catapult magazine

i received an e-mail recently on a topic which some of you might have thoughts about. the issue is the relationship between the church and Christian parochial schools, specifically pertaining to the tension between newer, seeker-friendly churches and long-standing Christian education traditions. i’ll distill the situation into some questions and see where discussion leads us.
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:32aade6fc6]Besides the obvious tuition factor, why do Christian parents choose public education for their children?
[:32aade6fc6]In spite of tuition, why do Christian parents choose to send their children to Christian institutions?
:32aade6fc6]Is there always one choice—public or private—that’s better for Christian parents or will the right choice be different for each family, and even children within a family? What sorts of factors should go into such a decision?
[:32aade6fc6]Is it appropriate to use a Christian school to shelter children from the secular world? Is is appropriate to send Christian students to public school in order to evangelize? What should be the primary purpose in educating a Christian child?
[*:32aade6fc6]Is the promotion of Christian education compatible with the work of a seeker-sensitive church that has many new Christians among its members? How are churches currently dealing with this issue?
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thanks for your participation in this discussion.

I wonder how this idea came into being that Christian education and making disciples of all nations are in tension with each other. We are given the power to share the good news and lead others into descipleship because Christ died for our sins, was raised from the dead AND ascended into heaven. It is this Lordship, this redeeming of all things, that give us the reason and the authority to go out into the world. It is not right for us to think that is we support Christian education we do not support reaching out to unbelievers. The opposite is not true either. Those who are concern with reaching out to their neighbors may be just as sure that their children need to be taught from a chrisitan perspecitve.

The Chrisitan Reformed Denomination may not seem to be great at gaining new souls but somehow I feel uncomfortable with numbers thrown around. It is not in our power to change hearts but we have to provide the witness or the catalyst. But when I look at the number of excellent institutions of learning supported by our small demonination (Hundred of day schools, high schools, Calvin, Dordt, Trinity, Kings Redeemer and the Institute) and the blessings they have been to many learners from other demoninations and the leadership we show in this area, God has blest our efforts. Some of the other denominations who have greater increases in their church rolls do not have the wisdom in the educational field. I do not think it should be one OR the other but we need to learn to share our faith more easily and continue to lead in serving the Lord in all of our endeavors like education or justice.

I am a product of Christian education, all my children have graduated from Christian schools, I teach in a Christian school in Canada. Interestingly, our student body is only about 35=40% Reformed. The influx of other denominations has only made those of us involved in Christian Education for a long time appreciate this heritage even more. ANd often the ones who are most excited about coming to our school are new converts. Their enthusiasm for the faith is shown by sending their children to a Christian School.

I agree there should be no tension between Equipping and Evangelizing; they are parts of the same whole.
My point is this: with such outstanding Equipping going on in our denomination we should be doing outstanding Evangelism and we’re not. Fact is we really suck at it. Am I the only one disturbed by the ratio of 100:1? That means if we have 100 people that participate in *cino only one of us has ever led someone to Christ! (Sorry about throwing numbers around again, does Acts make you uncomfortable too?) If our Equipping is not leading to Evangelism our Equipping is failing. Again they are two parts of a whole, there is no tension between the two you just can’t have one without the other but somehow the CRC has managed to accomplish just that.
It is no longer good enough to say, “We’re just not that good at evangelism, but we are good at other stuff…” It just isn’t biblical.
You can look at it optimistically if you want to but whether it is a quick death or a slow bleed we are shrinking as a denomination and the thing is, we were pretty small to begin with.
Bottom line is our system of Christian Education that we are so proud of has had very insiginficant evangelistic results for the kingdom. I am not anti Christian Ed. I am just saying we can’t keep doing the same things and expect different results.

i may regret saying some of these things later . . . oh, well. i don’t know anything about public school education, as i have never attended a public school; xn school and college all the way baby (shudder). from my experiences first in a crc affiliated school and later college, i would say that the health of our xn schools is inextricably linked to the health of our denomination; its numbers or the lack there of…just as the people above indicated.

however, i am not so sure that the health of xn schools lies entirely in the quality of the teaching staff and the school programs, i went to a xn school that had excellent teachers and a range of programs that rivaled local public schools- this in the western suburbs of chicago. nevertheless, based purely on my experience with the school community and supporting churches, that i will [b:66fec3b23c]never [/b:66fec3b23c] willing send my kids, that is if i ever have any, to a xn school.

i am guessing, just by looking at my family, that the attrition rate in the crc is linked, at least in part, to the sentiment i just expressed. at least two of my siblings feel exactly the same way, they have gone even so far to leave the crc and all churches, because of the way they were treated in our school and church. this is not to abbrogate their responsibility for the decisions they make, however this says something profound about the school, community, and church that we grew up in, that they would provoke such a strong negative response not only from me, my siblings, but also from other children and adults in the community and church -i.e. it’s not just my family.

oh, " the simple hell that people give other people without even thinking. . . the hell that white people give colored folks without stopping to think that they are people too." harper lee

i have a theory, feel free to dismiss it, but as a community feels threatened one of the possible responses is to grow inward, particularlly if it is relatively culturally, religiously, and ethnically homogenous- the more that most of the people in the community have in common- externally that is- the bigger the problem seems to be. when a community is that inward with a healthy mixture of upper middle class snobbery, there is so much pressure to conform to a particular vision, which in turn brings quite a few people to either hate it or leave.

i have an inclination that what xn schools need to teach is not so much evangelism- any evangelism i have every been taught is an insult to human intelligence, but to teach children profound love and to approach the unfamiliar with questions, rather than fear; evangelism will come with time and experience.

At the risk of being the “someone out there who is as stupid as you are.” :D I think you’re on to something there in regards to the “pressure to conform to a particular vision.” Espcially in our little sub-culture when it comes to Christian day schools.

I also love your statements about teaching our children to have profound love and to question the unfamiliar and hopefully listen with an open heart for the answers.

It is my estimation that you just summarized most exciting part of evangelism. At its heart evangelism is a profound love for people and taking the time to listen to what is unfamiliar in them. Then keep loving them until they ask you “why”.
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This topic also touches home with me. I don’t believe there is a “this is the way Christians should view and act on this issue” answer. There is too much diversity in every family, every community setting, every city, every combination of public and priviate schools. I do have some deep rooted convictions on the matter however.

1. I don’t know about the rest of the country, but the private school in my hometown raves that it is based on Christian education. However, I find it very, VERY telling that the school was founded the year after integration. I wonder how many “Chrisian” schools have similar cases. (I know that maybe the school has changed and is on the right path, but I can’t support anything that has any racist elements.)

2. After living in other countries, I have come to the conclusion, that the American public education system is one of the great strength of our nation. The privatized education and lack of good free public education in other countries has led to greater diversions in socio-economic classes (rich who can afford good education becoming richer, poor who can’t becoming poorer – haves and have nots). I can’t support any ideology with these elements. Public education is one of the greatest solutions to providing everyone with the same opportunities, to a certain extent. I have to support the good that this type of system does.

3. The public school I went to had teachers, coaches, and administrators who were some of the best Christians I’ve ever known, while also providing me with the opportunity to know aethiests and agnostics in the same positions, some of whom were really good people. This is a great “real world” education to compliment academics.

4. I definitely believe in the salt and light argument for public schools. How can Christians criticize the public school system when they flee to private schools? It’s like the light criticizing the dark. It’s not the dark’s fault, it’s the light’s. (I know all christians that send their kids to private schools aren’t fleeing.)

All of this being said, I have known great Christians from public schools, private schools, and homeschool. And, I’m not yet a father, so I don’t have a right to say what I would do if I were in certain circumstances. Ultimately, I think it’s a decision that has to be made for the best of one’s own family.

Thanks.

[*]Is it appropriate to use a Christian school to shelter children from the secular world? Is is appropriate to send Christian students to public school in order to evangelize? What should be the primary purpose in educating a Christian child?

Secular world? What’s that then? Do we agree in a sacred/secular dualism?

Evangelize? Do we consider that the only valid pursuit for a christian is evangelism?

Primary purpose in educating a christian child? To produce a ‘christian mind’ as Harry Blamires has expounded. To be not only able to indwell the story of scripture, but also to act radically from it. To not only critique the spirit of the times, but also to create something which offers an alternative to the nihilistic, individualistic, hedonistic, capitalistic culture of the day.

i should clarify that, while i do not believe the secular/sacred duality is accurate or helpful, i attemptedto frame the original questions for this thread in the context of various arguments i’ve heard on these topics. so please understand the language and ideas presented in the questions in that light.

i like your answer to the third part of that question, though i’m wary of the language of “radical” and “alternative” ways of living, because those words establish the current dominant culture as the norm. if we acknowledge the Kingdom as the norm, as the first and last reality, then our living into the Kingdom is not a radical alternative, but a living into God, the Ultimate Reality who was/is/shall be, who encompasses all good things.

i’m curious to know, and this is connected to geoff’s post about his children on another thread, how we practically “produce a ‘Christian mind’” in children in various contexts. should a Christian parent supplement a child’s public school learning in some way and, if so, how? likewise, should a Christian parent supplement private school learning in some way to make up for the lack of diversity of ideas and practices experienced in school?

Dan VanderArk (from the original CSI) spoke at a conference I attended in my first year of teaching. He drew two lines. One represented God and one represented the world. He said one of the problems with contemporary Christians was that those two lines met too infrequently and became “mountain top experiences”, which are good, but certainly not solely representative of a Christian life. The purpose of Christian education, he argued (or a Christian teacher or parent) would be to connect those lines as often as possible. Ultimately it would be nice if those lines were running on top of eachother to get rid of the dualism, but that’s a ways down the road for me personally, as a teacher and as a parent.
I had the opportunity to show my classes this week a connection. Because I’m in a public school I couldn’t make my intentions too painfully obvious, but I saw some lights turning on. I look forward to the time when the lights go on for Alex and Sam (my young sons). The more often teachers and parents can show their kids how to connect those lines, the more success we’ll have in reshaping culture to God’s kingdom standards. In my experience, High Schools are good at teaching theory, but very rarely focus on the practical application of that knowledge to life. So yes, Kirstin, I think it’s essential that parents supplement that in every way they can. From the way they cook dinner to the way they introduce their children to sports and art.

Hi Kirstin,

Language problems maybe at the root of this. I was in London over the weekend with a group of artists, architects, graphic designers and this erstwhile writer got to discussing the need for a new language that does away with past baggage, but brings our art, architecture etc alive for a new generation.

In the light of this, I wasn’t using the word ‘alternative’ in a socio-political sense, but in the way that Jesus offered an alternative way, the narrow over the broad etc. I wasn’t suggesting something last seen, out there, on the X-Files.

Radical – this I mean in the scriptural sense, as in radix/root, if you like, speaking to the heart of the problem.

Secular for me has too much baggage in a dualistic sense and whilst you’ve mentioned it as a duality rather than a dualism, I’d say that this is problematic. I’d rather speak of fallen or redeemed culture, as all of Creation is His. It is just that quite a bit of it is going in the wrong direction. I’m thinking here of Al Wolters’ Creation Regained and his arguments on structure and direction.

Education – Yes I think we should be supplementing our child’s education, but my problem has been finding relevant resources that are perinent to the age of the child. There is a lot of stuff for adults now to supplement their education, but I find child education a real problem.

Norbert, I think mentioned schools being hot on theory and not on practice. I think he is right to highlight this. I think in the long run of life, it comes down to discipleship in whatever field you are working in and maybe finding someone who has walked that way before.