The first in a short series on the biblical virtue of modesty. Despite the Churchâs lax stance on the issue today, Scripture nevertheless commands and expects modesty from those who follow Christ. âToday, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heartsâ (Hebrews 3:7-8). Whether we choose to listen or not, the Bible has much to say on the issue of modesty. Our whole lives, really, should reflect the modesty of our meek…
Humanism, as Francis Schaeffer noted, is what happens when âman is the measure of all things.â In our educational system, is man the measure of all thingsâor the Man? That is, are we Christian or humanist? Stemming from recent, fruitful conversation with colleagues about what makes education truly Christian instead of humanist, I have tried to compile a short, and undoubtedly inchoate, list of distinctions. As always, commentsâcorrections, suggestions for improvement, additionsâare more than…
The last in a three-part series on Christian education.[1] As I am a pastor by training and an educator by hobby, I am certain my reflections will be limited and misguided. I invite correction by those with greater wisdom and experience. Please comment below. Modern educational principles apply unequally to the various disciplines. Owing to the unique content and skills objectives in each discipline, very little of what works in one class will work…
The second in a three-part series on Christian education.[1] As I am a pastor by training and an educator by hobby, I am certain my reflections will be limited and misguided. I invite correction by those with greater wisdom and experience. Please comment below. Today we set out to answer a challenging question: Can a Christian school ever be as good educationally as a secular school? I would suggest two possible answersâboth true, paradoxically.…
The first in a three-part series on Christian education.[1] As I am a pastor by training and an educator by hobby, I am certain my reflections will be limited and misguided. I invite correction by those with greater wisdom and experience. Please comment below. Â âTeachers, donât you care if we drown . . . in a sea of humanism?â (cf. Mark 4:38). Much of modern education is self-avowedly steeped in liberal humanism. In…
Most holidays suffer from insufferable commercialism and superficiality in these dark times. Occasionally Christians respond by retreating from the holiday as a whole. I wonder if this is really the best course of action, however, especially when young children are present; I wonder if it wouldnât be better to redeem the holidays instead. While not addressing the issue directly, Scripture does hint at the latter response. After all, Jesus encountered the same crass commercialism…
I am probably a week too late to comment on The Komen Foundationâs decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood and the subsequent reversal of this decision. And yet reflection so rarely happens in real time that it may be best to revisit the topic with the clearer sight distance affords. Many evangelicals rightly responded with joy when the decision came to cut support. Planned Parenthood has been at the forefront of abortion-rights activism since…
While discussing Wednesdayâs post with a friend and colleague, he shared a story that demonstrates the need for cultural discernmentâwhat I called âloving judgmentââamong ministers of the gospel. My friend had spent the past few weeks speaking with a group of missionaries from a decidedly post-Christian nation. These missionaries were lamenting the state of the nation, giving as an example a recent church retreat at which half the attendees shacked up in cabins with…
At one point in his letter to Titus, Paul goes on a ârantâ that, were he to utter it in todayâs culture, would surely have gotten him dismissed from his apostolic post. He says to his young charge, âOne of Creteâs own prophets has said it: âCretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.â This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faithâ (1:12-13). These are strong…