What are the main characteristics that distinguish a Christian School from a public school?
The first distinguishing factor is the presence of the Lord Himself, for, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Ps. 127:1). While God is omnipresent and thus in a public school in that sense, God’s power and presence should be evident in Christian schools in a manner distinctly different than in the public school. Second, a Christian school ought to function logistically and technically in a biblical manner. For example, secular teaching methods should be known and avoided. School standards (including academic standards) should not be modeled after the world (3 Jn. 11, James 4:4, Rom. 12:2 et. al.) but according to biblical pattern and wisdom. The school should avoid debt. Conflict resolution should be handled biblically. The discipline structure should be modeled according to wisdom (I think Proverbs here).
Finally, the academic content presented to students should be selected with and presented from a distinctly biblical worldview. Math and logic are taught as emanating from, and being consistent with, God’s nature. Language likewise flows out of God’s nature (Jn. 1:1 “Word” – Logos ) and is used as such by us as we are made in His image. History is taught always in reference to Scripture as the foundational history book. Science is taught from a six literal day (aka. biblical) perspective with appropriate time taken for the inclusion of a good measure of science apologetics. Further, along with the inclusion of a solid Bible curriculum, a Christian school ought to expend the effort necessary to teach biblical worldview classes as a specific discipline.
Though academically challenging, the Christian school should stand out as a pleasant and safe place to be.
Which should we make more important; academics or Christian virtue?
Proverbs 1:7 states that it is the fear of the LORD that is the beginning of knowledge. Very few students in any given class will excel academically to the status of M.D., Ph. D., or other high academic honor. Yet all will stand before God’s judgment. Clearly Christian virtue is supreme over academic excellence. This in no way diminishes the value of academic excellence, yet it places academic growth in proper order and context. I will agree with the renowned experimental chemist Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691) who said, “For I, that had much rather have men not philosophers than not Christians, should be better content to see you ignore the mysteries of nature, than deny the author of it.” The translation? Better to know God, than to know science! “For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul?” (Matt. 16:26)
The origin of the earth and mankind:
I am a young earth creationist. I reject big-bang cosmology and recognize it as such, that is, cosmology, not science. Genesis is foundational to the rest of the Bible and is authoritative on matters pertaining to whatever discipline it touches on – including science. I have written a paper, Six Days That Matter, detailing my position more thoroughly.
To be an outstanding teacher, one first must teach in the “fear of the Lord” as it alone is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom (Prov. 1:7, 9:10). Second, an outstanding teacher must take care to place “no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3) in regards to his own credentials, accomplishments, and standing before men. Thirdly, to be outstanding, he must be acting within his calling/gifting area (Rom. 12:7, et. al.). Next, it is important he be in communion daily with God through Bible reading and prayer, and engaged in frequent study of the Bible as it relates to specific topics and issues that arise in his life, whether those be related to his personal life, the culture, or the subject matter which he teaches. It is critical also that an outstanding teacher possess knowledge and understanding (1 Chron. 12:32) of the times and the culture in which he finds himself living and teaching such that the material taught is able to be taught in such a way as to be most readily assimilated and applied by his students to their own lives and circumstances. This includes a basic understanding of the philosophical roots of “modern” pedagogic methodology (e.g., inquiry based science) and its implications in regards to his students and thus his teaching. Specifically, he ought to be able to discern what he can take from it and what he ought to leave behind (1 Thes. 5:21-22).
To be outstanding, a teacher must be a relative expert in his field, as in the first “law” of John Milton Gregory’s great work, “The Seven Laws of Teaching.” He wrote, “A teacher must be one who knows the lesson or truth or art to be taught.” With this in mind, a teacher who knows his material and who is acting within his gifting area will enjoy and be passionate about his teaching. Further, a teacher ought to have time and take time to prepare his lessons.
Lastly, an outstanding teacher ought to understand the implications for his classroom of Jn. 15:14 when Jesus declared to His disciples, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” Specifically applied to teaching in our culture, an outstanding teacher should grasp that though relationship with the student is critical, it is primarily an end goal, not the means to the goal. I.e., real relationship is predicated on an agreed upon set of standards (Eph. 5:21). By analogy, a parent’s primary job is not to be a friend to their child first, but rather a parent who lovingly trains his child (without provoking them Eph. 6:4), to grow him into Christ-likeness. The end result yields a mature and lasting friendship between adult child and parent throughout life. So it is with the teacher. His primary job is not friendship, but rather kind and loving (i.e., friendly) training (including discipline) with the goal being a lasting and mutual friendship with their students as brothers and sisters in Christ as they mature and graduate.
How to be an excellent administrator:
The personal characteristics that define an excellent administrator would include at first a demonstrated calling to administration (1 Cor. 12:28 et. al.). That said I believe there are different types of administration. It seems to me that different personality types fit certain administrative roles better than others. For instance, there are “numbers and paperwork” type administrators and then there are “people” administrators. Indeed, there do exist administrators who hold both of these (and other) skill sets at the same time, yet they are less common in my opinion.
Administrators ought to have clarity of vision and the skill to accomplish the vision. Administrators themselves do not necessarily need to be the central visionaries, but in order to be executors of the vision, they must at least be able to apprehend the vision and embrace it, being able to competently manage that vision in the day-to-day grind of the school year (Prov. 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained – NASB). With the above qualities, an excellent administrator ought to be personable, friendly, and importantly, available and visible within the halls and classrooms of the school on a regular and day-to-day basis. The excellent administrator would be wise to be a student of the Scripture as well as a student of the culture in its recent historical setting such that he can be a discerner of the times and be therefore able to know what to do in any situation (1 Chron. 12:32).
An excellent administrator should not be easily offended (Prov. 19:11) and would be well equipped if they were the type of person who had an optimistic outlook and was one able to adapt to change, making the most of not only rapidly changing circumstances, but also of his time (Eph. 5:16). An excellent administrator ought to conduct himself in such a fashion as to be above reproach. Lastly (for this answer at least), he should be an individual who can identify with the common man (Rom. 12:16), not holding himself aloof in his position, remembering that he too is an earthen vessel subject to frailty and error.
What does Inerrancy of Scripture mean?
The inerrancy of Scripture to me means that the original autographs are perfect and free from any defect. They are the word of God to man in full and complete for our need of coming to the Savior and for our living a fruitful and obedient life for the glory of God. I hold to a grammatical-historical hermeneutic and hold in this context to a literal interpretation of Scripture. When the text says, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth . . .”, I don’t wonder what is meant by the term “day.” In context and in light of other Scripture, it means that God made everything in six literal (grammatical-historical) 24 hour days. Because of the inerrancy of the Scripture, we have great confidence and hope.
My belief in the origin of the earth and mankind:
I am a young earth creationist and reject evolution wholly. I reject big-bang cosmology and recognize it as such, that is, cosmology, not science. Genesis is foundational to the rest of the Bible and is authoritative on matters pertaining to whatever discipline it touches on – including science. I have written a paper, Six Days That Matter, detailing my position more thoroughly.
What constitutes a Christian life-style and how should it differ from current cultural practices?
A Christian lifestyle is one that is lived in which one’s orthopraxy exists in concert with appropriate and sound orthodoxy. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will the kingdom of heaven; but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” Peter reminds us to, “Keep [our] behavior excellent among the Gentiles . . . ” As such, the Christian lifestyle must be like, “A city set on a hill . . . [which] . . . cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14b). This lifestyle is separate from that of the world. Yet, this separation is not for the sake of isolation, but rather to be distinctly visible to the world, those who are not on that hill. I.e., the purpose of being on the hill, aside from the valid reason of maintaining personal holiness, is to draw others who are in the world into this city also (Jn. 12:32) in an evangelistic sense! Hence this city which is, of physical necessity, in the world (1 Cor. 5:9-10), is elevated and separated from it, and therefore is not of the world (2 Cor. 6:17).
This manifests in displays of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, and self control, not only in our relationships and dealings with men, but even with and in our unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances. This paradigm ought not to be isolated in a separate “church category” saved for Sundays and special times, but should be lived out minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, and day-by-day as captured in and expressed in the words and sense of the Shema of Deut. 6:4-9: “[. . . you] shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” God’s word ought to rule the totality of our daily lives and ought to be lived out not only in small matters like where we will park our car at the grocery store, but also in much weightier matters such as our political affiliations and occupational choices. The life-style and things of the world (as seen in Rom. 1:29-32, et. al.) need and ought to be “put off” (Col. 3:8-9), while the things of God need and ought to be “put on” (Col. 3:10ff).
As noted earlier, while these things describe my understanding of the Christian life-style, far-be-it-from-me to declare myself having attained this ideal! Nevertheless, I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has called me heavenward.
The purpose of a Christian school and how does it differ from other types of schooling:
The purpose of a Christian school first and foremost is to glorify God by carrying out His express desire that fathers bring up their children in the discipline and instruction (admonition) of the Lord (Eph 6:4). We can distinguish it from other types of schooling by making several distinctions. The first distinguishing factor is the presence of the Lord Himself, for, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Ps. 127:1). While God is omnipresent and thus in any school, even a public school, God’s power and presence should be evident in Christian schools in a manner distinctly different than in the public, or other non-Christian school. Second, a Christian school ought to function logistically and technically in a biblical manner. For example, secular teaching methods should be known and avoided. School standards (including academic standards) should not be modeled after the world (3 Jn. 11, James 4:4, Rom. 12:2 et. al.) but according to biblical pattern and wisdom. The school should avoid debt (1 Cor. 7:23 et. al.). Conflict resolution should be handled biblically (Matt. 18:15-17). The discipline structure should be modeled according to wisdom (I think Proverbs and Ecclesiastes here). Leadership should be primarily male and function with plurality, not being a one-man show.
In Christian schools, the academic content presented to students should be selected with and presented from a distinctly biblical worldview. Math and logic are taught as emanating from, and being consistent with, God’s nature. Language likewise flows out of God’s nature (Jn. 1:1 “Word” – Logos ) and is used as such by us as we are made in His image. History is taught always in reference to Scripture as the foundational history book. Science is taught from a six literal day (aka. biblical) perspective with appropriate time taken for the inclusion of a good measure of science apologetics.
Further, along with the inclusion of a solid Bible curriculum, a Christian school ought to expend the effort necessary to teach biblical worldview classes as a specific discipline not only to students, but to staff as well, especially young and/or inexperienced staff. And finally, though academically challenging, the Christian school should stand out as a pleasant and safe place to be.
As a parenthetical note, the Christian day school and the Christian home school ought not to differ in any marked fashion in purpose and intent. The two ought to work in tandem, respectfully supporting each other, assisting one another through mutual encouragement and regular fellowship, offering tangible help to one another where needed. Both ought to be respectful of the authority and discernment God has given to parents to make the final and well counseled decisions as to where and when each of their unique children ought to be educated. This includes the decisions as to whom, and by what particular methods, each child of theirs is taught. This freedom of course ought to exist “in the Lord” and not in the secular educational system.
