Education and the Christian

As an educator at a Christian school, I am surrounded daily by the issue Michael Spencer raises in his recent post. I am certainly no expert, and I'll need to revisit this topic several times before my thoughts will be cogent. Well, here goes...

Perhaps the best gauge of our effectiveness at educating the next generation is the percentage of students who attend classes in order to engage the material and LEARN as opposed to simply doing what is required to make a good grade. Using this bench mark, we are failing miserably. As Debra comments on Spencer's site, far too many students pursue higher education for the sole purpose of getting a good job, making money, blah blah blah. And we parents have modelled this perfectly, haven't we?

I also agree that the root problem is not simply Christian opposition to education, but the failure of Christians to be different from American culture. I don't place the blame solely on our own shoulders. I believe that the Prince of this world has managed to fit us into this mold using the educational institution itself. Follow me here. Students are prepared their whole school career, it seems, to be able to do well on their college entrance exams. These exams do not properly address critical thinking skills, one's attitude toward learning, or one's ability to make connections across disciplines. Since all humans tend to take the path of least resistance, students do just enough to qualify--that is to say, they learn how to do the basic skills required and little else. How can we expect to produce top-quality scholars if this is all we require of them?

I foresee that if we are to clear this hurdle and develop strong, vigorous minds full of truth, we must establish a new standard of excellence, one that requires that students can 1) think clearly in an organized fashion, 2) form original ideas, 3) evaluate arguments, 4) identify biases and cultural backgrounds, and 5) connect all subjects in an unified way that allows them to see the world more like God sees it.

A great evangelical university? It can be done. Who will do it? Who has the courage to break out of the current environment and set a new standard for entry into such a university? We can't win this game if we allow the world to make the rules...

M&E--Sound the Trumpet

While I am perhaps unfit to post anything derogatory about Joel Osteen and his Prosperity Gospel peers, it is time to revisit a topic that has been on my heart recently. I will try to abstain from the type of diatribe that my strong feelings on this subject tend to evoke.

Spurgeon's words in Morning and Evening for Sept. 20 reminded me of the recent trend in the Evangelical world that troubles me most: Failure to proclaim sin boldly. Can our love for the lost be so cold that we shirk our duty to proclaim the first crucial tenet of the precious Gospel? Spurgeon had it right:

"Take the gospel to them; carry it to their door; put it in their way; do not suffer them to escape it; blow the trumpet right against their ears."

And yet, the Evangelical world removes crosses from its sanctuaries, removes sin from its sermons, removes anything so negative as owning up to our own deep deep depravity all for the sake of drawing the lost to us instead of taking the Gospel to their doorstep in all its potent glory. We have gone far from blowing the trumpet "right against their ears," and are instead in danger of losing our voice altogether as we shout our own praises.

We seek so hard not to offend that the largest Evangelical church in America is led by a man who says,

"It's not a churchy feel...We don't have crosses up there. We believe in all that, but I like to take the barriers down that have kept people from coming." Source: Fox News

Have we gone so far that 35,000 of us follow a man who summarily refers to crosses with the term "all that" and whose primary focus is to give people a feel-good boost instead of the words of Christ? If the cross will keep people from coming to church, how can we expect them to be willing to "Take up this cross" and follow the Lord?

If we refuse even to hang crosses lest we offend some, this is like a man who marries a woman and does not let her out of the house, nor does he tell anyone that he is married to her. The man reaps the benefits of having a wife, but in his heart despises her. This is the essence of cheapening the precious blood of Christ, shed for sin and the reconciliation of poor sinners such as I.

Brother Spurgeon exhorts us to proclaim Christ's words boldly: sin, wretchedness, and all, instead of suppressing them with the intent of drawing larger crowds. If Jesus Himself could draw crowds of thousands while at the same time speaking a harder word than the Prophets, we have nothing to fear when we proclaim truth. Speak. Shout. They will come.

Morning & Evening--The Hearts of Children

As often as my undisciplined self wakes up in the morning to meet with God, I have been using Spurgeon's Morning and Evening. Few things work better to jump start my day than an old kick in the spiritual pants. Over the last several days, I've been hit with some great insights that need to be written down lest they be left to wallow in the deep oblivion of my brain. Here is the first of several:

Spurgeon gives an impassioned call to prayer for our children, saying:

"O for more agonizing prayer on their behalf while they are yet babes! Sin is there, let us begin to attack it. Our cries for our offspring should precede those cries which betoken their actual advent into the world of sin."

I know full well that depravity resides in the hearts of my children. It ravishes quiet evenings at home with the familiar fights over toys, reluctance to eat anything resembling food, and the great bedtime battle.

Yet, I am struck that we are unable even to cure such a heart...a heart that is still so new to this world and its creeping tendrils of envy, lust, and pride. That a four-year-old can so forcefully insist on her own way and resist so diligently the efforts to mold her will to holiness is plentiful proof that we are not enough for our children. We must run to the Lord in prayer.

"Ungodly children, when they show us our own powerlessness against the depravity of their hearts, drive us to flee to the strong for strength..."

Spirit

September 11, 2006

The Lamb

The afternoon path led me through several valleys to this one, vibrant green with spring freshness and the recent rain, brown from the heather thickly blanketing the hills. But the sight that most caught my attention was the lamb, newborn white, staring at me from atop an ancient stone wall. His eyes were filled to the brim with wonder, glorying in the Welsh hills and the fresh, vivid air. He stared at me for just a moment then was gone.

My eyes followed the lamb as he joined brothers and sisters frolicking and bounding through the endless hills, playing a game with rules unknown to me. How does one describe such...life?

Later on, I found the sheep: matted, wet, looking forlorn and huddled on the hillside. Each one was stained the color that their master had chosen for them. As I watched them face the burdens of the day, it hit me: all we like sheep have gone astray.

(This was written several years ago when I was in Britain but never published.)

One Book...

1. One book that changed your life. The book of James (Bible). I read this before accepting Christ as my Savior, and its hard-hitting call to holiness struck a chord.

2. One book that you have read more than once. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Tolkien.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island. Anything with a lot of pages so I could get that first fire started without too much trouble.

4. One book that made you laugh. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader but probably only because laughter keeps me sane when I read it three times a year (three times a day) with my students. I do enjoy Lewis's subtle humor.

5. One book that made you cry. Brave New World. Although I didn't cry when I read the book, thinking about how accurate Huxley was to today's society makes me want to shed tears of sorrow.

6. One book that you wish had been written. My yet to be written story about Newgate Prison and the blessedness of persecution.

7. One book that you wish had never been written. Darwin's Origin of Species because of the consequent devaluing of human life...

8. One Book that you’re currently reading. Ivanhoe (but it's taking forever because I am looking up all the history I should have learned years ago).

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read. Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

10. One book you started to read but never finished. Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer (but not because of lack of interest but more likely lack of holiness on my part)

Now tag five people. I'd love it if you'd tag yourself and respond. Then leave a comment linking to your post...