In my recent posts, I have been asking some important questions related to the education of future generations. As another school year comes to an end, we need to think about the important role that one’s philosophy of education plays in the education we give our children and grandchildren.
There seems to be less emphasis placed on the philosophy behind all educational efforts over the past several decades than what I experienced when I first entered Christian education. This trend toward focusing on the process rather than the foundational philosophy of education has paralleled a similar trend in today’s church.
Experiential worship has replaced biblical doctrine in many churches today. This has led to a shallow understanding of who God is and what the Christian life is really all about. Many years ago, A. W. Tozer predicted what would happen if experience replaced doctrine as the driving force in the church.
He believed that it would lead to what he referred to as a “gold-calf Christianity.” This shallow form of Christianity would be defended by focusing on numbers of people in our churches rather than on what changes are actually taking place in their everyday lives.
Any objection to the carryings on of our present gold-calf Christianity is met with the triumphant reply, “But we are winning them!” And winning them to what? To true discipleship? To cross-carrying? To self-denial? To separation from the world? To holy living? To nobility of character? To a disposing of the world’s treasures? To hard self-discipline? To love for God? To total committal to Christ? Of course the answer to all these questions is no.
The same can be true of Christian education when a strong biblical philosophy of education is not foundational to all that takes place in the educational process. We can believe that we are successful because our numbers are strong, our teachers are highly qualified, our accreditation is in place, our programs are expanding, and our graduates are being accepted at prestigious college and universities.
Like Tozer said, We are winning them! But we must ask the question, what are we winning them to? Are they strong in their commitment to absolute truth? Do they think biblically about all of life? Have they come to know God’s call on their lives? Have they abandoned their desires for their lives to fully obey God’s will for them? Do they know God or just know a lot about Him?
If the education that they have received at home, church and school has not been presented from a strong biblical worldview and a biblical philosophy of education, the answer to all these questions may well be a no. We must once again get back to knowing, understanding and committing ourselves to a biblical philosophy of education — to Kingdom Education™.
This will become a reality when parents, church leaders and Christian educators fully embrace the absolute truths found in God’s Word about how He wants us to educate future generations. Sixteenth century theologian, John Owen, said it best.
Without absolutes revealed from without by God Himself, we are left rudderless in a sea of conflicting ideas about manners, justice, right and wrong, issuing from a multitude of self-opinionated thinkers.
This is why God directed me to conduct a Kingdom Education™ Summit for parents, church leaders and Christian educators. At the Summit, we will be dissecting every aspect of education in an attempt to know the absolutes [about education] revealed from without by God Himself.
The one thing about education that we must fully embrace is what does God think and say about it. Again, I am challenged by the words of Tozer.
A Christian’s one question in any set of circumstances [education] is What does God think of this? What the current popular attitude may be is of no importance. He will approve or disapprove altogether as the written Word and the indwelling Spirit indicate.
I pray you will consider joining more than 100 church and school leaders by registering for the Kingdom Education™ Summit today. Together we will dig deep into God’s Word to find what God thinks about education. Then, we will develop strategies for the home, church and school so that these institutions can unite together and educate our children and grandchildren from a solid biblical philosophy of education.
We must never forget that the philosophy of education we hold is the foundation on which our children’s lives will be built. G. K. Chesterton was right when he wrote,
Every education teaches a philosophy; if not by dogma then by suggestion, by implication, by atmosphere.
Let’s make sure we teach our children and youth a Kingdom Education™ philosophy. Together we can make sure that the answers to the questions asked above are a resounding YES!!!
CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON THE KINGDOM EDUCATION™ SUMMIT!
Francis Schaeffer referred to this time in the history of western society as “The age of personal peace and affluence”. Personal peace and affluence- that’s the kingdom we’ve chosen to seek first. Sadly that’s often true for North American believers too. We say the right things in church but our genuine priorities are revealed by our actions. “They’re good, moral people”, many older Christians say that about their financially successful but unbelieving children – as if that was good enough.
May we believers return to our first love so that:
“He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else he will come and strike the land with total destruction.” Malachi 4:6