Academic Excellence in Christian Schools

I have heard many arguments over the past thirty years relative to their belief that Christian high schools do not prepare students for college. Some say Christian schools lack sufficient electives, others claim the small size of most Christian schools mitigates against academic success, while others say the lack of funding means Christian schools cannot hire quality teachers and have quality programs, and so it goes.

All such arguments are bogus. For example, although public schools operate on approximately three times the amount of money per student, and although public schools pay their teachers twice as much (or more) than Christian schools pay theirs, Christian schools consistently outperform public schools on the College Board SAT test.

The seniors at the school in which I teach, Baptist Christian School in Hemet, scored significantly higher than all of the local public high schools as well as scoring higher than both the California and national mean scores. Following is a comparison of the SAT test scores for college prep seniors nationwide, statewide, and at BCS.

2009 College Board SAT Scores (Class of 2010)

	Critical Reading	Math	Writing	Total
National Mean	501	515	493	1509
California Mean	500	513	498	1511
BCS Mean	533	571	512	1616

There are likely many reasons for this ongoing situation. The purpose of education in a Christian school goes beyond academics. Academic excellence is not and must never become the primary goal of a Christian school. As important as academic excellence is, if a Christian school ever emphasizes academic excellence as its primary goal, it will become a college prep academy with little or no real Christian emphasis.

When we take a good look at biblical truth, we find that the overriding goal of every Christian ought to be to bring glory to God in everything he or she does. If Christian parents, teachers, and students share and practice this goal, academic excellence is an unavoidable by-product and a natural outcome of doing what is done “…heartily, as to the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). If a school does God’s will, it will have academic excellence. It is precisely because a Christian school is Christian that its faculty wants to do the very best it can for the glory of God and for the good of students. This dynamic can only exist in a Christian school or Christian home school setting.

Biblical Discernment

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

Biblical discernment is sorely lacking today, because there is a lack of biblical knowledge. Often, study of the Scriptures has sadly been replaced by "how-to" seminars and feel-good books. When human opinion replaces God's Word, the result can only be a mess.

For a thoroughly biblical, yet brief, treatment of this subject, go to "The Watchman's Bagpipes," here.

The Importance of Church by Tim Bonebright

The importance of church is established at home. If a family fills its schedule at the expense of attendance at church, it is to the detriment of the family, and a valuable opportunity to teach faithfulness has been missed. In its place, the family has learned that church is not of great importance, that church is good when it is convenient. When someone says that they do not attend Sunday night service because that is family time, what they are teaching is that their church family and attendance is not important. They are teaching that secular activities that take place during the week are of higher value than the church. Too often we fill our week with events to the detriment of the family and time spent together. I cannot think of a better night to have family night than Monday night, Tuesday night, Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night.

As I look back to my childhood, I now understand that there was a reason why my parents did not book our week with events. There was a reason why we spent our evenings together. There was a reason why the family dinner table was frequented daily. There was a reason why our family had just one TV. There was a reason why this TV was not allowed to be turned on until 8:00 pm if it was turned on at all. There was a reason that as I got older my parents did not allow me to be out every evening. Finally, there was a reason why my friends always wanted to be at my house.

There is stability when the family is spending time together. Then your life is not always rushed. Then there is an excitement when together as a family church is attended.

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Tim Bonebright is the second of my wife Janet’s three sons. He was a youth pastor for six years and is currently between churches. He has a Master of Arts Degree in Biblical Studies from Maranatha Baptist Bible College.

Evolution: Compatible with the Bible?

Many Christians are willing to accept the idea that evolution is compatible with the Bible. They seem very ready to throw out literal Genesis in an effort to appear “intellectual” and “credible.” The sad truth is that while many Christians are naïve about this, the evolutionists know that evolution is nothing more and nothing less than a major attack on the gospel of Christ. They are therefore more than willing to give lip service to the absurd idea of so many Christians that two opposite things can be compatible. Yet, they reveal their true position in quotes such as the following:

"Atheism is science’s natural ally. Atheism is the philosophy, both moral and ethical, most perfectly suited for a scientific civilization. If we work for the American Atheists today, atheism will be ready to fill the void of Christianity’s demise when science and evolution triumph. Without a doubt humans and civilization are in sore need of the intellectual cleanness and mental health of atheism. Christianity has fought, still fights, and will fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus’ earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the son of god. Take away the meaning of his death. If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing!" (Bozarth, G. Richard, "The Meaning of Evolution," American Atheist, February 1978, page 30.

It is too bad that Bozarth’s statement that "Christianity has fought, still fights, and will fight science to the desperate end over evolution" is no longer as true as when he said it. In many places, the fight is gone. It is time we recognize evolution for what it is – a man-made philosophy, an attack on the truth, and an assault on the gospel – and it is time we stand against it in every way. There is no room for compromise in our churches, in our Christian schools, and in our families.

Dr. John MacArthur addresses this topic in a short article entitled "Is Evolution Compatible with Christianity?" which is found here. He says, "The abandonment of a biblical view of creation has already borne abundant evil fruit in modern society. Now is no time for the church to retreat or compromise on these issues. To weaken our commitment to the biblical view of creation would start a chain of disastrous moral, spiritual, and theological ramifications in the church that will greatly exacerbate the terrible moral chaos that already has begun the unravelling of secular society."

One Last Christmas Post, by My Anonymous Friend

Greetings to you on the last Sunday of 2009!

I hope your Christmas was happy and joyous for you and your family.

Before we leave the Christmas theme (it seems the celebrations and festivities begin earlier each year but surely end quickly), I wish to think with you today about the wise men who came to inquire about the birth of Jesus. These men are somewhat mysterious and it is hard to know what is fact and what is tradition and fiction when one reads about them.

I have long been intrigued to think about how motivated these wise men or magi were. They traveled a great distance to find out more about the birth of a King. Perhaps they came from present day Yemen, or maybe from what is today, Iran or Iraq. All are many hundreds of miles away from Bethlehem.

Contrast this with the religious leaders in Jerusalem. They were less than 10 miles from the place of Jesus' birth. I do not read that they had the slightest interest in visiting His birthplace or to visit the Baby themselves. They clearly did not lack for knowledge. When the magi inquired, they appeared to be able to give the correct answer very easily. Their knowledge seems so academic and cerebral. That is as far as things went with them. There is no evidence that any of the religious leaders in Jerusalem cared the slightest wit about the birth of Jesus.

The wise men have much to teach us. Their thirst for information and their desire to worship the new King are inspiring to behold. They were persistent and determined. Unlike most men, they were not afraid to ask for directions!!

Are we content with our knowledge of Jesus? I know it is dangerous to comment on a topic so controversial, but when I listen to music in the worship services of the church today, it seems to me that a very large percentage of it focuses on the fact that Jesus died and rose again for our sins. This is obviously basic and fundamental to the faith and we can never really talk about or sing about this theme too often. However, I am just wondering with you today. Could we not sing about other aspects of Christianity as well? It has been years since I have heard a sermon (or given one for that matter) on the subject of the return of Jesus for example.

I am just musing with you today! What do you think? Those magi, however many of them there were, are truly inspiring! I wonder how long they had to travel to reach Bethlehem? How big was their entourage? What exactly motivated them to check out this story and to follow a star that seemed to point the way for them? How long did they stay in Bethlehem before God impressed on them that they ought not to report back to Jerusalem? We do not know a definite answer to any of these questions. It is clear though that they were motivated. They had focus to their lives. They were on a mission and they were determined to see it through.

Perhaps a resolution that we could make for the year ahead is that we could expand our knowledge of and appreciation for Jesus in some specific ways. Perhaps we might resolve to allow what we know about Christ to impact our lives in some tangible way. We surely do not want to emulate the religious leaders in Jerusalem for whom theology was basically just head knowledge. It surely did not motivate them to action of any sort. I am just wondering!!

Merry Christmas - by My Anonymous Friend

I have been intrigued, (dare I say amused in a way) in recent weeks about the almost comical and certainly strange method God chose to introduce a Saviour to this world. God's ways often are simply "weird". He does not do things the way we would or think we would do them. A culture is looking for a deliverer and a political leader. How do such leaders appear usually? Well obviously with great fanfare and pomp. Bands play, people prepare, thousands gather in anticipation! Announcements are made and anticipation builds!

It was not so with the birth of Jesus! Yes, announcements were made all right but they were apparently not taken seriously or understood well. It makes me smile to think that an unmarried woman, a smelly barn or cave, a band of shepherds, and an obscure village, would be the setting for the arrival of the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father. It does not compute in my brain. No armies, no bands playing! No fanfare whatsoever! That is how it was though.

So I wish you a wonderful Christmas as you perhaps too remind yourself of the most basic part of what Christmas is about.

Behold, I bring you great tidings of great joy!

For unto you is born this day in the city of David,

A Saviour Who is Christ the Lord!

Jesus may have entered this world in humble, almost comical circumstances but never has anyone had the impact He had then and continues to have! Years ago I came across an attempt by James Allen Francis to put into words the uniqueness of Jesus. I have inserted what he wrote here below:

"He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village and worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. Then for just three years he was an itinerant preacher.

"He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did any of the things that we normally associate with greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

"While he was still a young man the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves and his executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had on earth, and that was his coat. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

"Two thousand years have come and gone and today he is the central figure of the human race and the leader of the column of progress.

"All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever sailed, and all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as has that one solitary life."

A Christmas Wish: Jesus is the Reason for the Season, by Ralph Petersen

Another busy holiday season is here and our thoughts are turned to family, gifts, goodwill, and world peace. And have you noticed that there seems to be an aggressive effort to secularize this season and remove all references to religion in general and Jesus Christ in particular? That seems ludicrous to me; the reason for the season is all about the celebration of the birth of a baby who made the greatest impact on this world in all of human history. Without Him, Nick would not be a saint, Frosty would not be merry, Rudolf would have no reason to light the darkness and the little drummer boy would have no reason to play his drum.

We are all somewhat familiar with the events around this baby’s birth as they are related in our traditions and recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. To some, He was a prophet, a teacher, a religious leader or a martyr. But He was much, much more than that.

In the opening verses of his Gospel, John reveals something very profound about the unique nature of this baby:

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…Everything that was made was made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made…In Him was life…And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Have you heard the contemporary Christmas carol, “Mary, Did You Know?” Ponder these great words from that song:

Mary, did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you delivered will soon deliver you…

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

When you’ve kissed your little baby, then you’ve kissed the face of God.

Think about that. The world loves the little baby. But that little baby is God. It is improper, if not irrelevant to consider His entrance into the world without understanding His purpose in coming. This is the King of Creation wrapped in rags and placed in a filthy feeding trough. He’s the Righteous One of the Universe who opens His arms of love to the wicked. He is the Giver of Life and He came to die. The One who makes the Law and the only One who has ever kept the Law; the Judge of the world comes to offer complete pardon and mercy. The highest is made lowly and humble. In Him, poverty becomes riches, tears become joy, death becomes life, trash becomes treasures and sinners become saints.

And, by the way, the Christmas story, by itself, is a non-event. It is incomplete and meaningless without the Easter story. Jesus Christ, God wrapped in flesh, was born of a virgin, lived a perfect, sinless life, died a horrible death on the cross and rose alive on the third day. He did that all for me. He paid the penalty for my sins and satisfied the justice of God. Someone has described that like this: “I owed a debt I could not pay. He paid a debt He did not owe.”

I hope you too, know that your sins are forgiven and that eternal life is yours. If not, why not just ask him to forgive your sin and receive God’s free gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ?

“Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (II Corinthians 9:15).

Merry Christmas to you all.