Retreat . . . to Advance

“Best Value . . . Plus Values”

I went to “BEST BUY” the other day and guess what?  It was!  They had the item I was shopping for, and for the best price.  Hmmmm, they lived up to their name . . . how refreshing.  It reminded me also of the place where my wife and I buy our pizza.  On each and every box are the words, “You’ve tried the rest, now try the best”.  It caused me to do some soul searching about our Christian schools and the consumer orientation we find ourselves in these days.  While I do not see our children’s education in the same vain as looking for a cell phone, dishwasher, or pizza, I understand the culture that has us consumed with consumerism.  Unfortunately, this cultural consumerism has infected the church and education (my opinion), developing fickleness, leading to a lack of participation and commitment, causing the next generation to view things from a (shallow) “what’s in it for me?” mindset.

Unfortunately, for many Christians, developing a Christian worldview in children, offering a curriculum that integrates all the subjects with biblical principles, and operating with teachers who love God, love children, and love their subject are not compelling enough reasons to come.   What should be at the heart and soul of the body of Christ, that being, to establish a Godly heritage of faith and learning in the next generation, is sadly neglected for a “salt & light” posturing that has little to do with discipling children and the faith and learning process.

As we view the social, economical, political, and educational landscape of our time, it is time for the Church and its people to wake up to the fact that “our (present) struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces” that are seeking to undermine our very faith, while we battle each other at the expense of our children.  “They shoot at the very foundation we stand on, while we shoot at them.

Dr. Barrett Mosbacker, writing in his blog, The Christian Education Journal (christianschooljournal.com), states, “Whether we like it or not, most of our parents don’t understand the mission of developing a biblical worldview.  And if they don’t understand or appreciate it they will not make significant sacrifices for it, everything else being relatively equal.  In other words, for most of our parents, the development of a biblical worldview is an ethereal concept subservient to more ‘practical’ considerations like education quality, admission to top colleges, the breadth and depth of extra-curricular programs, a safe and nurturing environment, etc”.  I say, “How sad!”  He cites three reasons for this:

1) Most of our parents have never experienced its life changing impact.  Most of our parents were educated in public schools and public universities.  They don’t get it—at least at first.  They have no experiential context to draw upon.

2) Most of our pulpits do not explicitly endorse the value of a Christian education as an intellectual enterprise.  Christian education is not promoted as a theological or kingdom imperative.

3) The prevalence of theological ignorance and pietism.  As a rule, pietism minimizes the life of the mind while emphasizing the emotional/experiential component of the Christian life.

Again I say, “How very sad!”  We are not providing excellence in education AND a Christian education.  Christian education by definition must be excellent education.  I will state with all within me that a quality Christian education is the ‘best buy’ around.  Now I know that I am the paid employee and supposed to say these things, but I have been around the education business for over thirty years and I have seen a lot, both in this country and others.  A true Christian education is the best value in education, period.  Here’s why . . .

• Christian schools offer an excellent academic progress ~ This is a must, and I admit that some do not.  Christian education boasts training for eternity, but along the journey there, that eternal vision stops at educational study and career after high school.  Test scores should validate this, records for college acceptance should demonstrate this, and alumni should testify to this.  “Ole” Bill Gormley used to say of Christian schooling, “It’s the meat and potatoes, Bill”.

• The atmosphere is exceptional ~ If you are involved at all in the life of a Christian school, you will know that you are at home.  I hear and see it from the children, and I certainly know of it for myself.  As in everything else, our product can be “new and improved” as we seek God’s guidance for both direction and improvement, but for my money, nothing compares.

• Activities abound ~ whether it’s athletics, the arts, academics, or other student activities, there should be something for everyone.  Christian schools should be rich in student life and large in offering programs for the students.  Add to this that at the heart of all these, we seek to develop our student’s God-given gifts and talents.

• Faculty are talented and committed ~ Christian school should have a well-qualified faculty that seeks professional development and has earned advanced degrees.  This is not merely glorified Sunday School.  I always tell folks that our teachers and staff have “three loves”.  They love the Lord, love your children, and love what they teach.  Not many places can boast this cord of three strands.

On top of value, there are values . . . Christian values with the development of a biblical worldview at the core.  Christian schooling has the one thing that others may (will?) never have . . . a comprehensive and cohesive approach to child development, curriculum, and learning that places Christ, and the development of a Christian mindset as the central value.  That’s value that lasts, value that transcends co$t, and value that consumerism overlooks.  What is that worth?

That’s the real value in it all, isn’t it?  Being a part of a Christian school includes a blessing.  It’s part of our vocabulary to speak of blessing.  Our young people are blessed in their faith-learning adventure, our families are blessed by the investment in that faith-learning process, and we are blessed having you learn and grow in faith with us.  The Word proclaims, “May those who bless you be blessed”.

One of the definitions of “consume”, from which we get consumer, is “to engage fully”.  I think of this as I reflect back over the years I have been involved with Christian education.  To get the most out of our school, you must seek to be fully engaged (mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, AND PURPOSEFULLY).  You must believe that it is of great worth, that it is investing in the Kingdom.   If not, we turn to window-shopping for the place that gives us the most . . . costing us the least.  As a result we are “blown and tossed by the winds” of consumerism, purchasing things that only become rust & dust.

So, while we must compete in the market-place of value, We must also be steadfast and sure in the quality of the education we espouse.  We must continue to “preach and teach” the philosophy and spiritual truth that lie at the very essence of our existence.  It’s a rally cry for this day and the future of the Church, Christian family, and the heritage of both as we know them.  I may sound dogmatic, but I trust I sound convinced.  Please explain to me if there is another way . . .

Perfect Education . . .

As we begin this new school year, I am reminded of the past 36 “first days of school” in my lifetime.  All the emotions of students anticipating (joyfully and otherwise), teachers reorienting, parents “rejoicing” . . . me wondering, “What will this school year hold?” We all want everything to go just right.  We want everyone to be happy, to be united.  We want it all to be perfect.  And for the first few days, it seems to be so.  The energy has returned to a silent summer facility, the children are back with tales of summer exploits, parents are delighted to be dropping their sons and daughters off at our curb.  And I pray it will remain this way, even for just 180 days . . . but deep down I know it probably won’t.   As it is with every aspect of our lives, we want perfection but it’s hard to come by.  We want perfection, but usually in others, and in the other things that affect our lives (usually to our inconvenience!).  We want perfection but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

I believe that this perfection tendency pervades our expectation of school.  Everyone is expecting perfection in everyone else.  I believe because of the pressures of our society, economy, and time, we are losing both patience and tolerance.  We are rushing around trying both to be in control and be efficient, and so lose a measure of the quality of life that comes from growing as people, from relationships, and from face-to-face communication.

Because education has the focus of growing young people, building relationships, and fostering communication, it cannot be perfect . . . well, not in the sense that I’ve just described.  We are dealing with people, fallen people, people that are imperfect.  Woody Allen once stated that he “could never belong to a club that would have him as a member”.  My school will never be perfect as long as I am there!  But in Christian education, we answer to a higher authority, with a loftier perspective, offering a HIGHER LEARNING, in that we work together with a common purpose ~ nurturing young people to be perfect.  Huh?

That’s right, we do want our sons & daughters to be perfect, and I wholeheartedly agree.  That’s why I’m in this business and will continue so until the Lord directs me otherwise.  But it’s not the perfection we usually expect or require, rather the perfection God desires.  That is a different definition of the word, a different perspective.  Perfect, in biblical terms, refers to wholeness . . . a great concept when applied to Christian education!  I believe that the educational perspective that we, in Christian schools, bring into the lives of young people is the most complete, well-rounded, holistic, cohesive education the universe has to offer.  We focus on the Creator God, the God who is one, God alone.  St. Paul told the scholars of Greece, “In Him (God) we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). This Creator, through the atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ on the cross, put all things (meaning everything!), in heaven and earth under his authority.  Paul again writes to the learned Colossians, “. . . all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). And then, through the power and counsel of the Holy Spirit, this perspective finds root in these young hearts and minds, leading them into all truth, sanctifying them by the Word of truth, and perfecting them in righteousness and truth (Paul, again in II Timothy 3:14-16).

Now I know this sound quite theological, and it is.  But more important to this discussion, it is quite educational and quite practical.  Educationally, with this biblical perspective at the center of a child’s growth and development, seeing the world and all in it as being whole, complete and connected through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they grow toward perfection.   The school’s philosophy, core values, objectives, curriculum, and programs will all reflect this wholeness . . . it better or it should “cease & desist” working with children.  The mandate and responsibility are too crucial.

Practically speaking, the Christian view of God and the world is to be propagated as a daily ritual in the classroom.  This “rubber meeting the road” is vital to the students’ “getting it”!  The God fearing, Jesus modeling, Spirit-led Christian educator must see to it that both the planned instruction and the “a-ha” moments of the day seek to unify the knowledge, concepts, facts & figures, atmosphere, camaraderie, and discipline around this wholeness of being.   Julika, a dear friend and head of a Christian school in Miskolc, Hungary told me, “If we cannot consciously remember to do this, then we should just go to the street corner and sell newspapers!”

Now, do we do this perfectly?  No.  That perfection is reserved for eternity.  But as my wife so often reminds me, we are rehearsing here on earth for the real thing.  We “see through a glass darkly” in so much of how we view things of this world, but God has given us a perspective, a set of spectacles if you will, that assist us in seeing the world from His vantage point.  We in Christian schools are the opticians of a child’s educational world.  We work with myopic, imperfect vision.  Then we fit and fashion glasses that begin to bring their vision into clearer focus, in order for them to rightly discern the culture in which they live.

Wow!  That’s asking a lot of teachers and schools.  Whatdayathink, we’re perfect?

So, as we all begin this another school year, and then travel through the days ahead, let us remember our focus and refresh our thinking about our expectations and our students.  Will it be perfect?  Doubt it.  Will it be fulfilling?  Yes, by the grace of God and the love of Christ, and by the soundness (perfection) of the Spirit of God leading us forward and together in the development of this next generation toward perfection . . ..

Bill Stevens

A Lofty Perspective

“Almighty God, by Whom alone Kings reign, and Princes decree justice; and from Whom alone cometh counsel, wisdom and understanding; we Thine unworthy servants, here gathered together in Thy Name, do most humbly beseech Thee to send down Thy heavenly wisdom from above, to direct and guide us in all our consultations; And grant that we, having Thy fear always before our eyes, and laying aside all private interests, prejudices, and partial affections, the result of all our counsels, may be the glory of Thy blessed Name.”

(17th century prayer from the British House of Commons)

We Must Drill Our Minds in Godly Connections

This quote by Oswald Chambers, found in his classic devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest”, may well be the heart and soul of Christian education. It’s about connections, and chief above all others is one’s connection with the Almighty. Rachael Kessler, writing about this in her book, “The Soul of Education”, describes the yearning for (deep) connections as a chief “gateway” to the soul development of young people. She states that, “Spiritual life is nourished, not through formal rituals that students practice in school, but by the quality of relationship that is developed between person and world”.

There is no indication from her writing of Ms. Kessler’s spiritual orientation, as she is writing from a very holistic perspective of “spirituality” in the classroom that encompasses all religious thought and beyond the scope of mere “religion”. Her point about the quality of relationships speaks volumes to where young people are today, the questions they are asking (or not asking!), and our listening and responding to them.

There is just no getting around it . . . kids are looking for deep relationships and deep connections. While they may not use the word, it seems to me that their lives are focused on finding significance. This search for significance, especially in relationships, is not limited to just with their peers or the “opposite sex”. It is significance in life across the board . . . with self, with others, with community, with their lineage, with the world, and (ultimately) with a “higher power”.

A truly Christian education will seek to nourish in students a Biblical perspective that allows them to “plow through this adolescent mess” so that they can “effectively integrate Biblical truth into their daily lives and impact the culture for Christ”. A truly Christian education will strive to develop an outlook on life that will stress these various relationships and help young people find their significance as a created individual with “Godly connections.” The Apostle Paul, addressing the intellectually elite in Athens, stated that, “In Him (Christ) we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

What better environment can we give to our children than one that fosters these deep relationships and connections so that they see life as a whole; created by God in harmony with oneself, with each other, with the various communities of life, and with God’s world? Sadly, all students do not necessarily “see” the significance as they make their way through all this . . . but it is still our God-given responsibility to see that they receive it and are nurtured in it.

I thought it interesting that Oswald Chambers would use Luke 2:52 as a reference point for this particular devotional . . . “and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man”. It seems as if even the Son of God, in taking on our humanity, developed those deep connections and relationships as the basis for his own faith and learning process as a child. That is significant.

William F. Stevens
Head of School
Wilmington Christian School

Christian Education as Crucial

In my thirty years of being involved with Christian education, I have heard it called a number of things. It is an “alternative”, “optional”, “nice”, even . . . “important.” Never has the word CRUCIAL been uttered in my hearing. Yet, I believe that the times in which we live, the educational atmosphere, and the current state of the Church warrant using such a word.

Webster defines crucial as, “important or essential as resolving a crisis.” When I consider this, in light of what we do in Christian schooling, and what I see in the world around me, I can’t help but come to this conclusion . . . that the Christian education of our children is essential to resolving the crisis that we now see in education and, to reclaiming the future of our churches.

It only takes ten minutes of watching CNN or Fox News to see that our country needs a biblical worldview with which to approach and respond to the issues around us. A Christian education is not just “glorified Sunday School,” but rather a holistic approach to viewing life, faith, and learning. Every subject taught has its foundation in the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:14-17), and teaches a perspective that God has established from the foundation of this world. In his recent studies, noted Christian researcher, George Barna states, “It appears that most Americans have not thought very much about the most pressing spiritual issues they face.” Certainly this statement brings a sense of the “crucial” to the Christian education of this next generation!

A second crucially significant factor is the educational, psychological, social, and spiritual development of young people. Our children (from Kindergarten to young adulthood) need a frame of reference to their learning. I strongly believe that the current lack of stability and security in the hearts and minds of our young people is this lack of a “reference point” to learning. For too long our educational system has become piecemeal and compartmentalized, without a cohesive, driving, unifying force. God provided this in His Son. Bruce Lockerbie, in his book on Christian education, refers to this as the “cosmic center”. He cites the illustration of how he suffers dizziness when watching the mesmerizing rotation of a merry-go-round. Lockerbie asks the carousel operator how he stands it all day long? The man responds by taking him to where he views things, from the center! It makes all the difference in one’s perspective. Without a center that (Who) holds all things together, kids will not build that holistic framework that God, Himself, deemed crucial to our knowledge, wisdom, and understanding (Psalm 34:11; Proverbs 24:3-4).

Probably the most crucially compelling argument for Christian education is in the word itself. Crucial has its root in “crux,” or “cross.” It’s where we get crucifix and crucify. WOW! That brings two closing thoughts to my mind. First, I can boldly say that education is at a crossroads. We can keep looking at education in the same old, same old manner (“public school was good enough for me, it’ll be good enough for my kids”), or we can make Christian education a priority, both in our church mission, and in our individual family commitment. It’s costly to move in this direction, but it’s also crucial if we are to make any real change and secure any real future for our children’s sake, and the sake of the “children yet to be born” (Psalm 78).

In this expanded view of “crucial” that references the cross, it doesn’t take a big leap to conclude that what makes Christian education vital is Christ, and what He accomplished for us on the Cross. Not only is our salvation secured and our eternity is sealed, but, our here and now is held together (Colossians 1: 15-20). Mrs. Stevens and I have had a “rough” four years. Between cancer and heart disease, we have certainly seen the crucial side of life as it relates to our faith. Probably the central point in this “rocky journey” has been the people and ministry of Christian education, in Schenectady, in Eastern Europe, and here in Wilmington, that has made the crucial difference for us! It is through the Cross of Christ, and the centrality of it in our perspective that has made all the difference in our worldview. So we too, have been enriched and encouraged (at age 58!) from a Christian education . . . why not our kids?

As we reflect upon the world around us, and the state of affairs we’ve gotten ourselves into, the “crucialness” (new word?) of a Christian education in the generation to come may well stand as the closest relative of the Christian Church. Just think of the voice with which the Church would speak in the marketplace of ideas, having such a crucial ally as the Christian schooling of our youth!

No longer an option . . .
Mr. Stevens

World’s Oldest Bible Published Online

More than 800 pages and fragments of the 4th-century Codex Sinaiticus, the world’s oldest Christian Bible, have been pieced together digitally from around the world by institutions in the United Kingdom, Germany, Egypt and Russia.

The original manuscript was written in Greek by several scribes on parchment leaves. Its text was revised and corrected in the centuries that followed.

The pages of the Codex Sinaiticus have been kept in separate locations for more than 150 years. Their digitization is the culmination of four years of collaboration between the institutions that hold different parts of the original manuscript – the British Library, Leipzig University Library, the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai in Egypt, and the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg.

Only parts of the Old Testament and the Apocrypha are missing.

“The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the world’s greatest written treasures,” said Dr. Scot McKendrick, head of Western Manuscripts at the British Library. “This 1600-year-old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the Bible was transmitted from generation to generation”

“The project has uncovered evidence that a fourth scribe – along with the three already recognized – worked on the text,” he noted. “The availability of the virtual manuscript for study by scholars around the world creates opportunities for collaborative research that would not have been possible just a few years ago.”

Scholars and other visitors to the manuscript’s website (www.codexsinaiticus.org) will be able to explore high resolution digital images of all the extant pages of the Codex Sinaiticus, which have been transcribed and cross-referenced.

The original Codex Sinaiticus was more than 1,460 pages long, with each page measuring about 16 inches by 14 inches.

McKendrick commented, “The Codex Sinaiticus is also a landmark in the history of the book, as it is arguably the oldest large bound book to have survived.

“For one volume to contain all the Christian scriptures book manufacture had to make a great technological leap forward – an advance comparable to the introduction of movable type or the availability of word processing,” he added.

“Critically, it marks the definite triumph of bound codices over scrolls – a key watershed in how the Christian Bible was regarded as a sacred text.”