For the past several years the Southern Baptist Convention has been in the news as a result of its debates over whether to support or oppose the public education system in this country. Always before, motions to encourage parents to take their children out of public schools have failed. But Pete Chagnon of OneNewsNow on 6/4/2009 reported that a spokesperson with Exodus Mandate says the Southern Baptist Convention may be abandoning its support of public schools. According to spokesperson Bruce Shortt, the Exodus Mandate believes the SBC may be "throwing in the towel" concerning public schools, based on an April 24 article that was posted on BaptistMessenger.com. The article was written by Dr. Morris Chapman, president of the SBC's executive committee, and discussed the need for the church to come alongside parents and students in order to fortify their education with "strong biblical precepts." Chapman contends that public schools are failing in this area and wonders who will help if the church does not. Shortt believes that, based on the article, the SBC could be taking the first steps in formulating an exit strategy from public schools. "Historically the Southern Baptist Convention has been rather joined at the hip with the public school system," Shortt contends. "But this proposal by Dr. Chapman, I think, represents the realization that the public school system is, in reality, the youth ministry for the state church of secular humanism." According to Shortt, Dr. Chapman's article calls for an expansion of Christian education and represents a significant departure from where the SBC has been in the past. The article does not say this, but Bruce Shortt is a strong supporter of homeschooling.