Young minds full of promise ~ Teachers assume role as models

Sunday, October 24, 2010Originally published in The Walton TribuneBy Pam Krumpach

Watching the leaves change provokes the dreamer in me. It reminds me of the swift passage of time and how, with each passing day, my students grow and change, developing into the men and women of quality and dignity that God intends for each to become.

In scripture, Jeremiah tells us God has a plan for each of these young people and these plans give all of us hope and a future.

Isn’t that what life is about? Think about it. What a gift life is, freely given with plans designed by the Creator and full of hope. What a privilege it is to be surrounded by the promise of optimism which springs from our students as they discover their own futures. It makes even more poignant the events of this past week.

Our family here at Covenant Christian Academy suffered the loss of an amazing man and a wonderful friend. He left a huge impact on everyone who knew him because of his loyalty and compassion. He was a role model for students — a man not afraid to visibly demonstrate his faith through words and actions. And even though he was not a teacher nor an administrator, he was an educator. As I think of this man, I am reminded of the priority of Christian education and our role as parents and educators in the lives of our children.

While the three Rs retain an important role in education, Christian education offers so much more. Christian education takes place in a community setting. Parents, teachers, administrators, staff and even the young people themselves bear the responsibility and privilege of creating an atmosphere in which each child can freely partake in the opportunities of learning and developing as students and as caring members of the “family.” Students have that chance to grow surrounded by love and support.

The Christian school setting provides a fertile ground for that change. Keep in mind that societal pressures have encouraged the disintegration of traditional families, and children now spend far more time in a school atmosphere where teachers assume a primary role as models for their students. David L. Roth said recently, “Christian school teachers must serve as role models. [Therefore] it is important that a teacher model the Christ-centered and Bible-centered mission of the Christian school.”

As members of our Christian family at Covenant Christian Academy, we are particularly mindful of how important that Christian family is and how we need to support, love, uphold and lead our young people, certainly through instruction, but more importantly through deed.

So as we find ourselves grieved, disappointed, angry, hurt or any of the other responses we have to the many stresses in our changing lives, we need only be reminded that even in the midst of the storm,Jesus lived what He taught, that there is a future which God has destined for each us and that no matter what, there is hope. We must strive to live our lives as Christ did. After all, He is our ultimate role model.

Click here for the original post.

In Her Own Words - A Parent's Perspective

Lisa Barry
Radio Host - 98.5 KTIS
Minneapolis/St. Paul

Our family has experienced all forms of education from home school to public to charter schools and private. At our oldest daughters request, we sent her to a public high school. Though she started out fine, by the second year I noticed she was picking up more of the negative influences in the environment. She was nearing a fork in the road and one path was leading toward a destructive lifestyle and though she wasn’t totally on that path yet, she was definitely leaning that way. If I didn’t do something soon, I knew it would be harder to get her to back up and make the choice later.

I talked to a spiritual leader about this and explained to him my dilemma because I had promised my daughter that she could go do public school and that I’d be going back on my word. He told me, “well, we don’t let our children make those important decisions, do we? You’ll need to apologize to her and explain that you made a mistake in promising something that might be wrong for her. "

I realized that as a parent, I needed to put my daughter in an environment where she could make right decisions so I pulled her in March of her sophomore year (crazy timing, I know). And though it was horrible for a while, the following fall, major change began.

She was used to giving status quo work in a multiple-choice world. She didn’t expect much of herself and didn’t think she was capable of more than her minimal work. The teachers at Calvin Christian High School didn’t accept her lack-luster attempts at school work. It’s not to say they expected more of her than she was capable, but they could see that she had more to give, more to offer, more than even she knew. They continued to push, she continued to give a little more and a little more. Even she was surprised at what the teachers were able to pull out of her. Her self confidence grew, her love for learning grew and her desire to grow spiritually grew in leaps and bounds.

These teachers were able to accomplish what I was powerless to do. How can you put a price tag on that? I am so indebted to these individuals and this school, and that is no exaggeration!

The 10 Most Popular Myths Christian Parents Believe

PERSPECTIVE: A Christian Worldview on Education and Family
Mike Lee, Superintendent (Cherokee Christian Schools)
©2008 by Cherokee Christian Schools (used with permission)

Please click here for a full text of the article as originally published by Cherokee Christian Schools.

Answers to the question: Why do Christian Parents Choose to educate their Children in a School that Excludes Christ?

Encouragement

“No one will read this!” This has been the feedback we have received from some who proofed this writing. They contend that most people are no longer willing to read anything more than a “sound bite.” They tell us that the average person just wants the bottom line or the Cliffs Notes version. “Just email me, or better yet, text me- it’s quicker.”Our “bottom line” to you: please give this writing ten minutes of your time. Using the power and truth of biblical principles, it contains information that may change your life and the life of your children forever.

A Difficult Message to Write

We have taken six months to write this booklet. It has been critiqued by parents, grandparents, and teachers both in the Christian and public school sectors. Some have said the message is terrific. Others have said it is preachy or self-righteous. Still others said it was harsh. We listened to the criticisms and made changes that we hoped would remove any tone that would offend while not changing the truths herein. We understand that what we have written will not win the praise of the world. However, we are not seeking that praise. This booklet is designed to bring truth to minds of Christian parents who choose to have their children educated in a public school or a private non-Christian school. It is not directed to homeschool parents or non-Christian parents. We could ignore what is going on in our culture and say nothing, but that would not be biblical. Christians are called to be truth tellers, even when what we say may be unpopular. Please know our heart on this: we have written this booklet because we love the Lord, love the brethren, and love children. Psalm 40:9-11 says, “I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation; Behold, I will not restrain my lips, O LORD, You know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your loving-kindness and Your truth from the great congregation.” Our hope is that God will bless the sharing of His truth through this booklet.

Special note to Christian public school teachers and administrators: this booklet cites some of the unbiblical weaknesses of the public school in America. Please do not read this as a personal attack. We appreciate that you do not agree with the philosophy of the public schools and want to encourage you to be a warrior for Christ in that setting. Although we do not believe that Christ intended for children to be missionaries in the public school, He does intend Christian adults to speak His truth boldly wherever they are. We urge you to trust the Lord as you follow your calling.

Introduction

You have probably heard the term “like a frog in the kettle.” It refers to a situation where the frog sits in room temperature water in the kettle and neither knows nor feels the subtle changes that are happening in the water. Degree after degree, the water increases in heat and eventually the frog is boiled to death. So it is with many Christian families in America. With the decline of Christianity in our culture and many in the American church behaving more like the world, many Christian families are being boiled to death. Instead of realizing that there is a continual increase in the cultural temperature, Christian parents are being fooled again and again, believing misinformation that is killing the spiritual life of their children. What about you? Are you being fooled? Have you bought into the secular perspectives that we are constantly bombarded with each day? Have you taken the time and energy to question the so called “facts” that we are fed from all angles?

Please read and consider the ten myths that Christian parents frequently believe. You still have time to jump out of the kettle!

The 10 Most Popular Myths Christian Parents Believe*

Myth 1: I am saving money by not paying Christian school tuition.

Myth 2: We can’t afford Christian school tuition.

Myth 3: The public school and the Christian parent have the same goal in mind for the child’s education so my child is not being damaged spiritually by going to a non-Christian school.

Myth 4: Exposing my child to ungodly thinking and actions will prepare my child for the “real world.”

Myth 5: Children should be missionaries in the public school.

Myth 6: My child will be best served by figuring out life while attending a non-Christian school.

Myth 7: The prom, dating, and sports are vital experiences for my child and can best be experienced in a public school.

Myth 8: My child is receiving a good education in the public schools.

Myth 9: The learning environment in the public school is good.

Myth 10: The ultimate in myth telling to Christian parents in America may not be because the myth is being created for belief by the public school administrators, public school teachers unions, or politicians. It may be that parents are creating a myth that they want to believe for themselves.

*For a complete “discussion” of each myth, please click here for the full text of the booklet.

Why consider Christian schooling?

Submitted by Mary Louise Everhart
Director of Development, Conestoga Christian School (Morgantown, Pennsylvania)

Christian schools exist in many formats and are governed in a variety of ways. Believers are often put off by the expense and inconvenience of the local Christian school or feel the quality of education is compromised to make room for lessons in faith. To be sure, careful research is called for when exploring Christian school options. There are solid arguments, both biblical and practical, in favor of Christian schooling.

God’s word is taught.
Deuteronomy 11:18-19 presents a clear mandate to saturate children’s minds with the Word of God. In Christian schools the Bible forms the foundation for all other texts and the truth of scripture is integrated into all academic disciplines. Students learn to inquire and decide through the lens of obedience to scripture. They learn to think while grounded in God’s ultimate truth.

The school shares your values
A formidable partnership between school, home and church creates an environment in which biblical attitudes and values are consistently reinforced. Behaviors like respect, patience and thoughtfulness are applauded not mocked. Teachers who love and fear the Lord can offer students timely encouragement and appropriate correction. Christian schools have become a safer emotional and spiritual place for students to grow.

Academic achievement
Rigorous academic experiences need not be sacrificed in exchange for the Christian school experience. Many Christian schools are able to engage students in challenging courses while also giving them opportunity to explore individual gifts and creative talents. Parents would do well to investigate curriculum choices, college admission success and other post high school plans of any Christian school. Increasingly, Christian schools are also able to meet the educational needs of students with other kinds of learning issues.

Christian schools are often accused of being “hothouses” where students are unnecessarily and artificially insulated from the forces of the secular world. To be sure students are protected in Christian school. They are also grounded in God’s word and nurtured in their ability to articulate their faith. This strong biblical foundation better equips them to handle and refute the discrepant ideas they will meet when they have grown ready to appropriately interface with the culture.

Parents are encouraged to examine the schools in their community and pray about the educational environment they select for their children.

For additional information on the value of Christian schools and for assistance in locating Christian schools in your area visit www.DiscoverChristianschools.com

I believe in education!

Commencement Address by
Everett Piper
President, Oklahoma Wesleyan University

In a recent address to the graduates of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Dr. Piper began by saying, "I believe that the best education is one which is tested by time, confirmed by experience, validated by reason, and ultimately grounded in Scripture. "

Dr. Piper also made several other "I believe . . ." statements to his listening audience, and now, by extension, to his reading audience.

I believe that the academy is the gate keeper of our individual virtue and our national conscience.

I believe that all intellectual and moral training must be anchored in our Creator who endows us with the rights of life and liberty and that if we build education on any foundation but Him we will lose our conscience and shortly thereafter lose our freedom, our joy, and our ability to pursue happiness.

I believe that our future lies in the hearts and minds of today’s students and that all cultures are but one generation away from irrelevancy and extinction.

I believe that what is taught today in the classroom will be practiced tomorrow in our churches, our companies, our communities and our country at large.

I believe in absolutes and that if we don’t teach them, learn them, and cherish them that we will be cast about by every wave of human desire, political promise, and selfish ambition.

To read the rest of Dr. Piper's address and his challenge "to believe", please click here to visit the Oklahoma Wesleyan University website.

Oklahoma Wesleyan University, located in Bartlesville, OK, is a four-year Christian university of the liberal arts and sciences that is fully accredited by the North Central Association. OWU also obtained professional accreditation with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and the International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). It is a member of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities as well as the Council of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Association of Oklahoma Independent Colleges and Universities.

A Great Reason for Christian Education

Steve Cornell
Senior pastor, Millersville Bible Church, Millersville PA

In the very near future, America will cease to be the primary sending nation for Christian missionaries. Already large numbers of missionaries are being sent from places like Latin America, India and South Korea (to name a few). They are even being sent to reach Americans. Why is it that evangelical Churches in America are full (especially in their Mega forms) and yet a steadily decreasing number of Christians answer the call to take the gospel to the ends of the earth? The answer might surprise you. Let me explain.

A major ideological shift: The tyranny of tolerance

In the last twenty to thirty years, we (in the West) have experienced a major ideological shift with regard to religious truth. America, as a free nation, has supported the existence of a diversity of religions. But, with the recent shift, we have moved to a required acknowledgment of the validity of each religion as a truth option. Tolerance, we are told, mandates this outlook on religious beliefs. And, in the new system, no exceptions to tolerance will be tolerated. Tolerance is considered the peacekeeping virtue of a pluralistic society. It is the primary quality for maintaining pluralistic civility. Yet while peace and respect for diversity are important, gaining them through socially imposed tolerance is misguided and dangerous. It is also a departure from the proper understanding of tolerance itself.

The true virtue of tolerance is unnecessary when people surrender or silence commitments to real differences. Tolerance only becomes a functional virtue when two people or groups of people strongly disagree and yet treat each other with respect. Where disagreements either do not exist or do not matter, there is no need for tolerance.

Ironically, the tolerance being required today is a form of intolerance. It requires people to keep their differences to themselves. It promotes a monolithic culture—where everyone is increasingly forced to conceal the multi-cultural dimensions of society. What we end up with is diversity we can’t talk about lest we offend those who disagree. An entire generation of Americans have been socially conditioned under the tyranny of tolerance.

Pressure on religious communities:

In the cause of promoting and protecting pluralistic civility, social pressure is particularly placed on religious communities to de-emphasize all positions that could be perceived as claims to superiority among the religions of the world. Under the tyrannical rule of the twisted version of tolerance, people have been conditioned to be deeply suspicious of attempts to privilege one religious tradition or teaching as normative for all. If a religious tradition claims to have special access to truth about God, it is considered intolerant no matter how respectfully it relates to others. Absolute religious and moral opinions are considered potential threats to pluralistic civility.

Division of truth: Personal and public

Social conditioning based on radical tolerance is strengthened by the division of truth into personal and public categories. Moral and religious opinions are widely viewed as matters of personal taste like preferences for chocolate over vanilla. Media and academic elite (the primary means for social conditioning) have tried to persuade the public that moral and religious opinions (unlike scientific facts) are merely personal matters we should keep to ourselves. An unsuspecting public has been taught to marginalize and trivialize religion and morality into a private sphere irrelevant to life in the real world.

Public education: learning environments for the tyranny of tolerance

Participants in public learning institutions face an imposed rule of tolerance that requires acceptance and celebration of each person’s moral and religious beliefs and practices. In his extensive research concerning the thinking and beliefs of American teenagers, Professor Christian Smith suggested that among today’s young students, “The strategy for dealing with religious and moral disagreement is: ‘You don’t go there’” (Soul Searching). To avoid hurt feelings or unnecessary conflict, young people have learned to avoid particulars and absolutes and talk about everything in strictly non-offensive ways. This is the safer option if they wish to be accepted rather than ostracized.

This social conditioning has produced in our young people (and in many adults) in our churches an in-articulacy with regard to the faith. A learned capacity to talk about differences becomes unnecessary in a society that asks us to avoid speaking in particular or absolute categories. As a result, large numbers of people are not only unable to articulate what they believe and why they believe it, they are guarded against beliefs that are too particular or in any way exclude or offend the beliefs of others.

Even if they actually hold to particular moral or religious beliefs, they have learned to suspend their commitment to them in most social circumstances. And, since they have been taught that moral and religious opinions are merely matters of personal taste, why stir things up over such matters? You don’t go there.

Exceptions to the rule of tolerance:
Exceptions to this rule of tolerance are found in areas where society decides acceptable views for everyone. The primary tools of influence on these matters come through the media and academia. Elitists in these fields pressure others to see things their way or face ridicule and condescension. Uniformity of opinion is required for all who wish to be considered open-minded and progressive. Those who see things differently will be labeled (among other things) narrow, backwards and right-wing conservatives.

For examples, homosexual lifestyles and gay marriage must be considered acceptable. Abortion is a fundamental right and not the taking of innocent life. All religions lead to God in their own way and the value of religion is found not in its truthfulness but in the benefit it brings to adherents. As long as you are sincere in your efforts to serve God, it doesn’t matter what religion you follow. Conversely, one must never publically refer to what the bible teaches—outside of Church at least. Those who are brave enough to do this should expect to hear collective groans and sighs about the presence of “one of those radical Christians.”

No need for evangelism or apologetics classes:

Under this kind of social conditioning, it becomes unnecessary to be trained in moral argument or to learn how to constructively engage someone in a discussion about different beliefs. Young people in particular might question the value of such training. Why talk about things that could be perceived exclusive or violations of pluralistic civility. Some might even suspect hidden imperialistic agendas designed to oppress a minority group or to impose your politics on others. Let’s not go there.

A growing number of people actually feel that there is something morally repugnant about followers of one religion maintaining that they are correct in their beliefs and that sincere adherents of other religions are mistaken in what they believe. Most college students, for example, accept the idea of some creative force behind the existence of the universe. “What is a debated topic is how you move from this rather impersonal force to the beliefs of a particular religious tradition, and especially whether in affirming the truth-reliability of one path, you must stand against the truth-reliability of all other paths.” (Professor Daniel Liechty, Illinois State University). The new tension is not about belief in God but whether or not it is “safe” to believe in one absolute deity. The tyranny of tolerance has scared people into postures of neutrality. It feels safer to choose not to believe anything too conclusively but to hold all beliefs in their broadest terms. The by-product is a culture that has lost its ability to think, discuss and debate. “Whatever” has become the common response to differences on morality and religion. In this environment, it becomes increasingly hard to train people to share and defend their faith.

A new social etiquette

Social etiquette requires acknowledgement of the independent validity of every faith. Those who attempt to convert people to their religious beliefs are viewed as religious chauvinists. It’s not enough to maintain (as we should) that each person is free to follow and express his or her own religion. Now we must treat each religious belief as equally valid and abandon, as unacceptably arrogant, any attempt to convert others to a different religious opinion. Strangely, this approach “… forecloses on open-mindedness in the same breath by which it extols the virtues of open-mindedness. Both the irony and tragedy of this fierce intolerance stem from the fact that it is done in the name of tolerance” (D. A. Carson, God and Culture). The new mantra is: “No exceptions to tolerance will be tolerated”. Effect on Christian witness and missions Should we be surprised that Christians with a missionary faith feel intimidated by this attitude? How can they obey Jesus’ call to, “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), without being considered rude and intrusive? Under the tyranny of tolerance, how should we think about Jesus statement, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father but through me” (John 14:6)? Should we change Jesus’ words and make him say, “I am a way, a truth, and a life. People can come to the father through me or any other means they desire.”

It’s tempting to feel marginalized by the selective tolerance of our culture. The primary object of intolerance is Christianity. Islam doesn’t receive the same level of ridicule and hostility. Professors who openly mock Christianity wouldn’t dare attack the Islamic faith in university classrooms. But like the first followers of Christ, we must not compromise the message of salvation. In a fiercely pluralistic and polytheistic Roman society, the early apostles testified of Jesus that, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). They did not offer this as a personal opinion among many equally valid options. This was proclaimed as a fact of prophecy and history.

When Jesus described his true disciples in the beatitudes (see Matthew 5:10-16), he included persecution as distinguishing mark (cf. John 15:20). Persecuted people live provokingly different lifestyles in the world. They are true difference-makers and Jesus picks up on this when he reminds his disciples that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. He also cautioned them not to follow the temptation to dilute the salt or hide the light. The followers of Jesus must be like well-lit cities on a hill that cannot be hidden. We must capture strategic places of influence for Jesus and not allow ourselves to be marginalized by the pressures of selective intolerance.

Witness with wisdom and grace:

Considering the atmosphere I have described, Christian witness should be offered with wisdom and grace. Scripture that is particularly applicable exhorts us to, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:5-6). Given the prevailing distortions of tolerance and the misdirected attitude toward religious beliefs, it is also wise to emphasize the inclusive parts of our message. The good news of salvation is meant for all people.

At least seven truths related to the gospel apply to all people - without exception.
1. God has demonstrated his love for all people (John 3:16).
2. God desires the salvation of all people (I Timothy 2:3-4).
3. God has made provision for the salvation of all people (I John 2:2).
4. God commands all people to repent (Acts 17:30).
5. God will hold all people accountable for their response (Acts 17:31).
6. God takes no pleasure in anyone’s rejection of his provision (Ezekiel 18:23,32).
7. God will save all people who place faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

Final note: A Good reason for Christian Education

Christian Schools and colleges provide learning contexts for our children and youth to talk freely and openly about absolute moral and religious beliefs. They do not have to suspend their commitments to these beliefs or feel unsafe to discuss them. They are able to learn how to articulate why they believe what they believe. Many who work in these environments are discouraged due to decreasing enrollments and funding. Yet the work being done in Christian education is vital to the advancement of the gospel and the preservation of liberty and justice for all. Keep on providing the context for faith to flourish!

Questions for discussion:
1. What are the long-term affects for those who spend large amounts of time in environments where they learn to avoid talking about particulars and absolutes?
2. Would a learned ability to suspend commitment to one’s belief lead to moral compromise in similar circumstances?
3. How can churches address these matters and the issue of inarticulacy regarding the faith?
4. How does Christian teaching that all people are created equal in the image of God serve as the only reliable basis for true tolerance?
5. Does tolerance ask too little of people?
6. Would it be better to use the word respect instead of the term tolerance? If so, Why?
7. How would a call to radical neighbor love over tolerance be more socially transformative from a Christian perspective?
8. How do the salt and light metaphors relate to the roles of Jesus’ followers in the world?

The Ultimate Reason for a Christian School Education

John Fedele – Discover Christian Schools

In these ever changing times I find it interesting to read the variety of “reasons” given to parents in considering a Christian School education. The fact that Christian schools have weekly chapels, memorize Scripture, study the Bible, or that our schools are safe places for kids, or that there is a positive learning atmosphere, those things are all important, but they are not the essence of a Christian school education. They are good, things, but they do not fully represent in my opinion what a Christian school education is really about.

The first and most important thing that you’re going to find in a Christian school is an education that is presented from an eternal perspective, meaning, students are taught about the reality that there is a God, and His will for each young person is to know him personally as Savior and then, to begin learning how they can become totally devoted disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• It’s an education about having children understand the need for a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe, and how that Creator can profoundly impact and interact with their lives right here, right now as well as for the rest of their lives.
• It’s not just about the sweet bye and bye or punching a ticket for heaven, but it’s coming to a deep awareness and a knowledge that a student’s life can make a difference right here, right now and that they are being equipped to impact God’s kingdom and ultimately, to influence the world in which they live.
• It’s not about students learning to adjust or adapt to the culture, but rather having students learn how they can change the culture and ultimately the world wherever they go.
• It is not about getting an education that prepares students to get into the best college, to get the best job, to make lots of money, so they can buy “stuff” and be happy. Getting a good education is important, don’t get me wrong, but if that is the end goal and the only goal, and our children are not equipped or prepared to live lives of meaning and service, to live lives that make a difference in the lives of others, then we have failed in our mission to truly educate them.

James Braley, noted Christian educator said it best, “It’s changed lives, changing lives!” It’s the impact of a teacher’s changed life, changing the individual lives of his or her students. And those students going out and doing the same.

Christian parents, isn’t that what you really want for your son or daughter? To have them grow in relationship with their Creator and live a life of purpose and meaning, having them being able to discern and discover God’s will for their lives and to have access to His blessings, goodness and favor, and not just simply “grab the gusto?” That’s what students will receive at a Christian school, an education that is from an eternal perspective based on a personal relationship with God that will be lived out in some kind of service to the kingdom of God and to others. It is an education not only of the mind, but of the heart as well, to love God, and to love and serve others.

An education for an eternity! The ultimate reason to consider a Christian school education!

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From the "Front Lines" of Christian Education

The MidAtlantic Christian Schools Association recently held its 60th anniversary convention. The convention was attended by over 1350 administrators, development officers, board members, teachers and support staff! These are the folks on the FRONT LINES of the Christian schooling movement.

Dr. Crawford Loritts, Jr., Senior Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA was the keynote speaker and spoke at the convention's three general sessions.
Thursday AM: Stewardship of a Generation
Thursday PM: On Assignment from God
Friday AM: The Anatomy of Pressure

John Fedele, Executive Director of http://www.discoverchristianschools.com/ was in attendance at the convention and was encouraged by the messages brought by Dr. Loritts. "I believe each address will not only challenge and encourage you, but minister to you as well - as parents, as teachers, as administrators - as those involved in Kingdom work! I strongly recommend listening to each address and that you pray for the 1350 delegates who attended, that they might be instrumental in transmitting to this generation the convention's theme of a "A Legacy of Faith . . A Future of Hope."

Please click here to download and listen to the three keynote addresses. You will be directed to the MACSA website when you click on the link.

Christian education – an investment in the future

By Nancy Huckaby
The Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, TX)
Published Sunday, November 2, 2008

Christian parents understand well the responsibility they have to not only love their children, but to educate them in an environment that embraces Christ’s fundamental truths.

Many find the answer in home schooling, but for countless others, Christian schools provide the perfect answer. Christian education facilities – both elementary, secondary and higher learning – can help parents make sure their children receive a quality education, taught by dedicated and knowledgeable teachers.

Christian education is not without its critics. Some say it insulates children from the real world, or shelters them from many of the negative influences they’ll have to face in the future. On its Web site, cornerstonekingman.ca, Cornerstone Christian Academy in Kingman, Alberta, Canada, offers this view:

"The Christian school works somewhat like a greenhouse which is designed to provide optimum conditions for growth while a plant is young. Young children are protected and carefully nurtured to help them mature properly. When the time comes for them to be 'transplanted’ into a more hostile environment, they are more likely to endure difficulties and continue to thrive because they have been trained well and have developed a discerning heart."

Christian educators want to help students recognize the hostility and injustice in today’s world while giving them the tools – critical thinking skills, a core value system and a strong foundation of faith – to apply Christ’s truth to solving those problems.

Administrators know that the academic standards at a Christian school must be strong if parents are asked to make what, for many, is a significant sacrifice for the cost of attending a private school. College bound students face their own brand of challenges and for many (and their parents) knowing that the college or university they select is based on Christian principles is paramount.

Gary Ledbetter, communications director for the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention in Grapevine, offered this advice on the CollegeView Web site:

"A final benefit of Christian higher education is perhaps the most significant. The quality of a Christian college experience is higher than any other. Christian educators have an additional motivation to do their work with excellence – the call of Christ on their lives to do just that (I Cor. 10:31). Quality may also be enhanced by the emphasis on subjects and teaching deemed by God to be the first importance. A biblical focus will inform the manner, content, and even the scope of an educational experience, and Christian schools may be less influenced by cultural (or educational) fads."


Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22.6