Greetings:
In beginning this new adventure as Montrose Christian School’s headmaster, I thought it would be appropriate to share a few thoughts on Christian education in the 21st century. Now more than ever, the people of God are called to be like the men of Issachar who the Bible says, “understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” (1 Chronicles 12:32 NIV). It is only by understanding our times that we can prepare our children to be tomorrow’s leaders, those who will heartily labor to build the Kingdom of God until our Blessed Savior returns.
The modern Christian school, poised to prepare tomorrow’s Christian leaders, should stand on four pillars – a deep and abiding knowledge of the Bible, the understanding of worldviews, globalization, and technology. Our future Christian leaders must be educated to master these four world-shaping forces as we move forward to answer the call of the Great Commission.
In writing his last letter to his disciple Timothy, the Apostle Paul reminded his young student of his need to know the Holy Scriptures, “which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3: 15-17 NIV) Paul is emphasizing two truths in this epistle – first, we come to the faith we need to know Jesus Christ and be reconciled with God the Father through the Bible; second, God’s Word teaches us all that we need to live a full and productive life. Many Christians lead feeble lives because they fail to study and commit to knowledge God’s special revelation to the world – the Holy Bible.
This lack of knowledge is particularly scandalous when you look about and see that the world has increasingly rejected Christianity for other worldviews – Islam, the New Age Movement, Secular Humanism, Pantheism, etc. Christians today must be prepared to defend the faith in the face of mounting opposition. In fact, we are instructed by God’s Word to “[a]lways be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15b NIV) We cannot adequately defend the faith if we do not have a complete understanding of other worldviews – what they are, how they came to be, and an understanding of the lifestyles they support.
Anyone who has read Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat understands that the global village is already here. Technology has made the world so small that people in India, China, Europe, and the United States can collaborate on the same animated television show while working from their respective homes. In Matthew 28, Jesus gives us the Great Commission – the tasking of making disciples of all the nations. It is no longer necessary to travel to evangelize the world because the world is already here. Hence, tomorrow’s Christian leaders must be able to function in a multicultural environment. This not only means learning other languages, but developing the ability to learn a variety of cultural practices and norms. We no longer have the luxury of worshipping in segregated churches and hiding in the comfort of a monolithic community. Future leaders and workers must be prepared to relate in an increasingly diverse world.
Our global village has been made possible by the technological advances of the 20th century in transportation and communications. Specifically, the invention and development of the computer and the Internet has bountifully increased productivity and has made the international movement of data and information almost instantaneous. This, in turn, has increased opportunities for the provision of education and the creation of commercial partnerships that can potentially spread wealth all over the world. Unfortunately, this technology has also made us vulnerable in ways we’ve never been – identity theft, Internet scams, and the sexual abuse of children lured through chat rooms strongly demonstrates how the best technology can be abused by those with sinister intentions.
In this brave new world of iPods, PDA’s, and shrinking laptops, we must provide our children with a technology curriculum that meets two goals – they must learn how to use the technology and they must learn to develop an ethical paradigm for its use. When you consider, for example, how the Internet has made plagiarism so easy that a middle school student can do it, you can see how it is necessary to provide our students with an ethical paradigm for using technology for the good of humanity and not for selfish gain.
So as I start this new journey in my life, these are the ideas that I believe must be embraced to make Montrose Christian School an effective 21st century Christian school. I am mindful, however, that all of this is pointless unless we first accept the truth that the Bible is God’s special revelation to this world and that we must begin by embracing and teaching the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Yours truly,
Angel M. Cartagena, Jr.
Headmaster