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If I have been asked this question once, I have been asked it hundreds of times.  It is asked most often after I have presented information about how dangerous secular education is to our children’s and grandchildren’s future.

Why are Christian parents, pastors and church leaders unwilling to address the issue of education biblically?

Having been asked this so many times and trying to prayerfully answer it, I have come to the conclusion that the main reason this isn’t happening is DUALISM!  This is a term that I first read about in the late Dr. Albert Greene’s book, Recapturing the Future of Christian Education.

This same concept is also referred to as the secular/sacred divide and compartmentalization. Those who tie this practice back to ancient Greek philosophers might refer to it as a two-story approach to life.

Simply put, dualism is the practice of dividing one’s life up into two separate compartments — the secular and the sacred and then living each compartment from a different worldview perspective.  The result is a fragmented life that has no ultimate meaning.  Life simply cannot make sense when dualism is present.

Last week I read a challenging article by Dr. Jim Denison.  In the article Denison makes this statement.

Our problem is not atheism, the claim that God does not exist and is therefore irrelevant to every dimension of our lives and world.  Our problem is pluralism, the claim that there are many gods and that each should be trusted and served where appropriate. (emphasis mine)

He went on to state,

We have inherited it (from ancient Greece and Rome) in a much more subtle fashion with our gods of Sunday religion and Monday secularism.

Do you see the dualism in his statements?  We live life by our Sunday worldview and our Monday through Saturday worldview.  I have thought that this dangerous way of trying to live life by two different belief systems was somewhat new.  However, it has caused man problems ever since the Fall.

I am currently reading through 1 and 2 Kings during my quiet time.  As I was studying 2 Kings 17, it hit me.  Dualism was a problem during the time of the kings of Israel.

Israel had fallen to the Assyrians and were taken captive.  The king of Assyria sent some of his people to inhabit the cities of Samaria.  When these pagan worshippers arrived in Samaria, the Lord sent lions that attacked and killed some of them.

The Assyrians sent word back to the king and told them that some of their companions had been killed by lions because they do not know the custom of the god of the land.  So, they wanted the king to send some of the Israelites back to teach them the custom of the god of the land.

Some priests who had been taken into captivity were sent back to Samaria and they taught them (Assyrians) how they should fear the Lord.  When I first read this, I found it fascinating that these pagan worshippers recognized that they needed to know the customs of the “god” of Israel.  However, they didn’t want to leave their way of life all together in order to follow God.  Here is what happened.

However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made.  2 Kings 17:29 (NKJV)

The Scriptures go on to describe what became the way of life for these Assyrians after the priests taught them how to fear the Lord.

So they feared the Lord, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places.  They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. 2 Kings 17:32-33 (NKJV)

Here dualism is clearly described in Scripture.  They tried to both fear the Lord YET serve their own gods. They attempted to live according to two worldviews or religions.  When I saw this, I realized that even the kings of Judah who did right in the sight of the Lord were guilty of adopting a secular/sacred divide in their lives.  One example of how a “good” king tried to live with a dualistic belief system is Jehoash.

Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 2 Kings 12:2-3 (NKJV)

This dangerous lifestyle was repeated by other kings such as Jotham (see 2 Kings 15:34-35).  I was amazed at how, time and time again, kings would tear down the altars and statues of Baal and Asherah but they allowed the “high places” to remain.  Of course, in every one of these cases God was not pleased and eventually brought judgement on the nation.

Unfortunately, we have not learned from the poor examples like I just mentioned.  I agree with Denison that Christians no longer are “setting up a figured stone in our land.”  However, we are too often guilty of worshipping God on Sunday and then trusting and serving our secular gods where appropriate during the rest of the week.

I am as guilty of this as the next person.  There are those areas of my life that I find that I have yet not surrendered to a biblical worldview.  As long as they remain, I am like the Assyrians in 2 Kings 17.  I want to “fear God” so I am protected from lions.  But I also want to fit into the culture by continuing to live my “secular” life just like everyone else.

In fact, I realize that when I come under conviction for the dualism in my life, instead of tearing down the high places and surrendering them to a biblical worldview, I do something very subtle but still sinful.  I will try to intensify my “Sunday life” so that I can still live out the secular side of my life with less guilt.

God will never work the work that He wants to do in, through and around us as long as we are not fully following Him in every area of our lives.  The question we must ask ourselves today is this.

Am I guilty of fashioning gods of Sunday religion and Monday secularism?

It is imperative that we develop a biblical worldview and allow it to direct our thinking and acting in every area of life throughout every day of life.

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One thing that I have become keenly aware of during our current stay-at-home condition is that the cosmic battle of worldviews is becoming more intense.  One example of this is an article that hit the news this past week.  The timing of the release of this article is interesting considering the fact that school buildings are closed and children are being educated while having to stay at home.

The article I am referring to was published in the May/June issue of Harvard Magazine.  The author presents the views of Elizabeth Bartholet, a law professor at Harvard.  Bartholet views homeschooling as a threat and suggests that it be banned.  Even the picture headlining the article depicts a homeschooled child in prison while other children, supposedly not homeschooled, are outside playing and having fun.

It is interesting that the “jail” holding this child is made up of books.  These books are labeled Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and Bible.  I found it intriguing that a “Science” book was not included.  Of course, it made sense when the professor described the typical homeschool parent as people who “question science.”

The backlash from the article has been swift and strong.  However, most of the responses to this anti-homeschool article have merely defended homeschooling.  Please know that I also believe that homeschooling is a parent’s God-given right and should be protected.

However, what has alarmed me in some ways is the fact that the article and Bartholet are attacking something much more important than the practice of homeschooling.  This article is attacking Christianity.  This is evident when Bartholet is quoted, (all emphases mine)

Surveys of homeschoolers show that a majority of such families (by some estimates, up to 90 percent) are driven by conservative Christian beliefs, and seek to remove their children from mainstream culture…some of these parents are “extreme religious ideologues” who question science and promote female subservience and white supremacy. 

This is the crux of the worldview battle that is intensifying throughout today’s culture.  Christianity or a biblical worldview is the real focus of the article’s attack.

This article isn’t the only evidence that we are engaged in a cosmic battle between God’s truth claims and Satan’s deceptive lies.  Let me share some other hard evidence of the war that is raging against biblical truth.  Here are some statements that have been made by government leaders this past week.  These statements are all related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ultimate victory in this war will be made possible by America’s scientific brilliance.  POTUS

This crisis has shown that government matters. Expertise matters. Science matters.  NY Governor Cuomo

…a group of highly qualified evolutionary virologists looked at the sequences there and the sequences in bats as they evolve, and the mutations that it took to get to the point where it is now totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.  Dr. Fauci

If these statements don’t alarm us, then this statement will surely wake us up.

The number is down because we brought the number down. God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that . . . That’s how it works. It’s math. And if you don’t continue to do that, you’re going to see that number go back up. And that will be a tragedy…   NY Governor Cuomo

I want to make myself clear about where I stand on these issues.  Science can’t do anything.  Science is merely studying the creation ordinances by which God created and sustains the universe.   The same is true when you see a program on the Weather Channel titled, When Weather Changed History.  Weather hasn’t and can’t change anything.  God can and has used weather to change history but weather has no power of its own.

People can use science to accomplish many wonderful things.  However, that doesn’t tell the whole story.  This can only happen because man, created in the image of God, has been given the ability, from God, to research, discover and synthesize things such as vaccines etc.

In most of these statements, the implication is that man is autonomous.  Other than Cuomo’s bold statement that God didn’t do anything, the others simply ignore God’s existence and His involvement in the affairs of man.

Getting back to the original article mentioned in this post, it must be noted that the Bartholet and a professor from the College of William and Mary are holding a summit at Harvard.  This summit, according to reports, is by invitation only and is called, The Homeschooling Summit: Problems, Politics, and Prospects for Reform.

The co-sponsor of the summit, Dr. James Dwyer, has made the following statements in interviews and written reviews.

The state needs to be the ultimate guarantor of a child’s wellbeing.  There is no alternative to that.  The reason why parent child relationships exist is because the state confers legal parenthood on people through its paternal and maternity laws.  It is the state that is empowering parents to do anything with children – to take them home, have custody and to make any kind of decisions about that.

…the claim that parents should have child-rearing rights—rather than simply being permitted to perform parental duties and to make certain decisions on a child’s behalf in accordance with the child’s rights—is inconsistent with principles deeply embedded in our law and morality.

I have been pounding the drum for years that education is never neutral.  All education is driven by the desire of one group of people to instill certain beliefs and values into the next generation.  Education isn’t about academics, athletics or fine arts.  It is about worldview formation.

Again, Bartholet’s own words illustrate that education is about instilling one’s beliefs and values in young hearts and minds.

From the beginning of compulsory education in this country, we have thought of the government as having some right to educate children so that they become active, productive participants in the larger society. This involves in part giving children the knowledge to eventually get jobs and support themselves.  But it’s also important that children grow up exposed to community values, social values, democratic values, ideas about nondiscrimination and tolerance of other people’s viewpoints.

The problem with many Christians is that they have not gone through the process of renewing their minds.  Therefore, they do not think and act from a biblical worldview.  The devastating result of this is that parents, church leaders and educators are not equipped to instill a biblical worldview in the next generation’s hearts and minds.

I am fully aware of the challenges we are currently facing due to the restrictions that have been placed on our lives because of this pandemic.  However, parents, church leaders and educators must be trained to know and embrace a biblical philosophy of education by developing a biblical worldview.

If you or your school is not already a KEM Prime Member, I urge you to consider becoming one today.  The resources that are available to members have been developed to accomplish this very task.  School heads can email me to find out about special pricing that is being offered right now.

We cannot afford to lose this battle!  The future of our children and grandchildren hangs in the balance!

 

The coronavirus pandemic has turned life upside down in many ways.  With schools closing, many teachers have had to resort to online learning as a means to keep students up-to-date with their studies.  Many people are trying to balance watching their children and working from home.  Others are suffering withdrawal pangs as most sports venues have been shut down.

One of the common practices that seems to take place whenever there is a hint of disruption of everyday life is being witnessed all round the world.  This practice can be seen when a major storm, such as snow or a hurricane, is forecasted.  It is also seen when there is a threat of an economic collapse.  Currently, we see it happening with the panic over COVID-19.

What is this practice?  It is what is called panic buying.  I can remember moving from Buffalo, NY to Lynchburg, VA many years ago.  During one of my basketball practices I was informed that I had to shut down practice immediately because of a snow storm that was approaching.  I couldn’t believe that I had to close practice when it was just starting to flurry in Roanoke, over 50 miles away.

As I drove home on completely dry streets, I saw grocery stores packed with customers rushing in to prepare for the “big” storm.  Within hours, store shelves that once were filled with bread and milk were stripped bare.

Panic buying took an unexpected turn with this new crisis.  What item have people rushed to purchase?  What was this necessity that caused fights between grown adults and shopping carts to be filled to overflowing?  It was toilet paper!  

We are a couple of weeks into fighting this dangerous virus and what is everyone talking about?  You guessed it — toilet paper.  As I recently watched several church services streamed over the internet, the only common topic that just about every pastor mentioned was the binge buying of toilet paper.

A couple of days ago, I joined 50-75 other shoppers waiting for Walmart to open its doors.  When the doors were finally opened, I watched grown men and women race down aisles and even climb over and/or through empty shelves hoping to buy this scarce commodity.  The rush for toilet paper screeched to a halt when shoppers got to where they thought they would find their pot of gold only to find empty shelves.

Everyone I come in contact with is asking the same question related to this unusual shortage.  Why toilet paper?  Well, I wanted to see if I could find an answer to this phenomenon that I had been witnessing.  In my research, I came across an article, Here is why people are panic buying and stockpiling toilet paper to cope with coronavirus fears.

In this article, one psychologist explained this unusual behavior this way.

“It’s about ‘taking back control’ in a world where you feel out of control,” he said. “More generally, panic buying can be understood as playing to our three fundamental psychology needs.”

I quickly read through the article to find out what are man’s three fundamental psychology needs.  When I read them, I realized they are all related to how God created us and how sin has distorted and twisted His magnificent creation.  Here is why there is a rush for toilet paper around the world today. It is because man has an insatiable need for:

1. Autonomy — the need to be in control
2. Relatedness — panic buying is seen as “we shopping” vs “me shopping”
3. Competence — people want to be known as “smart” shoppers

In the article another psychologist explained why people were filling their shopping carts with toilet paper.  His explanation was that the bigger the fear, the bigger the item everyone rushes to buy.  In this case, one of the biggest packages you will find in a grocery store is toilet paper.

As the entire world tries to navigate through this pandemic, one can witness the best and the worse of human nature.  I found it fascinating to read how the main reason for the rush to buy as much toilet paper as possible is man’s need to be autonomous.  The reality is that this drive to be autonomous has its origin in what happened in Eden at the beginning of human history (see Genesis 3).  Satan tempted Eve with the possibility for her to become autonomous and in complete control.

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5 (NKJV)

Throughout human history, every person is born with a sin nature.  That nature is driven by the desire to be autonomous — to be like God.  This is the driving force behind the theory of evolution.  If man is merely a  product of time and chance, then there is no supernatural being that created everything.  Man, therefore, can do whatever he desires.  To be human is to be autonomous.  He, in essence, is his own god.

Even if science indicates that there must have been a designer behind creation, the autonomous man will not allow that to even be considered.  Why?  It is because if one has to admit that there is someone who designed and created the universe, he/she is, then, accountable to that person.  Fallen man recoils at the very thought that he is accountable to someone other than himself.  The autonomous person believes that this is the only way to experience freedom.

Therefore, man must prove to himself that he is autonomous and he is in complete of his life.  The resulting action is to show the world that I can get everything I need, including toilet paper, by my own efforts.  Man, on his own, will survive any crisis by whatever it takes.  The survival of the fittest mentality is built on the idea that man must do whatever it takes to survive.  This carries with it the belief that there really isn’t any absolute right or wrong.

Unfortunately, the drive to be autonomous only leads to captivity and loss of freedom.  God created man to be not only free but also dependent.  True freedom only comes from living one’s life in total submission to the One who created him/her.

The Bible is full of proof that the only way to be free is to submit to God.  Consider the following examples.

• Israel lived in freedom through submission to God.  Throughout the OT one finds God going before and/or fighting for His people.
• Paul experienced true freedom but considered himself a bondservant to Christ.  He also submitted himself to God when he wrote that he could do all things through Christ who was his strength.
• Jesus declared that we can do nothing unless we fully abide in Him.

When Jesus addressed man’s worrying over clothing, food and shelter, He told his disciples that they needed to seek His kingdom first.  Then, Jesus said all your needs will be added to your life.  What Jesus was saying was that when you seek God’s kingdom reign in your life, your needs will be met.

 

I don’t need to rush to the store to hoard toilet paper or any other product.  I merely have to trust God to meet my needs and live my life in submission to His will.  It is freeing to focus on the sovereign God of the universe and simply follow Him as He directs one’s path.  I don’t have to panic.  I don’t have to buy everything I can get my hands on.  I simply have to seek His kingdom first and watch Him provide everything I need — even toilet paper!

 

Last week we looked at a very important life principle that is found throughout the Bible.  Simply stated, it is: one harvests what one plants!  This week I want to focus on a second life principle.  This one is closely tied to the first one.  It has real significance when it comes to how we educate future generations.

Life Principle #2:  One can only give what one possesses!

If I were to call each of my three children and tell them that I am going give each of them $10,000 next Christmas, I believe each of them would chuckle.  They would respond something like this.  Sure dad.  Even if I continued to emphatically say that I was going to do this, they wouldn’t believe it.   Why?  It is because they know that I don’t have $30,000 to my name.  It is impossible to give what one doesn’t possess.

Even though every parent understands this principle, many parents, even Christian parents, try to live as if this truth doesn’t exist.  To illustrate the fact that far too many Christians ignore this principle can be seen in looking at the average debt load most families have.  The reason why so many Christians are in debt is because they continually give stuff to their children or to themselves when they don’t possess the money needed to purchase all of it.

 

In contrast to how we often live our lives believing that we can ignore this principle, God always operates in accordance with this life principle.  He does this because He owns everything.  Consider the following passages of Scripture.

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.  Psalm 24:1 

For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.  Hebrews 3:4

For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.  1 Corinthians 10:26

The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts.  Haggai 2:8

What implications do these findings have on the education our children are receiving?  This is where this second life principle plays a significant role.  Remember that one can only give what one possesses.  Dr. Tony Evans explains this principle very clearly when he wrote,

Children have a very spiritual reason for their existence…[Parents] are to transfer a theo-centric, God-centered worldview; that’s why He said raise them in the Lord.  Let the glasses they wear, we call that a worldview, a lens through which you view life, be constructed by the parents as they have gotten it from the Lord.

It is obvious that God expects us to give our children and youth a biblical worldview education.  As a result of doing this, He wants future generations to be fully equipped so that they will think and act from a biblical worldview.  Evans goes on to state a powerful truth.

But if parents haven’t gotten anything, they can’t give anything.  We are to transfer to them [our children] what we have gotten from the Lord.

This profound statement is also true and applies to pastors, church leaders and Christian educators.  We can only give what we possess!

Dr. Barna shares some sobering realities about today’s Christian adults.  The impact of the home on a child’s worldview development is determined by the worldview held by a child’s parents.  Barna found that the primary parenting generation (those who are parenting infants through 13-year olds) is the millennial generation.  He found that 95% of these parents have a non-biblical worldview.  This means only 5% of parents have a biblical worldview.

Barna also explains why the church does not have much of an impact on the worldview development of children and youth.  A major study on church involvement of children ages birth to 18 found that the average child attends church only 1.4 times per month.  One church that had 1231 registered children discovered that only 52 of them attended church 3 or more times per month.  It must also be noted that only 5-7% of adults teaching children and youth have a biblical worldview.

The final determining factor in what worldview is being given to children and youth is the schooling a child receives.  Here, Barna learned that 88% of children attend secular public schools and another 9% attend secular private schools.  This means that only 3% of children, of the ages when worldview is being shaped, are enrolled in biblical worldview schooling.

We must also keep in mind that the millennial generation is also becoming the primary teaching generation in Christian schools.  This means that only 5-7% of teachers in Christian schools most likely have a biblical worldview.

Applying these findings in an effort to see the impact of Christian schools on the education of children, we can make the following conclusion.  Only 3% of children are in biblical worldview education but only 5-7% of teachers in these schools actually possess a biblical worldview.  Remember, Life Principle #2 is always true.  Parents, church leaders and educators can only give to students what they, themselves, possess.

This is why I am focusing all of my attention and energy on helping equip the next generation of parents, church leaders and educators with a biblical worldview and a biblical philosophy of education.  I leave you with the words of Kyle Idleman in his book, gods at War.  As you read this, realize that we must develop a biblical worldview so we can give it to the next generation.  Idleman wrote:

It is time to choose a god and follow him.  It is time to choose a worldview and let it remake you!

 

 

I have never witnessed the “panic” that impacted the whole world like the one we are experiencing today because of a microscopic virus.  I sent out a tweet last week about what I have come to better understand because of what is taking place in society today.

Man can cancel everything, spend billions, self-quarantine everyone and use the best human ingenuity and technology and it only proves one thing. Man does not control anything.  God is in complete control. What can I do?  Trust God & obey His Word!

There are two life principles woven throughout God’s Word that have gripped my heart over the past few months.  These two truths impact every area of life.  They are especially applicable to how we educate future generations.  In this week’s post I will focus on the first of these two principles.

Life Principle #1:  What one plants, one harvests!

When God created the heavens and the earth, the very first creation ordinance He established was this principle.  Every form of life that He created operates according to it.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1:11-12 (NKJV)

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.  And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1:20-21 (NKJV)

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.  And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1:24-25 (NKJV)

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth… Genesis 1:27-28 (NKJV)

God created all life to reproduce after its own kind.  If you plant an apple tree, you will not harvest grapes from it.  Dogs don’t reproduce birds and humans only produce humans. Whatever one plants, one harvests!

This life principle doesn’t only apply to the physical reproduction of life.  It applies to everything in life.  A student who plants hours of study into a subject, will harvest a better understanding of it than the one who never studies.

This principle also applies to our stewardship.  When we plant God’s tithe (the first tenth of one’s increase) in the local church, we will harvest God’s blessings.

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.  Malachi 3:10 (NKJV)

It is my conviction that what I plant is what I treasure/value.  When I treasure something, I want to get more of it.  So, I plant it knowing that I will get a harvest after its kind.  This is why Jesus gave His followers wise advice.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…  Matthew 6:19-20 (NKJV)

Paul sums up this principle when he wrote to the church in Galatia.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Galatians 6:7 (NKJV)

This verse declares that this life principle applies to all of life.  This truth is extremely important to the education we give our children and youth.  Whatever we plant in their minds will result in a harvest according to its kind.

I have written extensively on the fact that the worldview of one’s teachers will become the worldview of the student.  Jesus emphasized this truth when He said,

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.  Luke 6:40 (NKJV)

Even though this life principle is found throughout scripture, too many Christians seemingly ignore it when it comes to how they educate their children.  Then they become surprised and even shocked that their children leave the faith and live by the standards of the world.

I continually ask myself some important questions.

1. Am I living my life in line with this life principle?
2. Do I really want to harvest the seeds that I am planting in all areas of my life?
3. What seeds am I planting in my mind?
4. What is being planted in my children’s hearts and minds through the education they are receiving at home, church and school?
5. What will be the guaranteed harvest from my answer to #4?

We must make our every day decisions knowing this very important life principle.  What one plants, one harvests!

Next week we will look at life principle #2.

 

 

We are bombarded by more and more information every day.  One study noted that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century.  By 2013 knowledge was doubling every 13 months.  One can only imagine how fast knowledge is doubling today.

What is even more mind boggling is how much data is being produced on the internet.  It is now predicted that there will be 40 zettabytes of data available by the end of 2020.  This is a whopping 40 trillion gigabytes!  It would take a person 180 million years to download all the data that is currently on the internet.

It is hard to comprehend what is important from all the headlines that flood our minds every second.  These so-called vital facts are on topics ranging from global warming to Harry and Meghan’s exit from the Royal Family.  Let me ask you a question as an example of how difficult it is to discern fact from fiction these days.  What is the coronavirus and what is the real danger we are facing concerning it?

There is one thing for certain related to information overload — we have lost our ability to discern truth!  This is a big problem and it has significant impact on how we educate future generations.

I consider myself to be an avid reader.  It is important to keep up with all of the latest research and studies that are taking place; especially as they relate to education.  It seems like a new “best practice” is being lauded on effective teaching, leadership and/or a host of other topics every time I turn around.

How do we as Christians sift through mountains of books, articles and research reports and stay true to God’s calling on our lives?  The answer to this question is pretty simple but not so easy to accomplish.  It can be summed up in something that Ruth Bell Graham once said.

Read, read, read — but use the Bible as home base.

This became very clear to me during my graduate studies.  The amount of reading that was assigned in every subject seemed overwhelming to say the least.  I can remember reading information and listening to lectures by professors and thinking that it sounded really good.

The big question that I was constantly confronted with was, Is It True?  I found myself talking with God on many nights during my 90-mile drive form Charlottesville to Lynchburg.  I would ask God if something I had read or heard in class was really true?  It sounded so reasonable but was it biblical?

It was during those times that God brought verses of Scripture to my mind.  When this occurred, I found it much easier to filter through all the information and know what to hold on to and what to dismiss from my mind.

This caused me to let all of my professors know that I was going to critique everything that I would be studying from a biblical perspective.  Some of them questioned if I could be “objective” but they allowed me to do this.  In one class we were assigned the task of comparing and contrasting two different moral development theories.  My paper contrasted Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory with Biblical Thought.

In order to study everything from a biblical perspective, I had to spend as much time in God’s Word as I was spending in reading man’s works.  One verse of Scripture became very real to me.

And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.  Ecclesiastes 12:12 (KJV)

I still try to keep up with the latest research and trends in education.  I have addressed many topics in recent blogs that I read about in books that I recommend to others.  Some of these have been written by secular authors.  However, I must always filter what I read through the lens of Scripture.

So, how do we survive information overload but still press on to become the best at whatever God has called us to do?  This conundrum has always existed.  There were a group of believers who faced this challenge when listening to the Apostle Paul.  They didn’t want to take anybody’s word for truth without verifying it.  This is the kind of Christian God demands we be today.

These [the Bereans] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.  Acts 17:11 (NKJV)

Those of us who have been called by God to shape the hearts and minds of the next generation must read, read, read.  But we must search the Scriptures daily to find out whether what we read is true.

 

 

I recently spent two days reading through a very interesting book published by The Association of Christian Schools International , ACSI, titled  MINDSHIFT: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education.  I always find these types of books challenging because they cause me to stop and think about the essentials of biblically based education.  I was immediately intrigued by several questions that were asked in the introduction to the book.

1. What is distinctive about Christian education?
2. What should teaching and learning look like in contemporary society?
3. What knowledge and skills do today’s students need to be salt and light … in an increasingly secular society?
4. What should Christian schools look like?
5. How can Christian schools be relevant and nimble in a competitive marketplace?

These are definitely questions that need to asked and answered.  One of the first points I gleaned from my reading was the need to develop common language.  This has been a big concern of mine for quite some time. However, the real issue is not developing common language but identifying common meaning for the language we use. For example, the word “tolerance” is common language used by many people and groups.  It is a commonly used term.  Yet, the meaning of the word is vastly different when used by different people.

Because of this need, I want to share with you what I mean when I use the term “MindShift”.  When I went to the dictionary, I found the term defined as a change in focus and perception.  Another definition read, a shift in your mindset caused by creating something out of a fine balance between insights and innovation.  With these definitions in my mind, I started studying the various “MindShifts” that the book sets forth that Christians need to make as related to Christian education.

I want to state right up front that each area caused me to carefully consider what changes need to take place in my thinking.  I made a ton of notes and wrote down many questions as I read through the book.  With the changes that are sweeping through society, failure will be inevitable if we are not willing to make changes in some of our perceptions and points of focus.

However, I found myself looking back as much as I was looking forward.  I started to see that there is definitely a need for a major MINDSHIFT in how we educate future generations.  As I wrestled with several of the concepts that were presented, I was reminded of something the wisest man in history once wrote.

That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun…I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.  Ecclesiastes 1:9, 14 (NKJV)

We must be careful to realize that there really isn’t anything new under the sun.  Permit me to share a couple of examples with you.  A real challenge that we will face in the future is the advancement of technology and its impact on education.  In MindShift the reader is challenged to get ready for 5G.  There is no doubt about it — 5G is coming to the internet and it will impact our lives.

This, however, isn’t something new.  One of my assigned readings in my graduate studies was Alvin Toffler’s Psychology of the Future.  This essay was written in 1974.  At the time, I was writing my papers on an old “selectric typewriter”.  Toffler was challenging educators that they had to have a view of the future that included computers if they were going to give students a good education.  I have seen a lot of advancements in technology over my 50+ years in teaching.  These changes drastically changed every aspect of how I taught and students learned.

I am thankful that I don’t have to deal with ditto machines, overhead transparencies and PageMaker (one of the first presentation software programs I used).  I am looking forward to what 5G might do to enhance my work.  The need to embrace these challenges is important but it isn’t new.

Ideas presented by futurists like Rex Miller in MindShift or Alvin Toffler in Psychology of the Future always challenge me.  In fact, Toffler’s essay opens with a statement that radically impacted my philosophy of education.  He wrote,

All education springs from some image of the future.  If the image of the future held by society is grossly inaccurate, its educational system will betray its youth.

This made me realize that all education must spring from a biblical image of the future.  Such an image must include the eternal perspective.  So, we must be prepared for 5G.  But, as we prepare for it, we must do so with eternity in mind.  Otherwise, we will betray our students because everything will be taught from a temporal perspective.

Another important issue that was addressed in MindShift was that of diversity.  Every single person has worth and value because he/she is an image bearer of God.  Value is not based on ethnicity, gender, intellectual or physical abilities, or any other similar things.  Once again, I suggest that this isn’t a “new” problem.  During Jesus’ ministry He broke all the diversity barriers of His day.  He was “caught” talking with a Samaritan woman.  He rebuked His disciples for trying to push children away.  He ate with sinners and prostitutes.  Jesus was the model diversity director.  In fact, Paul described Jesus as the only One who could do exceedingly above what we can think or imagine.  The reason why Paul understood this is because what Jesus did on the cross was considered impossible.  He reconciled the Jew and the Gentile, the rich and the poor, the free man and the slave — that’s diversity!

I was very fortunate growing up.  From age 14, I had the privilege of being one of only two white people working on an all-black migrant farm near my home.  I worked every summer pulling sweet corn and cutting cabbage on a 500 acre farm.  Diversity was not an issue because we all had to get the job done.  The cabbage had to be cut and packed in crates and the tractor trailer truck loaded by the end of the day.  We were co-workers who were focused on a common task.  We valued each other because of who we were and what we had to do — not by what color skin we had.

So what is my point for writing this week’s post?  It is to say that we do need a MindShift!  However, the most important change of focus must go beyond the matters that were presented in this well-written book. If we are going to be able to accurately answer the 5 questions mentioned above, the MindShift that is needed is the one that Paul wrote about  in his letters to various churches.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

…fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…  Philippians 2:2-5  (NKJV)

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  Colossians 3:1-2 (NKJV)

When we experience this type of MindShift, we will be empowered to think, teach and act from a biblical worldview.  In turn, our students will see authentic Christian education lived out before their very eyes.