— Tennessee Pastors Network President Dale Walker Says It’s Tragic That God’s Word is Pushed Out of the School Doors, While Another School Accepts a Textbook That Details Islam —

A school district in Tennessee has halted the distribution of Bibles to its students, and the Tennessee Pastors Network (TNPN, www.tnpastors.net) says the move is ironic, as another local school recently approved a textbook that details the Muslim faith and Islam but merely glosses over Christianity.

According to Yahoo News, “Bledsoe County school system in Tennessee has banned the distribution of all religious materials on its campuses after a recent complaint about a religious group handing out copies of the Bible.” After the complaint stemming from Gideons International providing free Bibles to fifth-graders, district leaders said, “(t)he distribution of religious materials in a public school is in violation of constitutional provisions and well established federal and state laws and precedence.”

“In today’s world—especially in light of the godless violence being perpetrated around the world, it’s tragic that young students can’t even voluntarily pick up a free Bible in school,” said Tennessee Pastors Network President Dale Walker. “Many Americans grossly misunderstand the entire concept of ‘separation of church and state,’ and our children suffer for it.”

Gideons has been handing out Bibles to students for years in Bledsoe County—until the complaint—even though the Gideon chaplain said the taking of the Bibles by students was completely voluntarily, and students could pick one up from a table if they wished. Churches in the area are also extremely dismayed at the school’s recent move.

The development in Bledsoe County is especially ironic, as a fellow school district in White County recently approved a controversial social studies textbook that contains 30-plus pages on Islam and the Muslim faith but with little mention of Christianity. Walker said the school board’s acceptance of the book has sparked concern among churches and parents about Islamic indoctrination in the state’s schools.

“Fifth-graders now can’t voluntarily take a Bible in their school, but schools are soft-peddling Islam to impressionable students,” Walker added. “While the Word of God is being pushed out of school doors, the sweeping Islamic infiltration is being deeply embedded into the Bible Belt and it has penetrated our public schools in Tennessee. We have fallen so far from what our founding fathers intended for our nation, and they would be ashamed.”

TNPN and the American Pastors Network (APN, www.americanpastorsnetwork.net), the largest national network dedicated to equipping pastors to be a voice for truth in the public square, of which TNPN is a state chapter, offer pastors numerous online resources that help clergy choose sermon topics and find information for other church ministries. With some free and some paid resources, topics include abortion, apologetics, creation, the culture war, economics, education, the environment, history, homosexuality, Islam and marriage, along with many others.

The Tennessee Pastors Network encourages pastors to bring together biblical and constitutional principles in their sermons and provides resources to pastors throughout the state. For more information on TNPN, visit its website at www.tnpastors.net, its Facebook page or call (931) 267-0816.

TNPN is a group of biblically faithful clergy and church liaisons whose objective is to build a permanent infrastructure of like-minded clergy who affirm the authority of Scripture, take seriously Jesus’ command to be the “salt and light” to the culture, encourage informed Christian thinking about contemporary social issues, examine public policy issues without politicizing their pulpits and engage their congregations in taking part in the political process on a non-partisan basis.
The American Pastors Network is the largest, national network of pastors who believe in the authority of scripture; who boldly preach the whole counsel of God with a disciplined application of a biblical worldview to public policy; who are building a permanent infrastructure of biblically faithful pastors and lay leaders; and who are mobilizing congregations to participate in the political process on a non-partisan basis. For more information on APN, visit www.americanpastorsnetwork.net, its Facebook page or follow APN’s Twitter feed, @AmericanPastors. Those interested in forming a chapter in their state may contact amy@americanpastors.net.

The American Pastors Network is a Ministry Program Affiliate of Capstone Legacy Foundation (a 501(c)(3) non-profit Christian Public Community Foundation registered nationwide). APN’s daily short radio feature, “Stand in the Gap,” airs on more than 40 stations, and the American Family Radio Network airs the one-hour “Stand in the Gap Weekend” on 140 additional stations nationwide. A live one-hour program launched in 2015, “Stand in the Gap Today,” airs on several Pennsylvania radio stations.

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To interview Dale Walker from the Tennessee Pastors Network or a representative of the American Pastors Network, contact Deborah Hamilton at 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096, ext. 102, or Beth Harrison at 610-584-1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com.