Week 25: Salt, Pepper and Permeation
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.
James 1:19
What makes Christian Education distinct? This question has been posed at Northpoint for as long as I can remember (and I remember SBEC). On my first day of new teacher orientation in August 2001, six of us new teachers were led into the church conference room to watch a video tape of then Broadway pastor Bobby Moore. I remember Brother Bobby telling us via this VHS videotape that our school was not Christian in name only. In fact, I believe he illustrated it with something akin to salt and pepper. We were not sprinkling (like we do a dish with salt and pepper) a bible verse here and there on the dish of secular education. Instead, what made us distinct was that we held a Christian worldview which permeated all we did. Our education was thoroughly biblical, and from that lens we viewed education. So, what makes Christian education distinct? The biblical worldview!
Do you have a biblical worldview? That is extremely important if you are to teach more than salt and pepper Christianity. We can’t sprinkle here. Biblical truth permeates the entire dish. It permeates our sports attitude, our math concepts, our vision for the student’s future, our attitude toward our students, the way we handle conflict, and the very reason we exist.
How can you foster a biblical worldview? You must be a student of the Scripture. We are not looking for teachers who are Christian in name only (or in tradition only), but for those who love the Holy Scripture. Therefore, teaching in a distinctly Chrisitan school is different from anything secular.
A Christian worldview begins with our attitude toward the Scripture. First, we stop talking. Notice that James is talking about the word of God in his text. He says, “Be quick to hear, slow to speak…” So often we want to come to the bible with our preconceptions and our voice. We need to come willing to submit through humble listening. The right attitude to have toward Scripture is one of seeking knowledge. We want knowledge about God, about our lives, and about God’s desire for us. Do you come with your preconceived ideas already influencing the text, or do you come ready to be challenged by the truth? This is what it means to be quick to hear. We stop talking and we listen when we, “receive with meekness the implanted word…(James 1:21).”
The second aspect of cultivating a Christian worldview is that we also submit when the Bible confronts us. Notice how James puts that concept. We are to be, “slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God, therefore put away all filthiness… (James 1:19-20).” What is being stated is that when we do come listening to Scripture, it will in turn search us. The word of God is like a scalpel that cuts the heart. It is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword piercing the dividing asunder of soul and spirit…discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).” It searches and tries us (Psalm 139:23-24). You read it as it reads you. What can such deep introspection produce in us? Anger! Who wants to be shown their faults and failures? Who wants to be told they must change? Very few of us if we are honest. Therefore, the sinful attitude is one that results in anger toward God for what is said to us. So, the answer is to realize that, “the anger in mankind does not produce the righteousness that God requires (James 1:20).” On the flip side, who needs to be told those things? All of us! That is why we are told to humbly accept the implanted word. It will produce in us a God-centered worldview that makes us not mere hearers of the world, but doers (James 1:22).
What makes Northpoint distinct is our commitment to a biblical worldview. We all have to foster that personally and corporately. We have to teach from that lens, and we must defend it to students and families who have no concept of truth. What a blessing to be able to serve the King of Kings in such a wonderful way.
Discussion Questions:
How would you answer this question: “Why do we need Christian Education in the midsouth when we have so many other schools?”
How can we prevent salt and pepper bible teaching and encourage a biblical worldview?
How can the lens of Scripture permeate every aspect of Christian Education (sports, English, Math, Bible, Latin, pedagogy, etc)?
