Are we following God’s curriculum or the world's?
What does the Bible specifically have to say about education, and how can that impact the generations to come?
In the latest episode of Clearly Christian with Dr. Cy Smith, Dr. Smith talks with Dr. Glen Shultz, author, and founder and director of Kingdom Education Ministries about what God has to say about education and how we should be preparing the next generation.
What will society be like in 20 years? The culture and the church will be influenced by how we educate our kids today. What does God want us to do? Is there more to it than just going to school and going to college and going to work?
In this episode’s “Chalkboard Points”, Cy outlines the answer to these questions with three big-picture facts so that you can “Know More” about this issue. Our goal with Chalkboard Points is to help you “know more” so you can do more, think differently, act differently, and be prepared and willing to say “no more” if you must.
Chalkboard Point #1:
God is not silent on the issue of education and we can no longer be silent about this matter. These convictions have to be acted upon now while we have the chance to educate our children and impact the next generation.
Chalkboard Point #2:
Government education has changed drastically and rapidly, and it's not going to turn-around anytime soon. The cultural influence is too strong and the system is too big. Dr. Shultz points out that the culture is not going to take a break, and so we as Christians cannot take time off from fighting for God's worldview and making sure our kids are trained with a biblical perspective.
Chalkboard Point #3:
All education is aimed at some type of outcome. Students are going to have a worldview when they exit school, and this direction is either going to be man-centered or God-centered. Christian schools are the only system outside of the Christian home and church that are going to intentionally instill a biblical worldview in our children. We as educators and church leaders need to reconsider how we help parents think about education and the equation that they are supporting.
Dr. Shultz points to key verses in the Bible that demonstrate God's intention for how we should educate our kids. Here is a summary:
Deuteronomy 6:7-9
God instructs parents to teach your children diligently; education is clearly the primary responsibility of parents.
Psalm 127:3
Children are our heritage to the lord. Children are God’s homework assignment for parents and He expects us to complete it in line with what He says.
Psalm 78:1-7
Parents are urged show and tell their children so that they will rise and teach their children who will rise and teach the next generation and the next to set their hope in God. In this way, we are impacting four generations in our teaching today. That is an amazing responsibility!
Colossians 2: 8
Paul warns Christians not to be taken captive by false ideas that follow human thinking and the empty philosophies of the world.
Glen passionately repeats, “This is what is happening today. We’ve been taken captive by the world.” Click here to listen to the podcast or click here to watch on the YouTube channel
It has been estimated that 90% of the population sends their kids to government schools. Why?
Dr. Shultz references the latest Barna research that indicates only 2-4% of Millennials have a biblical worldview, but they are the primary parenting and teaching generation in our schools.
“We have got to be intentional in training our teachers in this biblical worldview”. It may be that parents have become more secularized than earlier generations. “We talk about schooling and where Christians should send their kids to school, but we miss the real question, which is “how” God wants us to educate them. When you realize that, then you realize you cannot continue to choose the same path you’ve been choosing.“
Dr. Smith is a Superintendent at Mansfield Christian School and sees his mission as never-ending. “We can’t assume that teachers and board members and administrators are going to have a biblical worldview and understand completely why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
Glen responds with a call to action. “Do you think the culture takes a break? They are bombarding us every day. We must take a cue from that.”
In summary, we need to be vigilant, every day to make sure we are teaching our kids to impact society with a biblical worldview. To that end, Dr. Shultz makes the plea that we as parents, church leaders, and Christian school educators must want the next generation more than the world does, and demonstrate that “you’re not going to get our kids anymore”.
To listen to this podcast in full, or find links to video and audio of all past Clearly Christian podcasts, click here.
Comments