The Gospel of Grace
The gospel of God’s grace is the heart of Christian education. Schools of Christian learning recognize the need to shape a student’s character as a fundamental goal. Yet most fall short when they only teach values and good morals, even if they’re based on Bible verses. Character formation comes not primarily from teaching good morals, but through the declaration of the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. When students hear the story of the gospel, the Spirit transforms hearts. When they realize their own need for redemption and God’s grace given at the cross, hearts are softened, and good character begins to be formed.
Discipleship flows from the gospel. The imitation of Christ, which includes the classic spiritual disciplines (the means of grace) such as prayer, Bible Study, solitude, service, and corporate worship, must be common practices for administrators and teachers in a Christian school. As students are taught and mentored by Christ-like teachers, they begin to take on the character of Christ as well.
I understand the Christian school as a gospel-telling community. It is the center point of what we learn in class, how we treat others, and even how we feel (joy is a natural result of the gospel). The ability to freely talk about the gospel is also the fundamental reason for a Christian school over a state school. The contrast between a community of learning that acknowledges no God and one that acknowledges the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is indeed vast. The gospel of grace is why we gather to teach and learn in a Christian school.
The Liberal Arts Tradition
Education is inherently about transferring the wisdom of the past to the next generation. For nearly 2,000 years Christians have studied both God’s word and his world. It was only in the last century that education became inundated with secular humanism , forgetting the rich tradition that formed nearly all of history’s great thinkers and leaders. This tradition is the Liberal Arts Tradition.
The liberal arts include minimally literature, language, philosophy, history, mathematics,and science. They are meant not primarily to train for a specific job, but to give students the knowledge-base and capacity to learn for themselves. The love of learning sets the tone for the school, and the classroom is a place of eager discovery as the mysteries of God’s world are revealed. A liberal arts education is not meant for only undergraduates, but for children and adolescents as well.
A Christian liberal arts school acknowledges the importance of learning, and denies any false dichotomy between being good and being smart. It embraces the truth, goodness, and beauty inherent in God’s world, and prepares students for a wide-array of career paths in service of the Kingdom of God. As we partner with like-minded parents, a quality liberal arts education is our best tool to equip students to impact the world for Christ.
Global Service
Education also looks to the future, to the type of graduate we want to produce. My fundamental paradigm for thinking about results revolves around service. Because Jesus was himself a servant who gave his life for others, so must we form servants who will go into the world and use their careers working for the good of others. The paradigm of service goes beyond service projects,and instead must be a foundational way of understanding one’s work and one’s role in the world.
A basic goal to any educational program must be graduates who serve God and others with their life. Within a school's curriculum, service must be a central component. Within the school, service must be a way we treat other teachers, administrators and even students. Institutionally, schools must become other-centered and work for the common good of the community.
Finally, in today’s globalized world, deeply interconnected by technology, economics, and transportation, students must think globally about their service to others. Cross-cultural preparation for our "flat world" must be a core value in today’s educational systems. Global concern, for both justice and mission, must be the heartbeat of Christian schools, for it is the heartbeat of God himself.
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