Objection . . . Overruled

It was November of 1979 that I entered the ministry of Christian education.  I can hardly believe it’s been 30 years!  It seems like “only yesterday”.  In that thirty years, God has taken me on such a wonderful adventure filled with experiences and opportunities not many others can claim.  There have been indescribable blessings and joys ~ working with teachers, sharing with parents, and discipling students.  Along with that, I have also encountered the burdens and sorrows ~ working with teachers, sharing with parents, discipling students!   It has certainly been a journey, and when weighed in the balance, there have been far more blessings than burdens and far greater joys than sorrows.  My life has been so enriched through my pilgrimage in this crucial work of the Kingdom in the hearts and minds of children.

. . . And that’s the point.  My experience being the head of a Christian school transcends salary, advanced degrees, statistical analysis, achievement, boards, policies, and development.  While those are all components of my career, it’s been about the mission, it’s been about the relationships, it’s been about the service to God, to parents, and to children.  It’s hard to explain.  One just has to experience it to experience it!  Yet over those thirty years, I have heard the same objections, arguments and rationalizations for not joining this crucial element of our childrens’ educational development in our time.   I’d like to cite these objections and (lovingly, yet deliberately) overrule each one . . .

• “Our children should be salt & light in the real world” ~ this may be the 2nd biggest objection of all time (the 1st is coming).  It may also be the toughest to overrule since it sounds so theological or biblical.  Yet, I argue (respectfully) that I do not believe Christ was speaking of young children when he made that statement during his Sermon on the Mount.  He was addressing us.  Well, actually he was drawing an analogy to the way we should live as believers no matter where we go or are, not that we seek to expose our children to the “real world” so, what, they’ll be able to stand up against the forces of darkness at age 7?   Another thought . . . what is this real world?  What does it look like?  Is being in a Christian school unreal?  Can one be salt & light here as well?  I would argue that what is experienced in a Christian school is more “real” than you might think, certainly real in terms of the education and environment that God desires for His children.  As I observe the world around me, responding to the culture, I can hardly say it’s real.  This objection takes shape from one verse of one sermon of Jesus taken out of context, while both Old and New Testaments are filled with instruction, admonition, and challenge to “BE CAREFUL” to instruct, teach, pass on, and disciple our children and our children’s children “to fear the Lord, put their trust in Him and remember all His praiseworthy deed, His power, and the wonders He has done”. That’s the image of the educational and environmental setting in which our children develop that saltiness as children of light!
• “Public school was good enough for me . . .” ~ Sadly, it wasn’t!  I too grew up (some say I haven’t!) in the state system.  I received a good education and was accepted into college.  I had friends.  Following college, I taught history and coached in a state school for seven years . . . can’t really say it was “bad”.  For me, the two points I want to make are, knowing what I know now:  1) that I wish I HAD attended a Christian school, and 2) “good enough” isn’t good enough.  My high school was huge, graduating with 650 other seniors.  It was not a godly place and most of my “real world” associations were at church and neighborhood.  Most of my good friends attended a Catholic school.  My participation in high school was limited due to it’s size and politics.  It wasn’t good enough for me in a practical sense, nor good enough in a spiritual/philosophical sense.  Jim Collins, in his classic work, Good To Great, states that “good is the enemy of great”!   Christian education is great because of its focus, its mission, its process, and its product.  Jesus also said in his Sermon on the Mount, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. Establishing a biblical mindset, belief and behavior in our children is most definitely a facet of the kingdom, one that is woefully overlooked, showing in our culture and society.  Settling for “good enough” is unsettling to the glory of the kingdom God has set before us.
• “Kids from a Christian school are no different” ~ I beg to differ.  They are different.  In thirty years of unofficial, observable research I can conclude that young men and women who have been raised with that cord of three strands ARE different.  100% of them, 100% of the time?  No, certainly not.  Are students attending the state schools inferior?  Of course not.  The point being that my students in my school are different . . . different in their perspective on life, different in their responses to situations, and different in the manner they conduct themselves in the “real world”.  The whole matter for Christian education is that it is OUR responsibility as citizens of the kingdom of God is to see that they get it.  What they do with it is THEIR responsibility.  It may take longer with some, and for some others it  may bear fruit in another season.  Our sacred duty as parents and as a Church is to supply the means, the resources, and the vehicle for it to happen.  When we unite in our effort to establish God’s kingdom in the hearts and minds of the next generation . . . WOW, I can only imagine the impact, the voice, and the influence we will have on the culture for this kingdom!  The hair on my neck is standing up just thinking about it!  They ARE different.
• “Hey, my children go to Sunday School and youth activities” ~ Great.  So did I, and so did mine . . . but it wasn’t enough.  My youth pastor was a big influence on my teen years and it was my Sunday School teacher who “led me to the Lord”.  But I knew nothing of how God related or applied to my learning.  Knowing God’s perspective on Science, History, literature, and Math was foreign to me.  Speaking of foreign, I didn’t learn Bible verses in Spanish either!  There was no Christian aspect to my educational life until I went away to a CHRISTIAN college.    As fun and engaging as it was, SS and youth group was not enough.  As much as I appreciate and respect the work of youth ministries, I wish we could partner more effectively for our teens . . . for their benefit.
• “Many Christian schools are inferior” ~ Sad to say, this can be true.  Because we are a work of the kingdom, we should work to honor the King!  That means doing whatever is right, true, noble, pure, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.  There are those that fall short of that and perhaps do more harm than good.  The Christian school movement needs to “step up” and meet the challenge of moving from good to great.  My frustration is that we need the support of the Church and the Christian community to make it so.  Without the Church, I am afraid this movement will fade away and we will be left with children being educated in the “real world” that is “good enough”.   Our schools should be the biggest and best.  Our programs should be attracting others to “come and see”.  Our staff should be the best around . . . and paid as “worthy of their hire”.  We should be the model, setting the standard for others to follow.
• “I can’t afford it” ~ This is numero uno objection for me.  I understand that it is true and real.  I wish that it were not so.  My heart’s desire is that Christian school tuition were affordable for all, because I believe it is essential for all.  Politically, I believe that parents should not have to pay taxes to support a failing educational system they do not support.  Our tax money should be able to be used for the education we desire for our children.  But that’s politics, and until “the pain of no change becomes greater than the pain of change, there will be no change”.   So where does that leave us?  I believe we do not rely on the government to support or assist us in Kingdom work.  It’s the pearl of great price, it’s the talents given by the boss, it’s what we are to seek first.  I believe that the Church is the voice, the means, and the catalyst for changing the culture and the future for the Kingdom.  If we were truly tithing folks, I believe that churches would be calling me with money they had left over to support us, I believe we would have people lined-up at the door for enrollment, and I believe we’d create that cord of three strands not easily broken!  THAT is what I believe.  Money cannot overrule the Kingdom.  But it can distract us from it.  Jesus was emphatic in his comparison . . . “hating the one and loving the other, or devoted to one and despise the other . . . for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. For me, and what God emphasizes throughout His Word is, it is children and the next generation that is our greatest resource, greatest legacy, and greatest gift for projecting the kingdom forward.  Where folks have sacrificed as much as they can and still need assistance, then the Christian community should rise up to bring that assistance so that “no child is left behind” from establishing their heart and mind in this kingdom perspective.  Talk about endowment!  Our Christian schools should have their barns full and able to supply . . ..

To sum it all up, I recently was sent information concerning the Manhattan Declaration.  A group of Christian leaders from every denomination, persuasion, and organization, met in NYC and drafted a declaration that proclaimed a “call to arms” around three significant issues facing the country and our culture ~ abortion, alternate life-styles, and religious liberty.  After reading this, I shouted, “THANKS BE TO GOD!”  My only thought in addition to this courageous and much needed proclamation was adding the issue of education.  Without the body of Christ seeking first the kingdom in the succeeding generations, I do not see these matters changing.  I apologize for sounding like a prophet of doom for I am not.  I apologize if I have offended any with my overruling (overbearing?) thoughts on the matter.  It’s just that our children are much too important to ignore.  For many we have certainly not ignored them in giving them all their heart’s desire.  But I want to stress that, for me, it’s coming to grips with these objections, overruling them, and focusing on what is the desire of God’s heart.  While I have been at this for thirty years, I do not think I have thirty more.  My heart’s desire is to see this revival of Christian education as an integral part of God’s kingdom in the land of the living . . . in my living.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” ~ III John 4