Nurturing Faith

kept in focus the big picture of nurturing faith in students, despite all the distractions and obstacles during this school year;

kept your cool when working with a student for the umpteenth time on a repeated issue—thanks for remembering that God continues to forgive each of us for repeated sins;

listened well and were fully present even though you knew what a student or colleague was about to say and you had 90 million other things calling to you;

found a way to mediate and bring peace between student and student, student and teacher, teacher and parent, administration and board;

challenged students to connect their beliefs and their actions;

shared your faith even though it felt risky and you weren’t sure how students or parents would receive your testimony;

cared deeply about the hurts and pain of students and staff and demonstrated your concern through seen or unseen acts of kindness;

did the right thing from a Christian perspective even though it was unpopular and you took some heat for your decision;

pointed students and teachers toward prophetic living and expanded their worldview;

attempted to live and model Christ in faithful service;

saw the image of God in each person and tried to see them through the eyes of Christ; or

helped move your school forward in reaching its mission.

Well done, good and faithful servant—enter into a time of renewal and refreshment during the summer months!

Thanks for reading the Nurturing Faith blog this past school year - see you again in September,
Dan

(Post submitted by Ron Polinder, Executive Director of Rehoboth Christian School, Rehoboth, New Mexico. Thanks, Ron for sharing!)

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon. I was flipping channels, that miserable masculine habit that drives wives out of the room. I settled on C-SPAN, where a Washington reporter, Diana West, was reflecting on her new book, The Death of the Grown-Up.

“Curious title,” I think. “I better tune in to this.” The next half hour has substantially altered how I view modern history, our culture, even my profession. We all have that experience from time to time, when a writer or speaker communicates reality so clearly, so insightfully.

West proceeded to unfold her thesis, that in the past 50 years a monumental reversal has taken place. It was gradual to be sure, seeded in the ’50s, incubated in the ’60s, and epidemic in the ’70s, “leaving a nation of eternal adolescents . . . chucking maturity for perpetual youth.”

Adolescence, a concept not even known to the human condition until 1941, when the term “teenager” first appeared in our lexicon, has now been judged by the National Academy of Sciences “as the period extending from the onset of puberty, around 12, to age 30.” The MacArthur Foundation is even more radical, arguing that the “transition to adulthood” doesn’t end until the age of 34.

West notes that until “this most recent episode of human history, there were children, and there were adults. Children in their teen years aspired to adulthood; significantly, they did not aspire to adolescence. Certainly, adults didn’t aspire to remain teenagers.”

Again, for most of time, even folks of my generation, we looked forward to moving past the awkwardness of the teenage years, and looked up to grown-ups—certain teachers, relatives, even our parents. We wondered if we could be like them.

But now this amazing turnaround, where adults are straining to be like the kids. They try to talk like them, dress like them, act like them. We all know moms well into their 30s, even 40s dressing like “Britney.” Or the middle-aged house guest who quickly dismisses a well-trained child’s greeting—“I’m not old enough to be a ‘mister’; call me Bob.”

The rise of “Adolescence” has reached religious proportions, thus a capital A. And what is more important than being “Cool,” capital C, not unlike capitalizing the Bible or Christianity. Consider how many of our youth will bow their knee to a behavior or habit that will assure their “Coolness.”

And that in turn makes it so very difficult for parents to establish appropriate boundaries for their teenagers, inclined themselves—secretly, or not so secretly—to crave “Coolness.”

If you worship the god of Cool, how can you run the risk of having your kids consider you to be “out of touch,” prudish, boring?

Given that mindset, how can a parent stand up to the foolishness of youth? So parents stick their heads in the sand rather than come to grips with MTV, which was surveyed by the Parent’s Television Council during spring break 2004 for 171 hours, tallying up 1,548 sex scenes, 1,518 unedited foul language, and 3,127 bleeped profanities.

Speaking of spring break, some parents pay for their adolescent’s plane ticket so they can take part in the debauchery and drunkenness of Cancun.

All this has enormous implications for education. Sociologist David Riesman, of Lonely Crowd fame, noted that “the educator in earlier eras might use the child’s language to put across an adult message.” Now it is “no longer thought to be the child’s job to understand the adult world as the adult sees it.”

This contributes much to the dumbing down of the educational enterprise. Teachers must constantly “stand on their heads” to retain a few minutes of adolescent attention. And if they act cool, they think they have a better chance.

Happily, there are still some teachers who understand the boundary between teacher and student, and who earn the everlasting respect of their students because of it. And students who catch on to that reality are fortunate and often more successful in growing up.

If we are to raise kids in meaningful communities of faith, what must we understand about a world that is “fragmented, remixed, suspicious, and yet full of possibility?” What are the implications of postmodern thinking for our schools and churches? As institutions and individuals how will we need to change? How can we be leaders who move beyond the pragmatic into realms where who we are and what we are trying to do is not as clear as it once was?

A book recommended to me several times, which I likewise recommend to you, is Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Narrative, Metaphor, and Chaos by Tim Keel. Keel uses story, context, and possibility as ways for leaders to consider their role in and approach to making sense of our world of rapid change. He points to Boomers as the last generation to have their identity shaped by a modern, Christian view of reality (e.g., Willow Creek as “final creative response,” 151), which has tended toward homogenization/standardization: “Our churches are the religious equivalent of strip malls with the same ten massive retailers,” 77). Keel believes that with “the increasing secularization and radical individualism of American culture, combined with the relegation of faith to the realm of personal preference and private expression,” the church is now “moving back into the margins where it began” (143). His thoughts on the impact of church change in our lifetime are very cogent and helpful.

To whet your appetite, here are some quotes that give various points of emphasis in the book:

• “[W]e no longer live in a society that by default shares the same language, beliefs, values, or structures that we believe ought to shape American identity” (143).
• “Our post-Enlightenment culture is birthing a language all its own: creative, artistic, intuitive, organic, prophetic, and poetic. . . . The ways in which we process information, make decisions, and interpret our environments are going through profound transitions” (123).
• “Truth is not just an idea that can be claimed; for it to have any traction in the world today, it must ultimately be a relational reality that is embodied incarnationally in demonstrable ways over time” (116).
• “If hypocrisy is the cardinal sin in a postmodern context, then authenticity is the cardinal virtue” (117).
• “We desperately need to discover, recover, learn and live out the ancient Christian practice of hospitality, which is the postmodern means of evangelism” (111).
• “The missional context of our culture is one that increasingly demands creativity, both because this is the currency of our culture and because in order to respond to an environment that is new to us, we must be creative” (199–200).
• Keel quoting Alan Roxburgh, “The role of leaders is to cultivate environments that release the missional imagination of the people of God” (209).

What I liked about the book is that Keel encourages leaders to consider our need for an authentic relationship with God and others starting with heart commitment, and then responding to culture in creative ways. He describes the kind of leader and leadership we need for our schools and our churches if we are to nurture communities of authentic Christian faith.

I have put off writing about this practice because I have not wanted to discourage teachers through identifying negative pedagogical behavior. However, based on over 27 years of experience in education, I must state that I firmly believe that sometimes teachers fail to make the connection between how they run their classroom and the resulting impact they have on their students’ faith development. I will be the first to admit that, in hindsight, I used pedagogical practices during my teaching career that no doubt discouraged the faith of my young students, and I have sought forgiveness and God’s grace in this regard. Confession is good for the soul but best if it results in positive change. In the hope of building awareness and encouraging teachers toward encouraging student faith, I offer these observations.

Youth are particularly sensitive to issues of justice and have well tuned hypocrisy meters. Teachers who give a wonderful devotion on showing love to one another and then five minutes later publicly call out student test scores obviously fail to see how the inconsistency of their behavior can damage a student’s spirit and render ineffective other good modeling they may have done. One misstep can wipe out weeks of good effort. Student faith development is discouraged and dampened when teachers play favorites, engage in indefensible grading practices, or implement discipline systems that demean and degrade students. When students see other students treated unfairly or even humiliated in some way through words or actions, they have a tough time respecting what the teacher advocates in their teaching, because they have lost trust in the goodness of the teacher. No wonder Jesus advises that teaching is a most serious endeavor (see James 3:1).

Teachers who are careful to live out their Christian faith in every aspect of their pedagogical practice are truly a blessing to their students and their administrators. I appreciate what author Harro Van Brummelen says in this regard: “[Teachers] create space in which students may seek and experience truth, depth of insight, discernment, justice, compassion and integrity” (from monograph- Curriculum: Implementation in Three Christian Schools). Christian teachers encourage faith in their students by demonstrating authenticity and consistency in every aspect of their classroom. They are careful to guard the dignity of each student as made in the image of God and give serious thought to the impact of each pedagogical decision on their students’ faith development. When the best teachers inevitably make mistakes, they have the humility to admit their mistakes to the students and seek forgiveness. By this action they not only restore the trust of their students and refine their craft as professionals, but more importantly they nurture the faith of their students.

*(For an explanation and definition of Faith Enhancing Practices see my post of February 3, 2007 entitled “What’s the difference between teachers?”) If you are interested in seeing all 12 Faith Enhancing Practices modules at once, you can go to the Member Community Center and access them there.

(Post contributed by Glenn Vos of Holland Christian Schools in Holland, Michigan—thanks Glenn for sharing!)

I love to work outside with flowers, and it is something I enjoy doing a great deal. I am sure I was influenced by my mother, who always had beautiful flowers planted around our home. She had a garden full of flowers that frequently were made into arrangements which adorned the front of the pulpit in our church where my parents were the custodians. I find gardening to be therapeutic—it does not require a committee to decide how something should be done nor do the flowers ask much of me other than some watering, fertilizing, and weeding.

Depending where you live, you have surely noted by now that the spring flowers—daffodils, crocuses, tulips, and many others—are in beautiful bloom right now. They leapt out of the ground here in Michigan after some of our recent warm weather and in a matter of days changed the landscape remarkably. Suddenly, the grays and browns of winter had splashes of color that caught our eyes. You can hardly drive around our community at this time of year and not marvel at the beauty of these new additions to the yards of nearly every home.

What impresses me about spring flowers is that they are very delicate in their structure and design, yet they are some of the hardiest flowers around when it comes to weather conditions. They can handle cold better than heat, and the wind can do more damage than the sun. The warm, almost hot, breezes that we appreciate during the spring are their worst enemy. Many spring flowers are planted as bulbs, biding their time for warmer soil and the passing of winter, and then, independent of any further action by us, they appear, grow, and eventually bloom.

So what does all this have to do with Christian education? Beyond the obvious connections to planting, growing, and nurturing, the very nature of spring flowers provides some great lessons for us in living and learning.

First, the very contrast of the brilliant colors of the flower to the dark soil and gray skies they come out of provides a great picture lesson for each of us. The need to be embedded in the very darkness of the soil and still finish with a bloom filled with great color and splendor is what is at the very core of a Christian education, especially from a Reformed point of view. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).

Second, it is important to note the impact that winds of “hot air” can have upon the strength of the plant: Have we really prepared our children for the impact of media and culture upon their now sturdy looking stems?

Third, to be delicate yet strong and hardy is really at the center of the true character of a follower of Christ.

Fourth, the variety of colors, even within the blossom itself, should be a reflection of what we want our schools and our churches to look like.

Fifth, there are early varieties and late varieties of spring flowers—students, or adults for that matter, do not all learn at the same rate nor do we all grow and develop at the same time. Differences are not just OK; they are important to keep the whole garden blooming throughout the entire growing season.

Sixth, if you just look at the bulb, you are not able to tell what the blossom will look like. You might know it is a tulip bulb but not the exact color or the variety. You need to see the plant in bloom to fully appreciate the bulb. So it is with children. We can not know by looking at a preschooler or even a high school student how God might want to use the gifts he has given this child, so we need cultivate and nurture each one to his or her full potential.

When you see spring flowers growing in your yard or as you travel about, I hope you will begin to see a whole lot more than just flowers. Seeing them in all their beauty will give you all the more reason to praise God and to bring him honor and glory.

How is the church continuing to change and what impact will this have on the faith development of youth? The latest survey coming out of George Barna’s research organization, The Barna Group, puts additional weight behind his contention that people will not be worshipping via the conventional church in the future and that they are moving to alternative means.

A recent random sample phone survey of 1,005 adults taken by The Barna Group in December 2007 reported the following:

Each of six alternatives was deemed by most adults to be “a complete and biblically valid way for someone who does NOT participate in the services or activities of a conventional church to experience and express their faith in God.” Those alternatives include engaging in faith activities at home, with one’s family (considered acceptable by 89% of adults); being active in a house church (75%); watching a religious television program (69%); listening to a religious radio broadcast (68%); attending a special ministry event, such as a concert or community service activity (68%); and participating in a marketplace ministry (54%).

What does this trend mean for postmodern youth? Should we be concerned about this shift away from conventional church gatherings or be encouraged that perhaps kids (and adults) want to express their faith in more action-oriented ways?

Barna has now taken the revolution a step further. In his latest and controversial new book, Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Christian Practices, coauthored with Frank Viola, he suggests that much of our current institutional practice is not biblical but can be traced back to third- and fourth-century pagan roots. Naturally, this is causing a firestorm within the organized church. Yet some are saying this book is potentially the most important book on spirituality written this century. Since I have not read the book, I can only suggest that you check out reader reviews of the book and consider prayerfully reading it.

If we who value the Reformed faith really believe that we are to be “always reforming,” we certainly need to take a good hard look at this book. Hopefully, it will serve to drive us back to the Word, to the study of history, and to the reexamination of our thinking about church. Perhaps this book, like Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 15:1–20, will help people rethink what is truly biblical in the practices of our church life and what is merely man-made tradition.

We should not be afraid to fully discuss these things with the young people in our care. Hopefully, we will be able to demonstrate a spirit of humility—a “seeing through the glass darkly” attitude—to teens who sometimes are turned off by their perception that we have all the answers. Could it be a helpful exercise for us, together with our students, to investigate a particular church tradition and see how it lines up with Scripture as well as how it has been adapted to reach culture? If we love truth more than tradition and believe the Holy Spirit is guiding believers into all the truth, what have we really got to lose by it?

It typically goes like this: “We have decided to pull our child out of Christian education because we feel that the Lord is leading us to have our child be salt and light in the public schools.” At this point the teacher or building principal realizes that arguing this point with a parent will potentially jeopardize all future interactions with the student’s family. This is an increasingly common scenario, so let’s examine the “salt and light” argument used by many parents so those of us committed to Christian day school education can better articulate our stance and convey this information proactively with parents.

1. Some initial questions: Are children called to be “salt and light?” Let us ask this another way: To whom was Jesus speaking when he said, “You are the salt of the earth. . . . You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13, 14)? Was it not to his disciples and then by extension to his church? How about the Great Commission? Does Jesus’ commandment in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations override Yahweh’s injunctions to parents in Deuteronomy to teach their children to love and serve the Lord? Are parents to send children out rather than have them receive instruction? If so, wouldn’t the Deuteronomy passage go something like this: Teach your children so that they may go and be salt and light to the Canaanites and all the surrounding pagan nations? (In fact God through Moses and later Joshua told his people to do just the opposite—not to intermarry or intermingle.) If children are to be “salt and light,” why not send them over to the local mosque or Buddhist temple to be salt and light? On the other hand, couldn’t children attending a Christian school have the opportunity to be “salt and light” with the Saturday city rec soccer team—wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds? If children are out all day being salt and light at school, when is biblical training to be accomplished? Furthermore, some biblical scholars have pointed out that the “salt and light” metaphor is a corporate metaphor, not an individualistic idea (note the plural pronouns in “You [all] are the salt . . . You [all] are the light . . .”). Does it not take a community of redeemed persons loving one another as Jesus did (John 13) and exhibiting Christian unity (John 17) to give the watching world a foretaste and preview of what the kingdom of God is like?
2. The Bible is clear that the training of youth happens on a daily, relational basis through the big and small events of life (see Deuteronomy 6:7–9) Since we no longer live in societies where most parents can do this on a daily basis, many of us need to entrust much of this training to other Christians—the Christian day school’s raison d’être. Is there any denying that those who spend the most time with our children have the most opportunity to impact them? Is there any denying that those who teach the students in their care teach from their own particular conception of how life functions, i.e., their “worldview”? What views of life and the world are kids learning, and can they effectively detect and counter those views that conflict with biblical values in their efforts to be salt and light? Do they have the training and level of discernment needed to defend their faith from attack? Can we afford a casual approach to a child’s education any more than a casual approach to church or home instruction? The “salt and light” argument seriously underestimates the power and volume of the messages—intentional and unintentional—that are conveyed hourly in a public school setting. Plus, a few hours of Sunday school, church services, and youth group activities hardly competes with the 30 or so hours spent in public school each week.
3. Often the lack of diversity in a current Christian setting is cited as another reason why children need to go somewhere else to be salt and light. This assumes that students cannot develop an appreciation for diversity within a Christian setting, even though the primary value underpinning the virtue of tolerance is the biblical teaching that every person bears the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27). Furthermore, should the opportunity for a child to experience diversity be valued more highly than obtaining wisdom and receiving instruction in God’s Word in order to develop a discerning spirit and a heart attentive to God and his creation?
4. Going “out” assumes that there are few if any such opportunities to be salt and light in Christian schools. Not true—not only are there opportunities within Christian schools to be witnesses of Jesus Christ to kids there who are not believers, but the schools themselves help students to practice engaging the culture outside the school walls through a variety of means, such as service projects, community involvement, and other forms of outreach. Guided practice in these engagements is far more likely to produce better results than isolated “sink or swim” situations kids must face while trying to be salt and light on their own in a public school environment.
5. Is there evidence that kids being “salt and light” at school is effective? Not according to Smith and Denton’s Soul Searching research (the largest-ever survey of U.S. teens ages 14–18): “Although most U.S. teens report that schools are not hostile to teens who are seriously religious, only about one in ten teens expresses their religious faith at school a lot. . . . Thus the visibility and perhaps the significance of religious faith and practice for U.S. teens seem to drop off markedly in spheres outside of religious congregation and family. . . . Nearly half take a live and let live approach to faith in which believers should not try to convert others to their faith—honoring the ‘seeker’ mentality.” (Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, p. 70ff.) Having worked in public school settings at elementary and middle school, I believe that this research finding is an accurate assessment. It is tough enough in some peer groups in Christian schools for kids to be comfortable sharing their faith. After all, not all kids in Christian schools have committed their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ or are seeking to become his disciples. Yet in the Christian school there are dedicated teachers modeling their faith in the classroom every day.
6. Are teenagers equipped to be salt and light in public schools? Again from the Soul Searching research: “We also found the vast majority of [U.S. teenagers] to be incredibly inarticulate about their faith, their religious beliefs and practices, and its meaning or place in their lives. . . . Mainline Protestants were among the least religiously articulate of all teens.” (p. 131) “It became clear that most religious teenagers either do not really comprehend what their own religious traditions say they are supposed to believe, or they do understand it and simply don’t care to believe it. . . . The net result, in any case, is that most religious teenager’s opinions and views—one can hardly call them worldviews—are vague, limited, and often quite at variance with the actual teachings of their own religion.” (p. 134) In fact one of the most troubling themes coming out of this research is the confusion of teens about truth—among conservative Protestants half of the respondents said that many religions may be true, and more than one-third say that one can pick and choose one’s beliefs. Additionally, if there is no Christian school involvement, all of the equipping needs to come from the home or church. However, recent statistics indicate that students are spending less time in conversation with parents and that church ministries are fragmenting with changing adult attendance patterns.

Conclusion: It is the rare child who is well-equipped and effective as salt and light at school—the exception rather than the rule. Even in the best of these cases the parents are trading off the opportunity for their child’s Christian worldview development when they cut them off from the godly influence of Christian teachers who are eager to unfold to them the exquisite beauty and coherence of God’s creation. Add to this multiple opportunities to pray, worship, and connect with other believing students in the Christian school community. Removing Christian education from the child is a precarious and risky ploy that leaves the child’s spiritual and moral development hanging in the balance. Sometimes it is hard not to be cynical about the real motivation of parents who make the “salt and light” trade-off with their children, particularly when one senses that materialistic or selfish reasons are prompting them to spend money on themselves rather than on tuition. Our North American culture can be seductive that way. While the “salt and light” argument may be well intended, it is a deficient and marginally effective model. At best, a decision by parents for their child to be salt and light diminishes the child’s opportunity for biblical training; at worst it’s a lie that parents tell themselves to rationalize shortsighted, consumeristic desires.

In a recent New York Times article, two Jewish families sued to have prayers to Jesus stopped in the public school setting. Strange as it may sound, I am in sympathy with these Jewish families—if my family were in a setting in which Christian education was not available and my kids were in a public school, I would not want them to participate in prayers to other gods.

This situation points out the legal limitations of the public school in regard to issues of nurturing students’ faith in God as revealed through Jesus Christ. As a former teacher and administrator in public schools I felt that to be obedient to my employer and the laws of the land, I could not pray publicly or engage students with my personal faith. Over time, however, I found this limitation personally untenable, and my frustration grew because of not being able to proclaim God as sovereign, to point to him as creator, and to point to the Bible as the source of truth and the basis for values. To constantly hit the mute button instead of naturally expressing my faith in the classroom was not something I could handle. How can a believing teacher not connect learning about the wonders of creation with its Source? How can one not shout about the mighty acts of God in creation and in redeeming my life and others? How can I not speak when I have such a great story to share?

Many parents have convinced themselves that as long as their child is with a Christian teacher in a public school, things will be fine. This is true only to a degree. As passionate as I was about my faith, I felt conflicted by my desire to not violate the separation of church and state in my public school settings. So therefore I did not, and could not, take advantage of those teachable moments with students and the opportunities to connect key ideas together, which I was free to do in a Christian school setting. I knew and accepted the circumstances that I was hired under, and as time went by I grew more and more uncomfortable because I felt like I had made a choice that forced me to deny my desire to be what I am—a witness of Jesus Christ.

So in view of the contrast between the frustrations of being a Christian teacher in a restrictive educational setting and then later being able to teach freely in a Christian school, here are a dozen reasons why I appreciate Christian education:

1. Teaching students the joy and pleasure to be found in glorifying God by knowing him and enjoying him both now and forever.
2. Showing the sovereignty of God over all things, understanding creation, man, and God in proper relationship—that there is no division between sacred and secular and seeing that all things belong to God.
3. Helping kids understand how all things were created and broken but are now being redeemed and restored through Jesus Christ.
4. Asking truly essential questions, discussing the difficult questions of life—no holds barred, no areas off limit, being able to relate it to the Source of Truth.
5. Offering a holistic educational experience—no divorcing of body and soul, mind and spirit.
6. Helping students understand that our desire for excellence in thought and behavior is motivated by a desire to please God, not just by economic or citizenship reasons.
7. Applying a foundational knowledge of the Bible and faith practices together across all disciplines and aspects of life.
8. Modeling faith for kids and working together with others who strive to do the same.
9. Helping students see all of life as worship—and vocation as calling to serve God with excellence.
10. Articulating a God-centered perspective on success versus human striving for excellence and a me-centered purpose for fulfillment in life.
11. Examining all learning from multiple angles in the light of God’s Word versus only politically correct angles.
12. Teaching students to memorize and engraft God’s Word into their hearts and lives.

Our family could hardly believe our ears last week as we watched the eight remaining American Idol contestants belt out the Christian praise and worship song, “Shout to the Lord.” We were both somewhat pleased and somewhat puzzled. Why an explicitly Christian song on the biggest show on TV?

The comments from our family went from something like “Is this for real?” to “Wow this is cool” to “I wonder how those who are not Christians [singers, judges, or fans—take your pick] are thinking about this” to “Hmm, another clever marketing ploy by the producers to cater to the audience . . . although they may have gone too far this time.”

As I talked with friends and pondered this unusual event over the weekend, I found myself wanting to come down with a clear judgment of whether the singing of a explicitly Christian song was a good idea or a bad one. I wanted to be very excited that Jesus’ name was being raised in such a wide international way (and well done, I might add, by the singers who were backed up by a gospel choir), but I kept wondering about a number of things. Were all those who were singing “My Jesus, my Savior” truly talking about their personal Savior and Lord or were they just performing? Shouldn’t this song be reserved for those who have professed him and truly want to worship him? Or was I expecting too much or being judgmental?

What about all those who are not Christians who were watching or participating in the live audience? How would I have felt as a Christian if the song were glorifying the god of another religion? Or has that already happened so much that it’s about time Christian songs got some air time? Is this the best way to reach non-Christians or is it perceived as one more example of the dominant Christian culture shoving its Jesus down everyone’s throat? Did this set back the cause of Christ or advance it?

As you might have guessed, the cynical comment in our family circle about the producers using “Shout to the Lord” to advance the show was mine. (Sorry, such is the price that comes with living under the sun more than a few years.) Whether we liked the singing of the song or not, whether we are Christian or non-Christian, the producers of the show have us buzzing (and writing) about American Idol—pure genius maybe? Or was this the result of a Christian in a position of influence on the show taking an opportunity to give praise to God?

As I consider my own difficulty in discerning this issue I am full of gratitude and empathy for all of you in schools and churches who are working hard to help kids develop a discerning and loving spirit. Discernment is just plain tough, particularly at a young age. When interacting with kids, maybe the answer is not always to come to a quick answer but to help them wrestle with an issue from all the angles, and then to help them consider how to answer an issue in terms of Christ’s law of love: How do we love God and love our neighbors better?

(Post contributed by Michael Essenburg, Christian Academy of Japan)

Question: Is it important for your students to apply a biblical perspective to course content?

If you answered “yes,” keep reading.

You think it’s important for your students to apply a biblical perspective to course content. Three questions:
(1) What course content could your students apply a biblical perspective to?
(2) During which units could your students apply a biblical perspective to course content?
(3) On what types of assessments could your students apply a biblical perspective to course content?

Bottom line:
(1) What course content will your students apply a biblical perspective to?
(2) During which units will your students apply a biblical perspective to course content?
(3) On what types of assessments will your students apply a biblical perspective to course content?

Target biblical perspective. Today.

This litany was developed for the dedication of a new sports facility at Rehoboth Christian School (RCS) in New Mexico—it reflects a great Christian perspective on sport. Thanks for sharing!

Dedication Litany

CREATION

Reader #1—Assistant Superintendent
Our world belongs to God—not to us or earthly powers, not to demons, fate, or chance.
The earth is the Lord’s!

Reader #2—RCS Sophomore
In the beginning, God—Father, Word, and Spirit—called this world into being out of nothing, and gave it shape and order.

Reader #3—Executive Director
God formed the land, the sky, and the seas, making the earth a fitting home for the plants, animals, and humans he created. The world was filled with color, beauty, and variety; it provided room for work and play, worship and service, love and laughter. God rested—and gave us rest. In the beginning everything was very good.

Reader #1
God wants us to play, to laugh, to rest?

Reader #3
Yes, yes, the playfulness of children, the sporting of young people, the recreation of adults is woven into the design of Creation. God made us that way!

All: For the LORD is the Creator, a great God—a great King above all gods!

Song: “This is My Father’s World”—Vs. 1 RCS Senior, Vs. 2 Audience

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world; I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas— his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world: O let me not forget
That though the wrong is great and strong, God is the ruler yet.
He trusts us with his world, to keep it clean and fair—
All earth and trees, all skies and seas, all creatures everywhere.

FALL

Reader #1
Early in human history our first parents listened to the intruder’s voice. Rather than living by the Creator’s word of life, they fell for Satan’s lie and sinned! They forgot their place; they tried to be like God. But as sinners they feared the nearness of God and hid from him.

Reader #2
All spheres of life—marriage and family, work and worship, school and state, our play and art—bear the wounds of our rebellion. Sin is present everywhere—in pride of race, in arrogance of nations, in abuse of the weak and helpless, in disregard for water, air, and soil, in destruction of living creatures, in slavery, deceit, terror, and war, in worship of false gods, and frantic escape from reality. We have become victims of our own sin.

Reader #3
And our play went wrong, our sports became an idol, our recreation became a god—we began to cheat and envy. We ruined our games with hatred and fighting. We disrespected our playmates, our schoolmates, the other team. We overplay, overeat, overexercise. We have forgotten that our living, moving, and playing are gifts from God. We now live in a twisted world of sport—arrogant winning and sore losing is in us, and all around us.

All: God be merciful to me! On thy Grace I rest my plea!

REDEMPTION

Song: “Amazing Grace”—Vs. 1 RCS Sophomore, Vs. 2 RCS 8th Grader

Reader #1
While justly angry, God did not turn his back on a world bent on destruction; he turned his face to it in love. With patience and tender care he set out on the long road of redemption to reclaim us as his people and the world as his kingdom.

Reader #2
The Spirit thrusts God’s people into worldwide mission. He impels young and old,
men and women, to go next door and far away into math and music, media and marketplace, gym and the fitness center with the good news of God’s grace. The Spirit goes before us and with us convincing us of a better way to serve Christ in all areas of life.

Reader #3
God has given the Rehoboth community a new Sports and Fitness Center. We give thanks for this remarkable facility where we can live out what you have called us to be. Help us in this place to bring redemption to the world of sport!

Reader #1
We give thanks for architects and builders, for electricians and plumbers, for landscapers and painters whose labor and discipline created this structure. For steel and wood, concrete and carpet, for tools and machines, we are grateful. We are thankful for creativity and cooperation that produced an attractive, useful building. For jobs and safety for our workers, we express our gratitude. We give thanks for donors and volunteers who generously supported our dreams.

Song: “Earth and All Stars”—Vs. 4, RCS Choral Director

Engines and steel! Come, pounding hammers!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Limestone and beams! Strong building workers!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
He has done marvelous things. I too will praise him with a new song!

All: Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever.

Reader #2
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.’” (Zechariah 8:4–5)

Take our play and make it pure.
Take our games and make them good.
Take our excitement and make it sacred.
Take our cheers and make them charitable.

Song: “Earth and All Stars”—Vs. 5

Classrooms and labs! Come, boiling test tubes!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Athlete and band! Loud cheering people!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
He has done marvelous things. I too will praise Him with a new song!

Reader #3
On this day, November 10, 2007, we celebrate this harvest from the Father’s hand. We want to make our play and our games “Holy unto the Lord.” We want our witness to be true, that students and parents, friends and visitors, may come to know the Triune God and all his goodness. Toward that end, we dedicate the Rehoboth Sports and Fitness Center to the honor and glory of God the Father, Christ his Son and our Savior, and the ever present Holy Spirit.

All: Our God is an awesome God! Amen and Amen!

Song: “Our God is an Awesome God,” “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”—Audience

A recent magazine article prompted me to take a few minutes and jot down things that my parents did to nurture my faith – a good exercise and one that led me to a renewed sense of gratitude, especially now that I am looking back with adult eyes. I realized with fresh eyes all the little things they did daily and the big commitments they had made as a couple raising a family of four. The numbered items below are not exhaustive or in rank order, but rather simply list some of the more important aspects of how they nurtured my faith.

1. Faith through tough times – farming itself is an act of faith that is further complicated by the unpredictable.  Natural disasters, droughts and floods, unexpected losses of livestock, machinery repairs and costs, and health problems are just some of the problems faced – yet I saw a strong faith demonstrated by my parents in God’s providence and blessing.
2. Commitment to their marriage – it never entered my mind as a child that my parents would leave each other, even though they had some pretty good arguments from time to time.
3. Respect for creation – animals and plants were treated with care, yet each in their rightful place as compared to humans.
4. Christian education K-16 – my parents were the first in their families to enroll their children in Christian day school education and took significant criticism for that decision from their families. Their hard work to get schools established in our small community remains an inspiration to me today.
5. Church participation – attendance at services was regular as clockwork and participation in available groups and classes not a matter for negotiation by us children.
6. Eating meals together coupled with spiritual disciplines– regular Bible reading and prayer three times a day – sometimes it seemed too much, but I do appreciate the foundational knowledge that I now have as a result.
7. Always helping neighbors and sharing – my mom was always sharing from our garden and bringing food, Dad lent tools and time, and listened to hurting people on his egg route into some very high poverty areas.
8. Finances - tithing and Christian education – my parents always made it clear to us that church donations and school tuition came first, and then we lived on the rest, no matter how little or much that may have been from month to month.
9. Encouraged my gifts – my mom did a lot of my chores so I could participate in sports and drama. My parents were always at every performance if possible.
10. Loved those with special needs – having Joe over for Sunday dinner and watching him eat was not necessarily pleasant for us kids but showed us our parent’s heart for those with special needs. Their regular Sunday afternoon visits to a home for developmentally disabled adults modeled Christ’s love. My mom still continues these singing, prayer, and Bible study visits with the residents today at the age of 88.

I encourage you to look back on your own life and consider how your faith was nurtured. Sometimes the things that at first appear mundane are very significant in nurturing and modeling the kind of faith we desire in our youth.

Recently several helpful resources have come out relating to caring for creation and understanding stewardship responsibilities. These resources would be very helpful for use in Christian day schools or church education settings.

Is That ALL There Is? Stewardship Challenges for Young Christians is an excellent teacher resource manual for schools and churches to use with students in grades 7-9. It is the result of a collaborative project by Christian Stewardship Services, Foundation for Niagara Christian Schools, and the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools. Students are encouraged to consider their blessings of time, talents, trees, and treasures and how they can use these blessings to bless others and do the work of restoring God’s creation. Available via the OACS website @ www.oacs.org.

Earthwise: A Biblical Response to Environmental Issues by Calvin DeWitt is another excellent teacher resource with ideas that could be adapted for classroom use. He discusses the seven provisions for creation and the seven degradations of creation and then offers a biblical and theological perspective on creation care. Helpful suggestions and a Q & A section answering by Calvin DeWitt is another excellent teacher resource with ideas that could be adapted for classroom use. He discusses the common responses/obstacles conclude the book. A topical approach with separate chapters about lifestyle, homes, food, clothes, energy, plants, work, and leisure by different authors is how Living the Good Life on God’s Good Earth, edited by David S. Koetje, invites readers to live their callings daily as stewards of creation. Helpful discussion questions and resources conclude each chapter. Both of these books are available from Faith Alive Christian Resources @ www.faithaliveresources.org.

Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth was living the American Dream until he began to wonder about how the maladies displayed in his patients related to how creation is being misused. This led him to turn to Scripture and then make dramatic changes in his and his family’s lifestyle. They gave away over half of what they owned and found in the process that they gained stronger relationships and a richer spiritual life. He shares his journey and challenges all of us through Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action. His book offers not only his compelling story, but also a practical guide for making those changes. Plus, it includes great end-of-chapter reflection questions, along with an energy audit for readers to take.

A personal challenge: take the Ecological Footprint Quiz to find out how many acres or hectares your lifestyle is taking up and how many planet Earths would be needed if everyone lived like you or your family. Eye-opening!

We seem to live in a very child centered culture in North America. However, some sociologists suggest that our culture, that values strength and self-sufficiency and that rejects human weakness and vulnerability, is one that fosters indifference or contempt for children. Bunge, (in The Child in Christian Thought), suggests that our popular literature “tends to depict infants and young children as pure and innocent beings whom we adore and teenagers as hidden and dark creatures whom we must fear.” I would suggest that we, as participants in this culture, also underestimate the significance of children’s spiritual experiences. What do I mean?

Spiritual development seems to parallel language development in some ways. We know that children’s early nonsense sounds and imitations of the language they hear around them is a necessary step on the path to speaking coherently in words at first, then sentences. I believe that children’s spiritual development is similar to language development – much more is happening than we can know. If we only base our judgments of children’s spiritual development on what they verbalize back to us, then we are missing a complete picture of the child’s faith life. While we cannot have the kinds of discussions around conceptual and abstract worldview issues with younger children that we can have with teens or college age students, that fact does not mean that the development of worldview is not happening in younger children. They, like babies with speech development, simply cannot cognitize or articulate what they perceive, but worldview is being formed nonetheless. The fact remains that those, who over the course of history have studied when children are spiritually formed, recognize that by age 14 most of the work has been completed, i.e. children’s spiritual identities have been largely formed by this point in their lives.

Children often have a more limited range of foods that are acceptable to their taste buds. We might say their sense of taste is more acute – as we age we eat a wider variety of foods, possibly due to the dulling of our taste buds. I wonder if the same isn’t true with children’s and adult’s spiritual “taste buds”? Jesus suggests that we need an innocent and wholly dependent “living in this moment” faith like little children – unhindered by the skepticism that life has imposed, a complete dependence born of a lack of self sufficiency, and a complete sense of trust in the Father. Those of us who have worked with children are aware of the blessing of clarity and sense of the kind of “seeing” that young children can bring – stopping us in our tracks to wonder about God. Their spiritual sensitivity is a gift to us, part of our being “reborn” to see the beauty of Christ in all things.

A significant part of building community in a Christian school includes coming together to worship. In recent years we have increasingly realized the significance of involving students in worship planning and bringing thoughtful intentionality to that process. Christian Schools International and the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship have teamed up to publish a new resource written by Robert and Laura Keeley entitled Together We Worship. This resource is designed for use in grades 4-6 and is focused around worship as dialogue – “a time when we gather together to talk to God, where God talks to us, and where we talk to each other” – an exchange of listening and speaking. Teachers will find this helpful as a means of assisting in classroom worship and building common ground across the many worshipping communities represented by our students.

The curriculum is available in print form and CD for purchase on CSI’s online store. Member schools have already received one set of materials free of charge due to the generous support of a grant through the Worship Institute.

Girls by many measures are doing better in today’s world than boys, according to statistics related to academic achievement levels, college attendance rates, professional and career opportunities, or even crime/death rates. There is one notable exception, which Carol Liebau contends in her new book Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls (and America Too!). She believes that the area of sex “is a minefield more challenging, difficult, and pressure-filled than ever before” for girls. She shares some very frank and brutally honest examples of sexual misconduct in our schools and society that she backs up with voluminous research. Here are some examples from the research cited in the book:

• Between 1943 and 1999, the age of first intercourse among those sampled, dropped from nineteen to fifteen for females. During that time period, the number of sexually active young women grew from 13 to 47 percent. As of 2005, 46% of high school girls surveyed had engaged in intercourse.
• Between 1969 and 1993 the percentage of female teens and young adults having oral sex went from 42 to 71 percent. More recent figures estimate that 54% of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have engaged in oral sex.
• 12% of females approved of premarital sex in 1943, by 1999 73% did. 61% of girls aged 15-19 agreed or strongly agreed that it was all right for unmarried 18 year olds to have sex if they had strong affection for each other.
• “Hooking up” or “friends with benefits” – reportedly half of adolescents are having sex in a casual relationship or with someone who is “just a friend.” More than one third of sexually active teens have had sexual intercourse with someone who they were not dating.
• It is estimated that the average 12 year-old girl is exposed to about 280 sexy images in the course of a day. The Parent’s Television Council estimates that in reality based shows there are 3.9 instances of sexual content per hour with some shows nearing 7 scenes with sexual content.
• 77% of prime time shows include sexual content and the sexual content in general has doubled in less than a decade.
• Teens watching TV away from their families had a rate of intercourse 3-6 times higher than those who watched with their families.
• The age of children first viewing pornography has dropped due to the Internet. 90% of kids between 8 and 16 were exposed through online access.

Liebau points out that while there is more information available than ever, the most significant deficit is that the overwhelming majority of information on the Internet and in the media is presented without any moral, ethical, or religious context. She points out that in our postmodern culture there is no value judgment made – all answers are presented as equally valid. In line with the title of her book, she is concerned that the only answer, sexual restraint and premarital virginity, is portrayed by culture as “out of vogue” and “prudish”. Youth are encouraged to do “what is right for you.”

The author points out four key developments in our culture that have created a problematic culture of sex for girls:

• The elevation of self-expression over self-restraint: feeling justified in indulging impulses without restraint.
• The privatization of religion and sexual morality: “…the marginalization of religious faith in public debate and the identification of chastity as nothing but a religious issue have one result: The pro-sex messages directed at young girls go largely unchallenged…rebuttal is limited to adverse health or economic consequences of giving too much too soon. And such arguments are woefully incomplete.”
• The rise of moral relativism and the death of shame: “…there’s no objective criterion…different ways and different truths…are entitled to equal respect…the primary evil becomes exercising judgment about the behavior of others.”
• The advent of the “cool mom”: Moms who want to be “buddies” give their children minimal or no supervision and treat them as little adults. Girls are left to decide by themselves what morals they will base their decisions upon because the mom has abdicated her role.

I appreciate that Liebau closes her book on a positive tone, noting that there are kids and parents who are doing the right things and pointing to a number of concrete programs that are making a difference. This book is a strong call to action and one that is helpful in framing the problem and encouraging good solutions and dialogue.

In our over-sexualized society, this issue needs to be a major focus in terms of our curriculum choices in our schools and our discussion topics with youth (and parents) in our churches. Our girls (and guys) deserve our strong stance and support so that they can be strengthened and encouraged to do the right things, letting the Bible and not the culture guide their actions.

What is the purpose of curriculum in the Christian school? Is it “a body of knowledge to be transmitted (as ‘information’) by the teacher to the student” or as “the formation of character, or the getting of wisdom?” This key question is raised by Doug Blomberg in his newly released book, Wisdom and Curriculum: Christian Schooling After Postmodernity (available from Dordt Press.) He argues effectively that “academic excellence is only one of the excellences to be pursued, the academic disciplines only one kind of contributor to full-orbed discipleship.” I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment, yet the nagging question that came to my mind as I read this was: “How in an age of increased accountability, standards, and government oversight can we as Christian schools break out of the boxes we find ourselves in and focus more on wisdom through Blomberg’s model of play, problem posing, and purposeful response?”

There is no question that, to the degree that Christian schools are primarily focused on knowing as primary vs. wisdom as primary, we are both losing kids’ interest, but more importantly, not meeting the missions of our schools. In today’s technological age, knowledge has never been more readily available at our fingertips, but wisdom and living the truth of Jesus Christ is more elusive, yet is what kids really need. Blomberg wonders: “How would schools be organized differently if they were for the getting of wisdom in its various modes?” This is a terrific question that needs to be pondered by all Christian school faculties.

Too often we let our current structures dictate our course of action:

• We really would like to have a more personal relationship with students at high school, but don’t want to put the work into restructuring our factory model into smaller schools within schools where teachers connect with smaller numbers of kids over a longer period of time. What are we valuing?
• We really would like to have more time to talk about student spiritual development at parent teacher conferences, but instead settle for a three-minute one-way monologue with parents because we have to “cover the curriculum” and can’t spare the instructional time. What are we valuing?
• We really would like to encourage faith formation, but feel more comfortable grading neatness and work habits than thinking of creative ways to recognize demonstrated fruits of the Spirits in kids and encouraging them on their spiritual journey. What are we valuing?
• We really would like to work more closely with parents and churches with faith formation of kids, yet won’t set aside the time to figure out how we could communicate or work together. What are we valuing?

Blomberg does a great job of getting us to consider whether at the core of our schools we are valuing disciplines or disciples. He notes that while disciplines “concern subject matter, the latter requires being subject to the Master. A strength of the Christian school is that it is not neutral with respect to values, that it has a stake in the formation of character, in the forming of its students more and more daily in the image of their Redeemer, who is Wisdom incarnate. It proclaims the values of the gospel, that the goal is a life of service rather than success. The Christian school should seek to embody a different model of excellence from that which is dominant in schooling. ‘Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control’ (Galatians 5:22) – are there any excellences greater than these?”

Let’s face it – it is not easy being a mother! If you would like a good hearty laugh please take five minutes to watch this video about what a mother really does in the parenting process – hilarious!

This past summer at our leadership convention we spent time working on a set of beliefs that school and church could embrace about the faith nurture of our students. (see my blog post of September 10, 2007.) We also discussed next steps about how churches and schools might engage together and focus on the nurture of faith in youth.

There are a couple of schools that I am aware of that have take some significant next steps. Rehoboth Christian School in Gallup, NM has given this issue increased focus by including it as a part of their strategic plan.

Calvin Christian, Grandville Christian, and West Side Christian in Grand Rapids, MI gathered together pastors and administrators to discuss next steps around the Manifesto in October (see below)

They also put together a team of parents, pastors, and administrators to implement the ideas. One of the steps taken at Calvin Christian was to establish a faith nurture implementation committee for the school board. This committee will include pastors/youth pastors, school staff members, parents/board members, and high school students. One of the ideas they are considering implementing is to put on a parent conference on faith nurture.

If others of you are making advances with church and school partnerships around youth faith nurture, I would love to hear about them! Please post a comment to this blog or if you are not as comfortable with it being public drop me an email: dbeerens@csionline.org.

Where did we ever hear that educating Christianly was going to be easy? Fundamentally we are trying to teach the important knowledge of this world and at the same time take our students beyond this earthly level of understanding to a knowledge that is beyond our comprehension – to the wisdom of God.

It isn’t easy - we are sometimes disappointed with students who profess one thing and then so clearly don’t connect their beliefs to living, with parents who seek only safety and/or success from our schools and don’t seem to understand our mission; with colleagues who lack passion, discourage faith or who don’t teach in a distinctively Christian way, with administrators who take the politically correct route and lack courage, and with churches who are fearful to admit any differences between public and Christian schools and any affinity to a Christian education approach lest someone be offended. We grind our teeth when we hear of choices away from a Christian education that are not made for the right reasons – the root causes often being parents buying in to a certain standard of living of peers and refusing to make any changes in consumption of an ever increasing standard of North American living. Consequently many schools face enrollment issues. Part of our surprise seems to arise out of applying a business model to our school thinking – if we build the best car on the block why won’t everyone buy it? It is this consumption model that gets us into trouble. We definitely should build the best car as an offering of our very best to God, but will people be willing to pay for the car? How good does the car need to be – at what cost? And how do we know it is the best? It is not easy to balance cost and quality . . . with faithfulness . . . and an eye on the competition down the street.

We sometimes forget that we are called to faithfulness and sacrifice – the old hymn asks: “Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease – while others fought to win the prize, and sailed through stormy seas?” My generation sometimes expects that we are somehow entitled to beds of ease – without the struggles endured by our parents and grandparents. Are we expecting smooth sailing or are we ready to grit our teeth into the storm with a supreme confidence in the Master of the wind and the waves? We are into the budget and staffing planning season for schools – difficult decisions will need to be made. We must continue to work with each other, support and encourage each other, help each other to do our work faithfully to the glory of the Lord. We must do the best we can – not expecting anything to be easy - for we are engaged in a battle for truth – a battle for equipping students with the kind of wisdom that is not of this world, but that comes down from above. “Therefore…let us throw off everything that hinders and … and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith… so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

Last year I wrote a post about this topic under the heading of “An American Idol” (see February 19) and it was a big hit with readers of this blog…given that it was in the middle of the TV show American Idol season, it more than likely showed up in Google searches boosting the number of hits! ☺

At a recent pastor’s retreat I really appreciated the words of encouragement that were brought to the pastors by the speaker, Don Cousins. Don is a church consultant who used to work at the really big numbers place (Willow Creek) and shared what he has learned about how God measures success from his own personal journey. He noted that the only numerical indication of believers being added in the New Testament was on Pentecost and there are no indications as to how large the churches were to which Paul addressed letters. Cousins emphasized that pastors could become in bondage to a numerical and statistical approach to ministry. Possible downsides of this bondage include: pridefulness, discouragement, frustration leading to drivenness, compromise, comparison/competition with other pastors, and spiritual presumption – if numbers are most important, what about the growth of cults? He reminded pastors that it is God who causes the growth (Acts 2:47.)

He suggested four sets of questions to ask one’s self related to God’s view of “success”:

• Am I being faithful? (Matthew 25) Are you doing what God has called you to do? Does your gifting match your calling?
• Are you bearing fruit? Are you measuring influence or faithfulness? Are you taking back what belongs to God?
• Are you experiencing fulfillment? Are you “returning with joy” from ministry? (Luke 10:17) Is your “joy full”? (John 15:11) Are you joyful in fruitbearing?
• Are you making God famous? Are you a faithful steward of the grace of God? (I Peter 4:10.) Are you putting the generosity of God on display? Are we sharing the gifts he has given us?

As I heard and considered these words, I was struck by how appropriate they were to not only the pastors in attendance, but for all who work in ministry in Christian education, and so I share them with you. May you be encouraged – not by numbers, but by God’s definition of success.

Findings from the largest ever study done of teenage spirituality in the U.S. were reported in the book: Soul Searching: the Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers by Christian Smith with Melinda Denton (see my blog posting of October 11, 2006.) There is a new documentary movie that has come out on the book – see the trailer below.

From the movie jacket: “The movie illustrates some of the major themes and findings of the book, but it also goes behind the book in depicting the inner lives of a sample of American teenagers. Find out what these teenagers really think about God and religion, what their hopes and aspirations are, and what the research says about the effects of religion in their lives.”

Along with the 79 minute movie there is a 20 question study guide put together by Dr. Smith. I believe that this movie could be very helpful in gaining new insights into teens and their religious beliefs whether viewed by school faculties or church adult education classes. Ron Polinder, superintendent at Rehoboth Christian School recently used the video with his faculty and had this to say: ” It is outstanding . . . every Christian high school in the country should view it.” The DVD is available for purchase for $19.95 on Amazon.

From some personal experiences and observation, it appears that the treatment of Christianity at public universities has moved from benign neutrality to open and aggressive opposition. Are students in Christian high schools and churches preparing kids for not only intellectual attacks on faith, but for puerile, vulgar, and God dishonoring language used by professors? How about the dilemma of a student being graded on whether or not such language is used back to the teacher in assignments? How about being ridiculed by fellow students for stating faith beliefs and then having the professor join in the verbal beatdown?

Education delivered in the manner I have described above is not only intellectually dishonest, it is soul demoralizing for students. It is education that seeks to dis-integrate rather than integrate head, heart, and hands. Here is how Niel Nielson, president of Covenant College, contrasts classroom experiences at public and Christian colleges:

Students attend college to learn, and the learning occurs primarily through the interaction with faculty who will inevitably shape how students think and feel about everything. Professors are very bright, very persuasive, and in secular institutions almost always opposed and even hostile to Christian faith. And they want their students to think like they do. Even if professors are not actively attacking Christian faith, they are teaching from a framework that does not acknowledge Jesus Christ, i.e. they are failing to take into account the One by whom all things were created, in whom all things hold together, and under whose authority all things find their unity. Students who study in such settings simply will not learn to think Christianly – unless there is, alongside the “normal” curriculum, some comprehensive and systematic study that demonstrates the preeminence of Jesus Christ and the biblical reality that in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3), and does so for every academic discipline which the student studies. Unfortunately such parallel study rarely happens, and most campus ministers, gifted as they are, do not have the capabilities to help students deal with the relentless and powerful imprint of sophisticated secular scholarship in all the academic fields.

He goes on to ask the same question that I have often wondered about parents who choose public K-12 education over Christian education:

Why do so many Christians continue to fail to grasp the utterly crucial importance of shaping the mind and the heart in the educational process itself? Many Christian parents, who devote themselves so diligently to caring for their children’s souls, miss the very point of college education, opting instead for short-sighted emphases on university traditions, prestige, and the perceived path to a good job, and launch their children into learning contexts where they are inundated by ways of thinking that the parents undoubtedly abhor but willingly allow to shape their children’s minds and hearts. And perhaps even more important, the children of these Christian parents miss the glorious opportunity, in the educational context, to see how everything in creation fits together under the kingly rule of Jesus.

To read his post, “Christian Education as Preparation for Life” on his blog, please click here. CSI commercial moment ☺ - we look forward to hearing more from Dr. Nielson as one of our keynote speakers at our summer leadership convention this coming summer.

What comes to mind when you hear that someone is “wounded?” Maybe weak, disabled, sidelined, damaged—all having a negative connotation.

Recently, a group of school leaders gathered to examine wounding in the life of a leader, and learn how to prevent wounding to others, and turn personal wounds into strengths. Everyone is susceptible to wounds—you wouldn’t be human if you had none at all—but it was refreshing to examine how wounds can actually strengthen our character, deepen our trust in God, give us greater empathy for the people under our leadership, and make us more effective as a leader and a human being.

Strengthening the Heartbeat is a donor-funded program for experienced school administrators. The three-year cycle is capably spear-headed by Dr. Bruce Hekman from Calvin College. Bruce is joined by Jim DeKorne and David Koetje from CSI, and administrators Glenn Vos and Jack Postma as group leaders.

It was a pleasure to be asked to join this group of experienced school leaders from North America and around the world during their most recent gathering at Calvin College the week before last.

We considered together the topic of Faith Nurture, Leadership, and Wounding. We looked at what the current research on attachment, nurturing, brain research, and the ways that social intelligence research informs how we have been created. We reflected on the role of spiritual disciplines to assist in the healing process. We considered several essential questions:

• How do we respond to wounds inflicted by others and do we trust God to bring good during the healing process?
• How are we as leaders wounding others, whether they are teachers or students?
• How does this wounding encourage or discourage faith in followers?

Finally we considered how institutional structures and practices may create a toxic and wounding culture within a community. Bottom line we recognized that so much of what we do as leaders in Christian schools can either encourage or discourage faith. God grant that we can truly be individuals, schools, and churches that demonstrate both grace and truth.

Question: Is it important for your students to apply a Biblical perspective to course content?

If you answered “yes,” keep reading.

You think it’s important for your students to apply a Biblical perspective to course content. Three questions:
(1) What course content could your students apply a Biblical perspective to?
(2) During which units could your students apply a Biblical perspective to course content?
(3) On what types of assessments could your students apply a Biblical perspective to course content?

Bottom line:
(1) What course content will your students apply a Biblical perspective to?
(2) During which units will your students apply a Biblical perspective to course content?
(3) On what types of assessments will your students apply a Biblical perspective to course content?

Target Biblical perspective. Today.

(Post shared by Michael Essenburg, Christian Academy of Japan. For more information on integrating Biblical perspective, see his web site: http://closethegapnow.org)

In our lifetime, religion has moved from being intensely personal to being intensely marketed and advertised. What are the implications of this change in North American culture for our students?

In his new book Shopping for God: How Christianity Went From In Your Heart to In Your Face, James Twitchell takes the reader on a compelling journey from the Puritans through the megachurches and examines how religion has been merchandised and marketed. Some interesting points drawn from the book include:

• The second most popular use of the Internet is for religious or spiritual purposes.
• As denominations have become less important, people are putting together their own personalized spiritual plans.
• Christian bookstores have grown by 285% since 1983 and experts expect the religious book market to increase almost 50% from 2004 – 2009.
• While a new megachurch is born (by going over 2000 members) every three days, country churches are dying at a rate of one every eight days. While there seems to be more religiosity, the numbers of believers has not increased. The largest 10% of megachurches now contain about half of all churchgoers.Similarities between the medieval cathedral and the modern department store: both are concerned with salvation via consumption, getting the Word out (proselytizing/advertising), ranks of affiliation (devotion/brand loyalty), sacred texts (Bible/catalog), functionaries (clergy/clerks), signs of spiritual election (salvation/goods), holidays (religious/sales), heroic lighting (stained glass/spotlights), music (hymns/Muzak), and financial transactions (tithe/purchase and collection plate/cash register).
• Branding and shifting – once a brand choice is made in later adolescence, it sticks longer – the reason why advertisers target teenagers. Estimates are that it takes $200 of marketing to get a 50 year old to change brands, but only $2 to get an 18 year old to do the same. 4% of adults in 1955 moved from the church of their parents as compared to about 50% today. Mainline denominations now account for only 16% of the U.S. population.
• While the Catholic church’s voice has been raised against customization of religious belief, Protestant voices have largely been silent due to habits of individualism, ex. Reformation.
• Social transformations such as lack of social class distinction generated by church affiliation, the rise of a divorce culture (children of divorce are 62% more likely to no longer identify with the faith of their parents), and the mobility of parishioner and pastors have contributed to the problem of “shopping” and “slipping out the side door.”
• Megachurch marketing has intentionally tried to appeal to males: bigger is better, use of technology with a de-emphasis on traditional singing and emphasis on karaoke style singing, backing away from being lectured at/shamed, being purpose-driven and achievement oriented vs. relationally focused, and emphasis on sports facilities and male “pack/club” groups.

The megachurch was a reaction to churches that preceded it. The emergent church/village movement appears to be a reaction to the excesses and “shopping” nature of today’s megachurch. Let’s be aware of human weaknesses demonstrated in various church models and discuss them with students so that we may encourage in our kids an authentic and reflective personal relationship with Jesus Christ that results in hearts of gratitude and lives of service.

There are at least four significant variables related to family and school experiences that account for two-thirds of differences in state scores of student learning success according to a new report recently released by ETS (Educational Testing Services.) You may also wish to view a New York Times article on the report.

These variables are:

• Single parent families - Thirty-two percent of U.S. children live in single-parent homes, up from 23% in 1980. Forty-four percent of births to women under 30 are out-of-wedlock. 19% of children live in poverty and among black, American Indian/Alaskan native and Hispanic children the figure rises to 33%. The rate for “food insecure” female headed households is triple that for married couple families.

• Hours spent watching TV - comparison of eighth-graders in 45 countries found that U.S. students spend less time reading books for enjoyment — and more time watching television and videos —than students in many other countries. 35% of U.S. 8th graders spent 4 or more hours daily on weekday TV viewing. U.S. teens also spent almost one more hour daily using the Internet than students in other countries, and less time reading for enjoyment or doing jobs at home.

• Hours parents spend reading to kids - By age 4, children of professional families hear 35 million more words than children of parents on welfare. Sixty-two percent of high SES kindergartners are read to every day by their parents, compared to 36 percent of kindergartners from low SES groups.

• Number of school absences - One in five students misses three days or more of school a month. The United States ranked 25th of 45 countries in students’ school attendance.

How could we use this information to help our parents in the nurture of their children?

What ways could our schools or churches reach out in ministry to respond to these needs around us?

Trinity Christian College students and Professor Pete Post visited CSI recently as part of their interim experience. Together we discussed the mission of CSI and considered the question of “Why Christian education?” The students shared learning games ideas that they have been developing as part of the interim class. They hope to have them compiled and available to teachers via the web or in CD format.
Trinity education students are also regular participants in the Nurturing Faith blog. I really appreciate their fresh and honest comments – they are closer to teen years than the rest of us and help to keep us connected and real as we consider nurturing faith in youth.

It’s a typical reaction in workshops with Christian teachers – I usually get some blank stares and very few hands raised when I ask the question, “How many of you have had any training in student faith development stages?” Most or all hands go up when I ask similar questions about study of Piaget, Erikson, or Kohlberg in their college courses. From these kind of anecdotal experiences, one could conclude that teachers in Christian schools have been well versed in Piaget’s cognitive development theories, Erikson’s psycho-social development stages, and Kohlberg’s moral reasoning thoughts in their college courses, but know very little about research relating to children’s spiritual development. It simply has not usually been part of their training.

Yet, if we see our mission in Christian schools and churches to equip students to transform the world for Christ, shouldn’t we at least have a basic understanding of how religious beliefs develop in adolescents, how children perceive God at various ages, what practices are most effective in working with children, how parental images impact children’s thinking, and even what types of differentiation may be needed to challenge children at different stages? What is our understanding of how children’s faith has been perceived and developed throughout history by church leaders and what recurrent themes and practices may be seen and built on to instruct our experience? (Marcia Bunge’s book, The Child in Christian Thought is an excellent resource here.) What can we learn from contemporary leaders such as Kenda Creasy Dean, Chap Clark, Catherine Stonehouse, Craig Dykstra, and others as to how to best engage adolescents and encourage their faith?

We live in a time when our understanding of child/y