According to Simon Sinek (2011), great leaders and organizations have one thing in common that distinguishes them from their counterparts. It is this: their entire mission, company, or product begins with the WHY. It doesn’t start with what they do or how they do it. Instead, the focus from the beginning is on the purpose, belief, and sense of calling … Read More
Why Teach Math?
I’ve never met a math teacher who was not asked to answer the inevitable moan from her students, “Why do we have to learn this?” Unfortunately, the most common response: “It’s going to be on the test.” What kind of message does that give about learning, and about math? Is working to get a grade on a test the kind … Read More
Webinar – Helping High School Students Think Biblically about Money
Rooted in a biblical worldview, the Biblical Stewardship Curriculum is a principle-driven personal finance course teaching: The implications of believing God owns it all The roles, responsibilities, and rewards of financial stewardship as defined by scripture Five transcendent financial decision making principles found in the Bible How money is intertwined with biblical teachings on contentment, generosity, self-control, provision, gratitude, freedom, … Read More
We Did Our Job: Devotional from CESA 2016
In January of 2009, US Airways flight 1549 landed in the chilly waters of the Hudson River shortly after departing New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The movie Sully depicts the courage and fear of Captain Chesley Sullenberger as he led his crew and the passengers that morning. The film shows the aftermath of a media frenzy and the questioning by various … Read More
Livening up the Blasé Work of Mission and Vision Revision
No matter the terminology used — mission, purpose, direction, core values, belief statements — each provides an opportunity for an organization to gain clarity about what drives decision-making in the short and long term. High-reliability organizations stay “tight” to their vision and mission, aligning their work in ways that help employees build belief in the processes and products. Extensive time … Read More
Guiding Students on the Path to Purpose
In his recent blog and webinar, Dr. Bill Millard states: Life Calling is confidence in an overriding purpose for your life. Everyone has a life calling. Discovering it and developing confidence is the challenge. We can best make this discovery by looking at three crucial life dimensions. The discovery of our life calling starts with establishing foundational values in our lives. We … Read More
A Canadian Rocky Mountain High!
It was truly a great day of celebration, with the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains as the backdrop in beautiful Banff, Alberta, when more than seventy-five Christian school leaders from Canada, the United States, and Australia gathered prior to the Christian Schools Canada conference to share efforts around Deeper Learning in Christian schools. At this September 21 pre-conference party, there was … Read More
Raising Exiles: Devotional from CESA 2016
Over the past year now, this idea of what it means to be a Christian school in a post-Christian culture has been on my heart and mind incessantly. I am excited to hear Barna Group president David Kinnaman speak during this symposium. I heard him speak last year to a group of us gathered for a Van Lunen Fellowship reunion. … Read More
Life Calling
During my years in college and graduate school, I pursued an interesting approach to career exploration—I studied them all. I studied history, pre-law, pre-med, Greek, journalism, religion, public health, dentistry, education, geology. What compelled me to pursue so many different fields? Confusion coupled with a determined search for meaning. At the heart of my actions and decisions, there was a … Read More
A New Perspective on Stewardship
My 5 year old grandson has a vivid imagination. Throughout a normal day he imagines that he and those around him are chefs, pirates, zookeepers, policemen, and a variety of other occupations. It is a fun game which requires no change in behavior, at least from his perspective! Reflecting on this causes me to consider the plight of many adolescents … Read More