Joy Christian High School - Christian Life
Scriptural
- Rationale:
As Christians, our greatest privilege, purpose, and duty are to glorify and obey our Lord Jesus Christ and God's Holy Word. The chief reason behind our mission of building Christian leaders through a quality Christian education in Pre-K through 12th grade is to glorify our Lord; obeying His instructions given to us throughout the Bible:
Proverbs 22:6 – "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
Ephesians 6:4 – "Do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
II Timothy 3:16 – "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
Romans 12:2 – "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's Will is – His good, pleasing and perfect Will."
God's Word directs us to train our children in the instruction of the Lord. Indeed, children are God's homework assignment to parents!
The Greek word for train is paideia, meaning the whole training and education of children, including the cultivation of mind and morals, and includes the training and care of the body and soul with a goal of increasing virtue and Godliness. The primary rationale for Joy Christian School, therefore, is to offer a venue in which the nurturing and training referenced above can take place. Equipping the student for critical thinking, based on a renewed mind – informed and transformed by God's Word and the Holy Spirit – enables him/her not to conform to the world's ways, but rather to know and to shine the light of Jesus Christ in the midst of a darkened world.
Christian schools exist, not primarily as a rescue, protection, or isolation strategy; but rather as a teaching and training endeavor that strives to educate young people in light of God's Word and in light of eternity.
In the world, but not of the world - Rationale:
James Dobson and Gary Bauer write in their book, Children at Risk: The Battle for the Hearts and Minds of our Kids: "Nothing short of a Great Civil War...rages today throughout North America. Two sides with vastly differing and incompatible world-views are locked in a bitter conflict that permeates every level of society...Instead of fighting for territory or military conquest, the struggle is now for the hearts and minds of the people...Those who control what young people are taught and what they experience – what they see, hear, think, and believe – will determine the future course for the nation."
This war is especially dangerous because the battle fields are in the minds of our young people and not in traditional territory where it is easy to observe and respond to a trespass. Josh McDowell is a watchman in this war; he gives the following warning to parents: Do not fear what your kids may do; fear rather what they are being taught. (Beyond Belief to Convictions, paraphrase, J. McDowell)
The Importance of a Christian Worldview - Rationale:
Christian Worldview |
Secular Worldview |
|
Life |
Life is created; life has
meaning |
We and the world are an
accident |
Purpose |
We are partnered with God |
We are a moment of mist |
Truth |
God's Word; ordered world |
There is no absolute truth |
Sin |
Sin is real; Jesus saves
us from it |
There is no such thing
as sin |
Self |
I am loved by God |
I am irrelevant beyond
function |
Others |
All people are created
in God's image |
Others are strangers, even
burdens |
Time |
Our existence is a small
part of eternity |
Each moment is all there
is |
Practically speaking, what difference does your worldview make? Your worldview, Christian or secular, will determine or affect your passions, values, morals, work ethic, and integrity. When Joshua says, Choose this day..., he means...God means, Choose carefully. And, everybody does have a worldview. Ultimately, our worldview is our own choice. But, if we aren't intentional about choosing, or it we don't guide our children's choices, worldviews can not only be chosen, but they can also be imposed, taught, assumed, and imagined. And, that leads us right back to the cultural war – the second Great Civil War of our nation – that is going on all around us.
Children are God's Homework Assignment Given to Parents
The Bible gives us an assignment that couldn't be any clearer: Jesus said, Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them... (Matt. 28:18-20)
The Christian Church in general and Christian parents in particular have one main assignment regarding our children: to raise them to be disciples of Jesus and to teach them His Word. That's our assignment!
Therefore, children are our homework! It is our God-given responsibility that parents take the primary role in directly educating and nurturing, or partnering with other Christians, such as Christian schools, in directing the educating and nurturing of children to be disciples who learn, believe, and trust in God's Word. (Kingdom Education, Schultz)
Paul, in II Timothy, instructs young Timothy, as he writes, All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. God's Word teaches, rebukes, corrects, and trains. The Bible's teaching tells us what is right. The Bible's rebuking tells us what's wrong. The
Bible's correcting tells us how to get right. The Bible's training instructs us how to stay right. (Kingdom Education, Schultz) To educate without reference to God's Word is to withhold or hide the greatest Truth which should under gird and guide all other education.
Education is More Than Learning How to Make a Living
Christian education has as its primary purpose the goal of guiding students to make an eternal life through Jesus Christ which begins in this world and finds fulfillment and final revelation in Heaven. Christians must educate in light of eternity.
As you consider your part in educating your children, and as we who are the Church of Jesus Christ consider God's homework assignment to us – to make disciples and to teach, let us consider well the consequences of our decisions and commitments. Seek not what is good for your children, but what is best. Seek not what is important, but what is essential. Seek not glamour, but Godliness…Seek not to increase their fun; seek to increase their faith. Seek not tools to make them rich; seek first to give them tools to make them righteous. Parents, seek not what makes your kids happy; seek first what makes your kids holy. (Lorin Bourguein, of Beaumont, TX, a mother of Christian school children)
If you choose to partner with a Christian school to raise children to become disciples of Jesus and to be taught according to the Bible, you will have the joy of knowing that your children will not only learn multiplication, they will learn about the One Who multiplied the loaves and fishes. Not only will they learn division, but they will learn about the One Who divided the Red Sea. They'll learn about the world and its creations, but they will also learn about their Creator. They'll learn language and the mechanics of words, but they will also learn about the One Who is the Word. (Bourguein)
Children are the homework of parents and the Christian Church. Larry Burkett, a Lutheran author, contends that if we, Church and parents, had been faithful in this one assignment – that of evangelizing our youth – our Church would be four times larger than it is today. (Financial Parenting, Larry Burkett) Four times larger doesn't mean much to any of us until we remember that we are not talking about earthly institutions, we are talking about the salvation and eternal lives of our children.
We've Got Homework to Do
Let's do it together. We have a Heavenly Father Who will help us – and He has already given us His answer book. Remember two things. One, homework matters to the Lord – our children are our homework. The assignment is to nurture them to become disciples of Jesus Christ and to teach them God's Word. Two, it's a war out there! According to James Dobson, it's our nation's second Great Civil War! And, children are the prize to the winners of this second Great Civil War. Let's take God's assignment seriously. Let's do our homework together! Let's win our children for Christ!