The great command that God gave to the Israelites, and Christ reiterated, is known as the “Shema” (Deuteronomy 6), “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one! You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as phylacteries between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

       Remembering (commonly referred to as reviewing in education), is possibly the most important, and certainly most prevalent aspect of education. In the act of remembering, a teacher assesses the student’s frame: do they understand, where do they need to grow, or have they mastered this and it is now a part of them?...

       When God told Moses that the day of his death was near, He gave Moses a song that God Himself may sing (through Moses) to the Israelites. This song relayed Israel’s eventual corruption and discipline, but more importantly it rehearsed God’s covenant faithfulness to them and commanded them to return and to remember. In Psalm 96, God commands all the earth to sing—retelling His faithfulness to no end! In Colossians, the Apostle Paul commands the Church to let the Word of Christ dwell richly in them. How, Paul? By singing.

       How can singing be such a paramount aspect of the people of God, and yet, we live in a culture where singing is awkward, or only for those who are “good” at it? In part, I believe it is because the vast majority of God’s people are musically illiterate. Literacy is the key to accessing the wonderful depths of any language. Without English literacy, you could never hope to understand the book of Romans. Without Music literacy, you could never hope to sing it back to God with excellence (which He commands you to do—Colossians 3:16).

       So, if I had to answer, “Why Music Literacy?” in 5 words, I would say, “Because, it is being obedient.” But it is so much more than that. Music literacy is nourishment for the whole person; mind, body, and soul. Music literacy is ontological (what are we?), teleological (what are we for?), and doxological (who are we for?) Think of the Westminster Shorter Catechism question no. 1; our chief end (our telos) is to glorify God and enjoy Him, forever! Do we know all the things that we will do in eternity? No. Do we know one thing we’ll do, for sure? Yes: we’ll sing. With renewed perfection and harmony, we’ll sing a new song.

       So let us start now, learning to sing with understanding and excellence to our King (Psalm 47:7). With joyful, beautiful songs let’s foreshadow and yearn for our glorious eternity in Christ.

       Music literacy is one of the gifts we seek to give our Imago Dei students and families. When your student comes home, do ask them, “What are you learning in Music class?” and have them teach it to you (teaching is one of the best ways to truly learn something). Do the hard, sometimes awkward, but vital work of making singing and listening to musical masterworks a part of your home’s culture.

       If you don’t know where to begin, that’s why I am here! I intend to continue my regular newsletters to parents, Lord willing. In them, I have a hymn and/or a masterwork of the month for you to enjoy as a family. If you are interested in past Newsletters (2022-24) please email me (laenamueller@missiodeifellowship.org).

       As we plant the seeds of musical literacy in our children now, let us pray for a wonderful crop— Soli Deo Gloria!

Author: Laena Mueller

In classical Christian schools there are a number of common words/sayings that we use. If you walk into a classroom or teacher meeting you may hear phrases like festina lente (make haste slowly), multum non multa (much, not many), or “delayed obedience is disobedience”. Though something may be common or sometimes overused, it does not take away from its true significance. One of these phrases that is important for us to not only contemplate but act upon as parents is, “raising children is a timed event with eternal consequences.” That is, our parenting is a timed event with eternal consequences. The habits we cultivate early on in our children can direct them toward the path of life or the path of death. One path leads to Biblical wisdom, virtue, and affections, while the other leads to folly and corruption. One an ordered soul, the other a disordered soul. The pagan Greek and Roman educators such as Plato, Isocrates, and Quintillian recognized this and wrote on the importance of cultivating piety from the earliest of ages. They described the soul of man as a city or republic, used illustrations of raising youth as training athletes, artists at work, or farmers preparing soil. Grounded first in Scripture (e.g. Deut. 6 and Eph. 6), early Christians also used similar illustrations as applications of cultivating a proper love for God, family, and community from the earliest of ages. Below is an important excerpt from an “Address on Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring Up their Children” by John Chrysostom (c. 345-407AD). Chrysostom implores parents to take to heart the importance and seriousness of being intentional in the way we are shaping our children. May this serve as a conviction and an encouragement to all of us involved in teaching children.

Raise up an athlete for Christ and teach him though he is living in the world to be reverent from his earliest youth.
If good precepts are impressed on the soul while it is yet tender, no man will be able to destroy them when they have set firm, even as does a waxen seal. The child is still trembling and fearful and afraid in look and speech and in all else. Make use of the beginning of his life as though shouldst. Thou dost labor for thyself.
They say that pearls when first they are collected are but water. But if he that receives them is skilled in his craft, he places the drop on his hand; and moving it with a gentle rotating movement as it lies on the palm of his upturned hand, he shapes it skilfully and renders it perfectly round. Then, when it has received its form, he can no longer mold it; for that which is soft and with its proper shape not yet set firm is in every way adaptable and therefore is easily suited to every purpose. But that which is hard, having acquired a certain material outline, can be deprived of its hardness only with difficulty and is not changed into another shape.
To each of you fathers and mothers I say, just as we see artists fashioning their paintings and statues with great precision, so we must care for these wondrous statues of ours. Painters when they have set the canvas on the easel paint on it day by day to accomplish their purpose. Sculptors, too, working in marble, proceed in a similar manner; they remove what is superfluous and add what is lacking. Even so must you proceed. Like the creators of statues do you give all your leisure to fashioning these wondrous statues for God. And, as you remove what is superfluous and add what is lacking, inspect them day by day, to see what good qualities nature has supplied so that you will increase them, and what faults so that you will eradicate them. And, first of all, take the greatest care to banish licentious speech; for love of this above all frets the souls of the young. Before he is of an age to try it, teach thy son to be sober and vigilant and to shorten sleep for the sake of prayer, and with every word and deed to set upon himself the seal of faith.
Regard thyself as king ruling over a city which is the soul of thy son; for the soul is in truth a city. And, even as in a city some are thieves and some are honest men, some work steadily and some transact their business fitfully, so it is with the thoughts and reasoning in the soul. Some make war on wrongdoers, like soldiers in a city; others take thought for everything, both welfare of the body and of the home, like those who carry on the government in cities. Some give orders, like magistrates, some again counsel lewdness, like profligates, others reverence, like the virtuous. And some are effeminate, even as are women among us; others speak folly, like children. And some again receive orders as slaves, like servants in the city, while others are wellborn, like free men.
Hence we need laws to banish evildoers and admit the good and prevent the evildoers from rising up against the good. And, just as in a city, if laws are passed which permit thieves great license, the general welfare is undermined, and if the soldiers do not devote their ardor to its proper use, they ruin the body politic, and if each citizen abandons his own household affairs and busies himself with another’s, he destroys good order by his greed and ambition–so it is also in the case of the child.
The child’s soul then is a city, a city but lately founded and built, a city containing citizens who are strangers with no experience as yet, such as it is easy to direct; for men who have been reared and have grown old under a bad constitution it would be difficult to reform, though not impossible. Even they can be reformed if they be willing. But those who are quite without experience would readily accept the laws that thou givest them.
Draw up laws then for this city and its citizens, laws that inspire fear and are strong, and uphold them if they are being transgressed; for it is useless to draw up laws, if their enforcement does not follow.
Draw up laws, and do you pay close attention; for our legislation is for the world and today we are founding a city. Suppose that the outer walls and four gates, the senses, are built. The whole body shall be the wall, as it were, the gates are the eyes, the tongue, the hearing, the sense of smell, and, if you will, the sense of touch. It is through these gates that the citizens of the city go in and out; that is to say, it is through these gates that thoughts are corrupted or rightly guided.*

Chrysostom then goes on to describe the importance of each of these gates to the soul, how a well-guarded city can build virtue and order as well as how an unguarded city welcomes vice and disorder. Our children are impressionable imitators, what things are we allowing them to watch, listen, indulge, and participate in? How do our daily practices encourage virtue and vice? Are our children seeing us read, work, pray, worship, laugh, contemplate, love? How might we improve our parenting (this timed event with eternal consequences) before the pearl hardens?

* Richard M. Gamble, The Great Tradition: Classic Readings on What It Means to be an Educated Human Being (pp. 193-4).

Author: Nicholas Dellis

Rise Again, Ye Lion-Hearted was chosen as our school song because it reminds us of who we are, both our calling and our heritage. We are the image-bearers of God called to pursue the likeness of Christ. As Christians we are at war with our own sin and with the principalities and powers of darkness. We are also a distinct people with centuries of courageous history to celebrate and be grateful for. We should seek to honor and emulate our faithful brothers and sisters who have fought victoriously before us. When choosing this song, I was particularly thinking about the stories of the martyrs in Eusebius’s Church History and how I so desire our children to be equipped with such courage and devotion to Christ.

Our Morning Schole’ group (made up of parents, grandparents, and church members) is currently reading through Eusebius’s work. The martyrdom of Polycarp was so encouraging that I’d like to simply share a portion of what Eusebius documents, it is a letter from the church in Smyrna, often entitled Martyrdom of Polycarp. Read this— may it convict and encourage—then listen to our very own Laena Mueller and Katelyn DeBruin sing Imago Dei’s school song, Rise Again, Ye Lion-Hearted:

<sup>12 And coming late in the evening, they found him lying in an upper room, whence he might have gone to another house, but he would not, saying, “The will of God be done.”

13 And when he learned that they were present, as the account says, he went down and spoke to them with a very cheerful and gentle countenance, so that those who did not already know the man thought that they beheld a miracle when they observed his advanced age and the gravity and firmness of his bearing, and they marveled that so much effort should be made to capture a man like him.

14 But he did not hesitate, but immediately gave orders that a table should be spread for them. Then he invited them to partake of a bounteous meal, and asked of them one hour that he might pray undisturbed. And when they had given permission, he stood up and prayed, being full of the grace of the Lord, so that those who were present and heard him praying were amazed, and many of them now repented that such a venerable and godly old man was about to be put to death.

15 In addition to these things the narrative concerning him contains the following account: “But when at length he had brought his prayer to an end, after remembering all that had ever come into contact with him, small and great, famous and obscure, and the whole catholic Church throughout the world, the hour of departure being come, they put him upon an ass and brought him to the city, it being a great Sabbath.5 And he was met by Herod, the captain of police, and by his father Nicetes, who took him into their carriage, and sitting beside him endeavored to persuade him, saying, ‘For what harm is there in saying, ‘Lord Caesar’, and sacrificing and saving your life?’ He at first did not answer; but when they persisted, he said, ‘I am not going to do what you advise me.’

16 And when they failed to persuade him, they uttered dreadful words, and thrust him down with violence, so that as he descended from the carriage he lacerated his shin. But without turning round, he went on his way promptly and rapidly, as if nothing had happened to him, and was taken to the stadium.

17 But there was such a tumult in the stadium that not many heard a voice from heaven, which came to Polycarp as he was entering the place: ‘Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.’ And no one saw the speaker, but many of our people heard the voice.

18 And when he was led forward, there was a great tumult, as they heard that Polycarp was taken. Finally, when he came up, the proconsul asked if he were Polycarp. And when he confessed that he was, he endeavored to persuade him to deny, saying, ‘Have regard for thine age,’ and other like things, which it is their custom to say:

19 ‘Swear by the genius of Caesar; repent and say, Away with the Atheists.’ But Polycarp, looking with dignified countenance upon the whole crowd that was gathered in the stadium, waved his hand to them, and groaned, and raising his eyes toward heaven, said, ‘Away with the Atheists.’

20 But when the magistrate pressed him, and said, ‘Swear, and I will release thee; revile Christ,’ Polycarp said, ‘Fourscore and six years have I been serving him, and he hath done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my king who saved me?’

21 “But when he again persisted, and said, ‘Swear by the genius of Caesar,’ Polycarp replied, ‘If thou vainly supposest that I will swear by the genius of Caesar, as thou sayest, feigning to be ignorant who I am, hear plainly: I am a Christian. But if thou desirest to learn the doctrine of Christianity, assign a day and hear.’

22 The proconsul said, ‘Persuade the people.’ But Polycarp said, ‘As for thee, I thought thee worthy of an explanation; for we have been taught to render to princes and authorities ordained by God the honor that is due, so long as it does not injure us; but as for these, I do not esteem them the proper persons to whom to make my defense.’

23 But the proconsul said, ‘I have wild beasts; I will throw thee to them unless thou repent.’ But he said, ‘Call them; for repentance from better to worse is a change we cannot make. But it is a noble thing to turn from wickedness to righteousness.’

24 But he again said to him, ‘If thou despisest the wild beasts, I will cause thee to be consumed by fire, unless thou repent.’ But Polycarp said, ‘Thou threatenest a fire which burneth for an hour, and after a little is quenched; for thou knowest not the fire of the future judgment and of the eternal punishment which is reserved for the impious. But why dost thou delay? Do what thou wilt.’

25 Saying these and other words besides, he was filled with courage and joy, and his face was suffused with grace, so that not only was he not terrified and dismayed by the words that were spoken to him, but, on the contrary, the proconsul was amazed, and sent his herald to proclaim three times in the midst of the stadium: ‘Polycarp hath confessed that he is a Christian.’

26 And when this was proclaimed by the herald, the whole multitude, both of Gentiles and of Jews, who dwelt in Smyrna, cried out with ungovernable wrath and with a great shout, ‘This is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, the over-thrower of our gods, who teacheth many not to sacrifice nor to worship.’

27 When they had said this, they cried out and asked the Asiarch Philip to let a lion loose upon Polycarp. But he said that it was not lawful for him, since he had closed the games. Then they thought fit to cry out with one accord that Polycarp should be burned alive.

28 For it was necessary that the vision should be fulfilled which had been shown him concerning his pillow, when he saw it burning while he was praying, and turned and said prophetically to the faithful that were with him, ‘I must needs be burned alive.’

29 These things were done with great speed,—more quickly than they were said,—the crowds immediately collecting from the workshops and baths timber and fagots, the Jews being especially zealous in the work, as is their wont.

30 But when the pile was ready, taking off all his upper garments, and loosing his girdle, he attempted also to remove his shoes, although he had never before done this, because of the effort which each of the faithful always made to touch his skin first; for he had been treated with all honor on account of his virtuous life even before his gray hairs came.

31 Forthwith then the materials prepared for the pile were placed about him; and as they were also about to nail him to the stake, he said, ‘Leave me thus; for he who hath given me strength to endure the fire, will also grant me strength to remain in the fire unmoved without being secured by you with nails.’ So they did not nail him, but bound him.

32 And he, with his hands behind him, and bound like a noble ram taken from a great flock, an acceptable burnt-offering unto God omnipotent, said,

33 ‘Father of thy beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the knowledge of thee, the God of angels and of powers and of the whole creation and of the entire race of the righteous who live in thy presence, I bless thee that thou hast deemed me worthy of this day and hour, that I might receive a portion in the number of the martyrs, in the cup of Christ, unto resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and of body, in the immortality of the Holy Spirit.

34 Among these may I be received before thee this day, in a rich and acceptable sacrifice, as thou, the faithful and true God, hast beforehand prepared and revealed, and hast fulfilled.

35 Wherefore I praise thee also for everything; I bless thee, I glorify thee, through the eternal high priest, Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son, through whom, with him, in the Holy Spirit, be glory unto thee, both now and for the ages to come, Amen.’

36 When he had offered up his Amen and had finished his prayer, the firemen lighted the fire; and as a great flame blazed out, we, to whom it was given to see, saw a wonder, and we were preserved that we might relate what happened to the others.

37 For the fire presented the appearance of a vault, like the sail of a vessel filled by the wind, and made a wall about the body of the martyr, and it was in the midst not like flesh burning, but like gold and silver refined in a furnace. For we perceived such a fragrant odor, as of the fumes of frankincense or of some other precious spices.

38 So at length the lawless men, when they saw that the body could not be consumed by the fire, commanded an executioner to approach and pierce him with the sword.</sup>

_{39 And when he had done this there came forth a quantity of blood so that it extinguished the fire; and the whole crowd marveled that there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the elect, of whom this man also was one, the most wonderful teacher in our times, apostolic and prophetic, who was bishop of the catholic Church in Smyrna. For every word which came from his mouth was accomplished and will be accomplished.}

May God endow our children with such faith, and may we stand strong, shunning worldly passions, and desiring above all, Christ and His kingdom.

Author: Nicholas Dellis

_{¹Eusebius of Caesaria, “The Church History of Eusebius,” in Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in Praise of Constantine, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, trans. Arthur Cushman McGiffert, vol. 1, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1890), 189–191.}

Education as Discipleship

At Imago Dei Classical School we gladly affirm that we are a discipleship ministry of Missio Dei Fellowship. This may be read by some as simply stating that we are an academic institution with a particular church affiliation, to others it may sound like we are not really an academic institution but a bible program with a few math and science lessons thrown into the mix. However, we mean much more than both of these examples. We believe that discipleship is synonymous with what we are doing as a classical Christian school.

Classical Christian education may be understood as intentional and robust discipleship. A classical Christian school should understand the role of education as complete human formation; the enculturation of a certain kind of people, passing down the knowledge, habits, and sentiments from one generation to the next. Education is the disciplined practice of enculturating students into a way of life. This is what discipleship is. Christian discipleship is an enculturation into The Way of Life, a biblical worldview inseparably tethered to particular life practices and affections.

Though the word “discipleship” is now most commonly used in religious contexts many parents fail to see that schools are actually discipleship institutions. Parents who choose to send their children to secular government schools are sending them as disciplees to sit at the feet of disciplers who operate under the authority of a God denying and God defying discipleship ministry. In most cases, these parents operate under a tragic assumption that children – in these extremely impressionable K-12 years – can learn skills without learning values, habits, and affections (areas which well-meaning parents and churches hope to shape).  The truth is that the atmosphere, culture, worldview and life practices of the school permeate everything – not just curricula but everything (teacher interactions, friendships, pledges of allegiance, homecoming rituals, etc.).

If you’re not ready to say that discipleship is happening during math class, you might change your mind if critical theorists were able to take hold of the mathematics departments of our schools, declaring that objectivity/truth in math equations is an oppressive Western imperialist concept. At that point you may begin asking if there is an objective mathematical reality into which you want your child to conform, a particular way you want him to understand the reality of numbers. Perhaps this quote from G.K. Chesterton has been overused in the past few years but it’s for good reason:

"For the secular society of to-day is skeptical not merely about spiritual assumptions, but about its own secular assumptions. It has not merely broken the church window or besieged the tower of tradition; it has also kicked away the ladder of progress by which it had climbed. …We shall soon be in a world in which a man may be howled down for saying that two and two make four, in which furious party cries will be raised against anybody who says that cows have horns, in which people will persecute the heresy of calling a triangle a three-sided figure, and hang a man for maddening a mob with the news that grass is green."

Need I apply this issue to biology today? In a post-modern subjectivist world, the veil of apparent neutrality has been lifted. All models of education are models of discipleship – using catechisms, teaching dogmas, and participating in liturgies – now it’s just easier to see.

Preparing Them for Life in The Way

At Imago Dei, we acknowledge that our students have been created as spiritual and physical beings with eternity in their future and temporal obligations in the present. This temporal life is a good gift from God with eternal consequences. We will disciple students in light of this reality, showing them what it means to inhabit the world as a Christian. We believe the goal of classical Christian education is to prepare our students to live this life excellently, fulfilling their obligations to God, family, and neighbor. To live excellently is to consciously operate under a biblical worldview with biblical life practices and affections while accomplishing the work that God has set before us (whether it be mothering, plumbing, military service, fine art, etc.).

The age and context we receive our disciples is during the years of K-12 schooling. In these very impressionable years, we are teaching them how to conform to reality. We teach our students how to live with biblical wisdom, virtue, and affections while providing them the tools of learning through a curriculum of Piety, Music, Gymnastics and a robust study of the Language and Mathematical Arts, otherwise called, “the Seven Liberal Arts.” In this context, they will learn how to understand and engage with the world as they live in conformity to Christ. It is our hope that in such a rich environment filled with the beauty, truth, and goodness of the gospel, the Spirit may work in the lives of these children and more richly bear His good fruit.
 
Until Christians acknowledge that there is no such thing as a value-neutral education, the godless will have the greatest impact on our children, grandchildren, and the world in which they grow up. Until Christian churches and schools stop operating under secular worldviews – using secular curricula, catechisms, dogmas, and liturgies – the godless will have the greatest impact on our children, grandchildren, and the churches in which they grow up. There is no going back to simple “Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic” in K-12 education because it never existed. Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic have always been taught within the context of values, religion, and worldview. 

Public Service Announcement:
Parents! It’s 10:00AM, Do You Know Who’s Discipling Your Children?

Author: Nicholas Dellis

Imago Dei Classical School is what is sometimes referred to as a “church school” or more traditionally, a “parochial school.” The root of the word “parochial” has an interesting history. In Greek, paroikia refers to the sojourner or stranger in a foreign land. Many Christian peoples establishing communities or colonies would still refer to themselves as sojourners, acknowledging that their true citizenship was in the kingdom of heaven. In Latin, parochia would come to refer to a group of Christians in a given area under the authority of a local church and its leadership, this was later referred to as a “parish.” So, Imago Dei is a school made up of Christians from a particular area and under the authority of the local church, that church is Missio Dei Fellowship. This model of schooling has a long tradition amongst God’s people, starting with Jewish synagogues during the Babylonian exile and with the New Covenant, catechetical schools, monasteries, and the schools of the Christian humanists before and after the Reformation. This tradition has a history in America as well but because of our unique history, public schools were actually seen as Protestant due to their use of Protestant catechisms and bible classes during the day. Because of this, and we see this especially here in Southeastern Wisconsin, Lutheran and Roman Catholic communities started their own parochial schools.

Now, with the nature of today’s public schools no longer being as closely tied to the community and more importantly, being in direct opposition to the Christian worldview, we believe it’s wise for Protestants to continue in the tradition of parochial schools. As Christians, we are pilgrim-citizens, our greatest identity and citizenship belongs to the kingdom of God. Yet, we still have families, communities, and our own local churches in which we live our everyday lives. If the summation of God’s law is to love Him and to love our neighbor, then we have a very real responsibility to the people we live with. What we cherish, promote, what we build, and accept within our communities has a very real influence on the culture we live in, which means, it shapes the lives of our children and great-grandchildren.

This is why the discipleship ministry of Imago Dei is so important.

For good or for ill, the places we grow up and the schools we attend have a profound impact on us. At Imago Dei, we argue that the best place for a person to grow up, to be taught the discipline and instruction of the Lord, is the local church.

The walls of Imago Dei will shape the childhood of our students and these walls will be tied to a community of faith with shared memory, story, song, and dance. Our students will grow up going to events, feasts, and festivals on our church grounds. Some of their greatest sorrows and highest achievements will happen right here. As students will sing in anticipatory Advent concerts and mournful Tenebrae services, so will they experience the joy of weddings and the sorrow of funerals. Our students will be preparing for life, for death, and for eternity; what better place to do this than the church?… There is none, as Christians, our true family, those we will live with for eternity, are God’s people, the body of Christ.

With that being said I’d like to share a few of the practical benefits of a parochial school, even if you call another local church your home:

First, in a parochial school you know what you are going to get… or at least what you won’t get. A variety of Christian traditions may be present and respected but you will know that the teachings of the school’s church will not be taught against. What is that church’s stand on primary Christian doctrines, how about marriage, abortion, critical theories, evolution… the list goes on. Is there unity among the church’s leaders and teachers? If looking at a school not connected to a church, what do the churches of each of the board members, the leaders, and the faculty believe? Are they united? Now, whether admitting it or not, if the school’s leadership is convictional, not separating their faith from their everyday life, the beliefs of their church will be woven throughout the school culture. In a parochial school, we do not need to tip-toe around any issues; this allows clarity and conviction.

Second, the primacy of the church. Imago Dei Classical School stands or falls with the local church. We are a ministry of Missio Dei Fellowship because we believe that God’s primary institution for carrying out His mission is the local body. The more students, parents, teachers, and church members involved in the school, the more it helps to enrich the life of the church.
Daily, these students are loved on by faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who truly care for them and their families; their teachers love God, they love His Word, they love His church, and they desire the salvation of the lost. Each day these children are observing mature Christians and learning what it means to walk in the way of Christ. The school is also another outlet where the wisdom and skills of other members of the church may be put into service whether it be academics, athletics, marksmanship, hot lunches, music lessons, or skills working with our hands, these are all opportunities for older Christians to teach and disciple the next generation. A respectful, educated, and biblically literate youth with involved adult role-models shapes the participation, the intentionality, and the depth of everything that takes place during the gathering of the saints on Sunday.

This also means, those joining the school from other churches are supporting our ministry while we model for and teach their children to honor and love their parents and their own local church while they receive a holistic education from a Christian worldview.

A third benefit is the development of a true culture, not an anti-culture or a “blah” culture. Education is complete human formation, it is the shaping and enculturation of a certain kind of people. Today, much of society and evangelicalism is critical of tradition and culture – often defined by its subjectivity and openness rather than its objectivity and normative expectations. This has led not to a great multi-cultural expression but an anti-culture defined by criticism and self-centeredness. A true culture puts forth a set of beliefs about the true, the good, and the beautiful, and then it claims to have a way to pursue and embody such things; it humbly receives tradition and is centered on service to others rather than to self. Anti-culture or “blah” culture is an inherent flaw in secularism, and is sadly prevalent in many parachurch ministries, but we believe that it’s not the ideal way of the classical Christian school. Rather than a watered down “mere Christianity” which actually – though unintentionally – signals to children that their parent’s and pastor’s denomination isn’t important, we will be a proud Protestant Baptist school who loves to see proud Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian families joining us. A principal of classical Christian education is piety: the cultivation of one’s love for their God, family, and people (primarily the local church). A true culture is something received, it’s received from the child’s family, church, and their school, and as the classical tradition argues, they’re actually not able to responsibly critique their own people until they have received their traditions and have become culturally literate in those traditions. So, by not setting aside all differences, we find that we are actually respecting our church and the other denominations among us; we are respecting and creating a true culture rather than an amorphous/shapeless, and impotent culture. We believe we should be hot or cold, and not lukewarm. Now someone could point to a number of quality schools in the classical Christian movement which have their own unique and strong culture. We don’t deny this reality, we appreciate the work of many of them, but aside the important point already made about unintentionally signaling that denominational beliefs seem to get in the way of what matters, we also believe that the time and effort put in to building such a great school culture is actually taking away from the time and effort we could be putting into our local churches. Why leave the church to study the bible, theology, the good, true, and beautiful? Shouldn’t we be going to the Church to receive training in such things?

Well, we think so, and that’s why we’re parochial Baptists.

Want to be a part of what God is doing at Imago Dei? Contact us for more information.

Author: Nicholas Dellis