2. Tony focuses solely on the process and overlooks the results.
I know we are just three of hundreds, but my sisters and I all have a passion for God and for reaching others. We are still growing into our selves just like everyone else, are in different seasons of life, and therefore can engage in different kinds of ministry. So while our childhood may not have been missional the way Tony describes it, we have grown into missional adults. That is worth considering. (Side note: my children are all enrolled in public schools, not to be my Jesus-proxies but because our public schools are excellent.)
3. One’s choice of school is only one small facet of their life and sphere of influence.
Tony’s post overlooks the fact that “human beings and all creation and the world” aren’t only out there. The world is right here at home, too. Men and women who choose to stay home to raise their children are just as missional as men and women who move to the inner city or to tent cities in Haiti or the garbage dumps in Africa. Jesus said that whatever you do to the least of these, you do to Him. He didn’t say “the least of these (except your own family).” “Other human beings” includes our children and our parents, our neighbors, the congregants in our church, the librarian who helps find age-level books, and anyone else with whom we rub shoulders. Jesus tells us to be faithful in the little things.
So many of the criticisms of homeschooling don’t contribute anything constructive to the conversation about how Christians are to live in the world. They only serve to create controversy and pile guilt on those who for now, whether by choice or by necessity, serve in small ways to the least of these in their homes.
