Today we are engaged in a fiercely fought war. One does not have to travel to Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran or some other part of the world to encounter the battle that is raging. All one has to do is visit any home, church or community to find the war taking place in full force.
I refer to this war as a culture war. A culture war is a war of ideas and the two sides are fighting for their ideas to be the driving force in everyone’s life. The two sides have ideas that are in total opposition to one another. The ideas of both sides in this war are trying to provide answers to the two most important questions in life.
- What is REAL?
- What is TRUTH?
One thing that we must all realize is that the major target in this culture war is the hearts and minds of our children. Both sides want to capture our children and have them believe their ideas about reality and truth. Paul reminds us of this battle in Colossians 2:8.
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
The ideas that come from the tradition of men and the principles of the world want to take our children’s minds captive. This is because when one’s mind is taken captive by ideas, those ideas drive the person’s attitudes and actions in every day life decisions.
The second reality of this war that we cannot overlook is that the major front of this war is being fought on educational turf. The reason why this is true is because the main business of all education is the communication of ideas from the one doing the educating to the one receiving it.
When most of us think of education, we immediately narrow our thoughts to what takes place in a school. However, education involves what takes place in three very important institutions in every society – the home, the church and the school.
The home is still the most important influence on a child’s education. Scripture makes it clear that parents have the greatest responsibility for what ideas are communicated to their children. Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 78:1-7, Psalm 127:3-5, Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:4 are just a few examples found in God’s Word that emphasize the truth that parents have the primary responsibility for the education of their children.
The church also plays a significant role in educating a child. The local church is God’s instrument to proclaim His kingdom to a lost world. The Bible clearly teaches that the church is to teach, another word for educate, its members so that they are equipped to do the work of the ministry. One of the most important “works of the ministry” is parenting the next generation of young people. It is critical that the church come along side the home and provide support to parents in educating their children.
The third institution that plays a role in a child’s education is the school. Schooling has a major influence on the education of a child. A child attends school six-hours-a-day for 180 days a year. This represents 1,080 hours each school year – a significant number of hours that a school has opportunity to communicate its ideas to the hearts and minds of our children.
Some parents who are reading this article might give a big sigh of relief at this point. They can say to themselves that they are adequately preparing their children for the future because they are Christians, they attend a church and their children are in, what they believe to be, a good school. However, every parent needs to understand what it takes to properly educate one’s children.
True education can be defined as the process of preparing a child intellectually, physically, socially and spiritually for life and eternity. This means that we must make sure that the ideas that are communicated to our children through the home, church and school are preparing the total child not only for this life but also for eternity.
In the forward of my book, Kingdom Education, Josh McDowell makes a profound statement.
The ideal way to help our kids not only to reject the postmodern worldview (a set of ideas) but also embrace deepened Christian convictions is to align church, home, and school into a unified whole that arms our children with the truth and protects them from distortions.
According to McDowell, the key to winning the battle for the hearts and minds of our children is to align the home, church and school with a biblical philosophy of education. If we are going to win today’s culture war, we must give our full attention to all aspects of our children’s education. It is absolutely necessary that the home, church and school are educating our children from a biblical worldview perspective.
Unfortunately, we have been losing the culture war over the past several decades. The world has been taking a majority of our children captive to its false beliefs and values. Many years ago, I came across a “little story” that explains why this is happening.
A Little Story
This is a story about four people named EVERYBODY, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, and NOBODY.
There was an important job to be done and EVERYBODY was sure that SOMEBODY would do it.
ANYBODY could have done it, but NOBODY did it. SOMEBODY got angry about that because it was EVERYBODY’s job.
EVERYBODY thought ANYBODY could do it, but NOBODY realized that EVERYBODY wouldn’t do it.
It ended up that EVERYBODY blamed SOMEBODY
when NOBODY did what ANYBODY could have done.
We can’t afford to repeat this “little story.” The home, church and school must come together and give our children a biblical worldview education. Anybody and everybody must do it!
I find it truly amazing how many parents are leaving the education of their precious children to the school to decide. As always, your article was right on target striking a nerve with your “Little Story.”
As you state in your last line and has been the hallmark of Christian educators since its beginning: “The home, church and school must come together and give our children a biblical worldview education.” I still remember my first (and only) Christian School Superintendent, Gus Enderlin, sharing and reenforcing this multiple times upon my arrival at RCS in August 1974 and multiple times until his retirement in 1986, and I continued the message until 2016, and it is continued today by our current Superintendent, Dr. Al Hearne.
And you are so right, “Anybody and everybody must do it!”
Thanks, Glen . . . again for another reminder that we need to “hold fast to our past.”
Blessings!
Bruce D. Johnson, Superiintendent Emeritus
Redwood Christian Schools
Castro Valley CA 94546
Amen! It is impossible for the state to fulfill the proper role of schools. This responsibility belongs to the body of Christ between parents and the church.