From another thread...
If a pastor at your church sent several HS aged kids to do outreach in a sketchy part of town without an adult, would you trust God enough to protect your son, or fire the pastor?
That isn't an answer to the question that was asked... That said, I would have willingly gone anywhere if given the opportunity as a High Schooler. For this scenario, I will also assume that the students weren't forced or coerced to go. I have no doubt that God's will is done. Perhaps "send" wasn't quite the most accurate word, I hadn't really considered the implications. For me, at least, this is not at all a test of God. We are commanded to go out and help the hurting. Clearly it is God's will that we show his love to a hurting world. If His will is greater to take me off this earth, especially at that age, I would have much rather gone out sharing his love with the most downtrodden and hurting.
As Paul discusses, life on this earth is not to 'see how long we can live' but to do God's will for as long as He desires(Romans 14, Phillipians 1). I don't live for myself, and in truth, embraced this in my HS years even more than I do today. As Paul demonstrates, I am not alone in this. Providing an opportunity for someone to embrace this seems truly beneficial to me still.
Back to the original question. Nobody got hurt, the punishment seems far too great for something that could actually have been completely God's will. If there is so much concern, this seems like it would be the time to correct, not abandon. Many (all?) of the students were affected deeply by this experience. I am still saddened.
If a pastor at your church sent several HS aged kids to do outreach in a sketchy part of town without an adult, would you trust God enough to protect your son, or fire the pastor?
I wouldnt send unchaperoned HS kids to a bad part of town. That is asking for trouble. And faith or not you shouldnt be testing God.
As Paul discusses, life on this earth is not to 'see how long we can live' but to do God's will for as long as He desires(Romans 14, Phillipians 1). I don't live for myself, and in truth, embraced this in my HS years even more than I do today. As Paul demonstrates, I am not alone in this. Providing an opportunity for someone to embrace this seems truly beneficial to me still.
Back to the original question. Nobody got hurt, the punishment seems far too great for something that could actually have been completely God's will. If there is so much concern, this seems like it would be the time to correct, not abandon. Many (all?) of the students were affected deeply by this experience. I am still saddened.