Hey Friends. I have a song and a blog for y'all to look at.
So...go to Mark Mathis' ReverbNation page. On that page there is a blog/buzz section. Go to it and look at the post called 'Christian Schools'. There is a song on there that you can download, or you can also listen to it at his Myspace Page. Listen to the song(its pretty chill, I hope you like it). Also read his blog about it.
So this struck me kind of hard. I went to a Christian School, and some of my closest friends are homeschooled as well, so I have a bit of a mixed perspective on both. Now I'm not going to point the finger at my highschool (Guido De Bres) because that is not the point here..niether am I going to comment on homeschooling.
What I was thinking about is this: What are we doing here? like the song says in the bridge..we have so many opportunities to show Christ's love and I think sometimes we get caught up one of two mindsets:
a) WE have pie-in-the-sky ideas that don't actually do much except help us feel good and are not realistic.
b) WE are selfish, and don't want to give stuff up, because after all in our cultural position, its hard to live 'sparsly'-living is expensive, and also the things we 'need' to have are expensive.
So I don't really want to accuse anyone of being a miser, or of being an idealistic evangelist or anything like that..but I want to encourage you all to think about what you are doing here, right now. What are your goals? What is your life's ambition? What is that going to do for you when you die? Like the song says..there were people who devoted everything they had to give to others, just so those others could have an education. Not because they were going to be able to necessarily 'make them into Christians'..but just so they would be able to do something with themselves. I dunno..I think it would be hard to give myself up like that..giving up what I have so that someone else can have it-watching others enjoy what I could have had..that would be hard. And I think thats something I need to change.
Anton(aka Capita'n Carot)
PS. I love Mark Mathis
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9 comments:
hmm.
I love Mark Mathis too.:)
i have thought about this before...
and im pretty confused about the whole point of christian schools. i know it is important to grow up and learn to do everything in christ.
but at the same time....think about all they money we spend on a christian education...somehow i think there are better uses..like starving kids in africa. and yeah theres always the issue about evengelism, how can we do it if we hardly have any contact with other unbelievers our age? i guess there are pros and cons...it gets pretty confusing though.
ps. he is basically awesome
And how are we supposed to be evangelisers if we spend so little time actually talking about it?
Personally, I don't really understand it either. The only major difference is that we have devotions in the morning and we have to take a Bible class.
Shouldn't we stand out because we have the light of Christ, rather than that we aren't government-funded?
hey guys. I think you have to be careful about how you think about this. there are really good reasons to go to a Christian school or be homeschooled as opposed to going to a public school...sure there are maybe less opportunities to evangelise, but I think you have to consider that if you are going to a secular school, its hard to stand up for your faith...and there is a big likelihood that you will end up being influenced by them instead of influencing them yourself. Its not as simple as 'be in the world'. You've seen yourselves, even in a christian environment people screw up all the time. Honestly, if I had not gone to a Christian school I would not be a christian now...but thats not because the school is so great, its because I was around people there, a few close friends, who encouraged me.
What I really think is important, especially looking at schools like Guido..is that we need to figure out how to christianity more than just part of the School's title..so that there is a radical movement for Christ. I can see it already happening in Guido with the mission trips that are starting to happen, and in the growth that a lot of people are experiencing through having to deal with things like the death of classmates, terminal illness, depression.. but its a big world out there, and we need to stop sitting back and being proud of what we already have in a profficient educational facility that does assemblies and talks about God, and keep pressing on to make students more and more aware of WHY they go to a christian schools. I'm not saying that this doesn't happen, but I think that some people's attitudes might be something like 'I send my kids to Guido, and thats enough God for them.' Its not! You can never have a school that is too good in terms of teaching kids how to be radical, devoted, concentrated christians. I see kids coming out of guido who sometimes don't really seem to have much life experience, and who don't know how to critically think..and they don't know what to do with themselves. For me, I never really had a solid idea of what I wanted to do with myself..and now I am in an advanced engineering program..and I still don't. I think challenging Kids is something that maybe needs to happen more..not that its even lacking..but its something we have to continually adapt and improve!
What is my worldview, how coherent is it, and how well do I keep to it?
An interesting perspective on sphere sovereignty:
The Church - Train and equip heads of households (Fathers)
Fathers - Train, equip, and provide for family
Family - Relationships outside church (ie evangelize)
Of course there are many things not mentioned - Charity, governance, how each sphere completes its job, etc...
Daniel Zwart
Quick: What are the origins of Sunday school?
It's interesting to hear what others think...especially people that went to Christian schools. I was, as you all know, homeschooled from grade 2 through grade 12. And I am still at home, studying music. Sometimes I wish I had gone to school because of the opportunities I would have had in areas that I did not have being homeschooled, such as sports.
But on the other hand, being homeschooled opened up other opportunities for me that I am pursuing now. One of those was music and going further in it than I would have had I been busier in school. It's highly unlikely that I would have even taken music lessons had I stayed in school. This is a blessing that I am excited about, and to see God's hand in this.
I agree that purhaps the whole concept and purpose of christian schools may have had good grounds and motives at first, but maybe these lines have been blurred over the years, and the primary focus taken a slightly wrong turn.
On a slightly different note, it's been interesting to see how some people I have interacted with over the years totally oppose homeschooling and think that we're sheltered. But here, I'm reading from people that go to christian schools and think that they are sheltered in a sense too. Or maybe sheltered is the wrong word, but I'm using it for lack of a better word/phrase. But yeah, for those who have not made a dividing line between the two here, I thank you for that, because I've met up with controversy in this topic too much.
(Hopefully none of the things I just said are niave or offensive.)
um, edit to the last comment I made. I said that one of the areas I didn't have opportunity in being homeschooled was sports. That's not true. It was just in a very relaxed setting and did not develop a love of sports in me at all. But maybe that's my fault, not the homeschool groups fault:)
God used my time at Emmanuel to teach me facts about Him and to teach me what truth is. He used my time at St. James to teach me that facts are not always facts, and to teach me what Truth is. I couldn't be where I am now without either of those schools. I think that if my kids are able and willing to be a light in public school systems, that's where they will be (if my future wife will agree with me), for the sole purpoe that mission is one of the most important activities of our lives. Period. Mission can never be comprimised.
I dig the song too. 'tis a tough question, sisters and brothers, and I don't think anyone can make rules that apply in all educational situations.
Grace + Peace, Ben
New covenant Christian schools designs their curriculum according to need of the time. These schools give such education that can make well rounded personality of the students.
http://www.teensprivateschools.com/schooltypes/Christian-Help/index.html
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