Christian Education Primer

Introduction

An old dead Presbyterian named John Witherspoon once wrote, on the subject of Christian education, that “there is no part of your duty, as a Christian, or a citizen, which will be of greater service to the public, or a source of greater comfort to yourself.” In other words, Christian education is a big deal. It was a big deal to that founding father, and it should be a big deal to the Christian church today. 

Defining Terms

When I say Christian education I mean is this: Teaching children to love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deut 6:5). In other words, Christian education is Christian discipleship. 

And discipleship involves all of life. That is why Paul instructed Christian fathers to bring their children up in the “discipline” of the Lord. The word for discipline used by Paul is the Greek word paideia, which means cultivating in a child an entire way of life that is distinctively Christian (Eph 6:4). So Christian education is essentially the formation of a human being who seeks the glory of God in all things (1 Cor 10:31). 

And to form an entire way of life that is oriented toward the glory of God, a child needs to be immersed in an environment that demonstrates this. That is why Deuteronomy 6 instructs parents to teach their children to obey God when “you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” This is that paideia thing. Christian education happens all the time in all different places. Christian education happens at breakfast. It happens at the playdate in the park. It happens at church. It happens after an argument between mom and dad. It happens in dad’s workshop when the kids ask questions. Overall Christian education happens when parents intentionally seek the glory of God in all things and teach their kids to do the same along the way.

So to summarize, Christian education is Christian discipleship. And the anchor point of Christian discipleship is the home. And the primary disciple makers of kids are their parents. And therefore Christian education is the responsibility of every Christian family. 

Christian Education in Practice

With the principles established, the subject of Christian education turns to practice. How do we get it done? 

First, both parents need to be on the same page about this. It takes mom and dad pulling in the same direction to do the hard work of educating their kids. If one is not on the same page it will be like a game of tug of war instead of a team pulling a sled. So first, mom and dad need to sit down and get on the same page. Both parents in the home need to first agree that educating their kids to know and love Christ is their joint responsibility, and that they should get to it.

Second, for Christian education to happen there needs to be habits established in the home. We are creatures of habit. And we are creatures who are shaped by habit. As James K.A. Smith often points out, we are liturgical creatures who have desires that are shaped by “thick practices.” Thick practices are those habits in life that powerfully shape our vision of the good life. Christian education happens within the framework of thick practices established in the home. 

Examples of these habits would be going through a simple Christian catechism in the morning before school and in the evening around supper time. Our family uses the New City Catechism. I’ve seen others use the Heidelberg. Just get yourself a good biblical catechism and start going through the questions at the same time with your kids every day.  

Another habit that I see parents get a lot of mileage out of is intentional bedtime routines. At bedtime try reading from a gospel centered story bible specifically designed for kids. We read The Biggest Story Bible by Kevin DeYoung. But don’t just read stories about the Bible. Read the Bible Bible. This is especially important with kids as they get older. Don’t always read stories that are predigested by someone else. Give it to them straight. 

And also just before the lights go out we sing benediction songs, like the Doxology, Jesus Loves Me, and Before the Ending of the Day. Once habits like these are established they become things your kids will look forward to. And they will provide the framework for Christian Education in the home. 

Once parents are in unity, and once discipleship habits are established in the home, you’ve won most of the battle. But there is still work to be done. Christian formation also involves teaching children the basic skills of ordinary vocational life. To use the language of Genesis, kids need to be taught how to take dominion over the creation. They need to be taught how to order the stuff of creation to the glory of God for the flourishing of the world. And that means our kids can’t just learn bible verses. They also have to learn subjects like math, science, history, language, and others. And then apply that knowledge to the glory of God in the world outside the home. 

Concerns About Public Schools

And here is where we bump into some practical considerations. The main place most children learn their subjects is at a public school. And this raises a concern for thoughtful Christian parents. In our current culture, the public schools are self-consciously secular. In other words they intentionally avoid relating all subjects to Christ. This raises a legitimate concern for the Christian. Because the bible clearly teaches that Christ is King. And all of creation was created through Him and for Him. And so all subjects properly understood should be understood in the way they relate to the glory of Christ. But the public schools intentionally avoid this association because they are not teaching just Christains. They are teaching non-Christains as well. And so they shoot for a position of neutrality in order to include as many people as possible. So if ideas were hats, they basically give kids a bunch of idea hats without a unifying worldview full of hat hooks to put them on.

If you're a Christian parent you need to recognize this. Your kids cannot live with free floating ideas. The ideas must find their hooks. They must have their ideas tethered. And they need to be able to trace the tether all the way to the anchor point. That anchor point is God’s word.

For example, instead of teaching scientific discoveries as man essentially finding stuff on his own, Christian education teaches kids that it is the glory of God to conceal things and the glory of man to search them out (Pr 25:2). God made a world where we can discover the raw materials and logic to make an internal combustion engine, silicon chips, and IPA’s. Teach them that we live in an ordered world created by God and that is why we have consistent grammar and math logic. Teach them that God is beautiful and creative and that is why art exists. There is so much in this world that we can point to and say God laid that there for us to discover, study, and use. And by discovering, studying, and using God’s creation according to his design we bring glory to God.

So the public schools are not unifying all knowledge they teach under the Lordship of Christ. Therefore you must be diligent to do so at home. If you send your kids to public school you will inevitably have some remedial work at home. As a secular institution, the public school will eventually teach some things contrary to the biblical worldview, such as evolution, liberal sexual ethics, and maybe some woke gender confusion if you get a particularly activist minded young teacher. Christian parents have to reject the myth of worldview neutrality and realize that not all ideas floating around the public school curriculum harmonize with the Lordship of Christ. 

So hear me right, The Gateway needs some version of publicly funded education so everyone has a shot at a good education. And Christian’s should not hesitate to take jobs as teachers at public schools. But Christian parents have a responsibility to give their kids a Christian education. And if a family decides that they can provide their kids with a more robust Christian education by giving their kids another schooling option then they should be free to do so. And fortunately in our country, it is still legal to give our kids a self consciously K-12 Christian education. 

Some Options

And if a parent decides to enroll their children in an explicitly Christian institution a parent usually picks one of two main options. Option number one is a private Christian K-12 institution. The other option is to home school. Homeschooling is a logical first step for parents seeking to explicitly teach how all subjects relate and submit to the Lordship of Christ. It anchors the learning of subjects where Christian education is anchored overall, which is in the home. And establishing a Christian k-12 school has historically been the next step if the goal is to achieve greater collaboration and greater division of labor. 

Homeschooling gives parents more control. Control over time, curriculum, and environment. And when this control is under the authority of godly, generous, and loving parents, children flourish. But some families experience a limitation to homeschooling. One limitation is the loss of the division of labor a larger institution can provide. What I mean by division of labor is that there are multiple teachers who specialize in particular age groups and subjects. So while every mom is a rock star and a hero for homeschooling. And some moms even have a background and degree in education. Moms have to be generalists. They have to be to survive. Especially homeschool moms who have littles. They necessarily have to be a jack of all and master of none. Because they have to cover so much ground they have to be broad in a lot of areas instead of deep in only one or two. 

Many Christian homeschool families overcome this limitation by joining a co-op. By banding together many homeschool families pool resources to hire tutors, collaborate on projects, and socially enrich the lives of their kids. These kinds of homeschool groups are growing in our area. This should be no surprise. It’s an effective and proven strategy for families to achieve the goal of Christian education. 

The other option parents take is enrolling their kids in a traditional k-12 private CHristian institution. This is a logical step for parents who desire the division of labor a public school provides but want the curriculum to be explicitly focused on Christian formation. Christian churches and missionary organizations have historically started Christian schools wherever they took the gospel. Christian schools have been a powerful tool in the toolbox of a Christian church community to make disciples and establish a generationally resilient Christian culture. 

So to reiterate. Christian education is the responsibility of every Christain family. And there is freedom in how to get the job done. But we are not free to decide whether we do the job. It really comes down to which option we choose. And execute that option with all the strength God provides.