Enlightened and Encouraged

Dan Berens

Christian Schools International

Originally posted on Nurturing Faith

We are living in instant times. We are fixated on the newest and latest. Sometimes we forget how we have gotten to where we are. Since CSI just celebrated 90 years, I thought it might be a good time to consider some of the rich history that is ours to see what can be gained from the past for living in today’s times.

A book that I recently read was 22 Landmark Years, Christian Schools International, 1943 – 1965written by John VanderArk, who served as Director of CSI from 1953-1977. The comments below are reflections and quotes from that source, published by Baker Books.

VanderArk begins his preface with a quote: “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well (that) the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning…”.  Would you be shocked if I told you that this was a September 26, 1642 letter explaining the reason for establishing Harvard College? He goes on to say that “the purposes of life and learning are essentially theological issues, and one’s theology is important. Consequently people who take their faith seriously wish to entrust the education of children to those of a similar faith.”

While there were schools started by various denominations, VanderArk states that many of them closed as civil education gained ascendancy and can’t truly be considered the forerunners of today’s Protestant Christian schools. He points out that the rise of secular education that focused students on national citizenship to the exclusion of the consciousness of the kingdom of God was a primary cause for the establishment of Christian schools. While many in the late nineteenth century were enamored by Enlightenment thinking that promoted the concept that “knowledge is power” and that man is the measure of all things, the Netherlands immigrants who began many of the schools in CSI thought otherwise. While they taught their children to appreciate their heritage and to embrace citizenship in their new country (whether Canada or the U.S.A) their focus for their children was on preparation to live and worship God above all in this world and the world to come.

We are linked to those who have gone before us and their story can both enlighten and encourage us. Their struggles are our struggles, just in different clothes. We seek to show students that all of life belongs to God, that no part of it can be understood apart its Creator. It is our turn to share the story. As VanderArk warns: “The distance between a goodly heritage and its extinction is but one short generation.” Let us be faithful!

Young minds full of promise ~ Teachers assume role as models

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Originally published in The Walton Tribune

By Pam Krumpach

Watching the leaves change provokes the dreamer in me. It reminds me of the swift passage of time and how, with each passing day, my students grow and change, developing into the men and women of quality and dignity that God intends for each to become.

In scripture, Jeremiah tells us God has a plan for each of these young people and these plans give all of us hope and a future.

Isn’t that what life is about? Think about it. What a gift life is, freely given with plans designed by the Creator and full of hope. What a privilege it is to be surrounded by the promise of optimism which springs from our students as they discover their own futures. It makes even more poignant the events of this past week.


Our family here at Covenant Christian Academy suffered the loss of an amazing man and a wonderful friend. He left a huge impact on everyone who knew him because of his loyalty and compassion. He was a role model for students — a man not afraid to visibly demonstrate his faith through words and actions. And even though he was not a teacher nor an administrator, he was an educator. As I think of this man, I am reminded of the priority of Christian education and our role as parents and educators in the lives of our children.

While the three Rs retain an important role in education, Christian education offers so much more. Christian education takes place in a community setting. Parents, teachers, administrators, staff and even the young people themselves bear the responsibility and privilege of creating an atmosphere in which each child can freely partake in the opportunities of learning and developing as students and as caring members of the “family.” Students have that chance to grow surrounded by love and support.

The Christian school setting provides a fertile ground for that change. Keep in mind that societal pressures have encouraged the disintegration of traditional families, and children now spend far more time in a school atmosphere where teachers assume a primary role as models for their students. David L. Roth said recently, “Christian school teachers must serve as role models. [Therefore] it is important that a teacher model the Christ-centered and Bible-centered mission of the Christian school.”

As members of our Christian family at Covenant Christian Academy, we are particularly mindful of how important that Christian family is and how we need to support, love, uphold and lead our young people, certainly through instruction, but more importantly through deed.

So as we find ourselves grieved, disappointed, angry, hurt or any of the other responses we have to the many stresses in our changing lives, we need only be reminded that even in the midst of the storm, Jesus lived what He taught, that there is a future which God has destined for each us and that no matter what, there is hope. We must strive to live our lives as Christ did. After all, He is our ultimate role model.

Click here for original post.

Starting Something You Cannot Finish: Christian Ministry From Generation to Generation

Please take a few minutes to follow the link below and read the Commencement address and charge to graduates of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, delivered December 11, 2009 by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President.

While this address was given at a seminary - and most of us minister in elementary and/or high schools - there is much to be gained from the wisdom that Dr. Mohler passed along to his graduates regarding the "Unfinished Work of Christian Ministry."

In the context of "unfinished work", he reminds the graduates:

" . . . the biblical conception of the Christian ministry is, as we should not be surprised to find, radically at odds with worldly wisdom. According to the New Testament, one of the most important insights about the Christian ministry is this: We will not finish what we begin. This is not to say that we will never set goals and reach them or that we will never complete plans and programs. It does mean that the Christian ministry must be seen in the context of faithfulness extended from generation to generation until Christ returns to claim his Bride."

" . . . if you aim to finish what you start in ministry, you will aim too low or finish what is not Christ's. Go out to plant, but also to water. Sow the good seed of the Gospel, even as you cultivate and irrigate. Build faithfully upon the foundation laid by Christ and the apostles. Receive the stewardship of ministry that is passed on to you and give your all to this calling so long as you live. Then, pass this ministry to a generation yet unseen and unborn to continue this ministry and extend the reach of the Gospel until Jesus comes."

Finish this calendar year in faithfulness - and begin 2010 committed to the "Unfinished Work" of Christian Ministry in your school - for this time - to this generation - in anticipation of a time we can not see!

Click here to read the full address.

Wagging the Dog

Challenging the Backward Thinking of Parental Surrender
By Jonathan Nazigian
The King's Christian School (Cherry Hill, NJ)

There is a reason we don’t let 12 year-olds vote.
There is a reason we don’t let 15 year-olds join the army.
There is a reason we don’t let 13 year-olds drive.

Children are an incredible blessing from God, and we love them, but let’s face it, they are not the pinnacle of sound judgment. Ask any parent who has seen that glazed, deer-in-the-headlights look staring back at them after they’ve asked, “What were you thinking?” and you’ll know. There is a reason God did not say, “Let the child train himself up in the way he thinks he should go…”

Why? Because God, who created and designed us, knows we come into the world under the curse of sin. We are born in ignorance with our hearts bent toward rebellion. We are not, because of our sin nature, naturally prone to seek out God’s best over our own selfish desires. Just like us, adolescents struggle with many things, but the difficulty of their struggle is compounded with a profound lack the maturity and an absence of real-world experience that helps put those struggles into a better perspective. A few things we know . . .

1. Adolescents have little idea who they are (their true identity).

2. Adolescents do not successfully delineate between what they want and what they truly need.

3. Adolescents have lots of energy but are flooded with hormones. Hormones do not make judgment clearer.

4. Adolescents often have dreams not based in reality.

5. Adolescents are perpetually ungrateful and think the grass is so much greener anywhere else but where they are at the time.

And yet, even knowing all of this, many Christian parents will take the one parental decision that will have the greatest bearing on their child’s future—the decision as to who, aside from them, will most shape the worldview of their impressionable, searching, and vulnerable children for 40+ hours every week—and hand that decision over to the child to make.

As someone who has been involved in Christian Education as a student, a teacher, and an administrator for 33 years I have seen what used to be a rare occurrence grow into an astounding trend. Christian parents who leave the ultimate decision for their child’s schooling in the hands of their child.

Some parents do this directly. “Johnny, where do you want to go to school next year?”

Others do it indirectly; they cave in to their child’s constant complaining often directed at “the school” when, ultimately, the school is not the real issue, just the easiest target.

Others, who want to move their children from the public school system into Christian school, take an approach that is sabotaged from the start, “Susie, let’s just try Christian school for a few months, and if you don’t like it, you can go back to public school.”

It seems the tail is wagging the dog.

Where are the Christian parents who will make a decision in the best interest of their children and then fight for it, despite the external pressures and internal doubts that inevitably come? Where are the Christian parents who will stand their ground and fight for their children’s best future, even if it means fighting with their children in the short term?

Where is the Christian parent who will sit down with their child, look them in the eye, and say,..

…To the child who’s being picked on…

“Susie, I love you. And I know you do not like school right now. I know your friends are being mean, but just changing schools will not resolve the real issue. Mean girls are everywhere and you will face unkind people throughout your life. The best place to learn how to deal with them is in a school where the Biblical truths of peacemaking and reconciliation are taught.”

…To the child who has dreams of playing sports at the local public school…

“Tommy, I love you. And I know you want to play football. But much more important in your life is your spiritual and academic future. I cannot sacrifice that for anything. I love you too much to put you under the influence of teachers, coaches, and friends who have other agendas and do not have your best interest in mind. We can explore township football, but when it comes to your schooling, Christian Education is a non-negotiable.”

…To the child doesn’t like the rules…

“Mary, I love you. And I know you would prefer to wear other clothes and that you don’t like some of the rules at school. But your true character and integrity aren’t revealed by how well you obey rules you like. True character is revealed by how you respond to authorities and rules you don’t like. No place is perfect, but your spiritual formation is not something I’m willing to sacrifice to a public school.”

…To the child whose friends are leaving for public school…

“Eddie. I love you. And I know several of your friends might be leaving for public school. But God does not hold me responsible for the choices other parents make. God holds me accountable for you. And I know that Christian school is the best thing for you. And I also know what real faith means. It means that despite how it feels right now, choosing to be obedient and to live God’s way will bring blessing, and that God probably has other and newer school friendships waiting for you.”

In the end, it all comes down to how we view what’s most important in the battle for the hearts and minds of our children.

Some parents view Christian Education like Karate classes or swim lessons—a nice little “extra” in their child’s life, so long as it is affordable and the child enjoys it. But if the finances get tough, or the child begins to complain, Christian school can be replaced with cheaper alternatives. Why pay so much for something my child doesn’t seem to like?

I choose to view Christian Education like food or immunizations. These are necessities to my family. I don’t care how much my children complain about having to eat balanced, healthy meals or the momentary prick of the doctor’s needle; my decision is firm, and it is for their best interest. And I will take a third job, do without vacation, or sell my furniture before I place my child in the furnace of an educational system centered on humanism, relativism, and cultural idolatry. You see, God did not call me to a life of comfort, free from struggle. God called me to train up my children in the most Biblical way possible and to give them every opportunity to turn their hearts toward Him.

I refuse to surrender in this war.

Jonathan Nazigian is Minister of Spiritual Life at The King’s Christian School in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He is the undeserving husband to a beautiful wife and the proud father of three wonderful sons. He may be contacted at jnazigian@tkcs.org.

“The ‘Educere’ in Education”

Bill Stevens, Headmaster
Wilmington Christian School, Delaware

That's what we do . . . we educe. Now all of us can see the root word here, but not many may know the true meaning. It's Latin, educere, for "to draw out", "to elicit", "to deduce". We truly educate when we are drawing out what is from within. It's a delicate balance of giving information and getting response. Too often, (even our) education is pumping in what we want to be there and then testing to elicit the desired answer. What makes a Christian education so distinctive is that this drawing out centers upon what God has already instilled, created in a young person. As Psalm 139 so vividly proclaims, we have been created with a frame of reference already built-in. If we truly believe that, then why do we settle for an inferior version of learning? Why don't we (homes & churches) put all our resources into seeing that our children receive an education that centers on what's been centered naturally in them?

Let me get anecdotal to this point. The other day was a special day in our elementary school. It was Young Reader's Day. Our guest reader was also an author, and someone from our own community! Mrs. Donna Aviles (daughter Estella is a sophomore) has written several books about her family history gained from conversations. She was sharing with our little ones about how they would collect oral histories of their own families. She asked the kids what they would ask their grandparents if they were writing a history of their lives? After several responses that we'll keep to ourselves for a small fee . . . one 3^rd grader uttered, "They could tell us when they asked Jesus into their hearts . . ."

OK, so after we all ran for the Kleenex, the emotionalism turned to realism. This was a natural response coming from a little person who felt comfortable enough to just let it out. I thought to myself, "Now would this deduction be expressed in a secular educational setting? I doubt it. And what would be the response given that would reinforce what was felt in the heart? No, this is not a trivial Sunday School lesson, but rather a facet of the complete life for us to grasp how wide, and long and high and deep is the love of God . . . a
love that surpasses knowledge.

When Jesus told his disciples, "Let the little ones come to me", I do not think he was simply saying to let them come sit on his lap, or don't push them down the mount so just the big folks can hear him. No, I think he was speaking to the kingdom of God that exists in a child, and if we mature, sophisticated, intellectual types don't recognize this and respond to it in kind . . . we won't enter it!

Allow me to "educe" from you a thought . . . looking ahead a generation and writing your own family history, what would you elicit from your children as important to include?

The Realities and Ministry Philosophy of Full Cost Tuition

By Dan Krause , President
GraceWorks Ministries
As posted on The Christian School Journal
January 31, 2009

Try this experiment. Ask an ardent supporter of public education what’s wrong – from a philosophical, societal good point-of-view – with private Christian schools. Chances are, a top reason you’ll hear is that Christian schools “cherry pick” the wealthiest and highest functioning families in the community, leaving public schools to pick up the pieces with lower income (and therefore lower functioning) students. Of course students in private schools do better, they’ll say; these same higher functioning students would do well - if not better - in public schools. Ipso facto, it’s not what private schools do that makes them successful, it’s the students private schools attract. Public schools, by societal decree, have to service everyone, and therefore cannot achieve the same stellar results as private schools.

Let’s evaluate this argument two ways:
(1) as a statement of reality, and
(2) as a statement of philosophy.

Click here to read the rest of the post! Complete with charts and graphs!

Can We Keep Up with Our Competition? Should We Care?

Dr. Barrett Mosbacker
Originally posted on The Christian School Journal
January 31, 2009

We are in danger of becoming increasingly irrelevant and non-competitive. If we do, we will lose students.

Historically, our competition has come from free public schools, charter schools, and homeschooling. Our new competition is coming from technology enabled courses offered by public schools, colleges and universities, and virtual schools, including virtual Christian schools. This development is changing the educational landscape and the school market. The current recession is likely to accelerate this change.

Public schools are adopting interactive technology and distance learning (D.L.) at an accelerating pace. Moreover, there is an increasing number of online virtual schools in higher education and in K-12 education. These options make virtually (pun intended) any course available to any student anytime, anywhere. Students and their parents are no longer restricted to brick and mortar traditional schools to have access to high quality fully accredited courses.

Topics discussed in this post include:

• The Explosion in Distance Learning
• Distance Learning Is and Will Disrupt the Traditional Classroom and School
• The Stimulus Plan is to Include $1 Billion for Ed Tech in Public Schools
• Competition from an Unexpected Source-Virtual Christian Schools: The Challenges and The Opportunities

Click here to read the FULL TEXT of the post on The Christian School Journal.

Click here to read the rest of the post on Dr. Mosbacker's blog.

The State of Christian Education

Mr. Matthew Tuckey
Administrator (Carlisle Christian Academy, PA)


We find ourselves today in very turbulent times. Our president-elect prepares to assume a historic national debt, a reeling economy, and fragile national security. Our faith faces increased skepticism fueled by divisiveness among believers, conformity to pluralism, and litigation that reaches beyond the separation of church and state to the exclusion of Christianity among reason. Among the entanglement of our world, we have hope. As I type this, Jack Bauer has returned and redemption is to be found in another twenty-four hours!

Our educational system also faces a turning point. The system is failing as measured by most national and international benchmarks. Money isn’t the issue as per student expenditures continue to rise with assessments failing to follow the upward trend. Many studies show high school graduates in the United States ill prepared to successfully engage in a global marketplace. This isn’t an insult to the many fine, qualified professionals in public education. Some of my closest friends are in public education, and I respect them greatly. The incompetency of public education is not because of the individuals involved, but rather it is due to a broken system. Increased bureaucracy or even more public money has not and will not bring resolution. This is why, for the first time in memory, we had presidential candidates calling for the dissolution of the Department of Education. It’s too heavy and is sinking under the weight of itself.

At the same time, the “product” of Christian education has also seemingly become less desirable as measured by overall enrollment. The perception of what Christian education entails varies greatly, and the spiraling economy makes discretionary money more difficult to cultivate. These two factors, among others, have contributed to an average decrease in enrollment of 12% in Pennsylvania in Christian schools over the past five years. In most markets, select Christian schools thrive, while the majority face downsizing.

In contrast, alternative educational options are skyrocketing. Home schooling is becoming more organized, supported, networked, and in turn more prevalent. Cyberschool and other distance learning formats are becoming more widespread.

So what does this mean? It’s my belief that the free market system would be a catalyst for significant, positive changes in the world of education. Even without true educational choice, parents are increasingly dissatisfied with public schooling as their mandated option and are intensively seeking other choices as shown in the expanding alternative education market. Lobbyists for school choice are gaining merit as initiatives across the nation are showing encouraging results.

Where does Christian education find itself in this evolving educational landscape? The aforementioned statistics support a theory that quality, diverse, focused Christian schools are positioned to experience significant growth while schools vying to survive simply because of the “Christian” label that they carry will fail. Parents seek choice, including non-public, religious schools; however, they will not sacrifice quality academics for thinly veiled dogma. The “church school” with a prayerful heart but with unqualified teachers, a loose curriculum, and an unstructured organizational approach will attract only the parents seeking to hide and protect their children from the evils of the world. (Warning: The humanness of the fallen world permeates the walls of these schools as well, so the protectionist mindset will be unsatisfied, leaving these schools to die on the vine).

With 85% of people in the U.S. considering them “Christians,” parents carry that belief forward as they seek educational options wherein their children develop worldview through the lens of faith. Certainly for the devout Christian, an educational option that integrates academics with faith parallels God’s call for parents to train their children in the way of the Lord. In surveys, this option is even attractive for nonpracticing “Christian” parents as they seek a holistic educational choice that incorporates the mind, body, and spirit into the instruction for their child.

It’s my belief that those schools that are able to construct themselves on the fundamental truths of the one true God while providing diverse, quality academics will continue to flourish. This means providing a consistent, moldable curriculum based on clearly stated objectives. This means benchmarking academic offerings against the leading public and non-public schools, adapting what works and remodeling what doesn’t. This means meeting students where they are at in their faith, catering to the student who has known Christ for years while equally supporting the student who is uncommitted or skeptical about a relationship with Jesus. This means tearing down denominational barriers and inviting healthy, intelligent discussion about the Christian faith. This means being authentic and transparent about our faith journeys, showing hearts that seek a dynamic relationship with Jesus as opposed to doctrinal mandates. This means loving, serving, and forgiving in a way that is softening hearts as opposed to force-feeding evangelism that is hardening hearts.

Christian schools were at their heyday in the 1980’s. Enrollments reached peak levels, and new schools opened regularly. We now see a generation that came through these schools making educational choices for their children. Too often, these alumni are apathetic to the difference that Christian school made in their lives or worse, are jaded by the experience. The negativity is due to a myriad of reasons, but is most predominantly rooted in legalism and hypocrisy.

However, like Jack Bauer, we have a new “24.” As a Christian school, we have a new opportunity to define ourselves, not by what the world calls for but by what God calls us to be. At Carlisle Christian Academy, we believe that we are called to be an educational community that seeks to know, love, and serve God. We believe that we are to pursue excellence, trying to serve our students more effectively and more efficiently tomorrow than we did today. We believe that separating academic knowledge and spiritual truth is ineffective as they are not mutually exclusive. We believe that God has called us individually to be at this school to collectively learn and grow in and through Him. We will attempt to walk alongside parents as they work to train their children up in the way that they should go. I believe that in our new “24,” parents will continue to see the inherent value in this.

So what does this mean for Christian educators worldwide?

• Embrace today like you first did when you felt God’s call to this vocation.
• Teach with passion.
• Work with parents to support their children.
• Go deeper into the student world to find what might motivate them.
• Be open to let God change and transform you so that you might have a greater impact on the impressionable lives of your students.
• Think of the most difficult parent, student, and co-worker and consider how you might change yourself or your approach to strengthen those relationships.
• Forgive instead of judge.
• Be real instead of pretending.
• Commit or recommit to being completely disposable to God in allowing Him to make your school place a true “city on a hill,” a light in your community that cannot be hidden.