Since my last post, some have suggested that there was not something called the Christian School movement. This caused me to pause and consider my definitions. Was there a Christian School movement? Obviously, the answer to the afore mentioned question depends upon the definition of a movement. Dictionary.com defines a movement this way, “a diffusely organized or heterogeneous group of people or organizations tending toward or favoring a generalized common goal.” If I accept this definition, then to the best of my understanding, the Christian School movement did exist. Of course, Christian education preceded public education (first introduced by the Puritans); but the movement I am referring to in my previous article began following the radical interpretation of the Constitution in the late 50’s and 60’s which attempted to remove any acknowledgement of God from public education. In reaction to the desensitization of American culture to religion and God, many churches and parents began thinking of alternative ways to educate their children. From that, small privately funded Christian schools began to dot the landscape. Soon, many of these schools banded together in associations and conventions. Hence we have a movement. The title of my first article may have been somewhat misleading (much like the trailer to a movie that tickles the palate, but ends up being a horrible mistake). I do think that Christian schools do exist (I am the administrator of one), and I do think that educating children from a Christian worldview is not only noble it is necessary (BTW-Christian schools do not have the market cornered in this). By nature I shy away from movements. Not because I do not enjoy or need fellowship, but movements always seem to take slight turns from their intended course only to find themselves in the ditch, upside down, wondering what just happened. I believe that some worldly philosophies and practices slipped into many Christian schools and undermined the foundation they were begun upon. That is why I titled my last article the way I did. I believe the portion of the movement that began to entertain the world’s methods of education and the worlds motives for education like most wings of a movement became the most notable (like hysteric fundamentalism). I recoil against those things. My last article described some of the problems with that portion of the movement. However, I did leave out one important irritant that I have with that portion of the Christian school movement. And I must mention it, because it also plagues some involved in the growing home-school movement. More than likely, I will not put my children in a public school, but I will not claim that a Christian school is God’s method of education. I will not be so arrogant as to claim that I know that God’s will for you and your family is to put your kids in a Christian school. We must be careful that we do not give the Christian school more of a priority than it deserves. There are many ways to educate your children, and you and God must decide which way you will go. I know good, solid, Bible-believing Christians (even pastors) smack dab in the will of God who do not put their kids in a Christian school. Above all, we must remember that the Christian school is a tool and tools sometimes get rusty. We must not be afraid to evaluate our tools in the church and clean, sharpen, or discard what is not working.
Matt, what church and school are you a part of?