Care Enough to Discipline

Lets be honest. It takes loads of time, effort and more to hold students accountable to a standard. Yes, the parents have the primary responsibility to do this in the life of their child, yet as teachers we can reinforce or even stand in the gap. Your discipline is a function of your love for that student.

"My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:11-12) The word love here is Aheb which according to Richards Expository Dictionary is given as the motive for Gods choice of and continuing commitment to Israel. Do we have a continuing commitment to our students which translates into our being diligent in setting and keeping standards?

Eli was an example in the Bible of one who did not have this commitment. Eli knew his sons were in sin, but he refused to correct or hold them to standards. In I Samuel 3:13, notice Eli's lack of restraining his sons: "And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them." This lack of love through not keeping God's standards brought judgment not only upon himself but to his family as well.

Look at how clearly this point is made in Scripture: "And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." (Hebrews 12:5,6)

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:19)

You are VERY loving when you set and keep standards for your students.

May God's grace and peace be with you,
Mark Strohm, Jr

Your Preparedness Posture for Each Day

Charles Bloomfield

Several years ago, while driving to school early one morning, I had the radio tuned to Christian broadcasting and heard the night announcer signing off. His closing admonition was "Do what you can while abiding in Christ." That well-timed word struck a responsive chord in me, so much so that it headlines the form I use in my planning notebook (my 'to-do" list) to keep track of the things I need to accomplish (or at least keep myself aware of!) each day.

What we do in Christian school teaching and Christian school administration is rewarding work, but it is not easy work! The job descriptions ("position profiles") for teaching and administration are comprehensive and demanding. Failure to give adequate attention to any point subjects our ministries and our schools to decreased effectiveness in the lives of our students and their families, and even failure. And then there are the numerous unplanned things during the day that demand our attention. (Do you ever wonder how you even manage to faithfully fulfill the tasks and responsibilities outlined in your job description?)

So it can be disconcerting to not be able to accomplish what we thought were the "must-do" things for the day. We find ourselves taking more work home at night than we planned and fretting over the pace of things—more to accomplish than it is possible to accomplish. It is often at that point where we lose our spiritual peace and begin to worry about our frailty and perceived ineffectiveness.

Does this resonate with you? We try hard to increase our output, but we are unable to see success in doing so over the long term, and besides that we're inconsistent at maintain the sustained output of additional energy. I saw this sign in a real estate office window one time: "Work smarter, not harder." While there is some truth to that admonition, there are also limits to it.

We can also find ourselves fretting about output when we forget that the unplanned things that come across our desk are, after all, by divine appointment. We forget that God has used us in those small, incidental things while commiserating over the number of things not yet checked off on our to-do lists.

The Scriptures that will come to mind as you read this undoubtedly include John 15 and 1 Corinthians 3. It was a blessed day in my early Christian experience when I discovered the truth of abiding in Christ—the John 15 passage. The last half of verse 5, "apart from me you can nothing," is a truth that needs to grip all of us. Likewise 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 where we are admonished to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ with lasting building materials and remember that the test is the quality of work we do, not the quantity (verse 13).

So let us do what we can while abiding in Christ. Live in the Word, "walk close", and trust your daily output to His working in and through you. As you do so, may you see much fruit for your labor this school year and in your continuing ministry.