Monthly Archives

February 2019

God Was Still At Work In My Life

By | Public Blog, Uncategorized

More Questions

Things were going smoothly in my life.  I was completing 16 year at Lynchburg Christian Academy where I served as Superintendent for the last nine years.  In addition to my school life, I had completed my course work and passed all my comprehensive exams for my EdD at the University of Virginia.  My future plans were in place.  I would continue serving the Lord at LCA, write my dissertation and receive my degree.  All was good!

But God…. Little did I know that God was preparing me for somethings that would shape my understanding of what true biblically based, Christ centered education really was.  In 1989 God uprooted our family and we moved to Atlanta, GA where I assumed the role of Southeast Director for the Association of Christian Schools International.  For the next 7 years I would serve what grew to be over 600 schools in 8 states.

Because of my thirst to understand God’s design and purpose of education, I made a biblical philosophy of education the major theme of the Southeast’s services to schools.  We tried to bring in the best speakers on the subject to our teacher and administrator conferences.  We stressed the importance of the philosophy of Christian schooling in our student activities, student leadership conferences and regular school consulting efforts.

Through all of these efforts, I constantly asked myself if this is really what God’s purpose of education is?  Were Christian schools merely an alternative to other forms of schools?  Were Christian schools a Christianized version of secular/public schools?  One verse was on my mind constantly.  I thought about this verse on an almost daily basis.

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 (NKJV)

More questions grabbed me by the heart.  How much of Christian schooling was merely following the tradition of men?  After all, Christian schools operated pretty much like all schools.  They had similar calendars, course offerings, graduation requirements, athletic and other co-curricular offerings, and even used many of the same textbooks.  Were we being taken captive by false ideas/philosophy of education?  What would it look like if Christian schools were doing everything according to Christ?

God Working Through My Dissertation

When I first started serving the Southeast Region of ACSI, I wasn’t able to begin my work on my dissertation.  One day I was near Charlottesville, VA and stopped by UVa to inquire about how much time I had to complete my dissertation.  I was told by one of my professors that I had one month left to complete everything.  However, he told me that if I would get him a proposal that he would approve, he would get me a one-year extension.  I don’t have time to go through how God worked this out but I had my dissertation approved exactly one year from the date I visited the University.

My dissertation involved a national study on the religious beliefs and practices of Christian school graduates.  It was a fascinating study but what was taking place behind the scenes would eventually become my life’s message and mission.  To complete this study I had to provide proof that education, especially formal schooling, was more about developing a belief system than on accumulating facts that would guarantee success in the future.  I spent hours upon hours in the basement levels of the UVa library reading about the purpose of education during the founding of the USA.  I read chapel messages by Noah Porter while he served as President of Yale.  It was exciting to research and find out what our Founding Fathers had written about education and its true meaning.

As I traced the history of American education from its beginning to its current time (it was 1994 when I was doing this research), I became aware of the secularization of education and society.  This dangerous shift in educational philosophy started slowly in the early to mid 1800s.  However, it increased in intensity in the early 1900s.  Today, public schools operated under the authority of the government are completely secular in philosophy and operation.  Of course, many Christian leaders warned of this demise of education when the shift was starting to take place. However, very few parents and church leaders paid any attention to all of the warning signs.

God was working in my life and I was starting to understand what education’s purpose was supposed to be.  I was convinced that it involved the home, church and school.  However, I didn’t know how all of this fit together.  God had to, once again, turn my world upside down.  He did this in the summer of 1996.  What I was about to experience would change my life completely.  Tomorrow I will share how it all came together but it wasn’t easy.

A Perplexing Question

By | Public Blog, Uncategorized

God is always at work — even when we can’t see any evidence of it.  It is only when we take the time to look back can we understand what He was doing and what His will for our lives is.  This has been my experience as I look back over the past 50+ years of teaching.  As I shared in yesterday’s blog, I never imagined that I would be a teacher.  But God…..

The fall of 1973 was a very exciting time for our family.  We had just moved to Lynchburg, VA and I began teaching science and coaching basketball at Lynchburg Christian Academy.  Dr. Jerry Falwell started LCA in 1967 and had just launched what is now Liberty University in 1971.  There was excitement in the air as I began my journey into Christian education.  But then, a question I was asked caused me to stop in my tracks and I began wondering once again what is education really all about?

During the first week of school, there was an open house.  On that night parents actually followed an abbreviated schedule of their child’s classes.  The first group of parents entered my classroom and sat in the students’ desks.  I started my time with the parents by sharing with them what God had done in my life while teaching in the public school.  I explained how several of my students had come to faith in Christ.  It was at that point that one parent asked me a question I couldn’t answer.  He asked,

If God was using you in such an amazing way in that school, why did you leave to come here and teach?

I had never given that any thought.  Why was I here rather than back at my former school?  My answer was somewhat shallow as I explained that I wanted to teach where I could teach truth and could share my faith with my students openly.  In fact, it was exciting to have my principal tell us that we were expected to do just that.  However, I really didn’t know the difference between the public school I left and the Christian school I was at.

I could not get that parent’s question out of my mind for quite some time.  As I reflect back on my journey in education, I realize that it was at that point in time that I started wrestling with trying to understand education from a biblical perspective.  I went to conferences and seminars where several giants in the Christian school movement spoke on what Christian education was all about.  Men such as Dr. Francis Shaeffer, Dr. Roy Lowrie, Dr. Paul Kienel, Dr. Tony Fortosis, Dr. Ron Chadwick, Bud Schindler and Gene Garrick were used by God to begin formulating a biblical philosophy of education in my heart and mind.  I read as many books as I could find on this subject.  To name just a few of the books that started shaping my ideas of what God’s design for education is included How Shall We LiveThe Pattern of God’s TruthWhich Way to EducateEducating for EternityReclaiming the Future of Christian Education, and The Christian Mind.

Later on, I was challenged by Drs. James Dobson and Gary Bauer when I read their book, Children At Risk.  My whole idea of education was rocked when I read Thomas Sowell’s book, Inside American Education and The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom.  I found myself pouring over the Scripture and asking God to let me understand what His design for education was.  I didn’t want to go through the motions of simply filling my students’ minds with facts and figures in order for them to pass a test and get into a good college.  Of course, I had the freedom to add some Bible verses and little sermonettes to my lessons and there were chapels, Bible classes and spiritual emphasis weeks that all students participated in.  Prayer before practices and games were commonplace and expected.  However, there had to be more to this than what the typical Christian school was doing.

After my first year at LCA, I was asked to be the Secondary School Principal.  This led me to begin graduate courses at nearby University of Virginia.  Surely now I would learn what real education was all about.  Little did I know that God was moving in my life in a way that still boggles my mind.  I was very fortunate that all of my professors in both my Masters and Doctoral courses allowed me to address everything from a biblical perspective.  Of course, they didn’t agree with me on just about everything I wrote or presented but they tolerated my positions on a wide variety of topics.  What was taking place behind the scenes was that I was beginning to formulate a biblical philosophy of education in my heart and mind.

As I continued trying to understand God’s perspective on education, I dug deeper in Scripture and continued reading everything I could get my hands on about the subject.  It was during those early years in Christian education that I realized that education could not be equated merely to schooling.  I began understanding that biblically based education was a multi-faceted process that took place at home, in the church and in the school.  Even though I was searching for meaning, I still didn’t see how God was shaping my heart and mind about this very important aspect of life — the education of children and youth.

What God did next in my life was amazing to say the least.  Yet, it still challenged me about everything I thought education was all about.  But you will have to come back tomorrow for what the late Paul Harvey would say —The Rest of the Story!

50 Years Later: Understanding God’s Call

By | Public Blog, Uncategorized

There are many times in life when we have difficulty understanding why certain things happen to us.  It is during those trials and testing that it is important to continue living our daily lives and trusting God to accomplish His will for our lives.  As I reflect on my fifty years in education, I can now see how God was shaping me in so many ways to get me to where He wanted me to be today.

I was a pre-med student in college but God had another plan for my life.  Two weeks before graduation I didn’t know what I was going to do in the future.  I had not been accepted into medical school and I was getting quite anxious about what the future might hold.  One of my classmates had just signed a contract to teach math in a public school south of Buffalo, NY.  When he returned to campus, he saw me in the library and gave me a note with a telephone number on it.  He explained how the school needed a chemistry teacher and asked me to call the number.  This was on a Wednesday night in May of 1968.

The next day I called this school and on Friday I interviewed for the position and signed a contract to teach chemistry.  At the time it was very confusing to me about what had taken place in less than 48 hours.  After all, I was not an education major and had never even thought about teaching.  In the fall of 1968 I began my teaching career.

Those first 5 years of teaching were quite challenging to say the least.  During my tenure in Gowanda, NY I taught Regents Chemistry to juniors and seniors.  New York offered what were labelled “regents” courses.  These courses were intended to be more rigorous and at the end of each course students had to take a regents final exam.  This exam was prepared by the State and no one saw what was on the exam until the day it was scheduled to be administered.  The pressure that these exams carried was enormous because what you scored on the test was your final grade in the course for the year.

The pressure wasn’t just on the students.  Teachers also faced a lot of pressure as your future as a teacher was somewhat determined by how well your students did on the regents exams.  I took the place of a teacher who had been quite successful teaching Regents Chemistry.  87% of her students had passed the exam the year before when the state average was around 82%.  My principal regularly reminded me of the challenge I was facing to have my students do as well those students of the former teacher had done.

The first year ended and when I had graded all of the tests, 96% of them had passed.  For the five years that I taught Regents Chemistry in the school 97% of the students passed their regents exam.  It was through this season in life that I realized God had given me the gift of teaching and that this would be my calling in life.

One of the difficult situations I found myself in dealt with the theory of evolution.  In order for the students to pass the regents exam they had to answer certain questions as if evolution was true.  This was the first time that I can remember my faith being tested.  It was frustrating to tell students that they had to answer certain questions in line with evolutionary thought but that those answers were not in line with truth.  As I explained to the students, the people making the tests believed in evolution but the design and patterns found in chemistry clearly showed that there was a Creator behind our magnificent universe.

Even back in those days, what I was doing with my students was not acceptable.  I still remember the day when my principal came into my classroom and told me something that brought a lot of anxiety into my life.  He said,

I know what you are doing in your classes.  However, if any parents complain, I will tell you to stop.

What was I going to do?  I shared with some fellow Christians who also taught in the school what the principal had said and asked them to pray for me.  During a men’s prayer breakfast one Friday morning, the only prayer that they prayed was that the principal would not come in and tell me to stop.  I remember very vividly interrupting the prayer time and challenge them about what they were asking God for.  I told them that what I wanted them to pray was if and when the principal came in and told me to stop, I would have the courage to do what was right.  I asked them to pray that God would give me the boldness to teach truth.

During those five years of teaching in public schools, the principal never came in and told me that I had to stop doing what I was doing.  I had the privilege of seeing several of my students and players (I coached basketball also) place their faith in Christ.  But, I continued to wrestle with knowing what education was really all about.  Was it just a process that students went through in order to get into college or get a decent job?  Was there something more that God expected children and youth to learn during their school days?  I didn’t understand it at the time but I now see that God was stirring my heart in such a way that I would leave the public school system and begin a teaching career in Christian schools.

In the fall of 1973, I began teaching science in a Christian school.  I was so excited because now I could teach the truth behind science without fear of retribution.  In fact, I was encouraged to share my faith and talk about God in everything I did as a teacher and coach.  I felt like I was in heaven.  However, my faith was, once again, rocked during my first open house at my new Christian school.  It was then a parent asked me a question that shook me to the core.  Tomorrow I will share with you what God did in my life on that night.

The Danger of Drifting

By | Public Blog

There is nothing more refreshing on a hot, humid summer day in South Carolina than going to the beach.  I find it enjoyable taking a float out into the ocean and just spend time floating on the rolling waves.  However, you have to always pay attention to what is happening.  If you simply let the ocean take you where it wants you to go, you can end up in some pretty dangerous situations.  You could be pulled out to sea or the current can take you way down the beach and far from your intended location.  Drifting can be very dangerous.

I was reminded about this through two things that I experienced yesterday and this morning.  I came across the remarks that Dr. Jerry P. Kulah, Dean of Gbarnga School of Theology, United Methodist University in Liberia gave at the United Methodist Church Special General Conference Session in St. Louis, Missouri yesterday, February 23, 2019.  I can’t remember when the last time I read such a bold speech as Dr. Kulah’s.  After reading it, I found myself under heavy conviction.

This special conference was called to address the church’s stance on marriage and sexuality.  According to Kulah, one group was encouraging church leaders to “take a road in opposition to the Bible and two thousand years of Christian teachings.”  Kulah saw that his denomination was at a crossroads and he equated it to what God said through Jeremiah thousands of years ago.

Thus says the Lord“Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.  But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16 (NKJV)

It was at this point in his address that Dr. Kulah became very bold in his position.  There was no doubt that he was committed to taking “another road.”  According to Kulah that road, “invites us to reaffirm Christian teachings rooted in Scripture and the church’s rich traditions.”

He went on to speak the truth with great forcefulness but seasoned with amazing grace.  Read his words carefully.

While “we commit ourselves to be in ministry for and with all persons,” we do not celebrate same-sex marriages or ordain for ministry people who self-avow as practicing homosexuals. These practices do not conform to the authentic teaching of the Holy Scriptures, our primary authority for faith and Christian living.

However, we extend grace to all people because we all know we are sinners in need of God’s redeeming. We know how critical and life changing God’s grace has been in our own lives.

We warmly welcome all people to our churches; we long to be in fellowship with them, to pray with them, to weep with them, and to experience the joy of transformation with them.

Friends, please hear me, we Africans are not afraid of our sisters and brothers who identify as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgendered, questioning, or queer. We love them and we hope the best for them. But we know of no compelling arguments for forsaking our church’s understanding of Scripture and the teachings of the church universal.

As you read these words, I hope that many of you were silently, or maybe out load, saying a hearty — Amen!  However, these words were not the ones that brought great conviction to my heart personally.  It was what he said later in his speech.

And then please hear me when I say as graciously as I can: we Africans are not children in need of western enlightenment when it comes to the church’s sexual ethics. We do not need to hear a progressive U.S. bishop lecture us about our need to “grow up.”

I better understood the commitment to biblical truth that this man was standing on when he explained that this stand could mean that the African churches of this denomination could lose financial support from US churches.  However, this wasn’t seen as a threat to Dr. Kulah.  Money was not an issue with him.

Unfortunately, some United Methodists in the U.S. have the very faulty assumption that all Africans are concerned about is U.S. financial support. Well, I am sure, being sinners like all of you, some Africans are fixated on money.

But with all due respect, a fixation on money seems more of an American problem than an African one. We get by on far less than most Americans do; we know how to do it. I’m not so sure you do. So if anyone is so naïve or condescending as to think we would sell our birth right in Jesus Christ for American dollars, then they simply do not know us.

We are seriously joyful in following Jesus Christ and God’s holy word to us in the Bible…Please understand me when I say the vast majority of African United Methodists will never, ever trade Jesus and the truth of the Bible for money.

We will walk alone if necessary... [emphasis mine]

I went to bed Saturday night wondering if I would stand and walk alone if necessary like Dr. Kulah was willing to do?  Then I went to church Sunday and the message was on the book of Hebrews.  The key verse that the pastor preached from was,

Pay Attention!

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.  Hebrews 2:1 (NKJV)

Another translation states that we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.  As I was driving home, it seemed like God was asking me are Christian schools at the same crossroads that Dr. Kulah’s denomination is at?

What I am about to say can be easily misunderstood.  I am not condemning in any way development strategies, learning methodologies, research findings about effective schooling or a host of other great things happening in Christian schools.  However, I am burdened that we may need to pay much closer attention to the things we have heard!  We cannot compromise the importance of knowing, understanding and being fully committed to a biblical philosophy of education in our homes, churches and schools.  If we don’t take such a stand — even if it means we must walk alone — will we be selling our birth right in Jesus Christ?  Drifting may seem enjoyable but it is extremely dangerous!

Tomorrow I will share some of the things that have caused me to be so committed to kingdom education. I trust you will better understand my journey through the years as I pay closer attention to the things I have heard.

Walking In Wisdom

By | Public Blog

Over the past several weeks we have been looking at the purpose of education through a biblical worldview lens.  The education we give our children and youth has significance to the degree its purpose is consistent with the God’s highest purpose behind man’s existence.  This means that the main purpose for education must equip our children and youth with the ability to better glorify God and enjoy Him throughout all of life and eternity.  For this to happen, our children’s education must guide them to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable them to glorify God in whatever they think, say and do.

We have identified several goals that education must pursue in order for it to achieve its ultimate purpose.  So far, we have looked at the following goals that must guide the education our children receive at home, church and school.  These goals are:

  • Education must lead them to true worship of God
  • Education must lead to transformed lives
  • Education must equip them for war
  • Education must guide them to know and do God’s will

This week I want to suggest one other goal that our children’s education must pursue.  It can be stated this way.

Education must equip our children and youth to live wisely.

Many years ago, a wise mentor encouraged me to read one chapter of Proverbs each and every day.  I haven’t always done this but I have read through this wonderful book of wisdom many times.  The main writer of Proverbs is Solomon, the wisest man (apart from Jesus) who has ever lived.  Solomon establishes the main purpose of this book within the first few verses of Chapter 1.

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; to know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; to give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.                      Proverbs 1:1-4 (KJV)

Solomon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, set out to teach his son wisdom.  Throughout this book, there is an emphasis on three things.

  • knowledge
  • wisdom
  • understanding

There is a progression that must take place in our children’s education.  They must increase in knowledge for we know that without knowledge God’s people were destroyed and taken captive by their enemies (Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 5:13).  In Hosea 4:14 God tells us that a people without understanding will come to ruin.  The word ruin literally means to be trampled.

The education that we give our children and youth must be grounded in knowledge based on truth so that they won’t be destroyed and taken captive by false thinking.  However, knowledge is not enough because they must be able to apply that knowledge to real life situations from God’s perspective.  When this happens, they will be able to discern what is true and what is false.  They will then exhibit wise behavior.  When they live wisely, they won’t be trampled by the culture but will be able to think and act from a biblical worldview perspective.

Getting godly wisdom must be a major goal of the entire educational process – at home, church and school.

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:9-10 (KJV)

When one of the goals of education is to challenge children and youth to acquire insight, discernment, and wisdom, the result is that God is glorified.  Achieving this goal of education will also lead to true success (Joshua 1:7-8; Proverbs 3:4).

If we want our children’s education to equip them to live their lives for God’s glory, it must:

  • lead them to true worship of God
  • bring about spiritual transformation in their lives
  • equip them for spiritual warfare
  • guide them to know and perform God’s will
  • equip them to live wisely in today’s anti-Christian culture

When these goals of education are achieved, our children and youth will advance God’s kingdom which will, in turn, bring Him great glory.  Is the education your children are receiving at home, church and school driven by God’s ultimate purpose for them?  Are these goals serving as the foundation stones to your children’s education in the home, church and school?  If not, are we setting them up for failure?

Work Isn’t a Dirty Four-Letter Word

By | Public Blog, Uncategorized

It’s Off To Work We Go!

When you look at this cartoon image, does it describe how you feel when the weekend is over and you have to go back to work on Monday?  For many Christians this is how we view work.  But that is not how God wants us to view work.

I believe that everyone wants their children to be successful in life.  Most parents believe that a key to their children being successful is getting a good education so that they can get a good job.  A great deal of energy is put into making sure that children and youth know the right information so that they can get into a good college.  Parents are convinced that getting a good college education is the key to getting a good job and, therefore, being successful.  

At the same time, Christians say that God has a plan for every person and the best place to be is in the center of God’s will. Unfortunately, there is a deep divide in many Christians’ minds between being in God’s will and getting a good job.  Christians seldom look at education as the process through which their children will discover God’s will for their lives which will, in turn, lead them to finding a vocation in life.  Yet, that is exactly what one of the key goals of education should be — education must guide people in knowing and doing God’s will.  In discussing this goal of education, I will equate God’s call with God’s will.  Anything that God calls an individual to do must be God’s will for that person.

There are two calls that God puts on a person’s life.  The first call is a general call to salvation.  God desires for all people to be saved.  The second call that God places on a life is specific to the individual.  This call is a call to vocation or work.  A call to work must be seen as a divine call.  This is because God is portrayed throughout the Bible as a God that “works.”  We have all read the account of the creation of this universe in Genesis 1.  This marvelous creation is the “work” of God.  In fact, after God “worked” to create this world in a mere six days, He rested from all His “work.”  God is a God who works.  Since man is created in God’s image, it means that man has been created to work.  Education should guide children and youth to find God’s call to a vocation in life.

Timothy Keller has written an excellent book that deals with this call to vocation titled, Every Good Endeavor.  In this book, Keller explains,

We must recover the idea that work is a “vocation” or calling, “a contribution to the good of all and not merely…a means to one’s own advancement.”…To one’s self-fulfillment and power.  Something can be a vocation or calling only if some other party calls you to do it, and you do it for their sake rather than your own.  Our daily work can be a calling only if its reconceived as God’s assignment to serve others.

Work has gone through a progression, or more accurately a regression, of meaning.  When our Founding Fathers established this country, work was seen as a vocation, a calling from God.  As time passed, work became a job one had that God was asked to bless.  Then work became a job to pay the bills.  Today, someone has said that work is the ability to consume!  This regression in how we look at work is due to a flawed education system that is not focused on guiding students to knowing and doing God’s will.

Kevin Swanson provides us with keen insight related to this educational goal.  In his book, Upgrade, he writes,

A successful education is achieved when a child is prepared to make maximal use of his God-given talents & abilities in the accomplishment of the child’s calling…Everybody is gifted and has a purpose in God’s world…Each child has a specific calling, framed by his unique talents and abilities.

My friend, Pastor James McMenis, consistently reminds his church’s membership that every person is a purpose with a name.  This statement is grounded in the fact that God has a plan for every person that is born.  Since this is true, education must aim at guiding students to understanding their God-given talents and abilities so that they can know God’s purpose for their lives.  This goal of education must be central to every educational effort a child experiences at home, church and school.  Consider this profound statement.

The challenge of the first eighteen years of a child’s education is to find that calling [God’s will]…A fulfilled life will be determined by whether he/she has centered in upon his or her life calling.  Kevin Swanson

Christians must answer some key questions if they are going to give their children an education that will result in them equipped to glorify God in all of life.

  1. How is the education that your children/students are receiving at home, church and school helping them to understand their God-given abilities and talents?
  2. Does the education children are receiving at home, church and school help them to hear God’s call on their lives to be saved?
  3. Are your children/students on a path to finding God’s call on their lives to a vocation for which God has created them to fulfill?

What Are Our Children Being Equipped For?

By | Public Blog, Uncategorized

In light of last week’s post Enough is Enough, I want to look at another essential goal of education that must be pursued by all Christians.  There is no question that we are engaged in a fierce culture war.  Therefore, the education we give our children and youth must be aimed at achieving this very important goal.

Education must equip people for war!

There is a trend that I see taking place in western Christianity.  This trend is an effort to “tone down” any talk of war.  The argument for this line of thinking is usually stated in this way.  If Christians are to be “relevant” in today’s culture and want to influence the lost about their need for a Savior, they need to be more understanding and not use language that reflects conflict, battle or war.  I understand that Christians must show compassion and empathy to the lost.  However, God’s Word has much to say about war and all Christians’ responsibility to engage in a very real war that has been raging throughout human history.

The reality is that ever since the Fall, man has been at war with God, His creation and each other.  This is because with the entrance of sin into the world all relationships were broken.  Christians always talk about how the Fall has separated man from God.  However, it is also true that sin has set man against man generically speaking.  There is no question that the culture war today is seen in such things as rising levels of violence, gender confusion and loss of truth.  Last week we addressed the fact that this war is now targeting babies both in and out of the womb.

In the Old Testament the reality of war can be seen whenever God instructed the leaders of Israel to take a census of the people.  The first census taken of the Israelites is recorded in the book of Numbers.   God instructed Moses to number the people.

Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above—all who are able to go to war in Israel. Numbers 1:2-3 (NKJV)

There were some other instances when God instructed the leaders of Israel to number the people.  In each case, they were to number the men who were 20 years old and older who were fit for battle.  It is true it was expected that when a man reached 20 years of age, he was supposed to be able to fight on behalf of Israel.  Even though the battles were physical battles against other nations, each of these nations represented people who worshiped false gods.

In the New Testament we also find references that teach us that Christians are to be strong soldiers.

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldierPhilippians 2:25 (KJV)

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:3 (NKJV)

…to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldierPhilemon 2 (KJV)

Not only are Christians expected to be fit for battle, they are to be equipped with the right armor to be successful in war (Ephesians 6:10-17).  This is where a biblical look at education can help us understand this goal.

The war that God expects Christians to be fully engaged in is a spiritual one.  According to Paul’s writing, this war is waged on an intellectual or mental front.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ… 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV)

Drs. James Dobson and Gary Bauer reflected on this war of ideas in their book, Children and Risk.  The book suggests that a new civil war is raging across America.  This war is a war of values and to the victor goes our children.  Dobson and Bauer explained how the major front for this war will be fought on educational turf.

In order for education to achieve God’s ultimate purpose, it must assist Christians in living lives to glorify God.  This requires that the education we give our children and youth must equip them to develop their minds for the purpose of waging war in the arena of ideas in today’s culture.

The reality is that every educational effort prepares children and youth to wage war.  It either prepares children to wage war for God or wage war against God.  Secular education equips its students to think and act from a secular worldview that is opposed to God.  We must provide children with a biblically-based, Christ-centered education so that they are equipped to wage war for God.

Some would argue that Christian education shelters students from the real world.  The fact is, secular education shelters children from truth.  I agree with author Kevin Swanson who wrote that the goal of protection is not to shelter students but to prepare them.  It is important to note that God’s Word doesn’t suggest that Christians be equipped and engaged in this spiritual war.  It commands Christians to do so.

Here are some questions we must answer.

  1. Do you see education in the home, church and school as a battlefield for the hearts and minds of your children/youth?
  2. Does the education your children/students are receiving at home, church and school equip them for war for God or against God?
  3. What are some specific ways that your child’s education at home, church and school equip them to be strong soldiers of the Lord?
  4. How would you rate today’s youth as being fit for battle?
  5. Is the education they receive at school actually equipping them to do battle for the enemy?