Imagining the Kingdom

Earlier this month I had the fantastic privilege of attending the 7^th Annual Christian Schools Canada Leadership Conference, this year in Victoria, BC working under the title “Imagining the Kingdom.” There were more than 200 delegates there from 5 provinces as well as several international guests. One might summarize the content of the conference with these two questions:

What is the spiritual and cultural context that Christian schools work in today as they look to shape young people to respond to their creator?

Christian schools work with students who are so much more than minds on sticks, ready to be filled with the right stuff. Student’s lives are full of habits and rituals that are acquired at the earliest of ages. Those habits and rituals are formed by what they are drawn to love, to  desire, and to derive comfort and meaning from. Love is not turned off in people who fall into sin, instead we love the wrong things in the wrong way. That means that the competitors of Christian schools are not other education systems, but practices and habits that work in conflict against what should be our first love – Christ and the coming kingdom. Christian schools ought to be places that capture a student’s loves and longings in such a way that they feel the irresistible pull of the gospel toward being agents of the coming Kingdom.

What should Christian schools consider if they wish to remain relevant for the next generation?

-Figure what has to change, and what must never change.-  Rick Warren

It takes steps of faith and a willingness to risk and be open to the Spirit’s prompting. It takes clarity of vision which comes from knowing the times and the best course of action to take. It takes patience and perseverance in the biggest and smallest of matters that keep the school in unending pursuit of its vision and mission. It thrives with a functioning, faithful community that works in prayer, grace, and energy to advance its plans and priorities in humble gratitude. It takes people whose work together is so much more than it ever could be on their own. It takes deliberate and timely periods of spiritual, emotional, and physical refreshment.

May we be always in pursuit of the Kingdom at LCES.  SJ

Measuring Success

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. Mark 10:51

I had the experience recently of answering a question for an enquiring parent who asked me about the means by which we evaluate our students and their success.  I shared the pattern of assessments teachers use in their classrooms, described the concept of our recently adopted Learning Skills Rubric distributed three times annually, and our locally developed report cards which chronicle learning, social and personal development, and personal study skills.

They were impressed, but the question still came back re-phrased as “For my son, when do you know you have been successful as a Christian school?” Realizing that we were talking about a different, more life-long kind of measure of success, I directed them to our graduate profile that our board approved last year. It names characteristics of a graduate as they relate to God, others and self. You can find it on our webstite here: www.londonchristian.ca/graduate-profile.php

The first two of nine descriptions of our goals for graduates read as follows:

1. Begins to develop a deeper commitment to love and serve Jesus Christ. We want our students to follow Jesus Christ in all situations, conversations, and experiences. We want to work with Christian homes and Christian churches to present a consistent message that God is the ruler over all the earth.

2. Discovers and experiences the joys and wonders of God’s world. We want our students to study the creation in a way that gives them excitement for the way in which God has created our world.

Jesus asked Bartimaeus in the above text what he wanted him to do for him. He asked for sight, which Jesus immediately granted him by acknowledging the faith with which he asked. In faith, our prayerful petition is that God will work in the hearts and minds of our students, gifts from God that they are, in such a way that they become a faithful presence wherever they are planted, and are unending in their desire to advance God’s kingdom. Now that is success!

Small Space Thankfulness

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:23

I love these fall mornings. The freshness of the cool air and rising sun on all the vegetation covered in dew is amazing. I think I must have been required to memorize this  text as a child in school at some point because it pops in my head often as I make the trip.

As much as possible, I try to take advantage of the option of biking to school when the weather allows as it has many times this month already. It is good for my health, it costs less, and it is good for the environment. I’ve also realized that it is good for me in another way. The fifteen minute bike ride to and from school forces me to be observant about my surroundings, and notice change. Much different than driving my vehicle, I notice the smell of freshly mown grass, lilac bushes, even people’s cooking from time to time. I see birds and squirrels fluttering about and notice an elderly gentleman’s efforts to revive a tree that nearly died last winter.

Our weekly chapel this morning challenged students to extend our theme of “Walk in the Way of Love” to a way of looking with purpose at the smallest of places with appreciation and thankfulness for God’s blessing. Food on a plate, a favorite painting on a wall, or even the sunlight streaming in your window  are evidence of God’s good creation created for our delight and pleasure. We may have our attention drawn to things that are more epic or exotic, however we do well to recognize these gifts which are much more common around us as we go about our daily rhythm of life.

The “small spaces” things that I am grateful this morning are the sounds of happy, content  JK & SK students outside my door, the sway of a majestic tree in the breeze outside my window, and a picture hanging on my wall which reminds me of the group who gave it me. 

We pray our students will develop  a spirit of thankfulness for the everyday things that make life beautiful. What do you notice today?                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                SJ

A singing creation

A student shared with me that they had learned about the creation story last week. I asked if they had heard it before, to which they responded, “Yes, but it was different this year. I never knew that no one had to create God before creation could start. He was already there.” I smiled and was grateful for another step of understanding on the journey of faith for one of our students. Our days are full of these “significant moments” at LCES and we are encouraged by their spontaneity and their long-term significance.

“The earth is filled with his glory, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. It's rising up all around
It's the anthem of the Lord's renown..”

The sound of young voices singing drew me in from the hallway to hear one of the choir classes underway in our music room last week. A group of students were enthusiastically singing these words. Both the book of Isaiah and the Psalms remind us frequently that the world is full of God’s glory. While our students often think of God at work in creation originally, as described in the account of creation, I notice they are less inclined to notice and seek out evidence of God at work today. Praise God for our passionate LCES staff who are busy working to challenge our students to see things differently!

 That is what we do in Christian education; we attune young hearts and minds to with conviction profess that every square centimeter of this world belongs to God, and that all of it declares God’s glory. We aim to open wide the eyes and ears of our students to see God at work in our world today and to cultivate a servant-heart that directs gifts and talents to be used in joyful service.

It’s one of the many things that makes LCES a great place to be in everyday!

P.S. We look forward to seeing you all at the Back-to-School BBQ this Thursday evening at 5:30pm. If you see someone you don’t know, either a brand new or returning family, feel free to introduce yourself and welcome them warmly!

Welcome to LCES!

While in Canadian Tire recently I noted that customers waiting to check out could be enticed to purchase air fresheners in a strategically placed display. Among the pine, tropical passion, cinnamon spice, and others was “new car smell.” Obviously there are enough people who want that smell to be part of their car-driving experience to make it an option on the shelf. Why? Perhaps because at the start of a car’s life, with its paint, upholstery, tires, and glass in pristine and dust-free condition, we might think there is no limit to what we might explore and no embarrassing dings, scratches and dirt that tell the story of our less than perfect past.

A new school year feels much the same. The happy sounds of students moving about LCES filled the halls again today as they met up with old friends and made new ones. Fresh bulletin boards, new shoes and lunch bags, sharpened pencils, and new clothes were on proud display. After more than two months of very quiet hallways, the building is vibrant and its pristine waxed floors and squeaky clean desks make our hearts soar at the limitless opportunities and potential for what this year may bring.

To be clear, fresh new beginnings for staff, parents, and students are important since they offer us a chance to see more optimistically the God-created potential of what may happen for us and our students. However, much like the fading new car smell and first scratched bumper, it doesn’t take too long before we realize that our best aspirations are still restrained by our weaknesses. These frustration moments turn into growth moments when we realize that God uses us, dents and all, for his kingdom. So when the luster of this year may start to fade some, recall that God’s love never does.

Our theme for the year, Walk in the Way of Love, will soon be boldly displayed in our school’s atrium. The text from Ephesians 5:1-2a gives our staff and students a clear and direct mandate to love others in a way that reflects the way that God loves us. Christian love thinks first of others, then of self. We pray our staff and students may be blessed as they make the year-long journey of living out that truth. We are “dearly loved.”  Praise God!