Not sure if this is the situation in the US, but here in Australia we have Christian schools with no individual church affiliation, and many without any denominational affiliation.
I work at one.
Some time ago, the principal (incidentally a friend of mine) wanted staff to consider the purpose of the school. He suggested something along the lines of preparing students with a Christ-centred view of life to go out and live for God in the world.
I like that goal, but as I asked him later, how does that work with the church’s mission? Surely it is primarily the church’s mission to disciple people, not Christian schools. And if the school is not affiliated with any church, the question becomes even more acute.
Now, practically, any school has students’ attention for a greater part of the week than even their parents do, so the idea of using that time to provide Christian discipleship is not terrible. Add to that the fact that many churches fall down when it comes to community and discipleship, Christian schools automatically become the means of whatever discipleship students receive.
But at the same time, students who leave Christian schools without strong ties to a church often drift. And students who go on to occupations in a non-Christian environment find their new community will often disciple them in a non-Christian direction.
The principal agreed my questions have merit and suggested further thought was warranted. Having access to such esteemed people as yourselves, I wondered what thoughts about this there might be in this group.
How should Christian schools see their mission? Can they overstep?
How should churches interact with Christian schools? Should they engage in some way?
First, as someone who works for a Christian non-profit but is zealous for the prerogatives of the Church, I’m sympathetic with this concern.
However, my general understanding of Christian education is that it is the domain of the family, and that the Christian school is being retained by the parents to assist them in their duty to disciple their children. You know, that whole “fear and admonition of the Lord” thing that Paul discusses.
Can this overstep into what the Church should do? Certainly. We can always find ways to overstep. But it doesn’t seem to be to be overstepping to say that parents (especially fathers) are responsible to disciple their children. Honestly, regarding schools, I’d be more concerned about their displacing the father’s responsibility to disciple his children.
That’s a great point. Christian schools are (in theory) serving fathers in their responsibility to disciple children. But how much discipling are educational instituions meant to do?
What we know is that the church is biblically mandated to develop and disciple people, including children. Schools - at least back in the day - were meant to provide academic development. While Christian schools can be said to disciple the mind, are they also meant to follow the culture in becoming de facto parents and raising children in all of life?
Let’s say for the sake of argument that fathers enlist Christian schools, not just for discipling their children in academics, but in all of life. (This is what today’s schools do in effect). What is it churches are meant to do? Supplement schools?
Let’s take the school out of the picture for a second and posit a homeschooling family.
And, just to keep things simple, let’s posit that this homeschooling family is an enthusiastic, cooperative, (dare I say) submissive part of its local church. You know, not the independent crazies that are out there. (As a homeschooling father, I feel like I’m allowed to be honest about those in my camp.)
In this case, what’s the responsibility of the church to the members of this family? This isn’t a gotcha, by the way. I figure that if we can arrive at a sketch of the ideal basic relationship, it could help show where the school can helpfully intersect and where it would get in the way.
To be clear, I’m not saying that I have some kind of clear answer that I’m dangling out of arm’s reach. I’m just trying to be a helpful conversation partner, especially since this is a practical issue for you. If there’s a better way for me to be helpful, please let me know!
It’s helpful. I appreciate the engagement. My principal friend is open to thoughts about this, so I’m glad to have some helpful ideas.
In the case of a home schooling family, I would suggest the church would be discipling the parents and children and providing teaching on discipling the children for fathers and mothers. The church would also hold some responsibility for the orthodoxy and orthopraxy of the parents. I’m not suggesting micro-managing, but if the church became aware of heresy taught or sin committed, they hold the parents accountable.
How does that relate to Christian schools?
At this stage (and there is a lot to think through) I’d suggest that schools would do well to point to churches as a student’s spiritual home - even if the school itself is not associated with one. I think it would be appropriate for a church to speak to a father if the school was either taking on too much of the spiritual load or teaching error.
I’m on the board of a Christian school, and this is a constant question. The following is not meant to dismiss the question, but just something I’ve been wondering.
Fundamentally, education is the responsibility of the parents and the school is acting in loco parentis. Is there a conflict between the family and church? Isn’t it the goal of parents to “prepare children with a Christ-centered view of life to go out and live for God in the world”?
Definitely true and similar to Seth’s comment above.
Some more thoughts:
Schools act in loco parentis, but also act in loco ecclesiae.
Let me illustrate using the school I work at. I’ve compared the school to a Christian camp - there are “Christian Living” classes, extra-curricula activities for students, “praise and worship” at assemblies, combined “worship” nights with other schools, voluntary bible studies for students from ages 5-18, visiting preachers, staff have prayer meetings, their own “praise and worship” morning, small groups and sharing times. If you ever had the experience of a post-camp slump, or heard campers say, I wish church was like this, school actually fulfills that desire to some degree.
What is it parents are asking schools to do?
I used to ask God why he wouldn’t let me teach at the same school my children attended and my wife then worked at. But now I’m thankful that I was able to provide an example of living outside their Christian school and instead get my spiritual input from church, friends and family.