Category: Books

Leaders Should Be Readers

3/2/2015

I read often. I often read quickly. I tend to have a half a dozen books on the go at one time. And, I’ve often felt guilty about it. I feel guilty because I was nurtured to think that only by studying a book deeply could one really glean its ideas fully. In my haste to consume as many books as possible, I worry that speed might hinder my ability to digest. I question that assumption now and I challenge you as a leader with reading more.

I remember having a conversation with a colleague a number of years ago where we were ruminating on this topic. During the dialogue it was teased to the surface that perhaps there was an unconscious element in learning the breadth and depth of a book. Perhaps without the kind of deep study we associate with university-level English courses we are still able to learn the ideas presented in the volumes we consume.

Bill Hybels, a renowned Christian leader, seems to agree. He claims that “When you read, you invite new information into your subconscious mind. You may spend ten full hours going cover to cover and at the end feel like you’re none the wiser. But then a day or a week later, you face a leadership dilemma that you are able to solve only because you read that book.” (Hybels, 2008, 197). In fact he likens it to being mentored by a person you’ve not met face to face – the written word acting as vicarious interlocutor. I have certainly experienced this in my professional life when in a conversation or situation a principle pops into my mind that otherwise found its home in a book previously read.

I think this also relates to Steven Johnson’s principle of the slow hunch. He describes a slow hunch as an idea that is given “just enough nourishment to keep it growing” and then it is “plant(ed)…in fertile soil, where its roots can make new connections” (Johnson, 2010, p. 78). It is through this process that he suggests we give our ideas time to bloom. Read, ruminate, repeat….

Leader, where are your new ideas coming from? I strongly believe that leaders ought to be reading books related to their craft. There are a tonne of books out there on the topic of leadership, management, psychology, sociology, education, marketing, and Christian living. Some are good, some are bad, but they are all helpful. Books can nourish ideas if we give them a chance.

Hybels, B. (2008). Axiom: Powerful leadership proverbs. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan.

Johnson, S. (2010). Where good ideas come from: The natural history of innovation. New York: Riverhead Books.

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Trust Must Start with Us

11/9/2014

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We’ve all heard the adage that “trust is earned”. It’s an oft-uttered phrase, but one that I believe needs to be examined. Walter C. Wright knows trust well, afterall his hobby is mountaineering, a pastime that absolutely requires trust in one’s teammates. In his book “Don’t Step on the Rope” he claims that “the risk of relationship gives trust in faith” (p. 10). What he means, I believe, is that inherent in relationships, at least healthy ones, is a certain amount of risk. By engaging in relationships with others we risk hurt, disappointment, criticism, etc. But to begin in relationship in the first place requires a step of trust. If our starting point is that trust is earned, we limit our ability to engage fully in the relationships that will form the core of our families, organizations, and friendships.

Imagine a scenario where you are hired to perform an important task in an organization. Once you are hired, though, it becomes clear that your manager is not allocating you any trust. She constantly checks up on you and gives only the easiest assignments. You feel stifled and unappreciated. Worse, you get stale and find it hard to be motivated to do better. It doesn’t work. Relationships begin with a leap of trust. Trust is strengthened, bolstered, fostered, and perhaps even lost, but our posture as leaders shouldn’t be to cautiously dole our trust – we must start with trust.

Wright goes on to outline that “An effective team focused on results and relationships is powered by trust. Trust is the lifeblood of relationship and thus the fuel of teams” (p. 10)[1] Trust is empowering, but it is wisely noted by Sinek that “the true social benefit of trust must be reciprocal. One-way trust is not beneficial to the individual or the group” (p. 75). Trust needs to be a two-way street, and as usual, must either begin with the leader, or be modeled by the leader.

The implications of this for the leadership we show in our schools are large. How do you show a first year teacher at your school that you trust him or her without having seen their full body of work? How do you step into a relationship of trust with the new Board Chair who you’ve only known for 2 months? Relationships and teams flourish when trust is strong. How are you as a leader going to build and foster relationships that begin with trust?

[1] It should be noted that on the same page Wright goes on to say that “trust is essential for cohesion and community. It is both given and earned.” In this last point, I obviously disagree with him. However, I can think of a circumstance where a relationship is able to blossom over time with someone who we were unable to trust from the start because of extenuating circumstances. In this case, trust can definitely be earned, but I don’t believe it is the starting point of normal and healthy relationships.

Sinek, S. (2014). Leaders eat last: Why some teams pull together and others don't. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Wright, Walter C. (2005). Don't Step on the Rope!: Reflections on leadership, relationships, and teamwork. Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster.

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Gladwell: David and Goliath - Failing and Forgiveness

1/31/2014

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Below is a piece that will be published very soon in the E-newsletter of the Ontario Christian Schools Administrators Association, The Rudder.

“Giants are not what we think they are, the same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness”
(Gladwell, 2013, p. 6).

This statement drives to the heart of the message that Malcolm Gladwell’s new volume aims to explore. Even those with no religious affiliation will recognize the namesake of the title – we hear it referred to when a lower seeded sports team is battling an opponent, when a lesser known politician defeats an incumbent, and when a whistleblower has the audacity to confront a major corporation. In David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Gladwell makes use of his characteristic style to once again turn the table on common misconceptions. He uses research from studies in a variety of disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and criminology to illustrate his central thesis that being and acting as an underdog can have surprising power and uncommon results.

In this review, instead of dissecting Gladwell’s thesis and critiquing the strengths and weaknesses, I’m going to focus on a chapter that I find particularly poignant and that I think has ramifications for our work in our organizations. In Chapter 8, Gladwell tells a story of forgiveness and in it he outlines with grace how forgiveness can turn “turn the world upside down”. Of particular interest to me, and probably to my readers is that even outside of his intentional use of Biblical allusion there is a subtle and discernible Christian element at the foundation of Gladwell’s most recent volume. I won’t spend time exploring that here, but this isn’t surprising given his background and what he has been saying in recent interviews. More information can be found in an interview linked to in the footnotes about Gladwell’s faith journey.[1]

In Chapter 8, Gladwell uses the stories of two characters to foil one another. The first is the story of a man named Mike Reynolds who was the instigator behind the enacting of the Three Strikes Law in California. Essentially, the Three Strikes law mandated subsequently stiffer penalties for repeat offenders. The third offence could land an offender in jail for 25-to-life. Three Strikes had a rationale for Mike Reynolds; he lost his daughter to a senseless murder in 1992 - Kimber Reynolds was shot to death outside of a Fresno Planet Hollywood for what appeared to be no reason. Mr. Reynold’s ensuing life mission became vengeance for his murdered daughter.

Behind Reynold’s vision for prevention of criminal activity lies a view of humans as homo economicus which describes people as rational decision makers who make intentional choices based on conscious cost-benefit analyses. This is misguided, Gladwell claims. While attacking the Three Strikes law and critiquing Reynold’s approach Gladwell shows us that much to the contrary criminals often act spontaneously with very little forethought. What’s worse, the Three Strikes law was shown to be enormously expensive, largely ineffective at preventing criminal activity, and guilty of incarcerating an inordinate number of young males. Three Strikes culminated in being popularly characterized by the story of a three time offender being incarcerated in the same cell as a murderer for stealing a piece of pizza. And, it consumed the rest of Reynold’s life.

The story of Three Strikes is juxtaposed against a story of forgiveness. Candace Derksen was a Winnipeg youngster who was murdered senselessly. The reaction of her mother Wilma was, however, quite different than that of Mike Reynolds. In a word, Wilma chose forgiveness. She could very well have pursued vengeance. She could have chosen to avenge her daughter’s murder by pursuing a lifelong quest to bring justice to her daughter’s name in the way of activism and advocacy. Wilma Derksen admits, though, that this would only have been easier in the beginning. She concedes that “it would have gotten harder. I think I would have lost [my husband], I think I would have lost my children”. Ultimately, she says “In some ways I would be doing to others what he [the murderer] did to Candace” (p. 261).

The two stories offer drastically different ways of viewing the world, drastically different ways of approaching and responding to situations of adversity. Gladwell concludes the chapter by summarizing Derksen’s response: “A woman who walks away from the promise of power finds the strength to forgive – and saves her friendship, her marriage, and her sanity. The world is turned upside down” (p. 262, italics mine). It is this last two-fold point that I want to focus on for the rest of this article. First, forgiveness is powerful and power-full, and second when forgiveness is chosen power is turned upside down.

“Giants are not what we think they are, the same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness”.

What is it about forgiveness that is so difficult? Have you ever been in a situation where you know that you simply need to forgive someone to move on but are unable to do so? Have you ever been in a situation where you know that you need forgiveness but you’re unable to say two seemingly simple words? ‘I’m sorry’ is perhaps the hardest phrase in the English language to utter. Why?

Tim Keller in Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith offers a reason. He claims that “forgiveness is free and unconditional to the perpetrator, but it is costly to you” (Keller, 2009, p. 83). Forgiveness is costly because we give up something in the process; we give up our right to vengeance, our right to make things right in our favour. Consider the options: If someone damages your car, you can demand that they cover the cost of the repair or replacement, or you can cover the cost yourself. In essence you can choose to forgive the cost (we’ll conveniently ignore insurance companies in this example). Forgiveness always comes at a cost and that cost is giving up your specious right to power over the situation.

Power considered in this way can be regarded as Gladwell’s giant. The same qualities that give this power its strength can also become its greatness weakness. What happens in the extreme when we pursue our right to vengeance, our right to compensation, our right to make things right? In Mike Reynolds case he plunged his state and other parts of the country into a set of ineffective, inefficient, and possibly unjust laws while denying himself closure. On the contrary, what happens when the right to vengeance and compensation are given up? For Wilma Derksen, she was able to maintain her closest relationships and she could experience some semblance of closure.

My use of the word power is of course simplified here and limited to one context. Andy Crouch in his most recent book “Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power” explores power more fully. Tucked in the back half of the book he makes an interesting statement regarding power, forgiveness, and institutions. He prophesies that “the institutions of our time will be changed not by impersonal institutional forces; they will be changed by trustees, the image bearers who face their institutions failings, forgive them and lead toward a better way” (Crouch, 2013, p. 220).

What does it mean to forgive an institution and how does this relate to our discussion of forgiveness and power thus far? All institutions fail and fall short. Just as individuals of which institutions are composed fail and fall short, so too institutions will corporately neglect their God-given mandate at times. Will leaders, lay or professional, react by engaging their right to vengeance, compensation, and right to make things right? Or, will they bear the cost themselves? The latter, I think, is more in line with what our God-given calling is as leaders. We know that we must acknowledge the failings, but forgiving the failings is deeper than that. Forgiving is also not about forgetting. We must remember our failings in order to ensure that the same failings don’t needlessly happen again. Rather, forgiving our failings means acknowledging them, confessing them, and ultimately finding new and faithful ways forward.

Failing is a giant. What appears to give it its strength is also its greatest weakness. Failing has the façade of being able to hold us down, to prevent us from growth, development, and improvement. When failing is forgiven, however, its strength is redeemed and it will help us and our organizations to grow, develop, improve, and ultimately flourish.

Works Cited

Crouch, A. (2013). Playing God: redeeming the gift of power. Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Gladwell, M. (2013). David and Goliath: underdogs, misfits, and the art of battling giants. New York: Little Brown & Company.

Keller, T. J. (2009). The prodigal god: recovering the heart of the Christian faith. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

[1] http://www.religionnews.com/2013/10/09/interview-malcolm-gladwell-return-faith-writing-david-goliath/

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Not Angel Factories

11/18/2013

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At Christian schools we are often judged, rightly or wrongly, on the behaviour of our students and graduates. Many people believe that if we are really making a difference in the lives of our students, as we claim that we are, then this difference should be manifested in the words and actions of those coming and going from our doors. Those in the Christian education business will have at some point either uttered the words or heard them said in response “but, we’re not an angel factory”. As true (and glib) as this saying is, we had better be careful what we’re claiming when we say this. The intention behind such a counter argument is, of course, the assertion that we can’t expect more of children simply because of the school they go to – kids will be kids after all. However, I think there is a better counter argument, and it comes through a reading of Tim Keller and a pinch of N.T. Wright.

In Tim Keller’s Prodigal God, we hear a profound retelling of Jesus’ Prodigal Son parable. Traditionally, the story has been one centred on the depravity of the young son. However, Keller forces us to look at the parable as being equally about both sons. He claims that Jesus uses the younger and elder brothers to portray the two basic ways people try to find happiness, fulfillment, and ultimately to please God: the way of moral conformity and the way of self-discovery (p.29). These approaches can be summarized as follows (p.29-30):

The Elder Brother: Moral Conformity

The belief in putting the will of God and the standards of the community ahead of individual fulfillment
Happiness is attained and the world is made right by achieving moral rectitude

The Younger Brother: Self-Discovery

The belief that individuals must be free to pursue their own goals and self-actualization regardless of custom and convention
Happiness is attained and the world is made right if tradition, prejudice, hierarchical authority, and other barriers to personal freedom are weakened or removed.

Keller argues that instead of viewing the depravity and redemption of the younger son as being the focal point of the story, we should be looking at the approaches that both of these brothers take in response to their father’s love and authority. He says “The hearts of the two brothers are the same. Both sons resented their father’s authority and sought ways of getting out from under it” (p.36). Jesus was showing that neither the approach of moral conformity nor self-discovery is correct in seeking the heart of God. “Neither son loved the father for himself. They both were using the father for their own self-centred ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving him for his own sake” (p.36). Both approaches are all wrong: “you can rebel against God and be alienated from him either by breaking his rules or by keeping all of them diligently” (p. 36-37).

The tension here in working with children and helping them to develop into maturing Christian disciples is that of behavioural expectation. We clearly want them to think, speak, and act certain ways, but we also want them to do so for the reason that they ought to be doing so – because they love God. However, we also recognize that there are times in life, both from a cognitive-ability perspective and an experiential perspective where we’re unable to think, speak, and act the way we ought to. Therein lies the tension.

A solution can begin to be formed, I think, in what N.T. Wright call’s Christian character. In his book After you Believe: Why Christian Character Matters he argues compellingly (as Keller does) that what is needed for a Christian life is neither moral conformity or self-discovery:

“After you believe, you need to develop Christian character by practicing the specifically Christian “virtues.” To make wise moral decisions, you need not just to “know the rules” or “discover who you really are,” but to develop Christian virtue. And to give wise leadership in our wider society in the confusing and dangerous times we live in, we urgently need people whose characters have been formed in much the same way. We’ve had enough of pragmatists and self-seeking risk-takers. We need people of character” (p. 25).

What we have here is a call to hard work. We have a call to develop a Christian way of living that, because of discipline and persistence over time, has become second nature. The tension is resolved in such an approach because we are neither calling Christians to discover for themselves the way to live a Christian life, nor are we prescribing a rule book of things to think, sayings to speak, or ways to act. We are calling Christians to practice living out a Christian life as exemplified by Christ so that over time the Christian acts Christianly without consciously having to discover it or look up the rules.

In this way, Christian schools are not places of assembling angels, but rather places for the cultivation and care-taking of Christian character.

Keller, T. J. (2009). The prodigal God: recovering the heart of the Christian faith. London: Hodder
& Stoughton.

Wright, N. T. (2010). After you believe: why Christian character matters. New York, NY: HarperOne.

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Mentoring Paid Forward

11/6/2013

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Below is a piece that will be published very soon in the E-newsletter of the Ontario Christian Schools Administrators Association, The Rudder.

When I was in Grade 10, my volleyball coach at the time took me aside and told me that I was a leader. He told me that he saw in me certain traits that were conducive to building a followership of my peers. To an adolescent teenage boy, these were strange words. But, they were also important words that set in motion a variety of circumstances formative for my development as a leader.

Fast forward a number of years to when I’m working my first teaching job. The principal of the school at the time identified leadership traits within me early on and started providing opportunities for me to try new and varied things. This would ultimately lead to my first principalship. In some respects, I wouldn’t have the opportunities I have now without the insight, courage, humility, and wisdom of these two individuals. They were what some would call my mentors and their initiative in no small way provided the groundwork for the development of leadership capacities within me. You can all hear the echo of your own stories in my words and you know that if it weren’t for that certain individual or two, you wouldn’t be where you are today.

I am writing this now because I believe that I have failed in accomplishing what my mentors were able to accomplish. I’m certainly not saying that I haven’t had excellent people around me. I have. But, I question whether or not I have explicitly and intentionally identified leaders and worked to help them develop their leadership potential. Because the development of new leaders is so tremendously important to the future of our Christian schools, I want to explore the topic of mentorship here as a means of helping you as a Christian school leader to begin thinking intentionally about being that protégé who will spark the flame of some future leader.

Sir Ken Robinson admits in The Element that mentors are crucial in helping people to get to what he calls the Element. The Element, for Robinson, is essentially what he argues to be that innate (I say God-given) thing that a person is naturally inclined towards and passionate about. He claims that “Without a knowledgeable guide to aid us in identifying our passions, to encourage our interests, to smooth our paths, and to push us to make the most of our capacities, the journey is considerably harder” (p.184). In retrospect, I would concur with this assertion – it would have been much more difficult to have the foresight and courage to seek out leadership opportunities had I not had that person willing to push me in that direction.

There are specific aspects of mentorship that are recognizable as well. Good mentors provide four important things: recognition, encouragement, facilitation, and stretching. Mentors, says Robinson, “recognize the spark of interest or delight and can help an individual drill down to the specific components of the discipline that match that individual’s capacity and passion” (p.179). Good leaders will be able to identify other leaders and what their passions and gifts are. As John C. Maxwell points out about leaders: “It takes one to know one, show one, and grow one” (p.151). My volleyball coach must have had his eyes wide open to recognize leadership capabilities in me during high school, they were well beneath the surface, I can assure you.

Mentors encourage those in their flock. They “lead us to believe that we can achieve something that seemed improbable or impossible to us before we met them. They stand by to remind us of the skills we already possess and what we can achieve if we continue to work hard” (p.181-182). I remember asking my principal prior to taking over the principalship in his stead if I could actually do this. He responded that there was no doubt in his mind.

In addition to recognizing and encouraging, good mentors facilitate opportunities for growth. It is poignant that Robinson maintains that this means not only providing positive opportunities for growth, but also “allowing us to falter a bit while standing by to help us recover and learn from our mistakes” (p.182). It may seem harsh, but failure is as good a teacher, if not better, than success. During the year prior to my first principalship, the principal allowed me to lead staff meetings and PD sessions with staff. In this was both the opportunity to succeed, but more importantly the opportunity to engage in and wrestle with what did not work.

Finally, Robinson complements the stages of mentorship with stretching. He claims that “Effective mentors push us past what we see as our limits” (p.183). This is probably not done by building major hurdles, but by gently stepping aside and providing a guiding hand to lead us on to the next meaningful challenge. The mentors in my life didn’t push me into situations that I couldn’t handle, instead, they supplied new circumstances and then walked with me into them.

John C. Maxwell points out the obvious and the profound when he reminds us that “Mentorship is of course a two-way street. As important as it is to have a mentor in your life, it is equally important to fulfill these roles for other people” (p.184). In this way, mentorship is a cyclical process – we leaders needed mentors to push and guide us to come into the positions that we’ve been entrusted with. Future leaders are depending on us to do the same for them. “Empowerment is powerful”, says Maxwell, “not only for the person being developed, but also for the mentor.”

“Enlarging others makes you larger” (p.141).

Maxwell, J. C. (2002). Ultimate leadership: maximize your potential and empower your team. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson.

Robinson, K., & Aronica, L. (2009). The element: how finding your passion changes everything. New York: Viking.

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The Miner's Lamp & The Spectacles

9/9/2013

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There are many metaphors that can be employed to describe how best we as Christians should use the Scriptures to inform our understanding of God’s creation. I have heard many, as I’m sure you have: Scripture is a map, a guidebook, a love letter, the list goes on. Metaphors are used to describe Scripture’s importance, I think, because there is little agreement amongst Christians about just what role the Bible plays in the Christian’s life. It is safe to say that all true Christians will believe that the Bible is inspired by God, but the metaphors used to describe it’s place in the Christian’s life will have significant ramifications for how it is interpreted and integrated. There is a big difference between a love letter and a map.

The metaphor that has worked for me is one used by Al Wolters in his reformation theology primer Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview. His metaphor for Scripture is two-fold: that of spectacles, and a miner’s lamp. He actually uses more, but these two are my favourite. In the former, he claims that “The Scriptures teach us to look for God’s norms in our experience and also serve to greatly improve our vision” (Wolters, p. 37). Spectacles, of course, improve vision and here he borrows from John Calvin who described this metaphor in his Institutes of the Christian Religion:

"Just as old bleary-eyed men and those with weak vision, if you thrust before them a beautiful volume, even if they recognize it to be some sort of writing, yet can scarcely construe two words, but with the aid of spectacles will begin to read distinctly; so Scripture, gathering up the otherwise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God" (Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.6.1).

Scripture-spectacles help us to think of the Scriptures not simply as God’s love letter to us or as a map, but as a means to improve our God-vision. The Scriptures, in this view, are meant to clarify the world around us according to God’s intention. Wolters continues by claiming that the Scriptures can also be thought of as a miner’s lamp which “lights up the world wherever we turn to look at it” (p. 18). It is important, Wolters reminds us, that the miner is not gazing at the lamp, but rather that the dark rock face is illuminated in whatever direction that the miner’s lamp is facing – in whatever direction the miner is looking. Scripture then, improves our vision and illuminates the things of God in an otherwise unclear and poorly lit environment.

I was reminded anew of this metaphor as I was reading Ravi Zacharias’ Recapture the Wonder. In it he warns about the danger of looking at the Bible, instead of looking through the Bible:

“There is a world of difference between looking at something and looking through something. We make the same colossal mistake with God’s Word and the gift of print. We have books all around us. We stack them on our shelves. Yet He has revealed Himself in His Word and we let it lie unstudied, unread, and sometimes untouched. We look at it. We hardly ever look through it” (Zacharias, p. 146).

God’s Word is at its best when it is allowed to illuminate the darkness and clarify our vision. How does this play out in our day-to-day, routine lives? How does it affect how we do our work? Does it change how we learn, how we teach? If we’re not looking through Scripture as opposed to looking at Scripture, we’re destined to miss a great deal of what God intended us to know. It is imperative to living a Godly life that we allow God to speak to us through His Scripture, and that his voice changes the way we see the world around us.

Calvin, J. (1957). Institutes of the Christian religion. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Wolters, A. M. (1985). Creation regained: biblical basics for a Reformational worldview. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co..

Zacharias, R. K. (2003). Recapture the wonder. Nashville: Integrity Publishers.

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The Intolerable Gospel

8/25/2013

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As we enter the new school year, I begin to think afresh about the vision of our schools and the mission of our work. My beginning-of-the-year devotions with staff offers me a chance to revisit our raison d’être, to reconsider in fresh ways the importance of what we do in our schools in general, and in our classrooms with our students in particular. My summer schedule allows me to read a bit more than I’m normally afforded, so my rally-call with staff generally draws from some of the literature I’ve been pondering.

Two books in particular struck me this year. The first a book by Matt Chandler entitled The Explicit Gospel. Although the foundation of his argument won’t be new to most Christians (although he claims it might be), one argument singularly struck a chord within me. Chandler speaks about the gospel. The good news of the gospel, he says, is that humanity has been, by grace, afforded salvation through the sanctifying work of God through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. This good news is available to us if we choose to accept it. The juxtaposition which had been lost to me (or perhaps forgotten for a time) was that this good news only finds fruition when contrasted against the bad news. The bad news, he claims, is that without this sacrifice and atonement, and unless we accept it, we are destined to a life apart from God (hell).

This is a concise explication of the gospel story, and said in a way that struck me as profound when I heard it. I hope that it is profound to all of us because I think God intends us to be struck by its profundity.

The second book, which seemed an extension of Chandler’s when I read it, is D.A. Carson’s The Intolerance of Tolerance. In this book, Carson laments the supposed Modern-Post-Modern shift that saw the understanding of, and definition of, tolerance take a drastic turn. In modernity, the assumption was that every person had the right and obligation to fight for the truth of his/her opinions and beliefs in the hope that the truth-cream would rise to the top. What we see happening (or saw happen) in post-modernity is that tolerance has been identified with the belief that all truths are equal and should be relegated to the private sphere. In this view those that claim to hold absolute truth are seen as intolerant. Carson argues quite convincingly that those fighting for this second supposed tolerance are as intolerant as those they are accusing. The new Tolerants believe that people who propose absolute truth in anything are intolerant (anything but science, secularity, and pluralism, of course). Simply believing that another person or group of people are wrong in what they believe is said to be intolerant.

The reading of these two books convinced me that what is required in Christian schools is not a retreat or apology from hard and fast truth claims founded in the Bible and in Christian tradition, but a renewed fervour for ensuring that we are unwavering in our belief that Christianity holds the key to salvation. The logical extension of this is not prejudice, discrimination, and division as some in the public circles would have us believe. In fact, I believe as Carson does, that the new tolerance does more to divide and discriminate than the traditional understanding of tolerance. It seems to me that the new Tolerants are trying to achieve the same goal that they accuse of us: namely the creation of a homogeneous society of unthinking, unfeeling individuals.

If you believe as I do that Christianity and the redeeming power of Christ are integral to the well-being and salvation of individuals, then I think we need to charge ahead, unashamed of the saving message that we have to share. Instead of fearing the offense of others, I think we need to fear that the Good News will not be told. Instead of fearing that if we don’t water down the message our schools will shrink, I think we need to be bold in delivering the message that has transformed our lives, and can transform the lives of others. We need to deliver the explicit gospel knowing full well that to many of those who hear it, it will be intolerable.

Carson, D. A.. The intolerance of tolerance. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2012. Print.
Chandler, Matt, and Jared C. Wilson. The explicit Gospel. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012. Print.

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The Edible Curriculum

3/19/2013

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Christian education has long meant different things to different groups of people. Christian education has meant many different things to me during my life time as well. Whenever I've gone for job interviews one of the questions that I dread having asked is regarding my philosophy of Christian education. It’s not that I can’t answer it; it’s that I have too many answers to give. I've described it as a unique view of the child – regarding each child as an image-bearer of God drastically changes how we teach that child and the purpose of teaching him or her. I've thought about it as primarily a curriculum and program matter – all of our programming should reflect and inspire an understanding of God active in His creation. I've regarded it as a distinct form of community, the traditional reformed understanding of which is a covenantal and communal responsibility for training children in the Lord. I could go on.

Eugene Peterson has a volume entitled “Eat this Book” and it has inspired me to rethink each of my models. The title of his book refers to the revelation of John in Revelations 10:9-10 where an angel of the Lord hands him a scroll and says “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” Peterson explains that this is an adequate metaphor for how we should be reading the Bible; we must ingest it in its entirety.   He says “It takes the whole Bible to read any part of the Bible. Every sentence is embedded in story and can no more be understood accurately or fully apart from the story than any one of our sentences spoken throughout the course of the day can be understood apart from our relationships and culture and the various ways in which we speak to our children and parents, our friends and enemies, our employers and employees – and our God.”

We have a tendency to take the pieces of scripture that we like, or the ones that are easily understood, and apply them to our lives. If what we believe is that scripture is inspired by God, then we need to take every word seriously. I’m not saying that every word needs to be taken literally, or that every part of the Bible is written in the same literary genre. What I am saying is that if the Bible is the inspired word of God, then the whole Bible is important and worthy of deep thought, study, and most importantly application.

In this light, my various understandings or explanations of Christian education all hold merit. Individually, though, they all come up short. Each one explains something of an understanding of a Bible-based schooling model, but if the whole story of scripture is not reflected in this understanding then it continues to fall short. The challenge for Christian education and Christian educators is to ensure that how we regard each child, how we design curriculum, how we manifest the Body of Christ in community, etc., reflect an understanding of God’s work in Creation founded in a reading of scripture that “enters our souls as food enters our stomachs, spreads through our blood, and becomes holiness, and love, and wisdom” (4).

The Bible is not just a book that we study, nor is it a source of verses which can be dismembered and used sparingly where appropriate. The Bible is the story of God, meant to be eaten and assimilated into “the tissues of our lives” (20).

Peterson, Eugene H.. Eat this book: a conversation in the art of spiritual reading. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2006.

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Fund-Raising and Supporter-Sustaining Tips for COO’s

3/4/2013

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It was a warm spring day and I was sitting on a deck by myself at 11:00 in the morning on a school day. No, I wasn’t playing hooky. Rather, I had been escorted to the back porch where I was waiting for coffee and cookies and the opportunity to make an ‘ask’. I had invited myself over to the house of grandparents of some children at the school I was serving, they had no idea what I was going to be asking from them. An hour later as I drove away down the gravel driveway and back towards the school, $2,000 had been secured for the new school band program.

This is not an altogether unusual situation in my experience. As the COO of a small school I have found that increasingly it is within my domain to recruit the necessary funds used to maintain operations and build new programs. This also necessitates building and maintaining good relationships with financial supporters. The latter I find comes naturally to me, the former not so much. Let me explain how this evolved over time for me.

First, I found myself becoming more intimately involved in the annual fund drive. It progressed from proofreading fund drive letters, to designing fund drive letters, to recruiting and training canvassers, to designing a fund drive handbook, to becoming Fund Drive Coordinator. It became clear to me in time that to effectively sustain a good fund drive, it must have elements of a good marketing campaign: consistency and sustained effort over time. The most consistent aspect of a non-profit organization is generally its hired leadership. Boards and volunteers change and for consistency to accrue, the COO must take this part of the school operations seriously.

Secondly, I found myself more often needing to find funds to fund new programs. In small schools, seemingly small amounts like $2,000 can represent 20% of the annual Educational Supplies budget and Boards can be hesitant to add to an already very tight budget with ‘gratuitous’ new initiatives like Classroom Hatcheries or an instrumental band program.

Third, I realized very quickly that to accomplish both of the above meant that I needed to spend significant time building relationships with supporters. This for me meant ensuring that these supporters were being well communicated with, and that face-time was secured where it was presented. Grandparents’ Day became an opportunity to really get to know supporters - a day where I ensured that all details were well organized and delegated so that I could spend all my time talking with people, shaking hands, and bringing them an extra bowl of soup or cup of coffee. Let me give you a few pieces of advice that I’ve picked up along the way.

My advice to COO’s of small schools in regards to fostering supporter relationships and raising funds:

Ensure that the annual fund drive is well done and that it reflects your school’s marketing/branding approach. The marketing story of your school should be part and parcel of your fund drive procedures and materials.
Don’t be afraid to ask supporters for money for specific programs or initiatives. It sounds simplistic, but the worst they can do is say no. When you approach the supporter, be well prepared to sell the new initiative in a professional manner. Don’t be offended if they say no; find another supporter who is as passionate about the project as you are and try again.
Make sure that you have the blessing of your Board in regards to programs that you’re raising funds for. Bring the Board into the loop early and have them suggest to you potential donors who may be interested in funding the project. Don’t ask the same supporters all the time, make sure that you’re finding new supporters and spreading the ‘asks’ around.
Do all you can to build good relationships with supporters through face-to-face contact and through printed materials. When opportunities arise, seize them.
Make sure that you have a good handle on your school’s supporter touchpoints. I have even found that I need to have my hands in things like membership renewals as supporters can become disgruntled if the only contact they ever receive from the Board of the school is asking for membership money. I can’t think of a negative aspect of having happy supporters.

I also suggest the following book for those interested in a more in depth treatment of fundraising from a Christian perspective:

Jeavons, Thomas, and Rebekah Burch Basinger. Growing givers' hearts: treating fundraising as ministry. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.

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Co-Illumination, Metallica Goes to Church

12/5/2012

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To me, one of the greatest challenges of the Christian walk is how to engage culture in a distinctly Christian manner. How do we resolve the tension captured in the adage that we are to be ‘in the world but not of it’? What is a Christian response to, for example, films not cast explicitly from a Christian worldview - the same question for music, literature, art, etc. Some would use the term ‘secular’ to describe the above, but I long ago discarded the use of this term because I believe it unnecessarily dichotomizes those things that are apparently ‘sacred’, from those that are apparently ‘profane’. Let me explain what I mean using a few thoughts derived from Pastor John Van Sloten’s book “The Day Metallica came to Church: Searching for the Everywhere God in Everything”.

Although the title is perhaps crafted for shock value, it springs out of a pastor’s struggle with how to honestly engage his congregation in the struggle surrounding how to approach culture. He coins a brilliant phrase to aid in describing his approach; Co-Illumination. Basically, Co-Illumination claims that truth is illuminated by a reciprocal interplay between God’s revelation through Creation, and God’s revelation through Scripture. Van Sloten explains that when he preaches he holds “two books in (his) hands: the book of Scripture and the book of creation and culture”, and that he tries to “show how both books “co-illuminate” each other”, that the “two voices interacting with each other magnify God’s truth.” This sheds light on how we can resolve the aforementioned tension. It means that Scripture informs our understanding of all cultural things, and inversely that Creation informs our understanding of Scripture. He goes on to affirm with John Calvin, the Reformed theologian, that all truth is God’s truth. Consider the implications of that statement: all truth is God’s truth.

I think often of how this understanding is foundational to Christian education, and I think that this is why I get excited about the gift that Christian education has to offer our faith communities. If we understand that Creation and Scripture are Co-Illumining it means that we can find Truth in a lot more than just the supposedly ‘sacred’ things of life. Instead, we can find Truth in ‘secular’ movies, books, music, and art. All Truth, according to Van Sloten, includes “biblical truth, mathematically formulaic truth, aesthetically beautiful truth, athletically inspired truth, naturally scenic truth, psychologically wise truth….” You get the picture.

The converse to the above argument is also true; we will gain an understanding that there are certain aspects of culture that simply are out of line with God’s good created order when we allow the Co-Illumining of Creation and Scripture. This is a good thing because we need to be able to discern the holy from the abominable, and decide whether we need to remove our footwear or put on a pair of rubber boots.

Sloten, John. The day Metallica came to church: searching for the everywhere God in everything. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Square Inch, 2010.

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Co-Illumination, Metallica Goes to Church

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