2. We were willing to take risks when God spoke clearly.
You cannot live by faith and not take risks. We cannot
do God-sized work with man-sized vision and faith.
When God speaks, move!
3. If you’re going to stay in step with God, you must live
as a team on your knees. Ask, seek, and knock, and the
door will be opened (Matt 7:7). No organization will
live by faith and experience the thrilling work of God
without praying leaders.
People can build strong organizations without faith and
the help of the Holy Spirit, but only men and women who
fully know and trust God can build schools that have the
wind of the Holy Spirit at their back. If you want to take a
breathtaking ride and see supernatural work accomplished,
commit yourself and your school to fully following the
leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Vibrant Christian Schools
have employees who
believe the work they
are doing is making a
huge difference in this
life and for eternity.
When we, through Christian education, pass on our
Christian heritage to the next generation, we are changing
the course of history and eternity. In Western Europe, the
average adult has almost no serious understanding of the
Judeo-Christian worldview. I remember sitting next to a
man and woman from London on a plane ride. I felt led
toward the end of the flight to offer him my Bible. Even
though he eventually accepted my gift, he assured me he did
not have a Bible, and he would most likely never read a Bible.
Christian educators, and in particular Christian schools
and homeschools, have passed down the Judeo-Christian
heritage to millions of students over the last 40 years. Just
think of how much worse America would be today if it
weren’t for all the Christian educators who have sacrificed
so much over the last four decades.
"We cannot do
God-sized work
with man-sized
vision and faith."
If God has called you to lead or work in a Christian school
or homeschool, you are making an impact that will go way
beyond your lifetime. I can’t possibly overstate your impact.
Only in eternity will you be able to fully grasp how much
your work changed the course of history.
I know that not every day in the Christian school or
homeschool classroom is filled with excitement. There
are far more mundane moments than there are exhilarat-
ing ones. However, it is the continuous, methodical daily
impartation of a biblical worldview that develops students
into lifelong biblical thinkers.
All administrators and teachers matter! Some of the
teachers who left the greatest impact on me were teachers
I didn’t particularly care for. Others weren’t the greatest
teachers, but their love for me left a huge impression. I can
say without a shadow of a doubt that I am the Christian man
and leader I am today in large part because of the teach-
ers and administrators who led me as a student. The next
time you walk into your classroom or your office or your
children’s learning room at home, just remember that you
are making a huge and eternal difference.
Editor’s Note: These articles in the Characteristics of a
Vibrant Christian School series are based on a speech Jeff
gives at Christian Educator Conferences and to school
leadership teams. For information on booking, please visit
our website at renewanation.org/schedule-a-speaker or call
1-855-TO-RENEW. If you would like to receive the full
series, contact us at [email protected].
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