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During our Faculty Orientation meetings in July, I asked our teachers to visualize a scene that would happen in reality three weeks later. It was a scene from Back to School Night. I asked them to imagine greeting Berean parents at their door and warmly welcoming them into their classroom. I asked them to think through what they would share about their backgrounds and what they would tell about their curriculum, teaching methods, and grading systems. Fundamentally, I wanted the teachers to envision the "how" and "what" of their particular subjects and prepare to share those things in an accessible and compelling way with parents. But all of that was to prepare them for the next visual.
Following the "how" and "what," I asked our teachers to imagine a parent raising her hand and saying, "thank you for sharing about yourself, your degrees, your certifications, and a little about your family. And thank you for telling us about your subject, what it will cover and how our kids will be treated and graded. But I have two questions for you, 'what is the purpose of your class, and how does it relate to the school's mission to develop lifetime followers of Jesus Christ?"
Essentially, those are the "why" questions of Christian Education, and I'm proud our teachers know and "live out" the answer to the "why" questions. They genuinely believe that what they teach and how they teach achieves so much more than just the inculcation of information from one person to another. In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he gives a remarkable purpose statement that is undoubtedly applicable to the work our teachers do and "why" they do it: "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ," (Ephesians 4:11–12, ESV).
Those who came to Back-to-School Night last Thursday heard our teachers tell of their purpose to "build up the body of Christ" through their teaching subjects. It was a fantastic time filled with excitement and hope for the future. Every day, our teachers work for the glory of God, the flourishing of man, and the growth of the Kingdom. I was proud to see them on display on Thursday night!
Enjoy this month's issue of the Berean Bulletin!
Nicholas Harris