Tim Euler

I first read the book Kingdom Education in 2000. I read it after interviewing for a teaching and coaching position at The First Academy in Orlando, FL. One of my mentors, Mr. Ed Gamble handed my wife and I the very first Kingdom Education book, the red book. Who remembers the red book? We read the book, and it forever changed the trajectory of our parenting and our lives.

Growing up in a Christian home, I understood the need for discipleship, but it was not at the level we read in Dr. Schultz’s book. After several years in Orlando, we interviewed and took jobs in Dallas at Prestonwood Christian Academy. It was there that we would meet another mentor, Dr. Larry Taylor. I remember our first Fall at PCA, we sat through Dr. Taylor’s parenting class. At that time, Dr. Taylor had 3 boys, and we had 2, with God blessing us with a third son years later. I remember watching Dr. Taylor and Mrs. Delinda raise their boys, Diana and I were in awe of their intentionality and commitment to discipleship.

Dr. Taylor is a coach at heart. The way he taught parenting, was that we had 6,540 practices from birth to 18. As parents we chose how intentional those practices should be. It would be forever imprinted on my mind, that with our three boys, we must be intentional in their discipleship.

Someone is disciplining your children. It is either you or the culture.

Jeremiah 12:5 gives us a reminder of what we are practicing for. “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein thou trusteth, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of the Jordan?”

The concept is that our home, the practice arena, is the safe place of life, but if we do not present practices that are intentional and deliberate, the arena of life will destroy them. Our responsibility as parents is to create practices that prepare them for the game of life. They cannot be practices that only protect them but prepare them. The principle of preparation does not mean we place them in a bubble and hide them until maturity. In fact, if we place our children in a bubble, maturity will never be reached.

We are to choose the practice arenas. We are to place our children in places that we trust but arenas we know that they will be faced with real life challenges. When we delegate a portion of our responsibility of discipleship, we must delegate carefully and intentionally. Our children are given to us as a gift, a heritage. They are our generational linkage to future generations. The practices we design must be intense, intentional, and preparing them for real life culture. We must create a practice plan that addresses all areas of life. Our responsibility is to raise children to advance the message of the Kingdom in a world that is in complete opposition to that message. They must learn how to run with horses, in the swelling of the Jordan. That is determined by the design and intensity of our practices.

Sherwood Baptist Church for years had a sign hanging in their lobby. It said the following,

Whoever wants the next generation the most, will get them!

Are we creating practices in our homes, THE discipleship training center, that are preparing them for life and eternity? Are dedicated to the point of understanding that our 6,540 must have an intentional design? We will get what we plan for. We will get what we practice for.

 

Since Hannah dedicated Samuel, we have been returning the gifts given to us by God back to Him. Hannah’s example provided us with a template for how we should view the raising of our children. Hannah was barren for many years, and upon receiving the blessing from God, all she knew to do was return Samuel to the One who had given him to her. This act of dedication became the example for us to follow.

Children are a gift from the Lord, an inheritance of His Kingdom. The word “dedication” is defined as:

• A feeling of very strong support or loyalty
• To give completely your energy and time.

The act of dedicating requires action! Dedication is a verb.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

 The action verb of dedicating is meant to create within each parent—and anyone who interacts with children—the understanding that there is no greater calling in life. Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto Me.” Even when He was tired and seeking rest, He never turned away children. As God told Jeremiah when He was calling him to be a prophet, “I knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb.” Children are precious in the eyes of the Creator.

For so long, we have viewed children as belonging to us, rather than as being entrusted to us. As we raise children, we must grasp the same passion for child-rearing that Abraham did. God trusted Abraham to be the father of nations, and when He gifts us with children, He transfers that same level of trust to each of us. Sadly, we often fail to see it this way, but that is exactly what God intends. He trusts us.

A principle of Kingdom Education is:

The education of children and youth, if and when delegated to others by parents, must be done so with utmost care to ensure that all teachers point students to the truth of God’s Word.

(Exodus 18:21; I Samuel 1:27-28, 3:1-10)

As entrusted guides, we must realize that God designed each of our children uniquely. No two are alike. As parents, the church, and the school, we spend much of our time working to shape these image-bearers into what we desire them to be. We train them as we feel they need to be trained. But Hannah did not do that. She gave her gift back to the Lord so that He could train and call Samuel according to how He had designed him.

As we prepare the next generation, we must grasp this truth:

May our children become everything God designed them to be, not merely what we desire them to be.

 

We concluded last week’s blog with the following…

Ultimately, the academy should not be…

• In place of…
• In spite of…
• In addition to…

BUT… A ministry of the Church, working in perfect harmony to advance the Kingdom.

In Acts 2 when the sound from heaven filled the house and anointed the Church, this was no accident. The Church was given a specific assignment,

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Matthew 28:19-20

This assignment has been going forward for over 2,000 years. Since the day of Pentecost, the Church has had her ups and downs, though one thing has remained, the Church’s mission. Whether the Church has always lived up to that mission or not, is a conversation for another day. Today, the Church cannot reside inside 4 walls, it must be a place of going, rather than coming. As the Church, Christians must be going forth, preaching the name of Jesus, winning the lost to Jesus, and baptizing them in the name of Jesus. It is a mission that goes beyond the 4 walls of a building.

The Church is to operate 24/7/365. There is never a time off. As Christ followers we are the message carriers, under the umbrella of the Church. This applies for the academy as well. The academy should function under the umbrella of the Church, working as a ministry of the Church. I say often, our responsibility as Kingdom educators is to carry what is ministered from the pulpit on Sunday to the lectern on Monday. Kingdom Educators should work as an extension of the Church, executing The Great Commission Monday – Saturday. As an extension or ministry of the Church, we see the fruit of our labor as beautifying the bride of Christ.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:25-27

 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Revelation 19:7-9

The work of the academy should be focused on making certain everything we do brings honor to the Church, the body of Christ. It is our responsibility to not hinder the moral and spiritual development of anyone that encounters our academies. We must serve the Church. We must honor the Church. We must elevate the Church. We must partner with the Church. The Church should be the covering by which the academy operates under daily.

We believe at Kingdom Education Ministries™, we are called to…

Engaging church leaders to address the issue of education biblically and equip parents to fulfill their God-given mandate to educate children biblically.

If the individual is the message carrier,

If the family is the message expansion,

Then the Church is the message trainer.

The Church is the second ordained institution in Scripture. When Jesus left the earth and the Holy Spirit arrived, the Church became the training ground for carrying the message from generation to generation. The Church was commissioned to take the message of the Gospel and train up future generations to be the light sent into a dark world.

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

Acts 1:7-9

It is the responsibility of the academy to create the partnership with the Church that is long lasting, gospel advancing, and Kingdom honoring.

How should the Church and Academy interact with each other?

I am not certain how many of you are basketball fans but some of you may remember July 8, 2010, “The Decision’. It was the day LeBron James made the famous statement, “I am taking my talents to South Beach.” This would then form what was known as the “Big Three”. It changed the course of NBA history. In fact, LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh all decided to take pay cuts to make room for Mike Miller to join them. The “Big Three” in an interview stated that they were going to win 1, 2, 3, 4…7 championships. They ended up only wining 2 championships in 4 seasons together before LeBron left to go back to Cleveland.

What many don’t remember is this was not the first time a “Big Three” joined forces in the NBA. From 1968-1973 Wilt Chamberlin, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West all played together forming what was called the “Super Team”. The Lakers reached the NBA finals twice, losing to the Celtics and Knicks but eventually winning a championship in 1972 before Chamberlain and West retired.

Why the history lesson on the NBA “Big Three”?

Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Amos 3:3

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-13

We can get into conversation as to why the “Big Three” didn’t win the 7+ championships they said they were going to win, or we can just realize the real reason was lack of unity. It takes unity, walking together, to make things work.

Far too long the Church and Academy have disagreed with each other. They have tried to figure out who should be in charge, what body is more important, and who is doing a better a job at discipling families. What has suffered is the entire body of Christ. Like two parents in an argument, nearing or getting divorced and children caught in the middle, the disunity between the church and academy has caused the families to suffer, being caught in the middle of the fight. This is exactly how the enemy works. He first causes disunity and then he goes in and destroys.

Monthly we get calls from churches or schools who are on the verge of divorce. Sadly, it causes the entire body of Christ to suffer. The Home, Church, and School, working together could win championship after championship but due to pride and selfishness, we allow pettiness to interrupt what God could use.

Alan Pue writes,

“Of course, parents bear responsibility for discipling their children. Who is responsible for equipping parents for such a challenging role?  Isn’t that a primary role of the church?”

This mindset creates a partnership where the academy can assist. The academy should never replace the church. Working together in unity, the church and the academy must understand they are to come alongside the parents in raising up the next generation. This partnership becomes a three-cord strand that is not easily broken. This partnership requires each entity to understand their unique gifting and calling. This partnership when functionally properly, in unity, advances the Kingdom.

We have heard all kinds of horror stories and from the outside looking in on these stories, the weight of blame is on both the church and the academy. We must strive for unity together and when that happens, we become the “Big Three” and “Super Team” that nothing can overtake. That unity begins with recognizing what God has called each of us to bring to the table in this battle. It requires us to humbly serve the King and not our own interests. Ultimately the academy should not be…

In place of…

In spite of…

In addition to…

BUT…A ministry of the Church.

Working in perfect harmony to advance the Kingdom.

Last week’s blog ended with this statement, “May the church become our spiritual emergency room.” The church was designed to be place where people heard the Word, believed the Word, and acted on the Word.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Romans 10:14

Instead, the church in many places has leaned toward the woke culture and has become anything to anyone. Dr. George Barna in recent research has discovered the following when it comes to pastors with a biblical worldview.

Pastors in the church demonstrating a biblical worldview

Executive Pastors 4%

Children/Youth Pastors 12%

Teaching Pastors 13%

Assistant Pastors 28%

Senior Pastors 41%

All Pastors 37%

What has happened over the last 2,000 years is that the enemy has attacked the original purpose of the Church and led it off task. The mission of the Church could not have been more direct and identifiable. The secularization of the Church over the last two millennia is, at its core, the battle between the secular and the sacred. Sadly, the Church has become lukewarm, losing its love for the bride.

A lukewarm church may still look like a church, function like a church, and, in most ways, achieve the original mission of the Church. However, it will only do so with a focus on the short term—10, 20, 30, or even 50 years in sight. The lukewarm church needs to see the Great Physician and return to its first love. Transformation will not come from an overemphasis on programming, but from a recentering on the Truth that built the Church.

Dr. Barna tells us that 80% of those who grow up in the Church leave it when they reach college. The question we must ask ourselves is: Why? Why do they no longer believe in the message the Church was commissioned to teach them? Could it be that programming has overtaken the message—TRUTH?

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

The truth of the Church must be centered around one message: Jesus. In returning to its first love, the Church would embrace this message above all. Truth grew the Church in Acts 2, and it can once again grow the Church.

Truth comes from God’s Word alone, and it is the Church’s responsibility to equip families with this message!

The Church & the Individual

 Many have suggested over the years that the church should be a hospital for the spiritually sick. For many years of my life, I didn’t see the church fulfilling this role but rather focusing solely on discipleship. However, my perspective changed when I fell into the most broken state of my life.

The church we attended for years held a service every Wednesday night called the “House of Prayer.” The entire service was dedicated to worship, scripture reading, and prayer. It wasn’t for the faint of heart. Every week, it was intense and incredibly powerful. One Wednesday, I found myself at the lowest point of my life, and I needed a spiritual doctor. I needed to go to the spiritual emergency room. That evening, I broke, and the altar became my spiritual hospital bed. I laid there for longer than I could remember, praying, seeking God’s face, direction, and hope for my life. The altar became my hospital bed, and my physician was my Creator.

Dr. Schultz has often quoted the phrase, “It is easier to be traditional than Biblical.” While many have associated this phrase with the school and how we need to forget the training we’ve had as educators and seek God’s direction for our school, it can also be applied to the church. We walk into church, hear announcements, sing three songs, listen to a message, are challenged to leave differently, and then have an altar call. We walk out, checking a box, ready for another week, but no surgery was performed on us. We leave with little change within us, head to Cracker Barrel to beat the crowd, then go home to take a Sunday afternoon nap while watching a sporting event. Check, another appointment accomplished.

What if we did away with the tradition of church?

Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” What if we walked into church and allowed those with whom we fellowship to change us? What if we walked into church and allowed the One we’re there to worship to remake us? Would the outcome of church be truly transformational in us and in all areas of our lives?

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. James 1:22-25

Sadly, I sense that too many of us walk into church for a social event rather than a transformational one. The church should be a place where we are confronted with the Word, forced to examine our hearts and minds, much like we examine ourselves in the mirror before leaving the house in the morning. We must arrive at church prepared to understand that we are walking into a spiritual hospital, and we need serious treatment. Too often, we walk in with guarded walls and fail to allow the Word to diagnose and heal us.

When you walk into an emergency room, you know something is going to change. Why do we not walk into church with this same urgency? Could a Sunday morning or Wednesday night be one of the most dualistic places of the week? We know we need help. We know we need a spiritual cast placed on our hearts. We know we are broken, and we know we need spiritual surgery. Yet, we so intently guard against looking deeply into the mirror of God’s Word and allowing it to treat, heal, and transform us. His Word and His Church should reshape and mold us.

But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Malachi 3:2-3

May the church become our spiritual emergency room.

Through examining the birth of Jesus, we find a template for raising the next generation. This template is a simple five-step approach to creating disciples:

Faithful Parents

An Anointing

A Training (Biblical Education)

A Process and Timing

A Tempting/Trial

When we look closely at the life of Jesus, we must remember that He was 100% God and 100% human. We see that Jesus experienced temptation, was tired, cried, sweat, and, as Scripture tells us, He took on the form of a servant. As we study the Christmas story, we see Jesus growing, maturing, and developing relationships. This template, found in the first four chapters of Luke, establishes a pattern for parents, educators, pastors, and mentors to follow. The greatest takeaway for us to understand is that creating disciples for the Kingdom is a process.

The process of creating Kingdom disciples begins with placing our children in an environment based on biblical truth. Over the years, society has shifted the meaning of “Christian” to encompass many things. As Dr. Glen Schultz taught many, “It is easier to be traditional than Biblical.” The tradition of men has transformed the modern concept of being Christian into something less rooted in Scripture. When Jesus, at the age of 12, sat in Luke 2, He did not sit at the feet of influencers or cultural guides. He sat at the feet of biblical doctors of the Word. He asked questions, showing His 100% humanity, giving us a template to follow.

Our children face many challenges from the culture. They are confronted with worldly traditions and responses to questions that many “scholars” claim have no answers. However, when a child grows in “wisdom, stature, favor with God, and favor with man,” they experience a training ground rooted in the truth of God’s Word. When the angels cried out, “Glory to God in the highest,” they truly meant that we have a hope and expectation that surpasses anything this world has to offer.

This revelation of God’s Glory is revealed through the asking of questions and seeking for God to dwell among us. When Jesus was born on this earth, His Glory literally dwelt among us, providing a template for how we should live our lives. This template impacts us as individuals, parents, churches, and schools. The question we must answer is, “Are we living in the expectation of His Glory?” We should live our lives, parent our children, create discipleship in our churches, and educate our children with the end in mind—will they bring God glory through what they are learning and the answers they are seeking?

Merry Christmas from Kingdom Education Ministries!

At the end of November, one of our partners, BJUPress, posted a scripture reading plan to read the book of Luke throughout December. When I saw it, I instantly took a screenshot and decided I was going to embark on this journey. I honestly wondered why I had never done this before. It didn’t take long for me to begin the reading plan and to be both blessed and convicted.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

Luke 1:68-72

When I read these verses, I was reminded of the true meaning of the season: to have a relationship with the living God, to have Him visit us and be manifested within us, giving us the gift of salvation. The reason we celebrate His birth is to truly understand, as verse 37 says, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

My mind then shifted, as it always does, to how this revelation truly impacts my life and the calling I have. Over the past 25 years, I have been deeply involved in Kingdom Education. All three of my boys have been educated in Kingdom Education schools, with the foundation of God’s Word embedded in their hearts and minds. Two of my boys have graduated, and now I have three grandchildren beginning their educational journey in a Kingdom Education setting.

You cannot convince me otherwise: when God’s Word is deeply rooted in the curriculum, teacher training, classroom interactions, and the core of education, daily Christmas is alive and celebrated. When we have God literally visiting with us every day while we open textbooks for math, science, history, English, foreign languages, arts, and athletics, lives are changed, hearts and minds are renewed, and eternity is impacted.

Looking back, was it all a sacrifice for my family and children? Most definitely. We may have missed out on experiences that others had. We may not have participated in everything that some may have wanted or desired. But what we did gain was a focus on what truly matters: Jesus Above All. What we did receive was a Kingdom Education that, Lord willing, will transform generations of Eulers to come. I would never have allowed my children, looking back, to choose anything other than what God allowed them to experience.

At a Kingdom school, you literally are bathed in what Jesus was bathed in.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Luke 2:52

This is how Kingdom Education and Christmas intersect. This is not only the why behind Kingdom Education, but also the benefit: daily experiencing the manifested presence of God within the educational process. You are bound to produce warriors for the Kingdom who are ten times better than anything Babylon has to offer.

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Give Thanks

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

Psalms 100:1-5

I am reminded often of the song, Give Thanks. It starts off with the line, Give Thanks with a grateful heart. I process this when I am having a difficult day. How can I give thanks while still walking through the trials of life?

When The Tabernacle was built in Exodus, we were given a progression of relationship building with our Father.

Outer Courts = Thanksgiving

Inner Court = Praise

Holy of Holies = Worship

`This progression lays out a path to the presence of God. When we begin cleaning out our own hearts and offering up thanksgiving in the outer courts, our lives begin to be renewed. It is in the outer courts of the tabernacle that we begin to prepare our hearts for praise and worship.

Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Psalm 29:2

 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

It is in the state of thanksgiving we begin to grasp the understanding that God is due all the praise and worship. We serve a relational God who desires us over any form of religion. Our offering of thanks sows seed into fertile ground.

True thanksgiving is an offering from the heart and not lip service. We live in a society where we are judged by the portrait of another person’s life. It is a compare and compete game that interrupts how we should offer thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the first step to entering His presence. When it is hard to be thankful, it makes the gift all that more valuable. Sacrifice is hard and it is why it is step one to praise and worship.

We offer up thanksgiving not because of who we are but because of who He is. Our thanksgiving removes selfishness, pride, entitlement, comparison, and covetousness. It opens us up to a relationship with our Creator. Being thankful is the first step of recognizing who He is!

I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people, In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.

Psalms 116:16-19