In 1996, I was a young pastor tasked with the mission of adult ministry and discipleship at a medium sized church in the western suburbs of Chicago. As a graduate of a premier bible school and a product of growing up in the church since my infancy, it was shocking to me to recognize the truth that I was ill … Read More
Praying to be Called Forth
“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40: 25-26) Who God is defines … Read More
The Powerful Religion of Secularism
In recent times, Christian writers such as James K. A. Smith (2014) and Mary Poplin (2014) have written very helpfully about the concept of secularism. Though this present article views the issue from a different angle, those authors and others do right to draw our attention to the key concept of secularism, as it is one of the most powerful religious forces shaping contemporary western culture.
Who Are We Trying To Reach?
I recently worked with a school that was in the process of uncovering key factors in school choice for their current school families. At the same time, they were exploring key drivers that target families when making decisions about school. My research, in addition to normative research from around the country, indicates that most Christian school parents use academic quality … Read More
Praying to Draw Near
Draw near to God and God will draw near to you. (James 4:8) This simple fact of our faith life should strike us a staggering reality. I can’t meet with a president or a CEO or a Hollywood celebrity. I need an appointment to meet with my dentist and doctor and hair-cutter. But God — who creates, sustains and redeems … Read More
The Intermountain Christian Story: Introduction
The ICS story officially began in 1982, originally narrated by a passionate group of parents and leaders from The Evangelical Free Church of Salt Lake. It began as a ministry of the church, commissioned to begin “building disciple-making servants within a Christ-centered Biblically based, academically challenging, and caring environment which is focused on building Christian character and values.” The context … Read More
Leadership and Innovation, Part 4
Innovation involves bold action and courage. As Christian school leaders, we must be prepared to act boldly and courageously to lead our organizations and the larger Christian school movement to a preferred future. In part one, we discussed how leaders communicate the vision for the future, establishing that leaders need to humbly communicate the vision and that leaders must recognize … Read More
Praying About My Relationships
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in … Read More
Navigating the Ed Policy Storms: What Makes You Distinct?
As I study the Education profession, work within schools and visit schools, I’m more convinced that Christian schools need to mind more attention to “how” they do the work of schooling. Most schools can show me a mission or vision statement on a wall or recite for me a motto of and for why they exist. I explored this in … Read More
Cardus Education Survey 2014
A special bonus for CACE Readers! Ray Pennings, Executive Vice President of Cardus and Advisory Board member for CACE, created an introduction video for the newest collection of U.S. Data from the highly-recognized Cardus Education Survey that was just released in September. The Cardus Survey answers the question: “Do Christian schools deliver on their promises?”