2017 Prayer Card_Rowe

Christian educators must understand that since the premise, the purpose, and the process of education are all Christ-centered, the place of education must be Christ-centered as well. The primary responsibility of education rests with parents (Deut. 4:9-10; 6:1-9). The school is to complement what is being taught in the home and church. Historically, even going back to the Dutch educational system, Christians followed the Biblical principle of the “3-legged stool” – home, church, & school. The Bible commands believers to assemble for the purpose of exhorting one another (Heb. 10:25) and discusses the roles of pastors and teachers within the church who are given “for the perfecting of the saints” (Eph. 4:11-12).  Without the support of parents and the church, educators are limited in what they can accomplish.

Therefore, Christians need to 1) rear their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and maintain a home that follows the Bible in every situation, 2) be faithfully involved in a good Bible-believing church, and 3) train children in a good Bible-believing school away from the pervasive secular humanistic doctrine and ungodly influence of public schools.

I can give several specific examples (names) of families that are successfully accomplishing this biblical family role. BUT every one of them is doing the three above mentioned steps. There can be exceptions of course–homeschool (as long as Christian) or public school kids surviving in the school system—but in my opinion, the public system is not optimal and the students will need to be constantly debriefed. The rewriting of history and lack of teaching historical truth is an issue for another day.

Education must start & end with God. PRAYER is the key to all of our Christian endeavors. Our families must focus on God–pray, attend a good church, and minimize bad Influences–which again is why I advocate Christian school education over public education.

How do administrators lead a school away from humanistic, postmodern thinking in an effective manner?

Postmodernism must be intentionally combated with pure Biblical Christian educational instruction both by the administration and the teachers. While the premise of Christian education is the communication of truth, the purpose of Christian education is discipleship. The Christian school educates children academically in order to disciple them Biblically. The New Testament church exists to carry out the Great Commission of Christ to “Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel” (Mk. 16:15), which is evangelism and to teach believers to observe all things He commanded them, which is discipleship (Matt. 28:20). God instructs us to “do all to the Glory of God” (I Co. 10:31) and to do everything with all our “might” (Ec. 9:10); therefore, since we are in the business of education, we should also pursue academic excellence.

Because the purpose of Christian education is the transformation of the student into the image of Christ through the renewing of the mind – discipleship (Ro. 12:2), the teacher must first be committed to education that is thoroughly Christian. Administrators must choose teachers, not only on the basis of calling and academic qualifications, but also on their ability to relate spiritual truths to the students and to live godly lives before them (Deuink, 1991, Preparing the Christian school for the 21st century. BJUP, p. 47). The teacher must be able to instruct properly, consistently, and appropriately to help the student reach mastery.

Christian educators must understand that the premise, purpose, process, and place of education is essential to the training of children for Christian leadership. One’s philosophy of Christian education is of utmost importance in determining how to oversee a Christian school. Teachers must be able to communicate Biblical truth in order for them to effectively teach and model that truth to the students. Successful Christian education consists simply of godly teachers coming alongside parents to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Pr. 22:6) both academically and spiritually so that the students will “observe to do” and “have good success” (Josh. 1:7-8).

This battle we face is difficult, but one that is well worth the fight—the fight for Biblical truth. The communication of a Biblical worldview must be intentional, encompassing, and incorporated into everything the school does.

http://blog.mtparanschool.com

https://t.co/b9wGhkGKVM

Christian School(CS) Websites – Worldview / Philosophy

Great article and school with a focused purpose of having an intentional Christian worldview.

My wife and I went to the Reagan Library for a Worldview Conference put on by Precept Mkt. / BJUP a couple years ago where Glen Schultz spoke. Dr. Schultz looked at every Christian school’s website represented at that conference; he challenged us to make our mission and philosophy clear with a proper Biblical worldview driving it. As one looks at various Christian school’s websites it is sad but not shocking to see the lack of a stated mission – much less a Biblical approach that comes as a result of this philosophy.

Some Christian schools are intentional in their philosophy and mission, while some others are good but maybe not as clear or even antiquated – maybe because the administration is not allowed to change the “traditions” of the school.

Here is an example from one such website (a former school):

XXX CS was founded to help parents carry out the scriptural command to “train up a child in the way he should go.”  (Proverbs 22:6) Christian education is a joint venture.  When the Christian home works together with the Christian school and the Church, the child is most likely to receive the full blessings of a Christian education.

XXX CS exists to equip man for duty to God.  Ecclesiastes 12:13 states, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” 

The goal of XXX CS is for each student to have eternity set in his heart.  As Ecclesiastes 9:10 states, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”  Therefore, XXX CS strives to help each student to achieve his or her best in Biblical, spiritual, academic, citizenship, and relational goals through its curriculum and instructional methods, that each student may know God’s will for his or her life and pursue it.

Your child is important to us; therefore, we must be guided by a common purpose.  “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  (Proverbs 22:6)

God has equipped and called teachers to minister His Word to the next generation.

August is here! – and many teachers are getting ready to start back to the education world ;(

Truly, God has equipped & called some to be teachers. I have observed and hired many teachers through the years. Some look good on paper and have a great academic record, but yet cannot teach. While the statement “You can teach skill but passion is priceless” is true, I have seen some that have skill & passion but still cannot teach (some will learn in time if they continue), but I believe there is an innate ability in a “naturally” gifted & called teacher. This gift shows up in the area of classroom management particularly; today’s students are a lot more difficult to handle than children of the past. If you do not have control of the class … no learning will happen. Control begins with the instructor’s always being prepared (with no down time) and the instructor’s ability to draw the student into the material (the gift manifested). Some may say that they have 25 years of experience teaching – but don’t let it be said of you that you have 1 year of experience & 24 years of doing it the wrong way! Have a great start to your school year 🙂