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Change and transition are a part of everyday life.  Whatever role we currently find ourselves in will change at some point in the future.  The ultimate transition comes when a person departs this life and enters eternity.  The question we must answer is not whether transition/departure will happen but when it does, will we be ready for it?

Over the past several weeks we have focused on Paul’s parting words to his son in the faith, Timothy.  Paul was ready for his departure from life to eternity when he penned these words.

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.  2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NKJV)

Paul was ready for his departure because he had disciplined himself in three very important areas of life.  I have written about the first two disciplines that Paul practiced in my last two posts.  Paul fought the good fight and he finished the race.  The third characteristic of Paul’s life that is noteworthy is that he kept the faith.

Keeping the faith was the key to Paul’s success in life and ministry.  Keeping the faith is the most important thing you and I must focus on if we are going to have any hope of finishing well.  In fact, keeping the faith determines whether or not we can fight the good fight and/or finish the course.

What does it mean to keep the faith?  Dr. Tony Evans reflected on this with these words.

I didn’t walk away from my faith.  Life must close out with Jesus no matter how bad things get.  You don’t walk out on Jesus.

Life and ministry are hard.  The daily battles one faces can become seemingly overwhelming.  The pressures that seem to hit us from all sides challenge everything we stand for.  However, no matter how hard the battle, how tired we become, or how alone we find ourselves, we must keep the faith.

In order to keep the faith, we must understand what faith is.  A. W. Tozer wrote that faith is confidence in the character of God.  We all know that God is faithful.  If you were asked what does that mean, no doubt you would say something about the fact that God always keeps His Word.

Therefore, keeping the faith can be compared to staying true to God’s Word.  If we are ever tempted to leave the faith, it will result in us walking away from a biblical belief system.  We will no longer think and act from a biblical worldview.  The world and its ideas will have taken us captive (see Colossians 2:8).

Paul did not “walk out” or “walk away” from Jesus (Word) when the first sign of trouble showed up.  He didn’t “give up” on Jesus when everybody else started following the latest fad.  Paul was determined to close out life with Jesus.

One of the most dangerous obstacles to keeping the faith is human tradition.  Paul warned the Colossians about this when he told them to be careful not to be taken captive by false philosophies.  In Colossians 2:8, Paul explained that false philosophy was always according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world.  I can remember hearing my former pastor, Dr. Michael Catt, say that it is always easier to be traditional than it is to be biblical.

This is especially true when it comes to education.  Over my 50+ years in education, I have seen a lot of ideas come and go and, then, come again.  Many of these ideas included some very good and helpful elements.  The danger was, and continues to be, chasing after these at the expense of a biblical philosophy of education.  What I have seen take place far too often is that parents and educators become so focused on the latest research or “best practice” that they end up taking a biblical philosophy of education for granted.  Soon the what becomes more important than the why!

When this happens, it can become very easy to ignore or, even, deny God’s purpose for education.  In reality, we are in danger of leaving the faith.  The result is that education produces a lot of experts but few disciples of Jesus Christ.

Over the past few weeks I have been asking myself some questions.  I share them with you so that you can reflect on them and make sure that you will be ready for any transition that God may bring into your life or ministry.

1. What is most important to you in life and ministry?
2. Are you living primarily by tradition or God’s Word?
3. Is a biblical worldview the foundation of your decisions that you make in life and ministry?
4. Which is more important to you — a biblical philosophy of education or the newest trend in education?  Which are you emphasizing and giving the most time and attention to?

The good fight is getting more and more intense and it is becoming a greater challenge to stay on the right course.  It will be impossible to successfully do either of these unless we are committed to keeping the faith.

 

Recently, I have been reminded of the brevity and uncertainty of life.  Two things happened that brought these truths front and center in my life.

On January 26, 2020, the world was rocked by the news that basketball legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash.  It was later learned that 8 other people perished in that tragic accident.

Even though Bryant’s untimely death was and continues to be part of today’s headlines, there was another death that occurred a few weeks prior to this that caused me to number my days.

I can clearly remember receiving a tweet that shared the news that Lois Evans had passed away on December 30, 2019.  Mrs. Evans was the wife of Dr. Tony Evans, pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas.

Dr. Evans preached a message a couple of weeks later that reflected on his wife’s life.  He used Paul’s words that were written to young Timothy as his text.

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.  2 Timothy 4:6-8 (KJV)

I have given much thought to Dr. Evans’ words over this past week.  They have been a sober reminder that every person who has ever lived has a time when life here on earth will end.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.  Hebrews 9:27 (KJV)

Evans said something related to this verse that caused me to sit up and take notice. He said,

How old you are is not determined by your birth date but by your death date…Many people think they are younger but they are older than they think.

As I contemplated the brevity and uncertainty of life in light of Scripture, I also realized that these same truths apply to one’s ministry.  There will come a day when what you and I are doing right now will end.  Even though our lives may go on, our ministries will change.Just as life is a vapor, so too is one’s opportunity to serve the Lord in a particular work.

Just as life is a vapor, so too is one’s opportunity to serve the Lord in a particular work.  As I look back over my years in education, I realize now that I never knew when God would change how He would use me.

I have often thought that one of the greatest threats to productive service to the Lord was experience and success.  Whenever God put me in a new position, I found myself praying and looking to Him for all of the strength and wisdom that I needed in the new role.  However, as time passed and I became “better” at the job, sometimes my dependence on Him waned.

Today marks the start of a new week for each of us.  It is another opportunity to serve the Lord in a way that will bring Him glory.  Here are a few questions I have recently asked myself.

1. Do I understand the brevity of life and my opportunity to serve the Lord again today?
2. Am I as dependent on God to lead my ministry as the day I began it?
3. As each day passes and my departure (both life and ministry) draws nearer, do I have greater spiritual clarity in all that I am and do?
4. What needs to change so that I am prepared for my appointment that God has set for me?

Over the next couple of weeks I want to share with you some things that God has brought to my attention from Paul’s good bye to his son in the faith that is recorded in 2 Timothy 4.

 

I want to continue trying to answer the question I was asked a couple of weeks ago by one of this blog’s subscribers.  He asked why is it so essential that our children be given a biblical worldview?

It is important to understand that developing a biblical worldview cannot be the ultimate end for education.  However, the ultimate end for education requires that a biblical worldview be developed.

Last week I shared how the ultimate end of education must lead the student to understand God’s purpose for why He created man in His image.  The main reason for this was that man could know God.  I agree with J.I. Packer who said,

Once you become aware that the main business you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems will fall in place of their own accord.

A biblical worldview is the only belief system that can lead a person to know the true God.  Knowing God causes us to discover another reason why biblical worldview development must have the highest priority in a child’s education.

First, we must remember that a biblical worldview can be defined as what the Bible says is true about:

• God
• Creation
• Mankind
• Knowledge
• Morality (right & wrong)
• Purpose
• Future

A biblical worldview fulfills the greatest need that every person has.  This need is the desire to find true significance.  A biblical worldview is the only worldview that gives life authentic meaning.

It begins with a knowledge of God which will in turn give meaning to all the other components of life.  For example:

• a biblical worldview defines what it means to be human.  This provides meaningful answers to such things as the sanctity of all human life, including the life of the unborn, the gender dysphoria that is plaguing society, and the value and worth of all individuals regardless of color of skin, mental ability or economic status, etc.
• a biblical worldview provides the only universal moral code by which society can function and survive.  No other worldview can explain why evil exists and that right and wrong are not determined by those in power but is a reflection of the very nature of God.
•  a biblical worldview gives meaning to work.  Other worldviews view work as something to be avoided or, at best, tolerated.  A biblical worldview leads a person to see work as a vocation that is pursued so one can be a steward of some part of God’s magnificent creation for His glory.

I am sure that you can articulate some other ways that a biblical worldview gives true meaning to one’s life.  In closing, I want to share something that Dr. Albert Mohler recently stated in his January 14th The Briefing.

 

When the Christian biblical worldview is not the basic structure of societal thought, then the confusions between the Creator and creation and between humanity and the rest of creation become not only possible, but inevitable.

The home, church and/or school cannot strive to help the next generation develop a biblical worldview just so that our children adopt a similar perspective on life.  Parents, church leaders and educators must be committed to a higher goal of having future generations not only think but, more importantly, act from a biblical worldview.  When this happens, culture is changed because life has true significance.

Be sure to share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

 

 

Last week I wrote about the need for Christians to develop a biblical worldview so that they are equipped to give a biblical worldview to the next generation.  The key point that I made was that you can only give what you possess.

One reader posted a comment that was quite profound.  As you read this person’s comment (emphasis mine) in its entirety, I believe you will find his questions to be extremely important.  He writes:

It’s clearly a very serious problem and our churches and our nations are suffering the consequences of its absence [a biblical worldview] right now.  But the larger question, the one that needs to be answered, and answered well, is – “Why? Why should we bother teaching a biblical worldview in the first place? Why do we need it?”  Isn’t it enough just to ‘get everyone saved’ and then wait for our entry into Heaven or for the Lord’s return, whichever comes first?  On the other hand, would it be good enough to just have every Christian adopt the same perspective on life (i.e. worldview), leaving the world around us largely unchanged while we maintain a lukewarm but biblically correct faith?  Can a biblical worldview be our highest goal or should it be an essential part of something even more important? Maybe we need to declare what that something is.

As I contemplated the questions in this comment, I realized that having our children and youth develop a biblical worldview cannot be the ultimate end of their education.  Developing a biblical worldview must be a means to a greater end.

Throughout this week, I have wrestled with why do we need a biblical worldview and what is the ultimate end that requires us to develop such a belief system?  The answers to these questions are not easy ones to grapple with.  In fact, they cannot be answered in merely one blog post.

In an effort to answer these questions, I was reminded about the importance of understanding one’s purpose.  Understanding one’s purpose gives meaning to life.  Therefore, developing a biblical worldview must be an essential component for knowing and fulfilling God’s purpose for mankind.

It was fascinating to study God’s Word and see something that God stresses over and over again when it comes to His purpose for you and me.  God created man in His image so that man would know Him.  I have been completely enthralled by this truth over the past several months.

This past week I have been studying the account of God bringing the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage.  I was amazed at the number of times God said that He was going to do something so that someone would know that I am the Lord.  God does miraculous works for one reason — so that He will be known.

J.I. Packer asks a series of questions that all have the same answer.

• What were we made for?  To know God.
• What aim should we have in life?  To know God.
• What is eternal life that Jesus gives?   To know God.
• What is the best thing in life?  To know God.
• What in humans gives God most pleasure?  Knowledge of Himself.

How does one’s worldview relate to knowing God?  I have shared some basic components of every worldview in other articles.  Every worldview is made up of one’s beliefs about:

• God
• Creation
• Man
• Knowledge
• Right and Wrong
• Purpose
• Future

All of these components are important building blocks that form one’s worldview.   However, the foundational building block of any and every worldview is one’s beliefs about God.  What one believes and knows about God shapes every other component of one’s worldview.

Therefore, it is essential that every child develop a biblical worldview because it is the only worldview that will lead them to know the true God.  So, one part of the answer to why it is essential for Christians to develop a biblical worldview is so that they will know Him.  Here are some questions I have asked myself this week.  How would you answer them?

1. Do I know God or do I merely know some things about God?
2. Are my beliefs about God in line with how He is revealed in Scripture?
3. What impact does my knowledge of God have on my everyday life?

Knowing God must be our highest goal in life.  However, there is more to answering the question, why is it essential for us to develop a biblical worldview?  Next week I will share some other answers I have found to this penetrating question.

Be sure to share your thoughts to this question by leaving a comment below.

 

2019 is in the rearview mirror.  I think you will agree with me that it was a year that was marked by overwhelming moral decay throughout society.  We continue to see the vast majority of our children leaving the church.  How do we survive the assault on biblical values that once guided life in America?

At a recent worldview conference I was speaking at, George Barna told the audience that biblical education is our last hope.  The reason this is true is because children and youth spend more time at school than they do at church and at home (when you don’t count sleeping).

He went on to say that we must give our children a biblical worldview if there is any hope that they will be able to stand against the culture that is trying to destroy everything we believe to be true.  However, there is a problem.  We can only give the next generation what we, ourselves, possess!

These facts have haunted me for the last several weeks.  Are we going to be up to the challenge?  I do not believe we are ready to accept this challenge unless some things drastically change.  Today, I am announcing that I am determined to do all I can to equip Christians to be able to take on this overwhelming test.

While visiting family in El Paso over the holidays, the pastor preaching the new year sermon said something that I cannot get out of my mind.  He asked us, what is your plan to make sure that 2020 is not merely a repeat of 2019?

According to Barna’s research, only 9% of Christians possess a biblical worldview.  Even worse is the reality that only 4%, 1 out of 25, millennials have developed a biblical worldview.  Barna went on to explain that a young person’s worldview is pretty much shaped by the age of 13.  This means, that the primary parenting generation today is the millennial generation.  As I have been speaking in various Christian schools around the country, I am finding out that the primary teaching generation is fast becoming the millennial generation.

With that being said, it becomes evident that the home, church and school are not equipped to give the next generation a biblical worldview.  This is because one can only give what one possesses!

This is the major thing that must change if we are going to successfully engage in today’s culture war.  I am determined to make this my highest priority in ministry in 2020.  I want to do everything possible to help the home, church and school equip Christian parents, church leaders and educators with a biblical worldview and biblical philosophy of education.  If this is not accomplished, we will continue to see our children and youth adopt the secular, atheistic worldview of the culture and leave the faith.

Here is my plan to bring about this change.

1. I have written to several key pastors asking them to share with me how I can engage pastors to address the issue of education biblically.
2. I have written to an influential seminary president asking him what seminaries can do to challenge future pastors and church leaders to address the issue of education biblically.
3. I will continue to challenge every head of a Christian school to make it his/her top priority to conduct intentional, ongoing staff development in the areas of biblical worldview formation and biblical philosophy of education.  This is absolutely necessary if Christian schools are going to remain true to God’s ultimate purpose of education.
4. I am in the process of developing additional resources and activities that will lead parents, pastors and educators to know the truth so they can be made free.
5. I have set a goal to enlist at least 100 more schools to become KEM Prime Members so that their staffs will have access to the resources necessary to equip them to accept this challenge.
6. I have committed to conducting as many live staff and/or board training sessions as my calendar will allow.

Last year there were over 6,000 videos viewed on the KEM Prime Member website.  This far exceeded what I had thought would take place.  But, it is not enough.  This needs to be doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled if we are going to be able to make a difference.

As I have prayed about this, I have asked myself what would happen if 10,000 board members, administrators, and teachers developed a strong, biblical worldview and embraced a biblical philosophy of education?  This may appear to be too big of a goal but when one breaks it down, it is actually quite low.

If a Christian school has a board and staff membership of only 30 individuals, it would take a little more than 300 schools to reach this goal.  If the number of schools increased to 500, it would result in 15,000 Christians educators equipped to give students a biblical worldview education.  It is not only mandatory that this takes place, but it is also very achievable.

When I was serving the Lord at Lynchburg Christian Academy, Dr. Jerry Falwell regularly challenged us by saying,

It is not a question if the rabbit can climb the tree, it has to!

The rabbit has to climb the tree!  However, it won’t happen unless each and every one of us commits himself/herself to pursuing this goal together.  Here is my challenge to you.

Do you want 2020 to be just a repeat of 2019?

If not, what needs to change in your life and ministry?

Would you join with me to do everything possible to give the next generation a biblical worldview education?  Let’s make 2020 a year that we see God do a miracle in the hearts and minds of thousands of children and youth.  It can happen!  It must happen!  It begins with you and me!

Be sure to leave a comment or email me with any suggestions you might have to help achieve this goal.

With Christmas just a little over a week away, I wanted to share with you something that continues to boggle my mind.  Of course, everything that surrounds the true meaning of Christmas is absolutely amazing.  However, there is one truth that I know I will never fully comprehend.  This truth is stated in both the Old and New Testaments.

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Emmanuel.  Isaiah 7:14

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, “God with us.“ Matthew 1:23

Whether one spells this name with an “E” or an “I”, the meaning is the same.  When Jesus was born as a baby, God came to this earth.  It is hard to comprehend that the Creator of the universe took on human flesh and dwelt with man right here on earth.  I love singing the little chorus that speaks this truth over and over again.

Emmanuel, Emanuel.  His name is called Emmanuel.  God with us, revealed in us.  His name is called Emmanuel.

As I prepare for Christmas, I am consumed with the truth that God loved me so much that He came and dealt among us.  This should impact how we live our lives each and every day.  But then something else happened because Jesus became God with us.  He went to the cross and died for our sins and rose again forever defeating sin and the grave.

When I repented of my sins and believed in my heart that Jesus was Lord, I was born again.  What is amazing about that is that it was no longer simply God with me but now it was God in me!  His Spirit lives within me.  So this Christmas I am rejoicing that they called His name Emmanuel – God with us!  But I also praise Him because of what happened on that first Christmas, I can now say that God is in me.  I can’t fully comprehend this truth but I have a new creation in Christ.

Here are the questions that I have asked myself as Christmas approaches.

1. How is my life a reflection of the truth that Emmanuel came to this earth?
2. How is my life different because He indwells me each and every day?

I pray that each of you has a blessed Christmas.  I look forward to being back with you in 2020.  Together let’s live our lives knowing that God is both with us and in us.  Can you imagine what 2020 might hold in store if the reality of Emmanuel consumed us each day?  Merry Christmas!

 

It is amazing to see how the meanings of words change over time.  Unfortunately, many Christians fail to understand that this is even happening.  This results in them using words and thinking that everyone is defining them the same way they are.  The end result is utter chaos.

Another thing that I have witnessed over the years when it comes to the meaning of words is that we use common words and phrases and never really define them.  This leaves the meaning of those words and phrases left up to how the hearer defines them.  Once again, the result is chaos.  Words are important but knowing their meanings is equally, if not more, important.

My good friend, Mark Kennedy, recently sent me a brief article. Mark is the ACSI Director for Eastern Canada.  In the article, he illustrated the results that take place when definitions change or people use words without really knowing the true meaning of them.  He wrote,

Over time, the definitions of words change – occasionally they change quite a bit. An innocuous example is the word ‘silly’ which comes from the old English word ‘saleg’ meaning ‘happy’. Over many decades that meaning (and spelling) changed gradually so that saleg – ‘happy’-, came to mean ‘blessed’, then ‘pious’. From pious its meaning changed further to ‘innocent’, from ‘innocent’ to ‘naïve’ and then from the mid 16^th century on, it evolved into its current meaning – ‘foolish’.

Over the centuries, some definitions just evolved on their own. But in our day, the functional meanings of a few key words have been intentionally altered for political and/or social engineering purposes. The word “Gay” is a prime example.

And for other words, their common daily usage has come to mean the exact opposite of their long-established definitions. So ‘tolerance’ now implies the furious rejection of any perspectives except those promoted by the wielders of worldly power. And ‘inclusiveness’ carries with it the intentional and scornful exclusion of anyone whose beliefs conflict with ‘political correctness’.

Most of us can relate to what Mark is saying in these few sentences.  You may have even been accused of being bigoted or worse because of how you “misused” some of these words.  Mark went on in his article to show how the changing of definitions has affected education.

Along the same lines, the term ‘liberal’ has been so misused in our culture that its roots are obscured. ‘Liberal’ comes from the Latin “liberare”, meaning ‘to set free’.  According the original meaning, the word ‘liberal’ isn’t about the rejection of traditional ideas or the unquestioning acceptance of the new.  From its root, the word ‘liberal’, is all about freedom.  This makes me think of Jesus’ words, “It is for freedom that you have been set free!” Gal 5:1. And of course, the Scriptures defines what freedom really is and who is able to supply it.  So, a ‘liberal’ education is one that sets students free according to God’s standards– the very thing I hope we are doing in Christian schools.

As I read this brief article, I asked myself this question.  Are we providing students with an education that sets them truly free?  Jesus also spoke these words.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  John 8:31-32 (NKJV) 

If the education we are providing our children is going to set them free, it must lead them to abiding in God’s Word to the point that they will know truth.  When they know truth, they will be made free.  Mark finished his article with a quote by a Catholic theologian named Peter Kwasniewski.  Kwasniewski wrote,

The point of liberal [freeing] education is not to form perfect beings on the model of already perfect beings but to initiate a lifetime of apprenticeship to the one true Master, Jesus Christ, freeing the mind from the debris of a collapsing civilization and freeing the heart from the chafing shackles of confined and self-centered desire. Students who receive such an education are granted the opportunity to find a spiritual freedom that is more precious than all the riches of this world (emphasis mine).

After thinking about the world that our children and youth are growing up in, I found myself in full agreement with Mark’s closing thought.

Young People Need an Education that Inspires Them to Seek God’s Face!