Are you ready to challenge the system? Let’s start with making some goals.
What is the goal of education? That is a loaded question, isn’t it? Do you agree with this statement by Dr. Merrill that I found in Teaching Techniques of Jesus:
“His aim, as the Great Teacher of men, was, and ever is, not to relieve the reason and conscience of mankind, not to lighten the burden of thought and study, but rather to increase that burden, to make men more conscientious, more eager, more active in mind and moral sense.
“That is to say, He came not to answer questions, but to ask them; not to settle men’s souls, but to provoke them; not to save men from problems, but to save them from their indolence; not to make life easier, but to make it more educative. We are quite in error when we think of Christ as coming to give us a key to life’s difficult textbook. He came to give us a finer textbook, calling for keener study, and deeper devotion, and more intelligent and persistent reasoning.”
Are we being challenged to let go of our present education system to embrace something better, more Christ-like and far superior to what is familiar and comfortable to us? Do you sense a call to come up higher with the Holy Spirit and seek for what is “more educative”?
“Educative” is an adjective, according to dictionary.com which means:
“serving to educate” such as “educative knowledge.” It is “pertaining to or productive of education.” So let’s look more at the word “Education”
What does “Education” mean to you? Through out the ages, we have seen men use education for greedy, selfish reasons:
“Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.” ~ Joseph Stalin
“Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” ~ Vladimir Lenin
“The education of all children, from the moment that they can get along without a mother’s care, shall be in state institutions.” ~ Karl Marx
“He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.” ~ Adolf Hitler
But our Founding Fathers called us to steward education faithfully:
“Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age, by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, of inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity and universal philanthropy, and, in subordination to these great principles, the love of their country; of instructing them in the art of Self-Government, without which they never can act a wise part the government of societies, great or small; in short, of leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.” ~ Samuel Adams
“A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
Let’s look at the definition of Education at the height of when America enjoyed a Biblical worldview in education.This was when there was a full flowering of Christianity and the beautiful peaceful fruit of righteousness that obedience allows. Yet it was also just as the progressives were beginning to infiltrate our systems. (You can buy Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary here.)
What does he mean, that “an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.” We’ve all seen good parents who train their children well and parents who do not faithfully train their children. But when a whole generation of older people are complaining about the younger generation, maybe we need to look at whether we understand what our parental duties are. I went into parental responsibilities from scripture last week, that it is the responsibility of parents to not only educate but disciple their own children. Are we carrying these duties well or are we maybe neglecting some things?
Would God deal with us for our neglect? What is more important, would we respond to His correction? Will we rise up to the clear call that the Spirit is saying to the Ekklesia and begin to educate ourselves, in the way that we should have been educated, so that we can be a “good man” and leave an inheritance to our children’s children? (Proverbs 13:22) I love this scripture because as much as I tried to give my children an heritage in the Word of God, the truth is, that I was learning with them. I pray that I at least imparted a love for the Word so that they can pass that heritage to their children while I encourage them as a grandparent.
I’m convinced that the most important inheritance that we should give to our children is one of knowing Truth (literally Jesus) as He relates to everything that we do. As 3 John 4 says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
Would you like to join me to seek the Lord to develop new systems and thinking in education? I would like to really dive into the Word of God and into the writings of people who have been willing to seek the Lord and His Ways to educate and disciple our children for His purpose and glory. I would love to develop a team so that we can work and pray together to see what God Almighty wants to do in our homes and communities.
If this this sounds fun, you can get involved in two ways:
Sign up for the FREE weekly blog. I will be sharing bits each week about Biblical Worldview Education.
Sign up for the Renewing Your Mind 12 week course. $120 or $100 until 1/18. It will be on Mondays from 1-3 PM online. The syllabus is here.
We’ll use Renewing the Mind from face.net (This used to be “Self-Directed Study” if you happen to have that already.) This excellent resource and Bible study is available as a pdf download or a paperback.
We will learn how to develop our Biblical philosophy of Education. I will help you through the difficult parts as I have taught this course several times – I see definite places that most people need help getting through. This is the first step toward reclaiming America’s heritage is simply for each of us to renew our minds one subject at a time. Education affects all the others, doesn’t it? So it is a great place to start.
The course will be $120 or $100 until Monday, January 18th. Hope you join us!
Your link to join will be sent to you upon payment within 24 hours.
Every American Believer needs to grasp the depth of Biblical truth that was built into the foundations of our country – and then learn exactly what needs to happen to move us back toward our Biblical roots. ~ Sam Chess, Senior Pastor Grace Emmanuel Church
“Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done… that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments…” ~ Psalms 78:4,7
Blessings!
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