You can say it in different ways, but a Christian school isn’t worth the time and effort it takes unless it’s helping form disciples of Jesus. That doesn’t mean you’re practicing child evangelism or replacing the essential work of the church. It does mean that we are partnering with our churches and families and that we as school leaders and teachers are fully devoted to following Jesus ourselves. Like Stephen says, we should think of ourselves as wearing signs that say, “Follow me.” This is a call to evaluate and refocus our personal vision and witness in our relationships around schools that most definitely shape our teaching and our students.

Stephan Gingerich has been on this show before and brings a range of experience in teaching and school leadership, some of which he gained while growing up and teaching in Central America. He brings refreshing perspective and challenges us in this talk to be concerned with what’s beyond our school fences.

Stephen invites us to ponder with him.

• Great opportunities are often disguised as problems.
• Perhaps we witness the most when we don’t know that people are watching us.
• How can our schools bring light to the world?
• What does the Sermon on the Mount have to say about Christ-like community relations?
• What are practical ways you can connect with your community?

Links

• Contact us: https://thedockforlearning.org/contact-us/
• 3-minute feedback: https://forms.office.com/r/1G564EGQkn

“Genuinely Christian schools will not always fit what everyone else is doing in education. We need to give ourselves permission to go against the flow.” But it’s not sufficient to seek difficulty and resistance. We need a goal. A mission. A burning love. A beautiful vision. As Steven emphasizes in today’s episode, “Nonconformity is not enough. We need something to be conformed to. And for us, that something is a Someone.”

Educational orthodoxy. What is it and how does it impact us? You’ll hear about this in today’s episode, but basically, it’s the body of assumptions and principles that unify the majority of educational efforts around us. This orthodoxy shapes the way we describe a well-trained person and the educational experiences we dream of offering. Steven Brubaker, speaking from a long history in teaching and school leadership submits that the educational orthodoxy in north America is inadequate as a source of guidance for our schools and maybe even dangerously misguided.

But we will need a solid basis for doing something different, for swimming against the current. “Every nonconformity is a conformity to something,” Steven reminds us. Every resistance is a defense of something. What’s worth defending? Worth conforming to?

Drawing penetrating insights from the analogy of salmon, Steven lays out a challenge for Christian schools to identify and relentlessly pursue a worthy homing instinct.

What is a compelling and worthy final end for Christian education? The end beyond which we stop looking for some further fulfillment?

Schools conformed to Jesus. How could you and your staff make a practice of asking and seeking, “Jesus, how do I teach in my school?” And what would your school look like if you then boldly followed his leadership?

Links

• Contact us: https://thedockforlearning.org/contact-us/
• 3-minute feedback: https://forms.office.com/r/1G564EGQkn

It’s Christmas season and here on the Dock School Leader Podcast we’re running a special episode featuring a collection of stories chosen and read by two experienced educators that have appeared before on this show—Jonas Sauder and Ken Kauffman. Their selections range from fables to short stories to poems and all convey a timeless truth through the penetrating power of story. Take a break from the heavier content and enjoy these selections with us.

What we read often sticks with us at a subconscious level. Stories have the power to embed their message deep within us. They shape our worldview and affect our actions even after we’ve forgotten the details.

See below for the titles of the selections and the timestamps for each one.

Perhaps you’ll find something here for an upcoming devotional or a story time with family over the holidays.

[2:30] Wellspring of Wisdom – read by Jonas Sauder

• The free lunch
• The magic sticks
• Practical sympathy
• Community

[7:45] The King and the Seeds – read by Ken Kauffman

[16:30] George Washington Carver – read by Jonas Sauder

• Selection from a biography
• Testimony in Congress

[25:00] Dear Mrs. O’Neil – read by Ken Kauffman

[34:20] The Blind Man and the Elephant – read by Jonas Sauder

[37:30] The Church Walking With the World – read by Ken Kauffman

Links

• Contact us: https://thedockforlearning.org/contact-us/
• 3-minute feedback: https://forms.office.com/r/1G564EGQkn