Education is without a doubt one of the hottest topics of conversation in America. Everyone seems to have an opinion about it and often expresses frustration about its many problems. One thing is sadly clear: the state of education among average Americans is on the decline, and among the economically disadvantage the situation borders on hopeless. As the recent documentary, “Waiting for Superman,” pointed out, very few real solutions are being proposed, and those which become realities actually serve a very small population. [Read more…]
I Can Do It!
I confess: I like coffee. No . . . I LOVE coffee. When I was a kid, I used to wonder why my parents kept a pot on the stove all the time (obviously before Keurig) and were constantly pouring another cuppa. But having become a man and put away childish things, I now have a deep appreciation for that black stuff. My morning routine, without fail, includes a very early trip to the kitchen for my wake-up jolt. Then I am set, eyes wide open, senses charged, brain in gear, ready for the day.
I have another morning routine that took me years to habituate but brings me great joy. I take that cup of coffee to my favorite chair, open my Bible, and read and pray. It’s so wonderful to draw close to God in the morning while it’s still quiet in my life. Afterwards, I often feel like I have recharged my spiritual batteries and am ready to face the challenges of the day. God’s talked to me and I have talked to Him. Yes! That’s what I need to get Him to bless me all day long, right? Wrong!
Have Your Found the Treasure?
My wife and I love to hike. Not only does it afford us healthy recreation, but it takes us to some of the most breath taking scenery imaginable, vistas which are only accessible by foot. And, import ant for us, hiking costs so little. So, imagine that we are out trekking across some farmer’s field when my staff makes a hollow sound on the earth. We stop to explore, and we find a box buried just below the surface, but off the beaten path. Upon opening it, we discover it is loaded with precious stones and currency worth more than we can imagine. What to do? [Read more…]
The Good Schools
I consider myself fairly passionate about true Christian education as the most effective way to prepare the next generation of believers for Kingdom work. The word “true” is important because there is much that goes under the guise of Christian which is not truly Christian. There are schools which call themselves Christian who do little to challenge students to confront their faulty belief systems and help them embrace a God-centered view of reality. [Read more…]
Ignorant Disciples and Fools
Discipleship is a function of scholarship. I have that sentence on my business cards to make sure that anyone coming into contact with Westlake Christian Academy will be apprized that we are not simply a five-day Sunday School. A true, effective disciple of Jesus Christ will be knowledgeable, curious, able to connect to the world around him. God has never placed a premium upon ignorance or anti-intellectualism. While it is true that He welcomes into His flock those of the least academic gifting, the true child of God will have a thirst for learning so that he may love the Lord with all of his mind.
Thus it is incumbent upon those of us involved in the education of the church, whether at the preschool level or the graduate school, that we be zealous in our pursuit of academic excellence. Kingdom work is greatly enhanced by those who can effectively meet the challenges of a broken world with a message which is at once intellectually informed as well as Spirit filled. Our task is a thoughtful one. [Read more…]
Education and the Functional Centrality of the Gospel
One of my favorite movies to watch with children is Monsters Inc, primarily because so much of the humor in the dialog is too sophisticated for children to fully appreciate, yet appeals to me. I asked a group of young people to name some of the main characters in that movie, and none of them responded with what I thought was the key: the door. Doors are all through that movie, and every major turning point in it deals with a door—a closet door to be exact. That door gave access for all the monsters into children’s bedrooms to extract their scream energy.
Most Christians view the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ very much as a door. [Read more…]
Taking God to College
Recently one of our teachers shared with me the transcript of a radio commentary by Paul Kengor, a professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Dr. Kengor was commenting on the film God’s Not Dead, which is about a Christian college student who confronts an atheist professor.
I’ll admit that when I first saw the film trailer, I thought that the producer was a bit over the top. Were there really college teachers who were that in-your-face about attacking Christianity? [Read more…]
Where Do We Get Such People?
of whom the world was not worthy (Hebrews 11:38)
This has been teacher appreciation week, and our teachers have been thankful for the many expressions of love that have come to them during those days. It would be wonderful, no doubt, if we could devote part of every day showing our gratitude to those who teach our children. Theirs is a difficult and complex task made all the more demanding by the deep emotional and spiritual burdens they carry for their students and families. They leave each day drained, but still with a pile of work to do in the evenings to prepare for the next day.
In addition to the professional demands of the classroom, our teachers carry with them personal burdens and struggles which weigh them down even more. Among our faculty we have those whose families are facing tremendous challenges such as unemployed spouses, loved ones facing serious illness, financial setbacks, and personal physical suffering.
One of those who has been the object of much prayer in recent months has been our kindergarten teacher, Mrs. DeReus, who underwent cancer surgery shortly after Christmas and is presently undergoing the rigors of chemotherapy, all the while determined to keep teaching her little ones how to trust God for everything. Here is a candid reflection from her about this kind of suffering:
Everyone asks, “How are you doing?” This is a hard question for me to answer. I don’t want to complain, and I want to be encouraging. I know that people want to hear that I am doing well, so I try to sound upbeat. My standard answer is I’m OK. The truth is that this is very hard on many levels. I am so tired. I have had a cold for at least a month-I cough all night. I have to sleep sitting up . . . . I can’t taste anything. . . . I can’t take [my daughter] shoe shopping. I can’t go to [my daughter’s] soccer game. And on and on the list goes. . . . When I stop feeling sorry for myself, I think there are people who suffer more than this. I should not complain, but still I am weary of this whole cancer thing.
This week I taught my Kindergarteners about Jesus’ death and resurrection. We discussed how much Jesus suffered for us. I wish I had recorded their responses. It was one of those moments in the classroom when time stopped, and I knew that there was real learning was going on. Not only for my students, but for me. My suffering is nothing compared to Christ’s sacrifice for me. This suffering I face is short term. In fact all earthly suffering is short term. Because Jesus died for me, I look forward to eternity with Him. An eternity with no pain, no tears, no suffering, and no cancer. And while I am on this earth Jesus is the source of my hope, my strength, my joy, my peace, and my comfort in suffering.
I am amazed and humbled that God brings broken, suffering, imperfect people together here at Westlake Christian Academy and uses them for His glorious, eternal purposes. It is a privilege to be associated with them, and I thank God for them every day.
The Christian School Should Teach More, Not Less
At a recent Meet Westlake open house for prospective families, one mother asked me, “Are your students learning what students in public schools are?” She was expressing concern that, because of our emphasis on Christian world view, Westlake’s education would not adequately prepare students for college, testing, or transfer to other schools. By way of objective reality, I was able to direct her to our published ACT results in which our students rank higher than those of either Grayslake high school. We do, in fact, teach what other schools teach. However, looking at that same information through the lens of biblical truth gives students a tremendous advantage, for the starting point of all truth is God (Proverbs 9:10). Any system which does not start there leads to partial truth and distortion. [Read more…]
