A Critical Lifeline

                                 Photo by Jony Ariadi on Unsplash

Hello Friends,

For several months now, I have shared heartfelt article-length commentaries on educational insights. While certainly no self-proclaimed expert, most of the writings were born from a place of firsthand experience and observation, measured against a well-worn Bible with yellow highlighted, tear stained scriptures.  During the last 26 years devoted to education, there has been season upon season of trying hard, pouring in, making mistakes, celebrating “little light bulbs”, and reaping knowledge and wisdom. 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 9:10

If there was a reel of transformative highlights from this servant’s educational narrative, it would most certainly give you a glimpse of the confused thoughts of an eight year old student wrestling with a science class discussion centered on creatures who lived millions of years ago while knowing that only two thousand years ago her Savior walked an inhabited, societal sod. Fast forward, she, with wobbly knees and a grade at stake, can be seen respectfully pushing back on a Christian-hating Native American Literature professor’s insistence to compositionally renounce one’s faith. Interestingly, a couple years later, she would find herself standing before a vehemently disapproving administrator when she chose to pray with her students during the early days of “See You at the Pole.” 

Witnessing the potentially detrimental fallacies and pitfalls of public education, she sacrificially determined to forgo professional growth opportunities for the honor of Biblically educating her own three blessings.  With starry-eyed great expectations of the standards that Christian education surely possessed, she soon discovered that public education philosophical methodologies had crept into both Christian homeschool co-op and Christian school pedagogy. The once Deuteronomy 6 hand-to-hand and heart-to-heart pursuit of divine beauty, virtue, and truth had been relegated in many instances to factory styled, “leveled”, numeric grade or score driven checked boxes. Yet, God met her in that valley of disillusionment with a small community of like-minded educators who compassionately poured biblical truth, guidance, and accountability into their sister. Like all wearied, God-focused, life narratives, the brief Ecclesiastes-type ponderings of meaninglessness concluded with renewed Biblical fervor and a passionate determination to “pay it forward” by aiding fellow educators’ to regain their love for, focus, and drive towards pure biblical instruction.   

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:22-24

Train a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

The highlight reel closes with the camera panning to a broken, yet obedient, servant humbly joining a multitude of silhouettes kneeling reverently in a vast and endless field of honey-kissed wheat. Swaying melodically in a gentle breeze, every grain represents a child tenderly educated about Christ’s sacrificial love and their divine purpose, while collectively forming a chorus of disciples praising and serving their unseen yet ever present Lord. 

It is an honor and privilege to join each of you as you sincerely seek to serve the Lord by teaching His children. Like the blessed and chosen disciples of old, He desires for us to journey together so as to be continuously attached to a non-judgmental, encouraging lifeline of accountability, inspiration, and equipping that is critical to continuing His good and holy work. For the next two months, we are temporarily pausing this blog to lovingly and obediently pour prayer, concentrated time, and resources into the preparation and launch of that community...the REAP website. We look forward to reconnecting with you in September with this critical lifeline.  Until then, we are praying for you and the life changing work you are preparing to do this 2021-22 school year. If you have any questions, or desire to be included on our REAP contact list for future announcements of the upcoming launch, please contact me (tonya gordon) at tgordon@renewanation.org.

What is Your Why?

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man a more clever devil. C.S. Lewis

Dear friends,

Thank you so very much for your prayers over those who attended the REAP conference. They were truly felt and mightily answered.  

Amongst a wealth of Biblical Worldview inspiration and equipping, one powerful truth resounded from the training nestled in the mountains of Tennessee...a willing vessel must intentionally and consistently seek fellowship with Christ in order to righteously fulfill their calling. In essence, it is the “why” of what we do.  The overall task of our Dominion Mandate is to know God, to make Him fully known, and to bend back every facet of life to His original design. The reality however is that we are in a battle with a determined and unyielding enemy who is seeking to render servants prideful, demoralized, and ineffective, and the lost…adrift.  If we, as educators, are not personally pursuing an intimate relationship with and knowledge of our Savior, then how are we to naturally impart His preeminence over all that exists to our students?  

With each sandal-worn, bloodied, muscle wrenching step, Moses forsook physical pain and mental weariness to behold God’s holy voice and stone-carved law on Mt. Sinai.  Despite hateful sneers and reputational damage, Zacchaeus, driven by a passion to gaze at the Savior, clambered up a tree.  Paul, formerly Saul, crossed over the pitch black chasm of bitter contempt and persecution to emerge a complete, martyr-ready disciple of Christ. Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and others sought after an unreached peoples’ eternal salvation in the face of potential peril by spear.  Cornelia Arnolda Johanna “Corrie” ten Boom and family followed God’s Will to hide Jewish brothers and sisters, despite the risk of death by concentration camp.  One can continue to provide narrative after narrative of the self-denying, Savior-focused course individuals have undertaken over time to make Him known.  Every single one was propelled by a solid spiritual constitution cultivated by intimate relationship with their Savior.

In order to ensure steadfast consistency with our personal spiritual growth, it is imperative that we identify and eliminate deterrents.  The following are a few best practices that will aid in confronting weak or blind spots.

• reassessment of the strength of our biblical worldview

• reflection on how we conduct our lives, leadership over and rapport with others in our spheres of influence 

• re-examination of our motives 

• reprioritization of our time management and focus

• recapture our thirst and inspiration of the”why”

If we are faithful to utilize these evaluative measures and grow in accordance with scriptural truths, then we are justly armed when personal, professional, cultural, physical, or emotional constraints ensue.  Our spiritual fortitude will not falter, moreover, our ability to unceasingly pour “living water” into others will not be tainted or hindered.  

A Christian school is Holy Ground. If a staff is riddled with individualistic and/or collective spiritual complacency, then what follows is an affront to God’s intended plan and purpose for His classrooms, halls, meeting spaces, gym floor, sports fields, and artistic stages; yet more importantly His children. The symptoms are quite clear.

• minimizing the need for ongoing spiritual and professional development

• establishing sparse expectations for the spiritual culture of the school

• failing to identify and cultivate legitimate student leaders

• propagating irresponsible secular educational methodologies such as the cultivation of a test and grade-driven environment

• the propensity to minimally aid struggling students despite a public commitment to differentiate

• forfeiting the individual needs of driven and advanced students for the sake of equity

• feebly casting a biblical vision for the preparation of each graduate

• ignoring the divine purposes of each student to carry out their dominion mandate through a theology of work mindset

• failing to see each student as God’s fearfully and wonderfully made Holy Creation, wanting for truth, deserving of our righteous best

There may be vast mountains to scale, mighty trees to climb, seasons of darkness to overcome, daggers of public ridicule to fend off, and intentions of evil to endure; however, if each of us are passionately pursuing our Savior, then collectively we are aligned in righteousness and outfitted to train our students likewise.  Intentionality is critical. There is a thin line between that which we aspire to be versus that which we are.

Author: tonya gordon

tgordon@renewanation.org