What Role Should Scripture Play in Society?

One of the most interesting conversations I've with students the past two years deals with the issue of using the Bible in public discourse.  In other words, should I use the Bible when I'm talking with non-Christians about issues like gay-marriage, legalization of marijuana, capital punishment, etc. Most of my students have felt like they should not use the Bible in these discussions. Why? Well, why would I use the Bible to support or defend my ideas when the other person rejects or doesn't believe the Bible--the Bible is not relevant because this isn't a religious conversation or because non-Christians do not find the Bible persuasive. What I think they are really saying is that we shouldn't bring our religious convictions into these kinds of discussions. I think this has two problems.

Mistake #1
One mistake I think my students make is believing that the other person is NOT bringing their personal religious or pseudo-religious convictions into the conversation. Well, I don't think this is possible. Everyone holds to beliefs that are not self-evident and cannot be proven empirically, and those underlying assumptions function constantly in our lives. Van Til used the illustration of the unobserved beams that hold up the floor on which we walk.  You can't see them but they are always there and always support you. And if I do use the Bible to support my ideas and I am told that the Bible doesn't belong in such discussions about what is best for society, isn't the other person just as "guilty" of using an exclusive claim on what is best for society, namely that in discussions about social issues religion has no relevance. In other words, both of us are using exclusive claims about what best determines the solution to the social issue. Neither of us is guilty of doing anything wrong. We simply are using what we think is best in determining the answer to the social problem. This leads to the second mistake.

Mistake #2
The second mistake I think my students make is believing neutral ground is possible.  They believe that Christians and muslims and atheists (and you name it) can come together around a social issue and find some common ground upon which we all agree and from that common ground (when we have set aside our personal biases or religious assumptions) we can engage is discourse and deal with social problems. What I think they really mean by common ground, by the way, is scientific reasoning which ultimately is rooted in naturalistic philosophies about the universe that puts man at the center and rebels against God as the ultimate authority of knowledge. But what this means and shows is that no neutral ground really exists. There is no neutral ground.

If my students can avoid these problems, I think they take a big step as Christians involving themselves in culture and society. Obviously I think Christians should appeal to facts to support their ideas outside of Scripture, but we certainly shouldn't avoid our presuppositions. In fact if we can live in line with the biblical worldview revealed in Scripture, that gives our arguments about what is best for society great credence and power and influence. This cannot be understated and must be understood, otherwise we can seriously undermine our ideas in these discussions about what is best for society.

Christian School Order & Organization

In my last post I sought to define Christian World Order in the school.  As I reflect more on Christian School Order, I can see how these thoughts are implications from a biblical understanding of how the Kingdom of God impacts education.  More about that later, possibly.  For now, here is Murray one more time: "We must be bold to say that the Christian revelation does not allow us to do anything less than to formulate and work towards a Christian world order in the life that we now live" (Murray, 357).  Amen!

In this post I want to layout the aspects and elements of the school so that we can then consider how Christian Order operates within the school.  Here's a sample list I have used when thinking about Covenant Life School:

School Culture & Community
This culture and community involves the following: vision, goals, beliefs, standards, values, practices, traditions, events, and spirit.  This also involves the relationships between the family, student, and faculty.  One way Christian Order operates in this aspect is to see students love one another sacrificially and learn how to be peacemakers.  What is the most significant action which determines school culture and community?  I think admissions decisions most influence the advancement of Christian Order in this area of the school.  Christian Order operates in the school as Christian families become part of and remain steadfast in the community.

Staffing and Professional Development
This includes a lot of different categories, beginning with hiring and retaining great teachers.  Teachers MUST be lifelong learners and always seek improvement in their craft and NEVER settle for the status-quo.  They should focus on the one thing they can control - their own performance (BTW...teachers need to think of their classroom as a family, as a learning community that is broken and does not function the way God designed.  AND the biggest reason education does not work in the classroom is the TEACHER - they are the biggest problem in the learning community.).  They must learn TOGETHER as a professional learning community. School leadership must MENTOR faculty (it's never about programs but always about people).  Faculty MUST mentor one another.  They should work and play well together.

Curriculum Organization
Curriculum involves course content, instructional & learning methods, and assessment practices.  When Christian Order operates in this area of the school, the fear of God as well as love and worship of God pervasively work.  We must put God at the center of their universe, because He is at the center of the universe.

Student Discipline & Development
This is all about repairing and developing the image of God the student and includes the following aspects of the student growth: spiritual, physical, mental/emotional, relational, character, and leadership.  Increasingly I am thinking that we need to look not only at the current situation spiritually of our students but also the current situation psychologically of our students because of the many societal changes in media and technology. We should also include classroom management processes here as well as communication between school and family. Obviously this overlaps extensively with "Curriculum Organization" since the curriculum is the course or track through which our students develop.

Resources & Administration
This is the nuts and bolts of the school: services, programs, time, space, technology, materials, paperwork, positions, etc.  Here are some of the key aspects of this element of the school: Board of Trustees; School Administrators; business development; business office; admissions office; facilities; guidance program; athletics program; scholars program; communications/marketing; handbooks, etc.

There you have it.  Now we must consider how Christian Order operates in those areas.  In other words, what does the Kingdom of God accomplish in the school?

Christian School Order

John Murray writes the following:  "[Christian World Order] is a world order that in all its aspects and spheres is Christian, an order so conformed to the principles of Christianity, and so pervaded by the forces that are operative in Christianity, that the whole of life will be brought into willing captivity to the obedience of Christ" (Murray, Collected Writings, 356).  Wow!  He goes on to ask the questions, "Are we justified in entertaining such an order as an ideal towards which we should work and strive?  Do we have any assurance that such a world order is attainable?"

In order to answer these questions we must remember that we live in the "Already but Not Yet."  Christ has already broken into our world and has established his kingdom and reign over all of creation and life; however Christ has not yet brought to complete and perfect expression that kingdom, power, and rule.  That will take place in his glorious return.

So, are we fooling ourselves and wasting our time in considering a Christian order in the school?  Absolutely not!  I believe we have the right and even the responsibility to work toward advancing the kingdom of God in all areas of life, including the school.  Again, Murray has said:

"The demands of the divine sovereignty make it impossible for us to evade the obligation to strive will all of our heart and soul and strength and mind for the establishment of an order that will bring to realization all the demands of God's majesty, authority, supremacy, and kingship.  An this, in a word, is simply the full fruition of the kingdom of God, wherever we are, and in the whole compass of thought, word, and action."  

OK.  So now that we have determined that Christian World Order in schools is necessary, what is Christian School Order and what does it look like?  I think Christian School Order creates a learning community that is a theological community, a sociological community, and a redemptive community.  In other words a Christian school is a learning community that is a theological community, a sociological community, and a redemptive community.  In this definition I am borrowing the definition Paul Tripp uses for the family.  If that statement is true, then I can impose that order onto all the aspects and elements of the school.  In my next post I want to layout briefly the aspects and elements of the school so that we can begin to consider what Christian School Order exactly looks like.

"So What?" to the Sovereignty of God in Politics

I am again thinking more about government and politics as we enter another presidential election year. I wrote here about the Sovereignty of God as a shaping idea in politics back in 2009! That was three years ago! Well, I wanted to follow up with that post by writing about how I think the Sovereignty of God makes a difference in government and politics. There are many implications to this idea, but I wanted to share an essential one here:

Government should represent the rule of God in this world. In other words, we should create and maintain governments. This implication is yet another expression of reflecting God as his image bearers. We are like God and we represent God. We stand in God's stead here on earth. We image God and reflect to varying degrees his different attributes, including his sovereignty. So we should exercise power and control over creation, over what God has assigned to us. This may sound obvious and unimportant, but we must remember that we are building a biblical worldview of government and therefore must start with the essentials of a biblical worldview: presuppositional ideas about God, about mankind, about creation. God is sovereign; we reflect and represent God; therefore we are sovereign (to a degree).

Now, these thoughts beg the question: who can really represent God? Maybe a better question might be: who really wants to represent God? We must remember that the direction in which we exercise this sovereignty in government is just as important as the fact that we have been given this capacity to rule and govern. As yet another presidential election approaches, here's an essential question to ask about the individuals seeking one of the most influential offices in the world: Which candidate most shows what God is like? In other words, who reflects God most accurately? Who thinks most like him? Whose goals most line up with his goals? Whose strategies most resemble his strategies? Who lives most like him? Who loves other individuals most like him?

Government leaders are living analogies of God. Indeed, they show what God is like. They can represent God more or less accurately and truthfully or they can more or less misrepresent and slander God. I say "more or less" because nobody is perfect and nobody should expect perfection, but ultimately their reputation is not on the line but God's. We must hold our leaders accountable for their actions, especially when they seek the highest office of the land. I wonder how many of the candidates are afraid to serve as president because they represent God. Let me not forget that I also represent God in my positions of leadership, authority, and influence. How afraid am I?

Role of the Varsity Head Coach beyond Varsity

In addition to the normal coaching responsibilities, should the varsity head coach fulfill a broader role in any sports program? I think so for the following reasons. The varsity head coach often has the most expertise in the game as well as coaching the game. Additionally the varsity coach knows what is necessary for players and teams to compete and succeed at the highest level of interscholastic athletics. In other words they know what varsity players should look like, what technical skills are necessary, what tactical knowledge is required, what physical training and stamina the varsity season demands, and what communication and godly character helps a team succeed. I want the varsity head coach to envision the program with specific ideals and goals in these areas (e.g. 1st team All-PVAC cross country runner requires running under 16:00), as well as to offer practical suggestions to get players to that level. I firmly believe that coaches at different levels should work together as a team in order to build a strong and stable program.  MS coaches should have an open mind and look for ways to implement aspects of coaching from the varsity head coach.  They should ask themselves, "What can I implement to prepare my players for the next level under this coach or under this system?"  BTW...varsity head coaches are worth their weight in gold so do whatever you can to hire and keep them! By God’s grace, I think we have excellent head coaches at CLS.

Yet, while I want the varsity head coach to have some influence over programs under varsity, I also want MS and JV coaches to feel 100% ownership of their team.  That means that while the MS and JV coaches should demonstrate humility and learn from the varsity coaching staff, I they should have the final say in how much their team works on the same things as the varsity. In other words, the MS and JV teams should not necessarily do the same things as the varsity teams. This would include technical drills, tactics, physical training, communication, character training, etc. Sometimes the players and the team are not ready to do the things the varsity team does. Sometimes the players and teams can do the things the varsity team does. Players on MS and JV are different than players on varsity. For example, two years ago I did not want the MS volleyball to run a 5-1 or 6-2 offense even though the varsity ran this offense because the MS team was not ready. I wanted them to run a 4-2 offense which the varsity never runs because the offense is elementary. However, last year I wanted to MS team to run a 6-2 offense because they were ready.

I want to caution coaches in trying to run the varsity and MS/JV teams alike because there are significant differences between MS players and HS players. The MS and JV coaching staff should determine how much their team does the same things as the varsity team. I definitely think the varsity coaching staff can give feedback to the MS coach about the development and readiness of the MS team whenever possible. I want the MS and JV coaching staff to listen to the varsity head coach and benefit from their expertise. Yet, I also want the MS and JV coaching staff to assess their players and team, identify strengths and weaknesses, and use appropriate plans that will effectively prepare them for varsity. Sometimes that will mean using very little of what the varsity coaching staff uses. Sometimes that will mean using much of what varsity uses. Invariably it will be somewhere in between. This also allows the MS and JV teams to develop their own team identity.

At times this may look like MS/JV teams and varsity practicing together. When coaches are teaching and reviewing fundamentals at the beginning of the year, MS/JV and varsity practices can overlap to some degree. As the season progresses, though, the teams should separate more and more.

Middle School Athletics - Implications for Coaching

Coaching middle school sports is not easy. There are many different priorities competing against one another. In a way coaching middle school is like walking a tight-rope. Coaching requires clear vision, balance, and patience. If these are not in place, confusion and conflict often follows. Based on the vision of middle school athletics from the following posts, here are some implications and guidelines we follow here at Covenant Life School for coaching at this level.

1) Coaches should stay safe. Let's remember that players are changing physically at this age. Many have little experience with the game you are coaching. Most adolescents regularly do not participate in vigorous physical activity. Let's assess the physical abilities of each player before pushing them hard physically. Find out where they are and work up from there. Obviously players need some degree of physical conditioning to play, but don't set the bar really high and find out who can perform at that level. Players get freaked out and hurt by that approach. In other words, we should not come into tryouts assuming they are ready physically to compete in a game situation. Gradually prepare them physically for the first game. Make sure your athletic director schedules your first game at least three weeks after tryouts!

2) Coaches should develop well-rounded players rather than positional players. In other words, coaches should emphasize the fundamentals (knowledge, skills, strategies, physical requirements). Middle school really is the beginning of adolescence - the period of growth from childhood to adulthood - so athletics in this period should be fairly simple and straightforward. Help players understand the basics of every position. Players will need that knowledge to succeed. Don't be surprised when you need to explain something as basic as a "throw in" for soccer, "traveling" for basketball, or the number of outs in an inning (I have seen confused middle school players not sure what to do in each of these situations). Many players have played only in recreation leagues. Let's assume players know very little about the game and help them develop the necessary skills to enjoy the game for a lifetime. Make a list of basic terms you want to teach to your team throughout the season. At this level knowing the rules of the game can give your team a decided advantage in a close game.

3) Coaches should encourage players to explore and test different talents and positions. For example, if a player shows interest or signs of talent, let them try goalie or point guard. Generally I think we should avoid leaning toward specialization at this age. Simultaneously I think coaches can play someone primarily at one position, especially for critical positions. (e.g. goalie, point guard, catcher). However I still think coaches should challenge players and parents to try other positions as well. The style and sophistication of varsity athletics comes with experience and growth.

4) Coaches should help players take risks rather than avoid failure. This implication ties in with the previous one. We should obviously set up players for success and avoid putting them in situations where they will fail miserably. However, let's encourage them to take risks and test something (including themselves). As Christians, this implications sets up many opportunities to trust God, rely on his strength, and grow as courageous men and women.

5) Coaches should play everyone. Obviously players will have different levels of talent and because middle school sports is competitive, everyone should not play equally. However, players need experience in games in order to grow more comfortable and confident in competitive situations. They need pressure in order to grow comfortable with pressure.

6) Coaches should have fun with their players. Having fun should be a constant theme in sports at every possible level because sports is playing a game. Emphasizing fun at this age helps players grow more comfortable with the competitive elements of athletics; it also helps us to not take ourselves so seriously.

Middle School Athletics - Preparing Players

In the last post I explained the first objective for middle school athletics: introducing players to this world. Now I want to talk a bit about the second and more obvious objective for middle school sports: preparing players for the next level.

Preparing players for the next level of interscholastic athletics means developing the necessary fundamentals of the game so they can succeed in JV and varsity athletics. I think this aspect of middle school athletics is more evident and pursued than introducing players. While middle school athletics should not be as competitive as varsity, middle school sports still is competitive. An increasing amount of players in middle school have experience playing on club teams. The average skill level in middle school is increasing. Many players and parents understandably expect more knowledgeable coaches to train them in the fundamentals. These fundamentals include knowledge of game (i.e. rules), skills and techniques, tactics and strategies, as well as the physical conditioning to meet the demands of the sport. In this way I think we can think of middle school programs like a feeder program for varsity. I also think varsity head coaches can have a role in designing middle school programs (more about this later, though).