Jen Wilkin is the Executive Director of The Village Church’s Next Generation Ministries, as well as an author, blogger, and prolific conference speaker.
A frequent contributor to TGC, she outwardly claims to be a complementarian, though over the years has made many comments which suggest she’s squishier on the subject than she publicly professes. Preaching a message a few years back comparing a women’s period to blood of Christ certainly didn’t engender her to her critics.
During a recent ‘Good Faith Debate’ on whether or not Christian Parents should send their children to public schools, verses homeschooling, Wilkin took the affirmative position, at one point explaining:
I mean, so I think one of the things I would love to have entered into this conversation is, that while I cannot tell you to put your children in public school, and certainly never would because there are so many factors that are at play, that it is important for us to understand that our decision regarding this and even our demeanor toward this has an impact on our community.
It doesn’t just impact our family. The most common phrase I hear thrown out in these conversations is ‘well, I just need to do what’s best for my family’.
And I think that’s something that as Christians, we have to push back on. Philippians tells us each of you should look not just to your own interests, but to the interests of others. And there’s no such thing as a decision that’s made just for our families. In fact, even having the gift of the decision at all, means that you’re a person with more choices than some people. And those who don’t have a choice of where they will educate their children will be impacted by your presence, your adult parent presence not being in the public schools because you’ve chosen to go somewhere else.
We can look back in not too recent history on this and see the impact of when a large number of Christian parents decide to opt out of the system and how it impacts those who are left behind. And so I do think it’s very important for us to understand that while yes, we do what is best for our families, we don’t do so in a vacuum. We understand that what we do for our family always impacts the community around us and that we should look to the welfare of the city in which we live.
Writer Chris Hohholz summarizes her position and then offers this insightful critique, showing where the scripture twisting occurs.
Wilkin also argues that children and parental involvement in public school is directly related to “loving our neighbors.” Parents cannot simply make a choice that is “best for my family” because there is no such thing as “best for my family.” She states our decisions are not made in a vacuum and will always impact others. That, if parents opt-out of public school, it will negatively impact others who don’t have the same option. And that our having an option is something others don’t always have (echoes of “privilege” arguments here).
It is here that Wilkin points to Philippians 2:4 about looking not only to our own interests but the interests of others. What she does not say is that passage is about the Christian conforming himself to Christ who humbled Himself and took on humanity and was obedient to the Father even to the point of death. Christians are called to live likewise in humble obedience to God and doing the work He set before us to glorify His name (including putting the needs of others first). There is nothing in this passage that calls us to sacrifice our educational choices for a perceived benefit to the community.
Wilkin also argues that if we opt-out, we are to find ways to support the public school system, to “bring life into a system that does serve the last and the least.” She ties this to the biblical call to serve the widow and fatherless. Yet, in passages that address this (see James 1:27 and Matt. 25:31-40) this often refers to the immediate needs not holding up an educational system.
Wilkin’s monologue places an undue burden on families choosing to educate their kids. If you don’t public school, you are neglecting the needs of community and society. So, if you homeschool, you should put energy into maintaining the public school system for others. She ties this to biblical passages about caring for others. There is no warrant in doing so but this implies Christians have a biblical duty to do it. Wilkin is wrong in her presentation. She may not require you to public school but she expects you to find a way to maintain the system.
