BLESSINGS IN THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

A Christian school is highly significant in the community if for no other reason than it is bearing the Lord's name in the educational system. Central in its teaching to your children is the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the inerrancy of the Bible—the Word of God. A school where Jesus Christ is centermost will affect the entire course of a child's life.

It takes years of prayer, sacrifice and hard work to develop a mature school. Parents, teachers, pastors and administrators have to be wholehearted with all that is within them for the school to become an institution that brings highest honor to God's name and to God's Word. Looking at a school's past yearbooks shows it maturing, while at the same time showing those involved in it aging—gracefully, we hope.

It is inaccurate to think that a school with a large student body is being blessed more by God than a school with a moderate or a small enrollment. First of all, no Christian school is small, for God is not small. Second, His blessings are not in proportion to the size of the campus. There are no "pet" schools with God; God does not love his gifted children any more than his less gifted.

So if it is not size or resources that measures God's blessing upon our schools, what is it? What are the characteristics of the Christian school that shows God's blessing upon them? Consider the following:

• The parents are not experimenting with the school. For them a Christ-centered education for their children is not a mere preference. It is a conviction. Their attitudes toward the school are positive and their support is total. They pray and they work for the welfare of the school and for its continuous development. They weather the storms which come to every Christian school over a period of time, because they believe in the Christian philosophy of education and reject the secular humanistic philosophy of education under which their children would be trained in another school. Their commitment to the school is deep, very deep.

• Teachers, staff members and administrators view their work with the students and their parents as a ministry in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ rather than just a job in the field of education. That viewpoint influences everything that they do. To put that another way, they are shepherd-educators to the young as distinguished from hirelings. They care for the students at a great depth.

• Teachers, staff members, and ad¬ministrators have a strong sense of God's leading them to serve Him at this particular school. They know that this school is God's will. It is not God's second best for them. It is the best. Knowing this strengthens them to stick with the school to do their part in its growth.

• All school personnel are growing in Christ. There is freshness, vigor, and vitality in their lives. They are abiding in Christ, demonstrating that by keeping God's commands, by obe¬dience to Him, by walking under the control of God's Spirit. When they encourage the students to receive Jesus Christ and to be obe¬dient to Him, they model those things in a wholesome manner showing students that life as God intends it is good, desirable, not a drag.

• Love is the primary mark of the Christian school—"Jesus loves you, and so do I." That sentence spoken by a teacher says it all.

• Praise characterizes the mood of the school. This does not mean strangeness or artificiality, but a genuine attitude of thanks to God which is kept vital day-by-day by not forgetting His acts toward those in the school. Praise in a Christian school is palpable. You can sense it when you are on campus. That glorifies God according to Psalm 50:23.

• Prayer is natural and permeates all of school life. My close brother in the Lord, Joe Bayly, now with Christ, often said, "When we pray, God works, when we don't pray, we work."

• Each day teachers and administrators spend time together in the Word of God and in prayer before school starts. Nothing can substitute for doing this. Nothing. It is fun¬damental for appreciating God's blessing.

• Everyone in the school follows the Mat¬thew 18 principles in maintaining wholesome personal relationships. Problems are always coming up . . . even in well-administered schools. Matthew 18 is the greatest principle of Christian school administration. Violations of it hurt the school, sometimes badly.

• The leaders of the school do not seek glory for the school's accomplishments, but attribute all of it to God. They realize that it is God who gives the impulse, the power to resolve, and the strength to perform the execution of His good pleasure.

• There is no "sin in the camp."

• The Holy Spirit is not grieved or quenched (Eph. 4:30-32).

• People in the school care about each other and enjoy one another. The biblical body life principles are practiced effectively.

• The people trust God and have faith that He will act in every need in each situation. They believe that the living God is able.

• The relationships between teachers, ad¬ministrators, staff members, pastors, parents, students, etc., are healthy and sound. This is the area where Satan lurks, always seeking to break the school from the inside by disjointing relationships between people. The school is not to be unaware of his devices.

• No root of bitterness is present in any of those who are in the school. Bitterness spills over and defiles many others. It is contagious.

This list is not exhaustive, but is illustrative. Contemplate these things, for you want to be a school that demonstrates the blessing of God.

"Father in heaven, help us to be a Chris¬tian school that experiences your continuous blessing. May our community realize that the living God is among us and that we are not accomplishing the school's development in our own unaid¬ed strength. Father, we purpose to honor your Name and your Word. In Jesus' name, Amen."

This and several other articles written by Dr. Lowrie here at Third Millennium were originally published as pamphlets by Christian Schools Today P.O. BOX 264 Newtown Square, PA 19073. They are reprinted by permission of Dr. Lowrie's son, Dr. Roy Lowrie, who carries on the tradition of educational leadership.