TYPE TITLE OF PAPER

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A Position Paper

Presented to

Dr. Tommy Kiker

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

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In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for PASMN 3313-A

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by

Mark Thomas

June 27, 2014

CHURCH SCHOOLS: THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GREAT COMMISSION

FULFILLMENT

Christ’s Great Commission is specific enough to give Christians the necessary

parameters to establish achievement, and yet, general enough to be applicable to

numerous contexts. Subsequently, church schools provide just such a context for

realization of Christ’s command. Granted when one thinks of schools, education and not

evangelism comes to mind. However, when the Great Commission is entirely exercised,

it becomes apparent that the making of disciples involves the joint employment of

evangelism united with education. This fact is not overlooked in Article XII, of the

Baptist Faith and Message 2000, when it affirms, “Moreover, the cause of education in

the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general

benevolence, and should receive along with these the liberal support of the churches.”

Therefore, it will be argued in this project that Southern Baptist churches alone or in

partnerships through their local associations should provide “liberal support” for the

establishment of church schools to provide Christian education as a way of Great

Commission fulfillment.

The Assignment

The Great Commission does not provide all of the particulars of a Christian’s

life. However, as assigned, it does provide essentially a mission statement for Christ’s

disciples. As Bloomberg comments on the Great Commission found in Matthew’s

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Gospel, “Making disciples is defined as ‘baptizing them’ and ‘teaching them to obey

everything’ Christ had commanded. This makes it clear that Jesus’ commission is not

primarily about initial evangelism, but about the lifelong process of bringing people to

faith and nurturing them in the will of God.”1 It is evident from this statement a

Christian’s assignment is to multiply disciples through the concurrent process of

evangelization and teaching. This directive as outlined by Christ is accessible, but often

misinterpreted by those seeking to put it into practice.

It is possibly the limited interpretation of the Great Commission, among other

factors, that seems to be restraining the Gospel’s life changing impact. Others like

Mukawa when considering this absence of transformation in society asserts, “Our

interpretation of the Great Commission has been too narrow.”2 In almost every context,

the discussion of the Great Commission revolves exclusively around salvations.

Nevertheless, this is only the beginning not the conclusion of Christ’s assignment.

Therefore, minimal focus is given in too many churches to the portion of the Great

Commission involving the teaching of new disciples.

How is it that Christ’s disciples and His church seemingly separate evangelism

and discipleship when He clearly intended them to be a seamless pursuit? It could be the

false perception that evangelism must come first, thereby facilitating the detachment

concerning satisfying the entirety of the Great Commission. However, maybe the culprit

is culture’s infamous influence in church practice. For example, culture embraces the

concept one should separate issues like belief from their involvement in public life, Green 1 Craig Blomberg, Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey, 2nd ed.

(Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2009), 416.

2 Nzuzi Mukawa, "Transformation as Missional Goal for Our Churches and Schools," Direction 41, no. 2 (2012): 245.

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when commenting on this contrived principle states, “Such a disjunction dates back only

to the Enlightenment and has proved disastrous for our society that has kept values and

facts in different compartments of life.”3 Consequently, if the practices of the modern

church are to revert to before this error of compartmentalizing manifest itself, we must

return to the example of Scripture.

Acts 19:8-10: The School of Tyrannus

Paul’s time in Ephesus at the school of Tyrannus is a unique biblical episode.

As Scripture attests, Paul continues his usual pattern visiting the local synagogue when

entering a city. For three months, he is able to engage the community’s synagogue

assembly (19:8). Nevertheless, as had happened in many towns previous to coming to

Ephesus, opposition prevents further visits to the synagogue (19:9). However, there were

disciples in Ephesus; accordingly, Paul secured a new site to meet, the school of

Tyrannus (19:9). Then, Paul spends an extraordinary period of two years instructing his

disciples and interacting with locals daily at the school (19:10).

What is the greatest lesson the modern Church can learn from the school of

Tyrannus? That would have to be the supernatural evangelistic accomplishments of

God’s teacher with God’s curriculum. “The Roman province of Asia was totally

evangelized and teaching in a school was the means of such a remarkable achievement.”4

Ponder that, in a time without modern travel or communication an entire province is

reached with the Gospel. Granted, Ephesus was a busy center of trade facilitating the

3 Michael Green, Thirty Years That Changed the World: The Book of Acts for Today (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 2004), 29.

4 Donald K. Campbell, "Paul's Ministry at Ephesus: A Devotional Study," Bibliotheca Sacra 118, no. 472 (1961): 308.

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Gospel’s spread. However, some credit for this accomplishment must be given to the

disciples who sat under Paul’s instruction. For the reason that when trained these

disciples must have departed Ephesus for other locations in the province to spread the

Gospel.

With the image of Paul at the podium and the thought of a province

evangelized, it must be remembered there was another integral member of this success

story.

The School’s curriculum is also worth reflecting on, especially in the light of the letter to the Ephesians, where it is reasonable to suppose that Paul may have developed at great depth the themes he had already been teaching for two years and more in their midst. Theology, worship, and practical Christianity dominate the letter. Why should they not have dominated the curriculum of the School? All three are crucial parts of the development of Christian leaders, often neglected today in part or in whole.5

In addition, Paul’s own education would have been Biblically based and prepared him for

just such an opportunity. Therefore, Paul taught in the school of Tyrannus from a

position of expertise in God’s Word.

Education in North America

Paul, like a majority of the Apostles, given their culture would have received

an education almost exclusively founded on Scripture. Nevertheless, Christ demonstrated

in the Sermon on the Mount that the correct curriculum does not insure the absence of

error. Even so,

We would be wise to study how the Jewish community has maintained its culture regardless of its geographical location or size of its membership. The reality is that every individual in the community has the same goal for every Jewish baby. That goal is to instill within that child the Jewish faith. Every true Jew, in the home, the synagogue, or the school, operates from the same set of beliefs and values. They all work together to ensure that the young child will grow and remain faithful to their

5 Green, Thirty Years, 161.

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religion.6

It is worth considering the opportunity that exists when the home, church, and school are

consistent with the instruction given to their children. Additionally, for this discussion of

church schools it is worth examining other examples of when this consistency existed.

A Bygone Era

It may be assumed by some that this consistency of teaching from the same

curriculum by the home, church, and school may be only for Bible times or negligible

cultural induced arenas. In addition, some would argue this would only occur in a

theocracy and not where people are free to make their own laws. Thoughts such as these

are misguided, when Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States in the early

Nineteenth century conducting research for his two volume classic Democracy in

America, he penned, “It is by the attention it pays to Public Education that the original

character of American civilization is at once placed in the clearest light.”7 Then, as

substantiation of this statement, he offers in the next sentence an abridged excerpt of the

opening paragraph of Connecticut’s Code of 1650 pertaining to the establishment of

schools in the colony. As one reads, the less than two pages addressing schools, one is

struck by the realization that what de Tocqueville has offered, even if abbreviated, is in

fact the state’s mission statement for its schools.

It is only speculation to attempt to derive at de Tocqueville’s reasoning for

omitting certain portions of the opening paragraph in his quote. However, due to the

6 Glen Schultz, Kingdom Education: God's Plan for Educating Future Generations (Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press, 1998), 12.

7 Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. Henry Reeve, vol. 1 (New York: Appleton & Co., 1899), 38.

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limited scope of this project what follows is the author’s truncated excerpt from the

identical paragraph of the Code of 1650.

It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times, keeping them in an unknown tongue…so that at least, the true sense and meaning of the original might be clouded…that learning may not be buried in the grave of our forefathers, in church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors.8

Though curtailed the intent concerning the instruction in the schools of Connecticut is

well defined. It is worth noting as one considers the excerpt what is of primary

importance and what is not even addressed.

The examination of this passage yields some valuable insights. First, the

Code of 1650 acknowledges that Satan is the real enemy with the goal of keeping people

from the knowledge of the Truth found in the Scriptures. Second, students should learn

the Scriptures in their own language. Third, each successive generation should be taught

about the Lord, the Scriptures, and Satan, so that it is impossible for one generation when

deceased to take this essential knowledge to the grave thereby dooming those who follow

to helpless ignorance. Finally, and what might be the most decisive insight, people at this

time understood there were no spiritually neutral decisions. Consequently, they wanted

their children who attended the schools in their communities to receive the necessary

instruction in the Scriptures for success, not in reading, writing and arithmetic, but in

eternally significant subjects. Therefore, in a bygone era the citizens of a free land chose

to educate their children in a manner consistent with their beliefs.

The Contemporary

It is obvious to all who follow the current discussions involving education in

8 General Court of Connecticut, The Code of 1650 (Hartford, CT: Silas Andrus, 1638), 90.

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the United States that the era de Tocqueville wrote of has passed. As Criswell wrote in

1980, “disturbing to many Christian parents is the rising tide of anti-Christian

philosophies taught in public classrooms.”9 At the composing of this project, Criswell’s

statement is now over thirty years old. This means sufficient time has elapsed since his

assertion to make the case that more than one generation has been taught such

philosophies. Therefore, in American classrooms the preeminence of Scripture has been

supplanted.

To make matters worse when the emptiness of Modernism was exposed in the

last half of the Twentieth century, its replacement was not the Truths of Scripture. On the

contrary, the demise of Modernism ushered in the current period known as

Postmodernism. “Postmodernism is currently having a profound effect on the

educational system in North America and, indeed, in the western world. Following the

doctrine of pragmatism, schools are aggressively influencing students against religion,

and particularly against Christianity because of its claim on exclusive Truth.”10 Now in

the Twenty-first century the public schools of Connecticut are in essence the antitheses of

what they were at the writing of the Code of 1650. Consequently, America’s public

schools have become useful tools for the delusion of children.

Unfortunately, these children comprise a majority of American children,

including a great number from the homes of American Christians. Writing in 1963,

Blamires stated, “The Church has too readily handed over the young to be instructed by

9 W. A. Criswell, Criswell's Guidebook for Pastors (Nashville, TN Broadman Press, 1980), 196.

10 Henry J. Toews, "Distinctives of a Christian School: Why a Christian School?," Didaskalia 14, no. 1 (2002): 53-54.

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materialistic psychologist and amoral aesthetes.”11 One recognizes the folly of this

situation if one considers how absurd it would have been in ancient Israel for an Israelite

family to hand their children over to Canaanites for their education and then hoped on

nights and weekends to undo the damage that had been done. It is time for the American

Church to understand that education is not a spiritually neutral issue. With this in mind,

please consider the astute adage, “show me your friends and I will show you your

future,” as a possible explanation for the current state of the American Church.

The Millennial Generation

The subsequent discussion is not intended to be a definitive study of the

Millennial generation. The purpose of including this generation, those born

approximately from 1980 to 2000, is straightforward; it is the latest generation that has

been studied, thereby providing the most current information for consideration. If one

seeks to explore further this generation from the church perspective an excellent resource

is Thom Rainer’s book written with his son Jess entitled, The Millennials: Connecting to

America’s Largest Generation. The title of the book provides the first amazing fact

about this generation; it is the largest in American history. Therefore, considering this

generation with its challenges and opportunities will offer an insight into the legitimacy

of the points made so far.

During this discussion, one must not forget that this generation is a group of

individuals. Accordingly, as one considers the material to be presented, it is a summation

of this generation and not an indictment of an individual or the generation as a whole.

From the perspective of the church, this generation has some distinct positive qualities

11 Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind: How Should a Christian Think?, 2nd ed. (Vancouver [Canada]: Regent College Publishing, 2005), 174.

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not seen in the most recent generations that precede it. However, the same could be said

for its negative qualities. This combination of positives and negatives is overwhelming

when one ponders the magnitude of the nearly eighty million souls this generation

represents. Nonetheless, the Gospel is sufficient to transform this generation one soul at

a time.

The Challenge

The first challenge that must be overcome before Millennials can be reached

with the gospel is, “the Millennial generation is the most unchurched group in recent

history.”12 As a result, this puts Millennials far from the church the primary hub of

Christian activity. However, it is more than a problem of location it is also a state of

mind. “When it comes to religion, three-fourths of Millennials hold a negative

perception of Christianity.”13 Therefore, the church is not in a position to sit back and

wait on this generation to approach it.

With this in view now is an appropriate time to make a point regarding this

generation’s lack of church involvement coupled with its perceptions. It is common

when a member of the youth group graduates from high school for several in the church

to warn them not to allow college to rob them of their faith. This is a valid concern,

however, “Millennials who don’t go to college tend to be even less religious than their

12 Sarah Guldalian, "The Millennials: Reflections on Reaching a Lost Generation for Christ," Missio Apostolica 21, no. 1 (2013): 41.

13 Barna, "A New Generation Expresses Its Skepticism and Frustration with Christianity" https://www.barna.org/barna-update/millennials/94-a-new-generation-expresses-its-skepticism-and-frustration-with-christianity#.U5tiwbSZjTo (accessed 13 June 2014).

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peers—a trend reversal since the 1990s.”14 Hence, this generation does not need college

to drive out its faith; it appears that happened before the completion of high school.

Therefore, the church may need to reassess when it believes its children are possibly

abandoning their faith to a time before leaving home.

This next material is not given to malign this generation. The purpose of

engaging the next issue is to demonstrate that when the church diminishes in one’s view

so does morals. Consequently, the moral state of this generation can be summarized by,

“65 percent of Millennials cohabit at least once prior to marriage, compared to just 10

percent in the 1960s.”15 As difficult as it may be to fathom this generation makes the

“Age of Aquarius” generation seem practically moral. Therefore, issues of this severity

will create challenges for the church to make inroads with this generation; however, the

school of Tyrannus functioned in a culture resembling this.

The Opportunity

The church does have opportunities available for reaching this generation. For

the sake of the scope of this project, only two will be elaborated. The first, this

generation highly values education, for instance, “their rate of receiving undergraduate

degrees has surpassed all previous generations.”16 This will be elaborated in more detail

in a forthcoming section, suffice it to say, this is an opportunity for the church, because

church schools are academically superior. Thus, the prospect of an unrivaled education

14 Catherine Newhouse, "The Forgotten Millennials: More Noncollege-Bound Young Adults Seek Direction, and More Ministries Are Poised to Help," Christianity Today 57, no. 5 (2013): 15.

15 Thom S. Rainer and Jess W. Rainer, The Millennials: Connecting to America's Largest Generation (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2011), 3.

16 Ibid., 20.

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at church schools can attract the unchurched. Therefore, this possibility enables the

church to do something beneficial for its congregation while simultaneously being a point

of outreach.

The other opportunity pertains to the family. This plays to the strength of the

church, because the church is a fervent supporter of the family. Consider this quote from

Rainer’s book, “Millennials desire close relationships, and they just may be the ones to

bring the family back together.”17 The church desires the same thing, for all the

differences, the church and Millennials do have at least one shared goal. This then leads

to occasions for the church to instruct on and model the family, all the while pointing to

the closest relationship someone can have through a reconciled relationship with their

Lord. Therefore, the church must expose this generation to the Gospel through all

available avenues including church schools in order to transform individuals and society.

Church Schools

The idea of church schools is not proposed as the solution for all that is wrong

with society or our churches. The church school concept is a tool to be utilized by

churches to keep the Gospel before its children and society. Even those outside the

church understand the value of Christian instruction, contemplate this statement made by

a Russian official in the 1990s justifying their allowance of the teaching of Christian

Ethics in their public schools following the collapse of the Soviet Union, “Seventy years

ago, we closed God out of our country, and it has caused so many problems in our society

we cannot count them…We must put God back into our country, and we must begin with

17 Ibid., 31.

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our children.”18 Imagine in every American community a church school affiliated with a

Southern Baptist church or association offering children superior academics, encouraging

volunteering for benevolent causes, and where evangelism is a constant occurrence.

Nevertheless, since this is a reality in too few communities, the potential is incalculable.

Academics

The academic superiority of Christian schools has been suggested at several

instances in this project. The substation of that claim comes from a study done by

William H. Jeynes an associate professor at the Department of Education, California

State University at Long Beach. The study was initiated due to the school choice debate

that was occurring in California politics at the beginning of the Twenty-first century. The

research was to reevaluate previous studies at that time at least two decades old

demonstrating Christian schools possessed an academic advantage over other education

models. Subsequently, if an advantage still existed then the debate was valid rendering

Christian schools a viable option for school choice. In unassuming fashion the findings

of the study were, “Although there have unquestionably been various changes that have

occurred in both religious and non-religious schools over the last twenty or twenty-five

years, the ‘religious school advantage’ has remained about the same.”19 Consequently, if

more churches in America were to start schools, academic achievement in our nation may

well improve.

18 Dennis Kelly, "New Russia Welcomes Us Religious Educators," USA Today, 10 November 1992, D1.

19 William H. Jeynes, "A Meta-Analysis: Has the Academic Impact of Religious Schools Changed over the Last Twenty Years?," Journal of Empirical Theology 17, no. 2 (2004): 209.

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Benevolence

Enhanced academics may not be the only positive outcome of churches starting

schools. Think of, how many churches suffer through a drought of volunteers? A study

has been conducted to determine what those who volunteer have in common and it

discovered, “graduates of Protestant high schools out-volunteer peers from Catholic,

secular, public, and home schools—all by significant margins.”20 The potential of more

volunteers would be beneficial for ministry in our churches. Additionally, it stands to

reason that those generous with their time could also be generous with their resources.

Hence, schools at church may possibly make more ministries at church possible through

the introduction of additional volunteers.

Evangelism

In too many instances, evangelism and education are distinct, as is the case in

many church staffs they are separate positions. Yet, as discussed previously, Christ

expects both to be utilized in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Furthermore, as

referenced with the school of Tyrannus in Acts, “Luke seems to pass lightly over the two

years Paul stayed in Ephesus, but not without a reminder that part of evangelism is

patient teaching.”21 Thus, churches starting schools have the prospect of increased

numbers of baptisms. Therefore, given the resources schools require, a step of faith is

needed to begin the process.

A step of faith is exactly what Pastor Jose Padilla took over ten years ago when

20 Melissa Steffan, "Who Volunteers the Most? Graduates of Protestant High Schools, Apparently," Christianity Today 57, no. 4 (2013): 14.

21 Walter L. Liefeld, Interpreting the Book of Acts, Guides to New Testament Exegesis, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995), 54.

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he expanded his church ministries to begin a school named Gabriela Mistral. His

ministry is located in a squatter village called Kilómetro 29, on the outskirts of Ciudad

Juarez. The challenges he faces are easily imagined for a ministry situated in a squatter

village. Additionally, there is the issue of being Protestant in a Catholic dominated area.

In spite of this, “two-thirds of Gabriela Mistral's students become Christians before

graduation.”22 This evangelistic harvest is not staying confined within the school, as

Pastor Padilla reports, “parents can reject other people telling them about God, but they

cannot reject their own kids.”23 Consequently, just as the school of Tyrannus did, Gabriel

Mistral is birthing converts, training future Christian leaders, and transforming its

community one soul at a time.

Conclusion

When in conversation parents often discuss the qualities of the school districts

their children attend. If the conversation includes Christian parents who send their

children to non-Christian schools and the question is raised to why, the usual defense

offered is from Proverbs 22:6. What those parents must not appreciate is they are

subjecting their children to instruction in two dissimilar ways with eternally opposite

destinations. The teaching of Proverbs 22:6 is train your children God’s way and when

they are older, it will be the only way to follow. For this reason, this project endeavored

to establish through the information presented, Southern Baptist Churches alone or in

partnership through their local associations should start schools. The church at this

moment has the opportunity to bring back to America God honoring education. Then,

22 Jeremy Weber, "It Takes a Schoolhouse: How One Mexican Pastor Is Transforming His Community," Christianity Today 49, no. 12 (2005): 58.

23 Ibid., 60.

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more pastors will testify as Criswell did when writing about First Baptist Academy, “We

are part of the greatest school system in the world, God's school system.”24

24 Criswell, Criswell's Guidebook, 198.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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