other student who committed such an act of sympathy... because they broke "the rules" and according to Heritage Christian and Calvary Baptist Church that runs it, such a student would have to suffer the penalty for it.

Tim England and the "school committee" of this so-called "Christian" school are completely ignorant of the fact that the penalty has already been paid for... by the very One that they profess to be followers of!

Jesus came to do away with the rule of law, which had enslaved mankind to ritual and empty "religion". He died so that we might instead live under the rule of love!

And it is love which is completely absent from the actions of Tim England, Heritage Christian School and Calvary Baptist Church of Findlay, Ohio.

Tyler Frost chose to honor Christ in his actions, though he may not realize yet how much so.

And Tim England, his school and his church have chosen to serve themselves!

Mr. England and Calvary Baptist Church turned their stone-cold hearts to glorifying their own understanding (didn't they ever read Proverbs 3:5?). They put the demands of their doctrine above humility and prayer.

Tim England and Calvary Baptist chose to worship their own church... and they are proud to be persecuting Tyler Frost for it.

These people are not practicing Christianity. They are practicing Churchianity.

Look at this picture. Here is Tim England, the principal of Heritage Christian School...

See those heartless, pitiless eyes? I have seen such men too damned many times in my life. That is the look of a man who has no grasp at all of the mercy of Christ... and he probably doesn't want to understand it either. That's the visage of a man who demands that "the rules" be followed without exception, because in his mind that is how "God" is pleased.

"Christians" such as these are the sort that turned on the gas at Bergen-Belsen and then went home to dinner.

Tim England and Calvary Baptist are of the same mindset as the Pharisees that demanded Christ be put to death.

These self-professed "leaders" and "authorities" have set themselves up in the place of God. They and countless more like them across the centuries have caused more suffering and misery to the body of Christ than have the combined efforts of such persecutors as Nero and Stalin.

I will not hate them. But I have no sympathy for such people as these. They are not of Christ, and it's way past time that they be recognized and called out for what they are.

I'm not asking anyone else to hate them either. But I am gonna do everything I can to speak the plain truth...

...that Christ's sacrifice tore the temple curtain in two. People like Tim England are trying to put that curtain back up.

And we as followers of Christ have no business at all following the lead of such "authorities" as Tim England and the leadership of Calvary Baptist Church.

Should we, as followers of Christ, rebel against people like Tim England, Calvary Baptist Church and anyone else who dares lord over us in the name of Christ?

HELL YEAH WE SHOULD!

And people like England oughtta study 1st Corinthians more, if they are going to be in the business of running a "Christian" school.

As for Tyler Frost: my hat's off to ya, good sir! You've already done more with the heart and mind that God gave ya than a lot of people ever do. And so far as this blogger's concerned: you, Tyler Frost, are a real Christian leader!

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Control-freak Christian principal threatens student with suspension if he takes girlfriend to prom

17-year-old Tyler Frost attends Heritage Christian School in Findlay, Ohio. Frost's girlfriend is a student at Findlay High School. Tomorrow night is going to be the prom at Findlay High.

But Tim England, who happens to be Frost's principal, is commanding Frost not to take his girlfriend to her prom. Because Heritage Christian School forbids dancing, rock music, hand-holding and kissing and insists that it has the right to demand obedience to its proscriptions far beyond its own hallways.

If he does take his girlfriend to her prom, Tyler Frost will be hit with an academic suspension and won't be allowed to walk with the other graduates when he gets his diploma in a few weeks.

Here's the full story.

Tyler Frost, if you're reading this, here's my advice: take your girlfriend to her prom, don't take any worries with you, and enjoy a night that you will remember for the rest of your life.

And I say this as your brother in Christ: to HELL with what that legalist lunatic Tim England wants you to do! Tomorrow night belongs to you and your girlfriend and if Mr. England does truly consider you to be a fellow worker in the Lord, he shouldn't even be trying to watch over the lives of you and the other Heritage Christian students like a busybody with nothing else to do.

Here's the website of Heritage Christian School and look! They've even put out a press release of sorts...

As you probably already know, Heritage has received a lot of local and regional attention today. If you don’t know what I am talking about, you can read the article in today’s courier (www.thecourier.com Read “Don’t go to the prom…”). My guess is that many of you were bombarded at work with questions and statements. In fact, I have had e-mails this morning telling me that great opportunities to give the gospel have taken place. I believe I ought to address the situation.

First, the article in the Courier is fairly accurate. What the article leaves out are the principles behind the rules. In the Old Testament, Joseph was in a place of temptation and he fled. Unlike this situation, he didn’t put himself in that place. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.” II Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee also youthful lusts but follow after righteousness faith charity and peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” When the school committee, many years before I became the principal, set up the policy regarding dancing, I am confident that they had the principle of fleeing lustful situations in mind. The question as I see it is, should a Christian place themselves at an event where young ladies will have low cut dresses and be dancing in them? Isn’t it contrary to the example of Joseph and the verses that I stated?

Second, at the beginning of the school year, every family must sign a statement of cooperation. Students in 7th through 12th grades must also sign it. It doesn’t say that you have to agree with them, but that we will all abide by them. What kind of a school would we be if we suspended a policy because it was convenient to do so? That would not be a Christ-like response. Jesus did not avoid trouble. He made statements such as, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6). His statements didn’t make Him popular with the world. Can we expect anything else? The verses that I have thought of throughout this day are Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Wow! I can build up a whole lot of rewards in heaven today, and so can you.

Third, when discussing this particular issue with folks in the community please remember that the servant of the Lord "must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness" (2 Tim 2:24, 25).

Esther received great counsel from her uncle Mordecai when he said, “And who knoweth whether thou art come into the kingdom for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14). This is a time for Heritage to shine as a light in this world. It isn’t easy, but it is right.

Let me tell you what I believe is going on. I took a look over the Heritage Christian site and that of Calvary Baptist Church of Findlay, Ohio. And I wasn't all that surprised, because I've seen the same thing too many times in my life. And Tim England confirms everything in this statement of his.

Tim England isn't preaching Christianity. He - and I'm assuming his church is much the same way - is demanding Churchianity.

England is making following the tenets of his religious institution more important than anything else. In other words he's insisting on rigid legalism... which is the very thing that Jesus came to Earth to free us from to begin with.

Lord have mercy on me. I don't hate these kinds of people... but I sure as heck do despise them for all the grief they cause others.

People like Tyler Frost, f'rinstance. Who is under no biblical obligation to not have a good time with his girlfriend tomorrow night. And people like Tim England would be wise to be mindful of 1st Corinthians, in which Paul reminds us that we do have liberty in Christ.

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