The time passes so very quickly. I wrote this to post three months ago at the beginning of October (2009). A lot has taken place in that short time – the obvious reason that I haven’t posted what was already written and ready to go. I am working on another post, but the content and sentiment of this one is so important that I am going to post it also.
The Bright Futures Learning Center moved into a new facility this fall. (Actually, the original Bright Futures, LLC closed and CHILD Ministries opened a new school under our non-profit banner. For the time being, we are referring to the new school by the Bright Futures name.) For the last several years, Bright Futures has rented a very old building in Washougal. The school was growing beyond that facility’s ability to accommodate, so it was only a matter of time. I would like to take advantage of this move to discuss GENEROSITY, a character quality of Christ, and how that character quality manifested to open the doors for a new Bright Futures Christian School (an outreach of CHILD Ministries) into an era of growth.
About the time Bright Futures was getting started, Grace Church in Camas was building an addition and expanding. Grace was growing quickly and took that into consideration, building a very nice wing for children’s classes. They did a first-rate job and were set up for teaching preschool through the elementary grades, but they only used the space on weekends.
Eventually, via connections with staff and worshipers at Grace, CHILD Ministries and Grace Church came to an agreement to share the wonderful place that Grace had created for their Sunday morning children’s ministry. That agreement provided just what was needed for the new Bright Futures Christian School to add first and second grades to the previous preschool and kindergarten of Bright Futures, LLC.
Although Grace Church is a little bit out-of-the-way, so to speak, the location is still a good one for Bright Futures. We are just a little farther west and a little closer to Vancouver, making us more centrally located for families in the region. We also ended up with much nicer, newer, cleaner space and more room inside and out, not to mention a very large savings in rent payments.
So, we thank the staff and members of Grace Church for their generosity. We look forward to nurturing our new relationship. A special hats-off to Pastor Steve, the administrator at Grace, for his advocacy for Bright Futures Christian School.
As I mentioned in the first paragraph, a lot has taken place since I actually wrote the above post. The Board of Directors of CHILD Ministries has been meeting weekly to sort out all the details necessary to pick up the pieces of a business and incorporate them into the mission of the organization. One of our many successful accomplishments is the commissioning of a new website, www.brightfuturesonline.org, dedicated to Bright Futures Christian School and the overall mission of CHILD Ministries.
Parts of the site are still under construction, but there are two very important links that are up and running. Payments and donations can now be made online, and you can purchase gift cards for many retailers and food vendors that pay a premium to CHILD Ministries and Bright Futures when purchased through us. Check it out!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Of Christmas and Culture
As I write there are three days until Christmas – the tenth since the start of the millennium (as most of us count); the two-thousand-ninth anniversary of the birth of Jesus. It is a festive time in our culture when we celebrate the angelic proclamation of peace and goodwill. A time of gift giving in honor and memory of the ultimate gift we received at the first Christmas, and feasting for the joy and hope the amazing gift provides.
My family thinks that I don’t really like Christmas. They think I am a humbug, because I am not a fan of all the hubbub and frantic chaos of the preparations and shopping and wrapping of gifts. And if that is your definition of Christmas, then my family is right, and you would think I am a humbug, too.
But in reality, I love Christmas. I love that God, the creator of the universe, loves me, a Nobody but for the value He placed by the price He paid. I love that He became human so He could show us his love. I love that He took my sin upon Himself to redeem me from Sin and Death – although I am saddened that the cost was so high. I love Christmas – I just don’t love what it has become in our culture.
Well, that isn’t completely true. I do love presents. I love that my family makes consummate effort to be together at Christmas, some traveling thousands of miles to do so. I love presents. I love all the baking and candy making and comfort food. I love presents. I love the wonderful, creative ways the Christmas story is shared in music and movies and television and churches. And did I mention I love presents?
I also love giving. I wrestle all year with my natural bent toward self, but at Christmas my redeemed nature gains strength somehow, and I give and experience joy for it. That’s another thing I love about Christmas; the spirit of Christmas motivates me to behave in a more Christ-like way. Not only am I redeemed by the ultimate sacrifice and story of Christmas, but Christmas redeems me again and again, year after year after year. That’s what I love about Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
My family thinks that I don’t really like Christmas. They think I am a humbug, because I am not a fan of all the hubbub and frantic chaos of the preparations and shopping and wrapping of gifts. And if that is your definition of Christmas, then my family is right, and you would think I am a humbug, too.
But in reality, I love Christmas. I love that God, the creator of the universe, loves me, a Nobody but for the value He placed by the price He paid. I love that He became human so He could show us his love. I love that He took my sin upon Himself to redeem me from Sin and Death – although I am saddened that the cost was so high. I love Christmas – I just don’t love what it has become in our culture.
Well, that isn’t completely true. I do love presents. I love that my family makes consummate effort to be together at Christmas, some traveling thousands of miles to do so. I love presents. I love all the baking and candy making and comfort food. I love presents. I love the wonderful, creative ways the Christmas story is shared in music and movies and television and churches. And did I mention I love presents?
I also love giving. I wrestle all year with my natural bent toward self, but at Christmas my redeemed nature gains strength somehow, and I give and experience joy for it. That’s another thing I love about Christmas; the spirit of Christmas motivates me to behave in a more Christ-like way. Not only am I redeemed by the ultimate sacrifice and story of Christmas, but Christmas redeems me again and again, year after year after year. That’s what I love about Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
A Father’s Influence
How important is a father, really, or is it possible to raise a godly child without a father’s influence? And what if the father is not a Christian, or not a particularly positive role model? Is he still as important in the life of a child?
I can’t pretend to answer these questions with any authority. In my own life, my father was in an occupation that kept him away from home for days at a time, and when he was home, the environment was unpredictable. My parents didn’t get along very well, and by the time I was about eight years old, they divorced. A year or so later I had a new step-father who remains married to my mother today, some 45 years later.
Both of these men contributed significantly to the development of my personality, work ethic, attitudes toward other people, and a host of other important things. Some of these contributions have been beneficial to me in my relationships with friends, family, and coworkers. There are a few, unfortunately, I’ve spent a lifetime trying to break, too. A blog post is certainly not the document required to record all these significant contributions. I would need to write a book of some length.
There is one episode in my young childhood that has stood out in my life for very nearly 50 years. As I mentioned previously, my father was away a lot. Often he brought trinkets home to us when he returned. One of those trinkets he gave me was a satin bookmark with the first stanza of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, If, printed on it. It is lavender, and because of the color my baby sister wanted it, but Daddy was unusually firm. He picked out that text for his little boy and he wanted me to have it.
I could barely read, and the print on it was very small, but even at the age of five or six I cherished that bookmark. For decades it has marked the beginning of the book of Psalms in my Thompson Chain Reference Bible. The only other souvenir of my early childhood that has survived the years is my ancient Teddy bear, Willy, worn smooth from loving. I managed to keep both all these years. I have no idea why I still have that old Teddy bear, but I think I’ve read that poem two or three thousand times. Today, more than any other counsel or text, it is Mr. Kipling’s words, I think, that taught me to be self confident, patient, and to fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds full of distance run.
Dad didn’t walk in Christ. He wasn’t a very good role model in some ways. He was absent often and eventually delegated much of his fathering responsibilities to my step-father. But the point I really want to make, Dads, is that you never know what impact a small act today might mean to your child a half century from now.
I can’t pretend to answer these questions with any authority. In my own life, my father was in an occupation that kept him away from home for days at a time, and when he was home, the environment was unpredictable. My parents didn’t get along very well, and by the time I was about eight years old, they divorced. A year or so later I had a new step-father who remains married to my mother today, some 45 years later.
Both of these men contributed significantly to the development of my personality, work ethic, attitudes toward other people, and a host of other important things. Some of these contributions have been beneficial to me in my relationships with friends, family, and coworkers. There are a few, unfortunately, I’ve spent a lifetime trying to break, too. A blog post is certainly not the document required to record all these significant contributions. I would need to write a book of some length.
There is one episode in my young childhood that has stood out in my life for very nearly 50 years. As I mentioned previously, my father was away a lot. Often he brought trinkets home to us when he returned. One of those trinkets he gave me was a satin bookmark with the first stanza of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, If, printed on it. It is lavender, and because of the color my baby sister wanted it, but Daddy was unusually firm. He picked out that text for his little boy and he wanted me to have it.
I could barely read, and the print on it was very small, but even at the age of five or six I cherished that bookmark. For decades it has marked the beginning of the book of Psalms in my Thompson Chain Reference Bible. The only other souvenir of my early childhood that has survived the years is my ancient Teddy bear, Willy, worn smooth from loving. I managed to keep both all these years. I have no idea why I still have that old Teddy bear, but I think I’ve read that poem two or three thousand times. Today, more than any other counsel or text, it is Mr. Kipling’s words, I think, that taught me to be self confident, patient, and to fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds full of distance run.
Dad didn’t walk in Christ. He wasn’t a very good role model in some ways. He was absent often and eventually delegated much of his fathering responsibilities to my step-father. But the point I really want to make, Dads, is that you never know what impact a small act today might mean to your child a half century from now.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Tolerance
This generation defines tolerance as the capacity for or practice of allowing or respecting the nature, beliefs, or behavior of others. That is from the American Heritage Dictionary, but every publisher has used similar wording for 40 years or more. Culturally, we think of tolerance as putting up with other people and in some sub-cultures as virtually, if not literally, embracing their ways. I certainly agree that respecting another’s ethnicity, dress, personal space, diet, and/or religious disciplines is commendable, and we and our children should do so out of courtesy if for no other reason. Tolerance, however, is not necessarily a character quality of Christ.
Jesus was kind and courteous, loving and on occasion tender. He stood for the underdog. He saw and respected the man and spoke into his life, whether tax collector or community leader, Jew or Samaritan (His disciples later extended to Gentiles – for which I am eternally grateful). But Jesus was not tolerant by today’s cultural definition Tolerance, as we use the term, assumes that there is no absolute – that everything is relative and every life choice equal. But there is Truth, and every life choice is not equal in scope or in consequence. So, while I both practice and teach children to respect the differences of others, it will be in the context of loving them because they are people for whom Christ died, without regard for ethnicity, language, culture, or whether their life choices are similar or contrary to mine.
Neither is zero-tolerance (which throws the baby out with the bath) a character quality of Christ. The only instance of zero-tolerance we find in the life of Jesus is His condemnation of the Pharisees for attributing the work of the Holy Spirit (God) to beelzebub (satan), and no circumstance in human context measures up to this irreverence. Jesus always considered the individual, and his words, deeds, and motives. So must I. Jesus never gave a blanket prescription – just a blanket command: Love God and one another. So, when I interact with the person whose behavior is hurtful, I am not required to endorse the behavior, but I must love and accept the one who manifests the behavior.
Hate the sin, love the sinner. It really is that simple – but it isn’t easy. As difficult as it is, I must love the evil man even while hating his evil deed. The blood that Jesus shed for me on the cross, he shed for the one who injured me, too. It isn’t my job to prevent behavior I dislike or that is hurtful, nor is it my job to punish the one whose behavior I disapprove. My job, as far as I am able, is to never do wrong to anyone else – ever. That is better than tolerance, it’s Jesus.
Jesus was kind and courteous, loving and on occasion tender. He stood for the underdog. He saw and respected the man and spoke into his life, whether tax collector or community leader, Jew or Samaritan (His disciples later extended to Gentiles – for which I am eternally grateful). But Jesus was not tolerant by today’s cultural definition Tolerance, as we use the term, assumes that there is no absolute – that everything is relative and every life choice equal. But there is Truth, and every life choice is not equal in scope or in consequence. So, while I both practice and teach children to respect the differences of others, it will be in the context of loving them because they are people for whom Christ died, without regard for ethnicity, language, culture, or whether their life choices are similar or contrary to mine.
Neither is zero-tolerance (which throws the baby out with the bath) a character quality of Christ. The only instance of zero-tolerance we find in the life of Jesus is His condemnation of the Pharisees for attributing the work of the Holy Spirit (God) to beelzebub (satan), and no circumstance in human context measures up to this irreverence. Jesus always considered the individual, and his words, deeds, and motives. So must I. Jesus never gave a blanket prescription – just a blanket command: Love God and one another. So, when I interact with the person whose behavior is hurtful, I am not required to endorse the behavior, but I must love and accept the one who manifests the behavior.
Hate the sin, love the sinner. It really is that simple – but it isn’t easy. As difficult as it is, I must love the evil man even while hating his evil deed. The blood that Jesus shed for me on the cross, he shed for the one who injured me, too. It isn’t my job to prevent behavior I dislike or that is hurtful, nor is it my job to punish the one whose behavior I disapprove. My job, as far as I am able, is to never do wrong to anyone else – ever. That is better than tolerance, it’s Jesus.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Peer Pressure
Many Christian parents are under the misconception that putting their children in a Christian school will protect them from negative peer pressure. Those of us who provide the Christian school alternative are, of course, very vigilant to monitor our students’ behavior and we make every effort – and I believe we do a pretty good job – minimizing negative peer pressure among our charges. However, as every parent of even one child knows, kids can be pretty sneaky, and when they are grouped together they can develop a sort of synergy. You know what I mean, don’t you? That two kids can get into way more than twice the trouble that one child alone can?
So, how can we protect our children from negative peer pressure, and what are we paying all those tuition dollars for, anyway? Well, I didn’t exactly say there was no protection, or that the Christian school couldn’t help at all. In fact, we have a plan! Our mission is to help you develop in your child the character of Jesus Christ. In fact, if you identify a character quality you want to see in your son or daughter, we can work on that project with you. And how does this help protect them from negative peer pressure? By giving them the tools they need to effectively resist the temptation to behave badly or unwisely when it presents itself.
Character development has other benefits as well. At CHILD we are committed to the truth that exceptional academic achievement is a natural by-product of the development of the character of Christ in the individual. We present genuine and authentic learning experiences to every child under our guidance. The child who is wise, diligent, alert, self-controlled, attentive, and punctual will receive the learning and excel far beyond the child who is really smart, but doesn’t manifest the same character qualities. Talent may get you into the game, but only training, practice, and personal discipline will make you a champion.
Children eventually acquire many of the character traits of Christ if they walk in Him. Some they will learn by their own encounter with Jesus, and some by watching their earthly role models – you and me. But why wait for them to absorb them by osmosis? Wouldn’t it be far more effective if we integrated them into the daily curriculum? Can you imagine a school full of children who demonstrate daily these character qualities both in school and at home? We can, and we want you to catch our vision and work with us to build His Church one child – one family – at a time.
So, how can we protect our children from negative peer pressure, and what are we paying all those tuition dollars for, anyway? Well, I didn’t exactly say there was no protection, or that the Christian school couldn’t help at all. In fact, we have a plan! Our mission is to help you develop in your child the character of Jesus Christ. In fact, if you identify a character quality you want to see in your son or daughter, we can work on that project with you. And how does this help protect them from negative peer pressure? By giving them the tools they need to effectively resist the temptation to behave badly or unwisely when it presents itself.
Character development has other benefits as well. At CHILD we are committed to the truth that exceptional academic achievement is a natural by-product of the development of the character of Christ in the individual. We present genuine and authentic learning experiences to every child under our guidance. The child who is wise, diligent, alert, self-controlled, attentive, and punctual will receive the learning and excel far beyond the child who is really smart, but doesn’t manifest the same character qualities. Talent may get you into the game, but only training, practice, and personal discipline will make you a champion.
Children eventually acquire many of the character traits of Christ if they walk in Him. Some they will learn by their own encounter with Jesus, and some by watching their earthly role models – you and me. But why wait for them to absorb them by osmosis? Wouldn’t it be far more effective if we integrated them into the daily curriculum? Can you imagine a school full of children who demonstrate daily these character qualities both in school and at home? We can, and we want you to catch our vision and work with us to build His Church one child – one family – at a time.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Our Overseas Connection
In eastern Latvia there is an orphanage. Some of the children there are not really orphans, but their parents are too poor to be able to feed and clothe them. Levi is also there – not in the orphanage, but in the neighborhood. Levi is a first generation Latvian immigrant to the United States, but he has returned to Latvia. Visiting the children and taking his guests there with gifts of clothing and food are just a couple of the many things he is doing to help.
Levi is working to bring Revival to Latvia by first bringing unity to the Church. His ministry – Latvia House of Prayer for All Peoples – organizes prayer summits to hold up the Christian leadership of the various denominations represented in Latvia. He also brings the leaders together for food and fellowship. The Catholic (Roman and Orthodox), Lutheran, Pentecostal, and Baptist, leaders, and many others I can’t remember, spend time together because Levi makes it happen. They are learning to love one-another and find common ground in doctrine and the character of Jesus Christ – all the while supported by round the clock prayer and worship going on nearby.
I have included this post about Levi and his ministry because CHILD Ministries has supported Levi for many years. His supporters in the U.S. send their gifts for this ministry to CHILD for processing. We pass the gifts on to Levi and provide tax receipts to the donors each year at the end of January. If you love the people of Latvia, or children, or one accord in the Church, then I invite you to consider contributing to the ministry of Levi Graudins. Your gifts can be sent to CHILD Ministries if you want a tax receipt. Our office address is: CHILD Ministries, 33401 SE 15th St, Washougal, WA 98671. Overseas donors wishing to contribute directly to Levi’s organization in Latvia can contact CHILD Ministries and we will provide you contact information for Latvia House of Prayer for All Peoples.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Welcome to CHILD Ministries
This is our first post. We will tell you more about CHILD Ministries in later posts, but today we are just learning how to do all this high tech stuff.
CHILD is an acronym. According to our incorporation documents, we are Christian Holiness Institute for Learning and Development. Our mission is the education of children: distinctly Christian education, focused on and centered around the character qualities of Christ. Our motto is
Character: As Important as Achievement
Our plan is to provide a non-denominational Christian alternative to public schools, primarily for Christian families active in their local churches, but open to all. Our educational philosophy includes individualized, student centered instruction. Please visit the website of our preschool/primary school, Bright Futures Learning Center. You will find it at http://www.brightfutureslearningcenter.com/. Bright futures is our first school. We currently have space for first and second grade children for fall 2009. If you are looking for a top shelf primary school and live in Camas, Washington, or in the surrounding area of east Clark County, please give the school a call at (360)835-0558.
CHILD is an acronym. According to our incorporation documents, we are Christian Holiness Institute for Learning and Development. Our mission is the education of children: distinctly Christian education, focused on and centered around the character qualities of Christ. Our motto is
Character: As Important as Achievement
Our plan is to provide a non-denominational Christian alternative to public schools, primarily for Christian families active in their local churches, but open to all. Our educational philosophy includes individualized, student centered instruction. Please visit the website of our preschool/primary school, Bright Futures Learning Center. You will find it at http://www.brightfutureslearningcenter.com/. Bright futures is our first school. We currently have space for first and second grade children for fall 2009. If you are looking for a top shelf primary school and live in Camas, Washington, or in the surrounding area of east Clark County, please give the school a call at (360)835-0558.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
