James M. Bramblet Memorial Service

The following bio was read at the memorial service for James M. Bramblet on March 8 by one of his grandsons, James Bramblet, Pastor of Campbell Baptist Church in Campbell, California. It was written by Terry Bramblet, one of James M. Bramblet's sons. The memorial service was held at Lakewood Baptist Temple in Lakewood (Tacoma), Washington.

 

James Mathew Bramblet

 

March 2, 1924 - January 25, 2014

 

Jim Bramblet was born at home near the small community of Kendrick Idaho.  At the time his parents were farming on land owned by his in-laws at a place called Texas Ridge.  Jim’s sister was convinced by her older brothers that he actually arrived in the doctors black bag.

 

When Jim was 15 an evangelist came to the community and a revival started; including the salvation of both Jim and his future wife Vivian.  As we understand it all of his family was saved except for one older brother who was away at college.  As a result of this evangelistic campaign eventually all three of the Bramblet brothers spent their lives serving God.

 

After completing high school Jim decided to attend Bible School at Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland Oregon.  It just so happened his future wife had moved to Vancouver Washington, just across the river. While at school he received his Selective Service notice and ended up in the Navy for the next three years.  During those three years, Jim and Vivian were married and their first child was born (Timothy).

 

After the navy and after finishing at Multnomah Jim and his small family moved to Moscow Idaho to take advantage of the “GI Bill” at the University of Idaho.  During this time two more children arrived (Terry and Janet).  Jim spent his weekends and summers preaching in a little town called Elk River, Idaho.  His plans were to become a pastor or missionary upon completion of school.  God had other plans though.  After graduation he was asked to teach at the Elk River High school, which he did for two years (a fourth child came along, Bill).  God was leading him to think about Christian School education and after the two years teaching in Elk River he was asked to become the principal of a small Christian School in Portland Oregon called the West Hills Christian School.

 

For the rest of their lives Jim and Vivian would be involved in starting or working with five Christian grade schools, two high schools and one teachers college.

 

Jim also believed in hard work.  Working with and for Christian schools often meant that he had no income during the summer months.  He would try his hand at about anything, construction, farming, working at a graveyard, and even building rock walls.  One year the whole family worked in the fields picking various fruits and berries.  Sometimes at the schools he was not only the principal but the main teacher, the janitor and the bus driver.

 

Jim Bramblet was a consistent man of God throughout all of his adult life.  He was the same at home as he was in public.  He loved to serve God and passed that along to his children and grandchildren.  He is survived by four children, twelve grandchildren, twenty-six great grandchildren, one missionary, three preachers, at least one teacher and many home school moms.

 

Several weeks before Jim died he was talking to some of his children about his future.  Did he want us to have the doctors work to help him get better or should we have them just keep him comfortable.  His first reaction was that he wanted “God’s will”.

 

We will miss his companionship and his wise advice.  We were blessed to have him as our dad.

 

…..So that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)

 

You can read an article entitled "In Memory of James M. Bramblet" here.

In Memory of James M. Bramblet

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15).

 

On December 1, 1988, the day Dr. J. Vernon McGee died, my wife Janet’s late husband, Ken Bonebright, came home and said to her, “A great man died today, and the world never even noticed.” The same could be said now about the death of my father-in-law, James M. Bramblet, on Saturday, January 25.

 

Jim Bramblet was not as well-known as Dr. McGee, but he was a great man and great servant of the Lord in his own right. He was a pioneer in the Christian school movement of the second half of the 20^th Century. Even though I had heard of him before I met and married his daughter Janet in August of 2003, I had no idea what a great man of God and a giant among Christian school educators he truly was. It has been my privilege and blessing to get to know him and benefit from his insight and wisdom. He is one of my heroes in ministry.

 

Janet had the privilege of helping take care of her mother in Tacoma, Washington for the final week of her life before she went to be with the Lord on October 4. We had her dad living with us here in Colorado Springs for the final three months of his life. He would have been 90 years old in March. We are planning a memorial service for him in early March in Tacoma.

 

During his more than 40 years as a Christian school educator, Jim Bramblet started a number of schools in Oregon, Washington, and California. He also taught in the state of Idaho. In addition to his work in Christian schools, he was also an interim pastor for a while.

 

During his college years, he began to understand the difference between secular education and truly Christian education. He said, “I had taken a course on the philosophy of education at the University of Idaho and realized it was all wrong … that it was not Christian. I began, from then on, to change my way of teaching so that it was definitely Christian rather than secular. … as far as I’m concerned, Christian schools are there to help parents educate their children.”

 

“Scripture makes if very clear that God created everything. In other words, all truth, then, is God’s truth. If it’s not God’s truth, it’s not truth. So then we need to realize that mathematics is not a secular subject, English is not a secular subject. History is not a secular subject. Even physical education is not a secular subject. Our God has created us in every aspect of our lives, and this too needs to be passed on to our children in every subject. This doesn’t mean that if we are teaching them mathematics, that every lesson is all about God. But they need to understand that God created mathematics. That he gave the truth about mathematics to us, and as they work these problems, they need to know that they are thinking God’s thoughts after Him. If they make a mistake, then they’re not thinking God’s thoughts. God stands for truth, and they need to try to strive to find the correct answer. And they need to understand that they’re dealing with things of God, because when God created the universe, He did it mathematically. Scientists who study the universe have to know mathematics. God created the universe after a mathematical formula. It’s very easy to demonstrate that, and the students studying math need to understand that so that when they come out of math class, they should have confidence that they’ve been studying the truth of God. It’s the same thing when they come out of their science class. They’ve been studying the things that God has created, and there should be rejoicing over all the wonderful things that He has made. … If it is taught correctly … they will appreciate knowing that they are not just studying dull old subjects, but that they’re studying the truth of God.”

 

These are just a few of his responses in an interview I did with him several years ago. You can read the entire interview here.

 

Jim Bramblet has gone on to be with the Lord and with his beloved Vivian. His impact on so many children and young people over the years will pay eternal dividends. We can be sure the Lord’s words to him are, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

 

 

To read articles by James M. Bramblet, click here.

A Christian Philosophy of Education Must Be Based on a Christian World View

James M. Bramblet is my father-in-law and a true pillar of the Christian school movement. I had heard of him long before I met and married his daughter and even long before my first wife went home to be with the Lord. Although we have a bit of fun jabbing at each other over a couple of issues: Bible versions and the difference between 4, 4½, and 5-point Calvinism, I have the utmost admiration for him and his work. He has contributed a great deal to Christian schools over the past half-century, and he has contributed a great deal to my ministry as a Christian school administrator and teacher over the past several years. He is one of my heroes in ministry.

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A Christian Philosophy of Education Must Be Based on a Christian World View
by James M. Bramblet

When we speak of philosophy, we speak of a worldview that includes all knowledge in a unified whole. Our minds are so constructed that we instinctively shy away from over-against positions. When we are confronted with over-against ideas, we seek to understand them more fully so they can be harmonized in our own minds. We each have our tidy little system of thought that is really our philosophy or life view. When information comes to us that disagrees with our philosophy, we must reject it, adjust our philosophy to accommodate it, or ignore it. As Christians, our philosophy should be in harmony with God’s revelation in His Word, the Bible. We need to be clear concerning our Christian view of things in general before we apply these views in the field of education.

A part of Dr. H. W. Byrne’s definition of the Christian Theistic Worldview is as follows:

"The Christian Theistic World View, formally stated, starts with God. The existence of God is the key truth of this view. His existence provides the foundation upon which to build this philosophy. Since philosophy is the search for unity and Ultimate Being, the reality and existence of God provides both unity and being. All things are related understandingly to God and are derived from God." (Byrne, H. W., A Christian Approach to Education. Milford, Michigan: Mott Media, 1977, p.45.)

Dr. Mark Fakkema says the same thing more succinctly. He states, "Christian philosophy is the romance of seeing all things as one whole with God as Ultimate." (Fakkema, Mark, Christian Philosophy, Its Educational Implications. 1953, p.5)

Both of the definitions above use the word "ultimate" in referring to God. If it is true that all of life and all truth form one unified whole, then there must be something or Someone Who coordinates all things. It is apparent that there can be nothing equal to or beyond that which coordinates all things. This point of coordination of all things beyond which we cannot go, is the ultimate. As Christians, we believe that God is ultimate.

Included in the ultimacy of God is the fact that He is eternal. The Bible starts with, "In the beginning God" (Gen. 1:1) and it speaks of Him as being eternal. "The eternal God is thy refuge" (Deut.33:27). The human mind cannot conceive of a time when there was absolutely nothing, so the materialists say that "matter" is eternal. Some say that "energy" is eternal. The Bible clearly teaches that only God is eternal and that matter, energy, and everything else that exists came from Him.

The Evolutionist would not only deny Scripture but also deny many discoveries of science in telling us that the beauty and order that exists in the world today came about by natural forces apart from the creative hand of God. We all know that if we do not clean our house it gets dirtier and dirtier. If we do not weed our gardens, they become weedier and weedier. If we do not control the breeding of our pets, their offspring become "muttier" and "muttier." Order does not naturally come out of chaos, but without diligent attention, chaos soon comes from order.

The Deist makes a similar mistake when he claims that God created the universe in the dim and remote past and then left it to operate according to the laws He established. In other words, they believe that God is a bystander that takes no interest in the present affairs of this world. Since both the Evolutionists and the Deists attempt to write God out of the script, they end up with philosophies that are materialistic and humanistic.

Those of us who believe the Bible are called Christian Theists. Like the Deists, we believe God is transcendent, but we also believe that He is immanent. In other words, He is interested in the affairs of our lives, hears and answers our prayers, and providentially provides our needs. Ephesians 4:6 clearly states, "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

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Excerpted from Chapter 2 of An Introduction to the Christian School by James M. Bramblet, Copyright © 1985 by James M. Bramblet

Christian Schools With God Supreme

by James M. Bramblet

In chapter two it was indicated that Christian education is not curriculum-centered, child-centered, or society-centered, but that it is God-centered. The reason for this is that God is central to all things. We have seen that God is central to the created material world because it was made to “declare the glory of God” and to “show His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). We have seen that God is central to mankind because He is the original to which we have been created images. But the Bible says, “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things” (Rom. 11:36). Our finite minds cannot grasp all things but in this chapter we will try to bring together as many things as we can. We will show that God is central to all, God is supreme and in authority over all, and the glory of God is revealed by all (Rom. 11:36b).

When we talk about God being supreme, we are talking about the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we say that our Christian education is Christ-centered, we mean the same as when we say that it is God-centered. The first verse in the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In the New Testament we read concerning Christ:

“For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers—all things were created by Him and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Col. 1:16-17).

The Person and work of the three Persons of the Trinity are so intertwined that it is not easy for us to separate them. Christ says, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). He said to Philip, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). From other Scriptures we know He did not mean that He and the Father were the same person but, rather, that since He was the “express image” of God, to see Him was to see the Father. Christ is the “Word” or the member of the Godhead which expresses the nature of God. Paul taught this same truth when he said:

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Cor. 4:6).

We can only know God if we know Jesus Christ. To be godly is to be Christ-like. Since Christ is God, “Christ-centered” is the same as “God-centered.” When we say that God is supreme, we mean that Christ is supreme. That Christ is supreme is clearly stated in Col.1:18-19: “That in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.”

We will consider the supremacy and centrality of God in the following five areas: 1) God’s Word, the Bible, 2) The material world, 3) The nonmaterial world, 4) The world of sin and evil, and 5) The spiritual world.


Excerpted from Chapter 4 of An Introduction to the Christian School by James M. Bramblet, Copyright © 1985 by James M. Bramblet.

Christian Schools Need a Christian Philosophy of Education

by James M. Bramblet

Every teacher working in a Christian school needs to thoroughly understand the Biblical view of life, Biblical methods of discipline, and the Biblical interpretation of the subject matter he is teaching. Well over thirty years ago, Dr. Mark Fakkema wrote, “If we are to meet our educational challenge we need an all-embracing, unified Christian philosophy. To formulate such a philosophy is our greatest need today in the field of education.” (Fakkema, Mark, Christian Philosophy, Its Educational Implications. 1953, p.2.)

In the years since these words were written, Christian schools have proliferated dramatically. Many books have been written and many speeches made on the subject of the Christian philosophy of education. And yet it is still difficult to find teachers for our Christian schools who understand what it means to teach Christianly. Let us hope that we do not beg crumbs from the educational table of the world so long that we become accustomed to this meager fare.

The teachers in our Christian schools need to know what the Bible says about education so well that they not only recognize educational error when they see it but are able to give a reason for the Biblical standards they hold (I Peter 3:15). The God-ignoring, God-denying, and God-dishonoring views of modern educational thinkers are having a tremendous influence in the world. This influence has even invaded the thinking of many Christian educators. Only those who clearly understand what the Bible teaches on this subject can defend Christian standards in education and take the leadership in our Christian school movement. When it comes to educational philosophy, we need to be prepared to meet the world head-on. We must meet their thoughts with God’s pronouncements, their theories with God’s facts, and their philosophies with a God-centered view of life.

But the challenge of the anti-theistic educators of the world is not the most important reason why we need to understand God’s method of education. The primary challenge comes from within the Christian school movement. Christian schools are multiplying across our land. Many churches have begun and are maintaining schools at great expense. Christian parents are sacrificing to send their children. Christian teachers are giving their lives to staff these schools. How tragic after all of this if we fail not only to give a good education, but a good Christian education. We should not be satisfied until every person associated with our Christian schools has an understanding of the Christian purpose of our schools, every textbook is written from the Christian viewpoint, and every teacher is specifically trained for the Christian school ministry. Until these goals are attained, we are going to continue to be dependent upon the erroneous thinking of the world’s educators.

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Excerpted from Chapter 2 of An Introduction to the Christian School by James M. Bramblet, Copyright © 1985 by James M. Bramblet

God is Supreme in the Material World

by James M. Bramblet

God created the non-rational material universe and then He created man, a rational being, and gave him “dominion” over the creation (Gen. 1:26). Thus, we have the non-rational creation which we discussed in Chapter Two and the rational creation which we discussed in Chapter Three. In this chapter, which emphasizes the supremacy of God in all things, we need to mention the material world again.

Fallen man likes to think of himself as having dominion in his own right and therefore isolates God into His own little, private, well-defined area called religion. Men’s record of history begins with man as a sort of half animal sitting around a cave eating raw meat. The contents of the history books tell how man invented this and developed that until, at the last chapter, he is sitting around the tables of the United Nations all ready to bring in a perfect world of peace and prosperity without any help from God. Because this thinking is so prevalent, we need to emphasize over and over again that God, not man, is the One Who is supreme.

Job was a man of God, and yet he had to be reminded by God that God alone is supreme over the material world (Job 38:1-40:2). Daniel was told that at the time of the end, knowledge would be increased (Dan. 12:4). As God has allowed some of the secrets of the universe to be discovered by men, man has assumed it is his intelligence and cleverness that have prevailed. The astronaut who first stepped on the moon spoke of a great leap for mankind when he should have spoken of the grace of God in allowing such an event.

Before the fall, man could understand God’s revelation through nature as well as that which was given directly (Romans 1:19-21). However, the fall produced a dichotomy. Man could only understand what God told him directly but could not perceive God’s other revelation through the material universe due to the effects of the curse. The Christian with a new nature can again begin to understand the truths of the universe. Therefore, Christian education is man relearning God’s truth through both His Word and His revelation in the creation.

Because God is supreme in the material world and because He alone is able to open the mind of man to the truth concerning His creation, the Christian schools and colleges should be leading the way in the area of physical science. Henry Morris notes the advantage of believers in this area as follows:

“Although non-Christian scientists are capable, under the cultural mandate, of discovering and utilizing data in the physical and biological sciences, Christians do have through the Scriptures certain powerful additional insights into these sciences which evolutionary scientists cannot see. That is, the physical processes in nature continually speak of the power and nature of God, and biologic processes continually bear witness of His grace and redeeming love.”¹

God did not only create the material world but it was created with a purpose, and that purpose is to reveal the Creator, God. The purpose of God’s creation is to reveal Himself, and the creation was so constructed that by nature it does indeed reveal Him. To illustrate His supremacy over His creation, God created man with the intelligence, skill, and determination to supervise or “have dominion” over His creation. God made an “image” of Himself and gave him a bit of His own authority to be used within the circle of His own sovereign will. Man likes to think his authority over the creation is complete, so God has to remind him periodically by earthquakes, uncontrollable winds, or exploding mountains that the final authority is His.

As Christians, we should be thankful that this is the case and that our future and fate are in the hands of a good and dependable God rather than the capricious depravities of men. We should rejoice as did David when he prayed:

"Thine, 0 Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. Thine is the kingdom, 0 Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all" (I Chronicles 29:11).

¹Morris, Henry M., Education for the Real World. San Diego: Creation Life Publishers, 1977, p.130.

Excerpted from Chapter 4 of An Introduction to the Christian School by James M. Bramblet, Copyright © 1985 by James M. Bramblet.

The Educational Significance Of Seeing All Things As Revelations Of God

by James M. Bramblet

What significance all this has for Christian educators! The things God has made are the things we study in school. It is true that the primary revelation of God is His written Word (Heb. 1:1), and His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:2), but using His written Word as a guide, we can become interpreters of God’s glory as seen in creation,, Instead of simply seeking something in nature that will be beneficial for us as individuals, we can begin to see something of our true relationship to our Creator.

With this view of school studies, it would seem that Psalm 145 was written for Christian school people: “Every day (at school and home) will I bless thee, and I will praise thy name for ever and ever”(v.2). “One generation (parents and teachers) shall praise thy works to another (children), and shall declare thy mighty acts” (v.4).

We can see now how badly mistaken the Christian parents of a generation ago were in thinking that “secular” subjects could be taught in a secular school and the church and home would give the Christian teaching. There is really no such thing as a “secular” subject, for as has often been quoted, “All truth is God’s truth.” The only reason it has seemed there were “secular” subjects is because God’s truth has been secularized by removing Him from the curriculum and from the school program. It is as though man has stepped between God and His creation and, with his back turned to God, is carefully studying the things God has made while refusing to recognize the One Who made them. Science becomes simply a study of things. History is a study of events without recognition of the providence of God. Mathematics becomes something invented by man for man’s benefit. The whole process of education is for the purpose of making man richer, healthier, and with more leisure time.

As Christians, we are studying the same subjects as the world, but we need to walk around to the other side where we can see the things God has made while we face Him and see things in the light of His Word. When we do this, science becomes that which declares the glory of God. History becomes His-story, telling of His justice and grace and how they have been manifested in years gone by. Mathematics and the other abstract sciences are seen as the eternal knowledge of God which has been in His mind through all eternity.

The essentialists are right in giving an important place to subject matter. But they are very wrong in separating subject matter from the God Who created it. The Apostle Paul spoke of those who, “worshipped and served the creature more than the creator” (Rom. 1:25). When we see “things” as independent of God, then they seem to us as so many goodies just waiting for us to pluck them for our own use. Unfortunately, more than one person or more than one nation often arrive to pluck the best goodies at the same time, and conflict results. This is described by James as follows:

“From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not here, even of our lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and desire to have, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:1-2).

Considering the many “things” in the world to be independent of God will cause us not to recognize God, not to hear His voice, and not to be aware of His presence. The Scriptures say concerning Jesus Christ: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not” (John 1:10). The people of that day had lived all their lives in the world made by the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet when He came to earth a very few recognized Him. This verse indicates that they should have recognized Him. Indeed, they would have recognized Him had they been seeing His creation in the right perspective.

When we as Christians recognize that the many things in the world are not independent of God but are utterly dependent upon Him, our entire world changes. Everything becomes a reflector of the glory and person of an all-glorious God. God is so resplendent in glory that no one can see His face and live. As a special privilege, Moses was allowed to see of His glory after He had passed by (Ex. 33:20-23). We creatures are permitted to see His glory by way of reflection. He is reflected not only on the sacred pages of Scripture but also in the mirror of creation. If our eyes had not been dimmed by sin, we would continually confirm the truth of Scripture where it states that the “whole earth is full of His glory.” Enlightened by the Spirit, we are enabled to see something of the glory of God on exhibit everywhere. We see it in the things that please us. We see it in our affliction, and with Hezekiah we say, “It was for my peace that I had great bitterness” (Isa. 38:17). In the “thorns and thistles” of this sin age, we see the glory of God’s justice.

The real purpose of non-rational creation is to reveal the glorious attributes of an all-glorious God. The result of this outlook in the field of education is expressed in the following simple poem:

One ship sails east and another west,
With the selfsame winds that blow.
‘Tis the set of the sail and not the gale,
That determines the way they go.
One class sees man and another God,
With the selfsame studies that be.
‘Tis life’s outlook, not the subjects they took
Which determines what the pupils see.

Excerpted from Chapter 2 of An Introduction to the Christian School by James M. Bramblet, Copyright © 1985 by James M. Bramblet

Interview of James Bramblet by Ron Livesay

My father-in-law, James Bramblet, is a true pioneer in the Christian school movement. Even though I had heard of him before I met and married his daughter Janet in 2003, I had no idea what a great man of God and a giant among Christian school educators he truly is. It has been my privilege and blessing to get to know him. I appreciate his insight and wisdom.

The following interview was conducted at his house in Tacoma, Washington on July 31, 2005. Many thanks to the administrative secretary here at the school for converting the tape of this interview into a transcript.

RL: This is Ron Livesay. I’m interviewing my father-in-law, James Bramblet, and I’m going to ask him to introduce himself and tell a little about himself before we get into some of the specific questions.

JB: My name is James Bramblet and I’ve spent most of my adult life as a Christian school worker, covering a period of well over 40 years. I started way back – I’m an old man now – and I started way back when I was quite young. I started several schools, was on the board of ACSI for a while, working in Oregon, Washington, and California. I have some very definite ideas about Christian education.

RL: How did you get started? When did you know the Lord wanted you involved in Christian education and how did it all develop?

JB: The first I ever heard about Christian schools was when I was 19 or 20 in Bible school at Multnomah. A person came to chapel and told us about the school he was starting, a school in Portland – Portland Christian. I’d never heard of that before. I thought I was in Bible school to become a missionary or a pastor. I began at that time to think about Christian schools. And then before I graduated, I decided I would go back to Idaho where I came from. There were a lot of communities in Idaho without a church. So I would find a job as a teacher in one of those communities and start a church at the same time. Turned out I didn’t end up doing that.

I finished Bible school, went to the University of Idaho, majored in education and became a teacher. I worked as a teacher in Elk River, Idaho for a couple of years, and by then I had four children. I didn’t particularly want them to go to public school. I saw what was happening there, so I contacted Portland Christian to see if there were any job openings there, and I was put in touch with a new Christian school in Portland. I was interviewed by their board to become principal and teacher at West Hills Christian School. That’s when I began to realize that’s what the Lord wanted me to do.

While I was there, I took a course … on the philosophy of Christian education … and it changed my mind. I had taken a course on the philosophy of education at the University of Idaho and realized it was all wrong … that it was not Christian. I began, from then on, to change my way of teaching so that it was definitely Christian rather than secular.

RL: Could you summarize what you mean by Christian or Biblical philosophy of education?

JB: Yes, I think it’s summarized best in Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” This has several things about Christian education. First of all, it says who is responsible for educating children – …it’s fathers who are the ones responsible. So, as far as I’m concerned, Christian schools are there to help parents educate their children.

The second thing we have in this verse is the definition of the word “educate.” It’s “bring up a child.” We have a phrase, “lead out,” which is not right. It’s not what the word “educate” means. They deliberately changed the meaning of the word “educate.” When you go to the modern dictionaries, it says “to lead out.” But when you go back 100 years, dictionaries say “to bring up a child.” The difference is that the responsibility is given to the parents. If the parents turn that responsibility over to a teacher, then the teacher has that responsibility. But you’re not “leading out.” Children are born sinners, so if you “lead them out” then you’ll be leading out the sin. What we have to do is “bring them up.” We have the responsibility to enforce with them a Christian standard and teach it to them.

That’s the second thing, the meaning of the word “education.” Then, in the “nurture and admonition,” that’s two different kinds of education. One has to do with discipline or moral training, the other has to do with instruction of the factual things you teach. We’re responsible for both. In order to have moral training, that’s what we call discipline, that’s part of education, that we enforce Christian standards on these children. We don’t allow them to decide what they’re going to do. We have Christian standards, both in the Christian home and in the Christian school, and those standards are enforced.

The other one has to do with instruction. It says it is “of the Lord,” and there is a Christian way to instruct about the facts. Many Christian educators, so called, have been deceived by the world into thinking that there are such things as secular subjects. The only reason they seem to be secular is that they’ve been secularized. Scripture makes if very clear that God created everything. In other words, all truth, then, is God’s truth. If it’s not God’s truth, it’s not truth. So then we need to realize that mathematics is not a secular subject. English is not a secular subject. History is not a secular subject. Even physical education is not a secular subject.

Our God has created us in every aspect of our lives, and this too needs to be passed on to our children in every subject. This doesn’t mean that if we are teaching them mathematics, that every lesson is all about God. But they need to understand that God created mathematics and that He gave the truth about mathematics to us … and as they work these problems, they need to know that they are thinking God’s thoughts after Him. If they make a mistake, then they’re not thinking God’s thoughts. God stands for truth, and they need to try to strive to find the correct answer … and they need to understand that they’re dealing with things of God, because when God created the universe, He did it mathematically. Scientists who study the universe have to know mathematics. God created the universe after a mathematical formula. It’s very easy to demonstrate that, and the students studying math need to understand that so that when they come out of math class, they should have confidence that they’ve been studying the truth of God. It’s the same thing when they come out of their science class. They’ve been studying the things that God has created, and there should be rejoicing over all the wonderful things that He has made … And they will appreciate knowing that they are not just studying dull old subjects, but that they’re studying the truth of God.

RL: Obviously you’ve seen a lot of changes in the schools since you were a pioneer in Christian schools. What changes have you seen over the years?

JB: One the of the things that has dragged down Christian schools is that so many want to have the approval of the state – have state certified teachers and state approval of the schools. But the problem is that the people who are in the secular philosophy of education, really started by John Dewey, purposely wanted to get rid of Christian emphasis, so in order to get a state teacher’s certificate, you have to go to one of their colleges and be brainwashed into this secular idea of education – just as I was at the University of Idaho.

… John Dewey said this very clearly, “If we are going to have a really democratic country, we’ve got to get rid of the Christian idea that there are two kinds of people, the saved and the lost.” He said we must have a religion that’s for everybody. And this business of “dividing the county, between the saved and the lost … we have to get rid of that.”

RL: One of the things we hear so much about today in modern education and modern psychology is this concept of self-esteem – that we don’t have to worry so much about what the students learn as we do about how they feel about themselves.

JB: This idea of self-esteem – I call it a cult. It has taken over the thinking of so many people. It isn’t in the Bible. It didn’t start in a Christian place. It started in modern psychology. Then we had Christian psychologists who picked it up and brought it over into the Christian realm. When we look at the Bible, we discover that “self” and “esteem” are only used together in one verse of Scripture. That’s in Philippians 2:3, where it says, “let each esteem others better than yourselves.” That’s not self-esteem, that’s other esteem.

All through the Scriptures we are told that we’re sinners and that we need to be saved. This doctrine is trying to get around that. I think we live in a day when Satan is attacking in this one particular doctrine of human depravity. This is the thing the world hates – telling them they’re sinners – to say as Dewey didn’t like people saying, “the saved and the lost.” And it’s an attack on our Christian standards, and it should be recognized as such. When we try to teach children to esteem themselves, we’re teaching them to be proud. We’re teaching them to think higher of themselves than other people. And that’s exactly what Satan taught Adam and Eve in the garden. “You’re better than God says you are.”

I consider this doctrine of self-esteem to be a great threat to our Christian standards, and I wish more pastors and teachers, and teachers in Bible colleges, would pick this up and really teach strongly against it. There is plenty of Scripture on this subject. It can definitely be demonstrated from the Bible that it is a false doctrine that is doing a great deal of damage in our churches and in our Christian schools and also in our society.

The Nature of Man

by James M. Bramblet

In the last chapter, we talked about the non-rational creation of God and how it reflects or “declares” the glory of God. We come now to the rational creation of God, or mankind. Man is sometimes spoken of as the “crown” of God’s creation because of the exalted position he was given. Man alone was given dominion over the rest of creation (Gen. 1:26, 28). Man alone is capable of fellowship with God (Gen, 3:0). Man will some day be called upon to judge the angels (I Cor. 6:3). Man will some day reign with Christ (Rev. 20:6). But the most outstanding statement concerning man in all of Scripture is that he is created in the image of God.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:26-27).

The importance of this belief that man is created in the image of God can be pointed up by the almost frantic efforts of the secularists to dissuade people from believing it. The “man is an animal” theme has become almost a religious chant in secular textbooks and among evolutionary materialists. It is necessary to the basic doctrine of evolution that man be seen as simply a highly developed animal. This necessity explains the long but fruitless search for the “missing link” between animals and men.

The question of whether being created in the image of God includes man’s body has been debated for centuries. Views have ranged all the way from believing that God and man are of the same essence, only God is more highly developed, to the belief that man’s body evolved from the lower animals and then God injected a soul and spirit to create man. Obviously, both of these extreme views are contrary to Scripture. Scripture teaches that God is Spirit (John 4:24). We infer from this that God does not have a body and that references to His head, heart, etc. are symbolic.

Having said this, however, we must hasten to note the high regard Scripture holds for the human body (Gen. 9:6; I Cor. 6:19-20; John 2: 21; Rom. 12:1). The human body was formed by God as a special creation to contain the image of God. At the time He created Adam, He patterned his body after the body He would create for the indwelling of Jesus Christ at His incarnation (Heb. 10:5). The resurrection body of Jesus Christ is presently at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3). The resurrection bodies of Christians will be forever with the Lord in heaven (I Thess. 4:16-17). The human body cannot be equated with the body of an animal.

It makes a great deal of difference to the individual whether he believes he evolved up from the animals or whether he came down from the hand of God. The teachings of evolution, and particularly the idea that man is an animal, are in conflict with the Bible doctrine concerning the fall of man and the need for salvation. When the idea that “man is an animal” first came into vogue, many people believed it intellectually, but it did not have a drastic effect on their lifestyles because of their childhood teachings. Now, however, this doctrine has been taught in our schools for several generations and many people are conducting themselves as though they, indeed, are animals. Some would even appear to prefer to look like animals.

The Bible makes it clear that there is a basic difference between man and the animals. Man was given dominion over the animals. When Adam sought a helpmeet from among the animals, none was fit for him (Gen. 2:20), so God created Eve. Man, created in the image of God, is, like God, able to make moral decisions and to usurp authority. The animals, on the other hand, conduct themselves according to God-given instincts rather than by making rational, moral judgments.

Because of the confusion regarding the nature of man, people are often misled regarding many areas of human life. For instance, in the area of romantic love, people often talk about “falling” in love as though it happened accidentally, like falling over a cliff. Two young people who are very unsuited for marriage answer all questions with the simple answer that they are “in love.” Later, when they are seeking a divorce, they explain that they no longer love each other. In the Bible, God gives us commands that show that He sees us not as animals that simply follow our instincts but as men who are able and expected to control our emotions. Christians are told not to intermarry with unsaved people (II Cor. 6:14). Husbands are told to “love your wives” (Eph. 5:25). Wives are told to love their husbands and children (Titus 2:4). God would not give us these commands if we were incapable of carrying them out. We do not “fall” in and out of love, but when a husband and wife say they no longer love each other they really mean that they have decided not to love each other any more. They should be instructed that this decision is in disobedience to an explicit command of God.

Another area where we are often misled is in the matter of human endeavor. A person’s “success” in this life is often judged by how large his salary is, and the quality of his home, car, and other possessions. If we were only animals, this would be an accurate assessment, for all the animals need is food, shelter, and the meeting of their material needs. But the Lord Jesus Christ quoted the Scriptures as saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). In another place, He told the story of a man who amassed great wealth and decided he could then take his ease and eat, drink and be merry. God called this man a “fool” saying, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou has provided?” (Luke 12:20). Later He explained to His disciples that “Life is more than food and the body is more than raiment” (Luke 12:23). Obviously, the Bible teaches that man is not an animal but that he is created in the image of God and owes allegiance to his Creator.

The idea that man is an animal is carried to its extreme in the minds of the Communists. When the Communists take over a country, they round up all those whose religious or political views they cannot change and have them put to death. They do not do this out of hatred but like a farmer who has animals with an infectious disease. He destroys them to protect his herds. If man is only an animal, then killing a few is not such a serious matter since it protects the others. This practice is misusing governmental authority. God gave permission for government to take human life only if human life had been taken. This provision was made because man is created in the image of God, and to take a human life is to strike at God Himself (Gen. 9:6).


Excerpted from Chapter 3 of An Introduction to the Christian School by James M. Bramblet, Copyright © 1985 by James M. Bramblet

God’s Purpose In Creation

by James M. Bramblet

As we look about us and view things from our human point of view, it appears that God’s purpose in creating the world was to make us a nice place in which to live. Indeed, it is true that God has provided us with all the necessities of life, such as air to breathe, food to eat, and heat and light for our convenience. But as we examine the Scriptures we find that God had a deeper and more all-pervasive intention as He formed the universe for our habitation, I speak of the fact that God reveals Himself through His creation. This fact is revealed to us in many portions of Scripture and is stated most clearly in Psalm 19:1-4:

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge, There is no speech or language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.”

In these four verses we are told four things. The first is that God’s creation, the heavens and the earth, reveal the person of God, or at least His glory and His handiwork. The second verse tells us that this message concerning God is a continuous message emanating forth day after day and night after night. The third verse tells us that this message is not limited by language. Peoples of all languages have access to this message. The fourth verse tells us that the message is going forth in every part of the world. No matter in which part of the earth is our habitation, this message is reaching us there.

In light of the above passage, no person on earth can plead ignorance to God’s claim on his life. This is exactly the message the Apostle Paul gives as he writes in Romans chapter 1 concerning the world’s guilt before God. In verse 18 he explains that God’s wrath is revealed against all men. In verse 19 he points out that this is fair since the knowledge of God is revealed to all. In verse 20 he gives the way God has made this universal revelation:

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).

By examining the things God has made, we see certain things about God, especially His power and His Godhead, or the fact that He exists. No wonder the Psalmist says that only a fool would say in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1; 53:1). If you read on beyond verse 20 of Romans 1, you will find that mankind has rejected God and preferred to worship His creation rather than God Himself. No wonder the Scriptures say we are without excuse. But if the pagan peoples of desert and jungle are without excuse, how much more without excuse is the modern man who examines God’s creation in minutest detail through microscopes and telescopes if he rejects this message concerning the claims of God on his life.

A few of the many passages that teach this truth are as follows: “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things” (Rom. 11:36). “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). “0 Lord, our lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, who has set thy glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1).

The Lord Jesus is God the Son, the second Person of the Godhead. He was there and involved in the creation of the universe (Col. 1:16, Gen. 1:26). When He uses things in the creation to point out truths concerning Himself, He does not treat them as independent items that just happen to show certain things about Him. Rather, He declares Himself to be first and the created thing secondary. For instance, in John chapter 15 He does not point out a grape vine in the field and say He is something like this vine. Rather, He says, “I am the true vine.” Before a vine had ever been created, Jesus Christ had those qualities. When God created the vine, He purposely made it to reveal those things concerning Christ. Incidentally, it also produces fruit and grape juice for men, but that is not its primary function. Its primary purpose was to be a physical illustration of the true vine which had existed through all eternity.

What is true of the vine is true of all creation. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). John spoke of Him as the “true” light (John 1:9). They did not speak of Jesus as being like light but rather that He was light. If comparisons are made, then we must compare the physical light to Jesus and not the other way around. When God created our eyes and the eyes of the various animals, He had already created the light that would reflect from the things of earth so we could see. But the entire thing was done to show us the “true” light, which is Jesus Christ.

What is said about the vine and the light could also be said about God creating sheep with their need for a shepherd (John 10:11). It could be said concerning His creating us with the need for food and His provision of bread (John 6:48). In fact, it could be said of every part of God’s creation. Before the fall, Adam saw a great deal more of God’s glory in creation than our sin-clouded eyes can see today. When the animals were brought before Adam what he called them, “that was the name thereof” (Gen. 2:19). He did not just make up a name, but he was able to see the true nature and purpose God had created into that animal and he called it by the name that revealed that nature. The Bible makes it clear that all of God’s creation is filled with divine messages for man.

When Adam viewed creation, he viewed an exhibition. Everywhere God’s attributes were on display. His power, His grandeur, His beauty, His wisdom, His greatness, His majesty, His glory, and His providence were seen everywhere. For Adam, creation must have been like a temple filled with symbols extolling the greatness of God. The beauty of the Garden of Eden was not just that it was physically better than anything we know today, but primarily it was that sin had not yet entered and man’s eyes were still open to the glory of God.

The revelations of God that come to expression in creation are now, because of sin, hid from the view of natural man. It is only through the light of God’s Word and through the illumination of the Holy Spirit that we can again begin to see what Adam saw. That we are to seek to see God and things eternal in the things and events of this life is told us in II Corinthians 4:18:

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

This passage does not mean that we should not look at or examine the things that are seen, but it does mean that as we examine them we should be concerned about the eternal values revealed therein.


Excerpted from Chapter 2 of An Introduction to the Christian School by James M. Bramblet, Copyright © 1985 by James M. Bramblet

God's Word the Bible

by James M. Bramblet

To some, it may seem unnecessary to point out the centrality of God in the Bible as this fact seems so obvious. But we live in a day when humanism has so pervaded the thinking of the world that even God’s Holy Word has not escaped its ravages. We often hear it said that the Bible contains good literature, that it presents a system of ethics that is valuable to men, or that it contains valuable history. All these things are true but they fall far short of indicating the veal nature and purpose of the Bible.

Christians sometimes erroneously think that the main purpose of the Bible is to reveal to us a way of salvation from sin. This view of the Bible does not see God as the center, but it sees man as the center. I will read the Bible so I can find out how I can be saved from my sin. In Christ’s time, the Jews took this same view of the Scriptures and the Lord rebuked them as follows:

“Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:39-40).

Jesus was saying that He is the central figure in all of Scripture. Salvation is found in a Person and not in a book. The Bible was written to reveal Christ, not as a blueprint for us to be able to build a heavenly home. We should read and study the Scriptures in order to get acquainted with Him. When we come to know Christ we will discover that He is the answer to eternal life; but that is a by-product and not the main purpose of Bible study. It is possible to read the Scriptures from a selfish motive, as some of the Jews did, and never come to know the Savior of the Scriptures.

Another humanistic use of the Bible by some Christians is to think of it as a source for building their doctrinal system. As ultimate-originals, we tend to put ourselves at the center of everything. We each have certain pet ideas which we like to promote as our own. It is possible to use the Bible to try to find authority for these ideas. Once we have done this, then we can present them as being “Scriptural,” and, of course, anyone who disagrees with them will be “unscriptural.”

Much of the doctrinal bickering among Christians comes from using Scripture in this way, for if it is our doctrine or our philosophy, then, of course, we need to defend it. We need to adopt the thinking of Christ when He said:

“My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me. If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory; but He that seeketh His glory that sent Him, the same is true” (John 7:16-18).

We need to study the Bible so that we can think God’s thoughts after Him, not so that we can promote our own ideas. If we “will do His will” then we will open the Bible seeking to know His mind. Only if we see ourselves as ultimate-originals or little gods in our own right will we talk about our doctrine. Sincere Christians, recognizing that they are images of God, should seek to know the mind of their great Original, God. When we differ, we should humbly seek to find our error. To do otherwise indicates, according to Scripture, that we are carnal and walk as men. “For ye are yet carnal; for whereas there is among you envying, and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, ‘I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos.’ Are ye not carnal?” (I Cor. 3:3-4).

A third humanistic approach to Bible study is to study the Bible in order to prepare ourselves for some Christian ministry. The humanism in this approach is even more subtle than the other two because it is true that we must know the Bible if we are to serve God. The error is in studying it only for that purpose. We are to study the Bible in order to know God, and what we know of Him we can witness to others. This witnessing is a Christian ministry; but it is the result of knowing God and not the objective we are to have in mind when studying God’s Word.

By now it should be clear that the Bible should not be studied from a humanistic, but rather, from a theistic point of view. God is central to His Scriptures and His written Word only makes sense when it is studied with that point in mind. He has revealed Himself through His general revelation in creation. He also reveals Himself by the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead. But His primary revelation of Himself is through the Bible. We would not know that the other two were intended to reveal God if we did not read that this is so in the Bible. Jesus made it clear that the Old Testament was a revelation concerning Himself: “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). In verse 44 of the same chapter, He includes the Psalms in those Scriptures specifically mentioned as revealing Himself.

We speak of the Bible as the Holy Bible. Peter tells us that it was written by “holy men” (II Pet. 1:21). But primarily, it is holy because it reveals a Holy God. The stories and accounts in the Bible vary, but each story and each page were written for the purpose of revealing God to men. God’s holiness is so great that He could not reveal Himself directly to fallen man. When God manifested Himself at Mt. Sinai, His glories were so great that the people withdrew and said to Moses, “Speak thou with us and we shall hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Ex. 20:19). So God has written us a book to tell us about Himself. God could show us His great power in creation but only in a book could He tell us of His love. As we study the things God has made, we are aware of His great knowledge, but we see His graciousness in dealing with sin only in the book He has written for us.

Man was created in the image of God, and like God, he is a spiritual being. The created world is too impersonal to satisfy the spiritual needs of man. That God’s message is a spiritual message is demonstrated by those who are able to understand it. We are told that the “natural man,” or the unsaved man, cannot understand God’s message at all (I Cor. 2:14). The carnal Christian who is dominated by the flesh can only understand the simplest spiritual truth, or the “milk” of the Word (I Cor. 3:1-2). It is only the spiritual man who is able to “judge all things” and fully understand the spiritual message of God’s Word (I Cor. 2:15).

Since sin has come into the world, man needs a graphic and personal description of his great Original in order to overcome the evils and discords resulting from sin. God has been gracious in meeting this need through Jesus Christ, the living Word, and through the Bible, the written Word, which reveal Christ to us.


Excerpted from Chapter 4 of An Introduction to the Christian School by James M. Bramblet, Copyright © 1985 by James M. Bramblet.

Family Changes

I have not posted anything for a while. It has been an eventful past few weeks. In late September, it became evident that my mother-in-law, Vivian Bramblet, was nearing the end of her life due to leukemia. My wife Janet flew to Washington to be with her mom in Tacoma, and she was able to take care of her for the last week of her life. After she passed away, I drove to Tacoma for the funeral and to help take care of many details.

 

Janet's dad, James Bramblet, at first determined that he wanted to continue to live in the senior apartment they had enjoyed for the past year. However, it was not long before he realized that it would be better to live with family, and he has come to live with us in Colorado Springs. Jim and Vivian enjoyed 69 years of marriage and many years of service for the Lord in Christian school ministry and in various church ministries over the years. We are thankful for the privilege of having him with us as he approaches his 90th birthday in March of 2014.

Is The Christian School Movement Selling its Christian Heritage For a Mess of Professional Pottage?

James M. Bramblet, my late father-in-law, was a retired Christian school administrator. The following article was certainly timely when it was written and is even more timely now. Those involved in Christian schools should heed this wisdom if Christian schools are to survive as viable ministries into the future. (Ron Livesay)

Is The Christian School Movement Selling its Christian Heritage

For a Mess of Professional Pottage? by James M. Bramblet, 1990

Those who have been associated with the Christian school movement over the past thirty or forty years cannot help but notice many changes. Christian schools were once socially suspect but have come to be much more accepted. Where once many pastors and Christians opposed Christian schools, now only a small minority does. Even government school agencies have resigned themselves to the inevitable existence of Christian education.

In almost every area the Christian school ministry has grown. Growth in numbers and size of schools has been often documented. Salaries of teachers and workers, though still not large, have been much improved over past years. School buildings, equipment, programs, Christian texts and numerous other things have also been upgraded since those early days.

The term often applied to these improvements is "professional." Since professionalism is the only standard by which the world judges Christian schools, we tend to pay more attention to these outward standards than to our spiritual condition. In the old days, when schools often teetered on the verge of extinction, they felt very dependent on the Lord's help. Prayer was more important than professionalism and faith was more important than money-raising schemes.

The Lord honored the prayers and faith of His children. Year after year, as teachers and administrators met at annual teacher's conferences, they compared notes as to what the Lord was doing in various schools, and the meeting ended in a time of prayer and praise. Always the participants came home rejoicing in the Lord and determined to trust Him for yet another year of Christian school service. Like the Church at Smyrna, they felt poor (Revelation 2:9), but spiritually they were rich. Today, like the Church at Laodicea, many Christian schools and Christian school organizations feel rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing (Revelation 3:17a). Could the Lord's evaluation of the modern day Christian school movement be similar to His evaluation of Laodicea (Revelation 3:17b)?

The Lord's instruction to the Church at Laodicea was "Be zealous, therefore, and repent." Is it possible to maintain professional gains and return to the strong Christian emphasis of years gone by? Not unless as much time, effort and concentration are exerted in building spiritual credibility as has been exerted in building professional credibility. If this is done, credibility with the world may suffer, but credibility with Christian supporters will be strengthened. Christian parents are not apt to sacrifice time and money to send their children to a private professional school, but they will for the sake of a truly Christian education.

To accomplish this change will require a change in the direction of leadership in the Christian school movement. Those who plan the programs and schedule the speakers for Christian school conferences need to make a concerted effort to return to a more spiritual emphasis. There was a time when the thinking was that those who wanted to learn the world's ideas about education could go to any secular college but that Christian truth about education was available only at our Christian school conferences. While some workshops are still strongly Christian in character, there is a growing tendency to promote many non-Christian things such as "assertive discipline," which is purely classroom control with no thought of repentance or Christian moral training. Some workshops even promote the anti-Christian doctrine of "self-esteem," which makes repentance and the New Birth unnecessary.

Even though there may be some value to our teachers in these materialistic presentations, to try to extract this value is like trying to extract good food from a garbage can – it always comes out with the aroma and flavor of the rest of the garbage. Likewise, what we extract from a humanistic potpourri always comes out with a distinctly humanistic flavor. Surely we Christians can develop our own educational meal from the pure milk and meat of God's Word! We need to return to the emphasis of a few years back when humanistic instruction was not tolerated, when there was more emphasis on prayer and less on candy sales, and when more faith and less political action was being exercised.

Another area of Christian school leadership that needs to be re-evaluated is the Christian accrediting or approval process for schools and colleges. This is an important function and has been one of the programs that have helped to upgrade our schools. In carrying out these evaluations, however, we need to be careful that we do not emphasize professional qualifications to the neglect of Christian graces. A perusal of the instruments being used for these evaluations indicates a tendency in that direction. One such instrument used by ACSI has thirty questions of which only six contain the word Christian or Biblical. It is true that the other questions can be answered from a Christian perspective, but the emphasis is not really in that direction. Such questions should force the institution to think through its Christian commitment.

The men and women who form the visiting teams are for the most part Biblically oriented to the educational process, but if the instrument does not specifically direct attention toward Christian truth, the team tends to neglect that subject. The result can be that the institution gets the impression that no one really cares whether it has chapel services, faculty and student prayer meetings, or Christian service assignments for students. Much emphasis is put on the scholastic qualifications of the faculty, but no one inquires as to when and how they were saved, whether they are called of God into the Christian school ministry, or whether they know what it means to walk by faith.

Accrediting teams need to examine their various commendations and recommendations to schools and see what percentage deal with the school's prayer life, faith, chapel services, Christian philosophy, etc., as opposed to finances, buildings, teacher training, and the like. The latter are important, but the former are indispensable in a Christian school and should occupy no less than half the space given to commendations and recommendations.

The primary area of Christian school leadership is that of school administrators and school boards. These are the people directly responsible to God to make sure the local Christian school provides Christian instruction and Christian discipline. The policy decisions made by these individuals will decide whether a school has a Christian atmosphere or a secular, humanistic atmosphere. The board, under the leadership of the administrator, has the final say concerning the selection of teachers, the screening of students, and the determination of the nature of the curriculum. These basic decisions are instrumental in determining whether a Christian school is Christian in reality or in name only.

One of the numerous decisions made by a board is establishing the qualifications of teachers. A recent (1989) Christian college graduate, prepared for teaching in a Christian school, sent letters of inquiry to a number of Christian schools. The letters he received in return reveal a startling contradiction in the policy of many schools. One letter states, "We have encouraged our teachers to work toward their ACSI credentials, but they must have Washington State certification." Since teachers have a limited amount of time and money for acquiring an education, they will naturally spend them on what is required rather than what is encouraged. They are requiring preparation in humanistic education but only encouraging preparation in Christian truth. How much better if they had said, "We encourage our teachers to have Washington State certificates, but they must have ACSI credentials."

Another letter has a very fine paragraph setting forth the Christian requirements. One of their statements is, "The approach is totally from a Biblical, not secular, viewpoint." In the next paragraph, however, they say, "Teachers must meet the certification standards of the State of Washington as an indication of professional training and competency." In other words, it's all right to talk about being Christian, but professional training and competency are based on secular, humanistic preparation.

A third school says their teachers must be, "Committed to our Christian philosophy of education." In almost the next sentence they say, "Our teachers are required to hold valid Washington State teaching credentials."

Apparently these boards and administrators do not see the contradiction between these two requirements. Do they expect applicants to spend four years getting a Christian education and another two to three years meeting the state's humanistic requirements? If not, then which of the two options is most likely to be neglected? Obviously it will be the one that is encouraged, not the one that is required. One also wonders if they really think that humanistic training will make their teachers either more professional or more competent? Does Christian training fail to make them professional or competent? Is not the real reason for these requirements to placate the state and to establish better credibility with the world?

Some strong Christian individuals have managed to overcome this pressure from the humanistic philosophy that has captured our state certification systems and become acceptably Christian in their classroom work. But the long-term effect of this dual policy in any Christian school, and in the Christian school movement, is a gradual undermining of Christian truth and Christian methods. We tend to become more and more "professional" and less and less "Christian." Those who have been in Christian school work for many years are vaguely aware that this is happening but often do not understand why. If the trend continues, the Christian school movement will go the way of other Christian endeavors such as the YMCA, Yale, Princeton, Harvard, etc. In view of the sacrifice that has gone into building Christian schools, this would be a tragedy. Already some Christian parents see so little difference between Christian and public education that they question the expense involved in sending their children to a Christian school.

The problem of keeping our Christian schools Christian is basic and complicated and will not be solved quickly or easily. Perhaps the best advice is that given by the Lord to the back-sliding Church of Laodicea, which He said was "Neither cold nor hot." His instructions were as follows:

“I counsel of thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; And white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous, therefore and repent” (Revelation 3:18-19).

"Be zealous therefore, and repent" is good advice to each of us, no matter what our part in the Christian school ministry.