The Wisdom of Solomon ~ Applied to Facebook and other Social Media

We live in a digital world . . . that's reality! Our students are comfortable with and use many of the social media sites . . . and so do many of us. This article applies principles from the book of Proverbs to our "Facebook" lives. Please take a few minutes to read it . . .print it out . . . and keep it in a handy place!

The challenge ~ examine ourselves FIRST and make the necessary adjustments to our lives and our on-line behavior and then teach (and lead) our students to apply this wisdom to their lives . . . online or offline . . . that God would be honored in all we say, do . . . and type!

Solomon on Social Media
Tim Challies

There are many who doubt or downplay the relevance of the Old Testament to our times. Those people have probably never taken the time to read the book of Proverbs. I read from Proverbs almost every day and I am continually amazed at just how relevant this book is. It seems that wisdom is timeless. The lessons David taught Solomon speak to myself and my children as much as they did to the men and women of ancient Israel. The wisdom of God given to Solomon continues to ring loud and clear in my heart.

If Solomon were alive today and we were to ask him how we are to relate to one another in this digital world, if we were to ask him how we can honor God in our use of all these social media available to us today, here is how he might respond.

• Count to ten before posting, sharing, sending, submitting.
• Leave the fool to his folly.
• Expose folly.
• Know when to walk away.
• Be careful what you read.
• Avoid the gossiper.
• Be humble.
• Mind your own business.
• Don’t be a troublemaker.
• Examine why you write.
• Be careful what you teach.
• Walk with the Lord.

Please click here to read the complete post . . . including the explanation of the above listed "words of wisdom." 

Let us know what you think . . . we'd love to hear from you!

Are you listening?

Nancy R. DeHaan
MACSA Executive Director

If I had a dime (or even a nickel) for every time I uttered (or even muttered) "Are you listening?"  to the students in my classroom (especially the preschoolers . . . OK, and the middle school math kids . . . OK, and the junior high Bible class) . . . I could have retired years ago as a rich (young) woman!

As teachers we spend the majority of our day talking . . . and hope that our students spend the majority of their day listening ~ to US!  The question is ~ are WE good listeners?

Here is an interesting review of three books designed to help adults become better listeners. They are written in the context of how to listen to a sermon and benefit from the ministry of the Word ~ making them applicable to ALL of us . . . teachers, administrators, parents . . . Christians!

The three books are:

• Helping Johnny Listen by Thadeus Bergmeier
• Expository Listening: A Handbook for Hearing and Doing God’s Word by Ken Ramey
• Listen Up by Christopher Ash

They are reviewed by Tim Challies ~ Challies.com
As Christians we sit through a lot of sermons. The preaching ministry is one of God’s greatest means of grace to us, the means by which he teaches us truth, by which he calls us to pursue truth and to live out of it. And yet many of us are passive listeners, people who expect great preaching skill from the pastor but demand no listening skill from ourselves.

Lately I have come across a few resources dedicated to helping Christians be better listeners, to help them emphasize active listening. Here are three of them, each with a few words of description and an overview of the contents. If you have never read a book on how to listen to a sermon, I’d encourage you to do that. Take full advantage of the privilege you have of sitting under the ministry of the Word!

Click HERE to read the reviews.

Looking forward to your comments!  

Why Attend the MACSA Convention?

Barbara Williams, MACSA President
(Lehigh Christian Academy ~ Allentown, PA)

Perhaps in this economic climate your school is struggling due to decreased enrollment or loss of other financial resources. You might be thinking, “We just won’t attend the convention this year. It is one place we can save some dollars.”

I would like to suggest that this may be the very year you should attend. What is the value of the MACSA convention? Of course, there are the workshops where the faculty can be taught best practices in education and how to effectively teach each student. There is also the encouragement we receive when we gather as a large group of Christian educators and worship our God. We can tangibly see that we are not in this very important task alone. There are others standing with us. Finally, but certainly not least, is the fellowship individual faculties can have. The convention is an opportunity for them to get to know one another on a deeper level, be students together, and have fun together (maybe even shop together).

So…if you are still considering attendance at the convention in November, I would ask that you think about the value of learning together, worshiping God together, and having fun together. 

I hope to see you all in November.

Together on the Path of Wisdom and Knowledge

MACSA Convention November 10-12, 2010 Lancaster Host, Lancaster, PA "Together on the Path of Wisdom and Knowledge" Keynote Speaker Dr. William Brown (Cedarville University)

September greetings from MACSA!  By now, the school year is underway (hopefully without any major glitches) and you have gotten back into the "routine" of the school year. You should have already received a postal mailing with the information regarding the upcoming MACSA convention.  The packet contained the preview booklet as well as the necessary forms to register your school for the convention.  The committee is looking forward to the convention and believes that you and your staff will be blessed by your participation this year. Convention information has also been put online at the MACSA website.  The preview booklet (with any changes to date "merged" in) as well as most of the forms are on the web.  Please encourage your teachers to view/print the preview booklet as they prepare to attend the convention.  Any changes to the workshop list and/or schedule will be posted on the website and, if time allows, emailed to the schools.  Thank you in advance for your understanding as we deal with schedule changes. Please note that there are several "mini-courses" this year that can be taken for CEU or Graduate Credit.  This includes a set of six sessions on Advancement which replaces the MACSA Development Conference.  This course will be taught by Dr. Steve Dill (Philadelphia Biblical University).  Please encourage board members and others involved in your advancement/development department to attend any/all of these sessions.  Click here to visit the MACSA 2010 Convention Web page ~ and then follow the individual links for the forms and information that you are seeking.   Please contact Nancy DeHaan (ndehaan@macsaonline.org) if information is missing or if there are any broken links. We are looking forward to seeing you at the convention.  Please call or email the MACSA office with any questions. See you in November!

MACSA Vice President

The MACSA Executive Committee is please to announce the election of Dr. James Smock to the position of Vice President effective July 1, 2010.   See below for Dr. Smock's bio.

Dr. Smock has been elected to a 3-year term and at the conclusion of the 3-year VP term will "step up" and assume the role of MACSA President. The committee would like to thank Dr. Timothy Sierer (The Christian Academy ~ Brookhaven, PA) for his years of service to MACSA as Vice President and then as President.

Please pray for Dr. Smock as he moves into this new role with MACSA. In addition, please pray for the members of the MACSA Executive Committee and the MACSA Program Committee as they work to finalize plans for the 2010-2011 school year and begin long-term planning for the future of MACSA. Please feel free to contact any member of the MACSA Executive Committee with any questions, concerns or suggestions you have regarding MACSA. You input is appreciated! 

MACSA Executive Committee Serving Schools that Serve the Savior

President: Mrs. Barbara Williams           
(Lehigh Christian Academy ~ Allentown, PA)
Vice President: Dr. James Smock           
(West Mont Christian Academy ~ Pottstown, PA)
Convention Director: Dr. Don Dawes           
(Open Door Christian Academy ~ Fort Washington, PA)
Treasurer: Mr. Jim Hurst           
(Lehigh Valley Christian High School ~ Catasauqua, PA)
Activities Director: Mrs. Deborah Hyde           
(Individual MACSA member)
Secretary: Mrs. Marie Young           
(Aston, PA)
Executive Director: Mrs. Nancy R. DeHaan
(Salem, NJ)


Dr. James N. Smock has been the Administrator of West-Mont Christian Academy in Pottstown, PA since 1987. He earned his B.S. at Lancaster Bible College in 1978, his Masters at Millersville State University in 1981, and his Doctorate at Nova Southeastern University in 1995. He holds certification with PA and ACSI at the Superintendant level. He was high school teacher/principal/administrator at Ephrata Bible Fellowship Academy from 1976-1981. He was in private counseling practice from 1981 to 1989 and has been in Christian education at West-Mont Christian Academy since 1987. He is married and has three girls and two boys, and 6 grandchildren.

New Year's Resolutions

By Dan Beerens

Originally posted on Nurturing Faith ~ the blog of Christian Schools International

The best time of the year for resolutions is January 1. True? Not really in education! Many of you are wrapping up the school year and some of you are already “childless” and roaming around in a mostly empty building. While you wrap up the year, many of you are already in planning mode for next year. Given our agricultural/cultural schedule of summer months without students, let me encourage you to take some time to reflect and resolve.

• What went well and not so well this year that I hope to change in the fall?
• What did I want to work on but could not take the time for or get to in the crush of the year?
• What could I do proactively so that I will feel calmer when I get into the busyness of the fall schedule?
• How will I strengthen the weakest aspects of my work? For teachers it may be finding better learning activities for a less than stellar unit, for principals it may be putting together a classroom visitation schedule that is more realistic and committing to it.
• How will I pursue professional passions that allow me to bring unique benefits to my school or system?
• How will I recharge my spiritual tank? Will I take more time to refresh my interior life?
• Maybe summer is a good time for you to take a minute and reassess what you are doing in terms of your chosen work. Do you still feel called? Are you still passionate about what you are doing? Are you still eager to learn more about your discipline and life?

Is it a perfect time to catch up on reading the Nurturing Faith blogs you have missed this year? (Actually principals tell me they read the blog more in the summer than the school year!)

Have a great summer! I will see some of you at the CSI convention and others at your school for staff development. Nurturing Faith will take a summer hiatus now and begin again in the fall.

Click here to see the original post and to search the blog archives for some good summer reading!

Let Us Consider . . .

Dr. Timothy Sierer, MACSA President
Headmaster, The Christian Academy (Brookhaven, PA)

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24 

Clearly, we live in a society where the concept of encouraging one another and building each other up is foreign. To many the order of the day is not how I can build up others but rather how do I elevate myself above those around me. That attitude so prevalent in today’s culture is in direct disobedience to our theme verse found in Hebrews. Serving as an encourager to others is a trait that not only goes against the thinking of our present day culture but the very fabric of our sinful nature.

In each of our schools, we attempt to instruct our students in the daily application of this verse in their lives. We believe that our students can have a huge impact on their surroundings for the cause of Christ if they allow this verse to shape their interactions with others. Sadly, we are sending the Class of 2010 into a culture where the foremost concern is for self even at the expense of others. It is our desire that as these graduates leave our secure surroundings, they will become a beacon to an unsaved world through the demonstration of Christ’s love in their daily lives. 

As the Class of 2010 prepares to graduate, those who profess the name of Jesus can step out confidently into the next phase of their lives. They can step out knowing they have been equipped academically, but more importantly, they have been equipped with the tools to stand boldly for the cause of Christ. Provided they have fully yielded themselves to His will, they can also boldly step out knowing that He will direct their footsteps in the future.

As another school year draws to a close, let us all purpose in our hearts to: 1) Praise God for the gifts and abilities He has bestowed on our students and 2) Pray that He will use the lives of these ‘new’ alumni not only to touch those around them but also to bring glory to Him. Thank you for your commitment to pray for our new graduates as they leave our schools and embark on the next stage of life’s journey. 

On a personal note as my term as President comes to an end, I want to thank you for the privilege of serving in this capacity for the past three years. It has been a pleasure to serve MACSA in this way and to hear of how God is continuing to use our organization to reach future generations for Him. As Mrs. Williams takes over the leadership role I know you will provide her with the same level of support and encouragement you have given me. May God richly bless each of you with a restful summer as we look forward to serving our students in the 2010-2011 school year.