April 8, 2010
Last week I indicated that our Heartland board chairman, Dr. Mark Claussen, challenged us as Heartland Christian Academy board members and staff to consider targets of excellence this school should be aiming at in the years to come. As part of our 30th anniversary celebration of serving the Northland, it seemed like a good opportunity to focus our attention and goals for the upcoming years of educational ministry.
The first area of potential excellence at Heartland that I want to more thoroughly explore is Christian discipleship. This means more than simply introducing children to the Savior. I understand Christian discipleship to mean the deliberate incorporation of materials, methods and mission that will foster the development of Christian boys and girls into godly leaders.
The best material for Christian discipleship, of course is the Word of God. No matter what curriculum might be employed, it must have a firm foundation in the Scriptures. An upcoming Christian leader is not going to have a solid grasp of a biblical worldview unless they first have a solid foundation in the verses and chapters and books of the Old and New Testaments. As a Bible teacher, I strongly encourage the memorization of the Scriptures, and this requirement will surely continue into Heartland’s future. I want to see the students not only have their own Bible, but studying their own Bible, and taking notes as God speaks to their hearts through those pages.
In terms of methodology for training Christian disciples, our school cannot do better in technique than Jesus himself: he combined the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven with common sense applications. He offered his disciples both interesting teaching and hands-on practice. If this is going to be an area of excellence for Heartland students, then the boys and girls are going to have to be guided into discovery of how the Bible applies to their everyday life.
But even the best materials based on God’s Word, and the most pragmatic teaching methods sealing those principles to young hearts, cannot result in developing excellent Christian leaders without the opportunity to have students invest themselves in a mission. In the future, Heartland needs to send its equipped students out into the mission of the marketplace, just as Jesus did. I am excited about the spiritual excellence that can only be developed when students choose to be a light and witness to the nations. So long as their testimony remains within Heartland’s walls, their potential for godly excellence will be hindered.
Why should this be our goal? Because Sunday School is often not enough. And even the most godly Christian homes need a partner. If a Christian school like Heartland does not devote itself to excellence in Christian leadership development, then who will? We cannot settle for being simply a good school with a Christian label attached. The times we are living in require a new generation of committed youth sold out to the promises and power of Jesus Christ. This school has been challenged by Dr. Claussen to embrace that task and do it with excellence.
Our broadcast today is sponsored by friends of Heartland celebrating 30 years of educational ministry in the Bemidji area.