Transforming Your Child’s Mind

The purpose of all education should be that of viewing God the way He views Himself in His word and in nature. Leading a child to the Lord is perhaps the greatest action parents can take for their children. Statistics show that as many as eighty-five percent of believers were saved before the age of fourteen. It is essential that children be challenged with their need to be saved at an early age. The aim of that challenge is for the child to submit himself/herself to the Lord and receive Jesus Christ in a born-again experience of salvation. Parents can point to that day as a great day in their lives. But leading children to the Lord is just the first of many important events in the lives of children. Receiving the Lord Jesus Christ results in a quickening of the spirit within us, a receiving of the Holy Spirit, and the impartation of a new nature (II Peter 1:4). Yet, the mind of the child is not directly impacted by that experience. It is the responsibility of the parents and Christian instructors to help children transform their minds in accordance with the instructions of Paul in Romans 12:2: ”Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” This biblical challenge encourages every parent to ask the question, “How do I renew the mind of my child?” The answer may be the major challenge of parenthood. First of all, renewing the mind means the acquisition of new knowledge and understanding that will enable the child to view life from a Biblical perspective. It is knowledge that recognizes the place of God over the events of this world. It is knowledge that supports the development of a worldview that has God at the center of all things. There is no greater challenge for parents than to meet and fulfill this expectation. Secondly, it also means that the mind of the child should be shaped in particular ways. Again, the Bible speaks to several desires of God for our minds.

God desires for us to have a Submissive Mind. One needs only to read Paul’s descriptive words of Jesus in Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” to grasp the concept of a submissive mind. Versus that follow reveal that the major attribute of the mind of Christ was that of complete submission to His heavenly Father and a complete dedication to His Father’s will. That submission was so great that He surrendered His heavenly glory to come to earth to live the life of a servant and ultimately to die for the sins of the world. That is submission.

God desires for us to have a Sound Mind. Again, Paul teaches Timothy about this very desirable quality of the mind. In II Timothy 1:7 Paul says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” A sound mind is a mind that is secure. It also carries the idea of being self-controlled, of being disciplined, and of being settled upon the priorities of a life lived for God. This is a great challenge for parents because a sound mind is vital in the requirements of the transformed mind.

God desires for us to have a Searching Mind. Again, Paul speaks of the believers at Berea and lauds their searching minds. Acts 17:11 says, “…they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily…” A searching mind is a desirable quality for a child. Learning should be lifelong. A searching mind is critical to understanding Scriptures, but it is also critical to the acquisition of knowledge about mathematics, science, language, history, and other elements of the school curriculum. Parents do well for their children when they encourage them to be a searching learner within the parameters of the Bible, an avid reader, and one who desires knowledge.

Application: Parents bear the responsibility of rearing their children, children who ultimately belong to God. A major part of child rearing involves transforming the minds of children to view life from God’s perspective. God has revealed Himself in His Son, in His Word, and in nature. Both parents and children can know God personally and each can come to see the significance of God and his Word. The purpose of all education should be that of viewing God the way He views Himself in His Word and Nature. This demands a changed or transformed mind. The Scripture highlights the need for a mind shaped in the directions delcared in the Word of God – a submissive mind, a sound mind and a searching mind. Implementing this task ranks at the top of those responsibilities assigned to parents.

Dr. Phil Suiter is a retired pastor and a retired executive director of the West Virginia Christian Education Association.

Making Choices in a Changing Culture

As technological and philosophical changes engulf our society, Christians should constantly remind themselves that the foundation of our beliefs and values is the Bible.

You have repeatedly counseled your child to make good choices.  Furthermore, you realize that choices influence your child’s life, whether the choices relate to selecting friends, practicing good study habits, displaying the right attitude, embracing high moral values, or obeying the teaching of Scripture.  Life is comprised of making choices, and the better choices your child makes, the higher quality of life he or she will experience.

Obviously, this decision-making truth is equally as applicable to parents. You want your child to experience a good childhood, to do well in school, to honor and respect you and your family, and to mature into an outstanding Christian.  What you want for your child tomorrow requires good choices today.  Sooner than you realize, the baby in the crib is a young man or woman in college or the work force.  The final product is a reflection of the many child-rearing choices you made, some more important than others, during your child’s formative years.

Give your child experience in making choices under your watchful eye and supervision.  As you model decision-making at home, your child will most likely apply your model to future college and workforce situations.  The Christian school is a trustworthy ally in this venture, an ally that you can depend on to stand by your side, an ally who desires, like you, what is best for your child.  When the school and home use the same decision-making framework – biblical principles and truths and godly council – your child has the best of both worlds.
Our culture is changing.  Ten years ago, few people used e-mail: now it is as common as the telephone.  Global positioning satellites allow instant communication to any spot on the earth.  If something catastrophic happens in Iraq or India, we can watch it live on Fox News or CNN.  These changes alone symbolize a changing culture. 

Furthermore, modern technology has birthed a global economy.  Technology and global competition are an integral part of our culture, and they are here to stay.  Just as the Industrial Revolution transformed America from an agricultural society to an industrial society, the Technology Revolution has produced changes, we must keep in mind that there are some areas of our lives where cultural and belief changes should never be welcomed.  So, how do parents identify unwanted change, and how do they go about resisting it?  Quite frankly, technology presents a lesser threat to Christian values than society’s changing belief and value system, namely, the philosophies built upon human reasoning.  Change rooted in new age type philosophies tempts the Christian family to embrace a worldly view of life.  Christian  parents must identify the cultural changes which conflict with Scripture – and oppose such changes in the church, in the home and in the school. 

When Christ is the focus of our lives, He helps us respond to life’s issues.  He is the very essence of our faith.  Apart from Him, everything loses meaning.  The Bible says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy (the way life is viewed) and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”  (Colossians 2:8)  Any teaching that credits humanity with the solution to life’s problems or claims to be the source from which all knowledge originates violates Scripture.  Thus, everything boils down to choices, choices that honor God or honor man.

Change is  a part of life.  Change can be good or bad; it can help or hurt.  The Christian school is very much aware of the danger of man-made traditions and philosophies as well as adverse influence they have upon learning.  Wrong thinking affects how your child studies science, math, language and history.  Even more devastating, wrong teaching influences your child’s value and belief system. 

ApplicationRemember the day when you decided to enroll your child in a Christian school?  Remember how exciting it was to have your child attend school where the bible was taught and Jesus Christ was exalted as the Son of God?  Remember how appreciative you were of your child’s Christian teachers?  Time erases the freshness and vitality of yesterday’s choices.  A conviction can quickly become a preference, and a preference can gradually become a convenience.  Eventually, if allowed, a convenience leads to indifference, and indifference leads to wrong choices.

Conclusion
Unless you remain committed to the biblical truths of yesterday’s choices, you can lose your commitment to Christian education.  And, a lost commitment leads to indifference to what was once a firmly held conviction.  Furthermore, indifference fails to think about the consequences of wrong choices.  Choices that leave the Bible and Christian principles out of the decision-making process never honor God.

Dr. Charles Walker is the executive director of the American Association of Christian Schools.  He also serves as the executive director of the Tennessee Association of Christian Schools

The Heart of Education

Christian parents should want what God wants for their children, an education that exalts Jesus Christ in every area of life (Proverbs 3:5-6).

It has been well said that  “the heart of education is the education of the heart.”  That premise is validated in Scripture.  “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it (are) the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23).  One can easily visualize the product of such an education.  The effective education of the heart will be reflected in a life that imitates Christ and a produces godly fruit.  It is a life that lives and makes choices through a biblical worldview.  The compass of this life, in every situation, guides one to a response consistent with scriptural principles.  It is a life in which the Bible should control every decision, always giving Jesus Christ the preeminence in everything one does. 

Jesus taught us that the product of any life is determined by the content of the heart (Matt. 12:34; 15:19).  Herein lays a gigantic battle.  It is spiritual warfare at its most intense level.  Satan understands well what is at stake – probably better than we do.  Therefore, he will stop at nothing and stoop to anything to derail our focus on heart education.  He engages in a take-no prisoners, no-holds barred battle for the hearts and minds of our children.  In every venue of our culture, an all out assault is waged on the mind of our young people.  Biblical values are challenged in education, home life, music, dress, and in every other area of life as well.  Christian values are under assault, this no one can deny, and the focus is on the center of the target – our young people. 

Satan’s most effective device may be to prompt us to compartmentalize the educational process.  He spreads the lie that what a person is in his or her heart does not necessarily have any effect on what he or she is publicly.  Therefore, we have the astonishing debate over whether a person’s personal life has any bearing on his or her ability to govern effectively.  We preach and teach that, for the believer, there is no difference between things sacred and things secular.  We bemoan the voices in our culture who insist that a person’s private and public lives are separate, that one can be a good public servant even with an immoral lifestyle.  Yet, many in Christian service live as though that which is necessary and important in our private and church lives is different from that which is important in our public, education, and business lives. 

The heart of education is truly the education of the heart.

Already, I hear great protests at that statement.  As a believer, you are insisting that you believe that there indeed is no difference between the sacred and the secular.  But, is it possible that our actions speak louder than these words?  The coach tells the players that athletics is good preparation for life and that respect for authority, especially the authority of the coach, is part of that preparation.  Then he or she is quick to yell at the referee, the authority in the game, over a call with which he or she disagrees.  The English teacher reminds students that language has been given to communicate God’s truth and to manifest a Christ-like attitude, yet his or her words often testify otherwise.  The math teacher uses mathematic principles to communicate the importance of honesty and integrity, but hedges on his or her own income tax return.  Parents insist that their children respect their authority in the home, respect authority at school, and assume personal responsibility  for their actions.  At the same time, those same parents speak unkindly about the principal or pastor around the dinner table, and take sick days from work for reasons other than illness.  What are we communicating?  Are we teaching by the disconnection between what we say and the way we actually live that there is a compartmentalization between things sacred and things secular?

Application

The Bible is plain.  Christian education begins at home.  In reality, every parent is a home educator.  The Christian school in which parents wisely place their children operates under delegated authority from those parents, and is an extension of the values being taught in the home.  This is why the home and Christian school work together for the same God-honoring goals.  Our greatest mission in the ministry of Christian education is to teach each person to live for Christ in his or her heart (Col. 1:28, 29).  Paul thanked God that those who received his epistle obeyed “from the heart” (Rom. 6:17).  Only heart education will produce a Christ-like life.  Only heart education will train and sharpen the child’s mind, providing him or her with the discernment to withstand Satan’s attack.  Genuine, heart obedience can be taught only from another obedient heart.  More than we communicate the content of curriculum, we reproduce what we are in our hearts.  May God find our hearts pleasing unto Him in everything we do and say.  The heart of education is truly the education of the heart.  Tend your heart carefully; your children are absorbing it a little bit each day. 

Dr. Keith Wiebe is the president of the American Association of Christian Schools and the pastor of Grace Gospel Church in Huntington, WV.

A Christian Worldview of Education

Christian parents should want what God wants for their children, an education that exalts Jesus Christ in every area of life (Proverbs 3:5-6).

God uses Biblical benchmarks to measure the rightness and wrongness of a school’s philosophical distinctives. Since God is the Creator of the universe and everything therein, it only makes sense that God would examine a school from His vantage point. So what is God’s vantage point? To know this, you must examine the only book that contains God’s feelings about education—the Bible—to gain an understanding of how God views education.

Worldviews Defined

The term “worldview” refers to a set of beliefs that define the way a person thinks about and interprets the events of life. A Christian worldview of education is based on a set of beliefs established in a triune God revealed in His Son (Jesus Christ), in His Word (the Bible), and in His creation (nature). In this worldview, God determines what is right and wrong. Conversely, the humanistic worldview of education is based on a set of beliefs in which man gives allegiance only to himself and to the laws approved by society. In this worldview, society determines what is right and wrong.

Contrasting Worldviews of Education

From God’s perspective, the following series of questions contrasts the two major worldviews of education— Christian and humanism. Does the absence of prayer offend God? Does daily prayer please God? Does the nonexistence of Bible study dishearten God? Does the teaching of the Bible and memorizing Bible verses delight God? Does the teaching of evolution insult God? Does the teaching of creationism revere God? Does the denial of sin disappoint God? Does the teaching of wrongdoing as sin please God? Does the rejection of Jesus Christ grieve God? Does the teaching of salvation through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ glorify God?

Christian school education is based on sincerely held and self-evident Bible truths that are radically different from those embraced in secular education. For example, Christian schools advocate the premise that students are born sinners and as sinners require a personal reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ. Conversely, secular education advocates the new age premise that students are innately born good and are in total control of their own destiny.

The humanistic worldview of education is based on a set of beliefs in which man gives allegiance only to himself.

In Christian schools, priority is given to the revealed Word of God and to the integration of Biblical truths in academics. The teachers in Christian schools accept and revere the Bible as a book of absolute truths. Christian schools unashamedly proclaim Jesus Christ as God incarnate in the flesh, the Savior of mankind. Therefore, everything is interpreted from the viewpoint of creation, the fall of man, and the regeneration of man in Jesus Christ. The complete opposite prevails in public schools, where federal law keeps teachers from discussing Christian beliefs with their students. Thus, public schools promote a humanistic worldview of education.

A Christian Worldview of Education

A Christian worldview of education can be summarized in nine succinct and powerful words, “. . . that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). Because Christian school teachers believe that Jesus Christ should have preeminence in everything, including the subjects they teach and the policies they enforce, they strive to bring every thought, fact, detail, and concept “into captivity. . . to the obedience of Christ” (II Corinthians 10:5) and within the framework of Bible truths. The handiwork of God is revealed in everything—curriculum, teaching staff, administration, policies and procedures, extracurricular programs, discipline, etc. Teachers endeavor to interpret “all knowledge” from Christ’s point of view by emphasizing the authority of the Bible, by integrating the Bible in every subject, and by applying Biblical principles to classroom policies, procedures, and decisions.

Application

As a Christian school parent, you believe the Bible is an important part of education. You have adopted a set of presupposed ideas and beliefs based on Scripture that guided you in selecting the school where your child attends. These presupposed ideas and beliefs represent your worldview of education. As you know, God is offended by any school that rejects His Son, His Word, and prayer. The Apostle Paul hits the nail on the head in II Timothy 3:7 when he said education without Christ is “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” The bottom line is simple: Every parent’s worldview of education is either Christian or humanistic reflected in his or her choice of a school.

Dr Charles Walker is the executive director of the American Association of Christian Schools and the Tennessee Association of Christian Schools.