I first entered a shepherd’s cave in 2000.  It was my first study trip to Israel.  There were several unforgettable moments and experiences, and one of those was the cave.  At first we wondered why we were there.   It wasn’t an inviting place.  It was dark, dirty, and smelly; not a pleasant place at all.

It was there that we heard again the story of the birth of Jesus.  Very soon poinsettias and pine scent were erased from Christmas.  In their place came the smell of thousands of extinguished shepherds’ campfires  and six inches of sheep droppings.   Soon it didn’t feel odd at all to fall to my knees in those sheep droppings and to thank God for the gift of His Son!

So, come with me to the shepherd’s cave this Christmas and meet your newborn Savior.  He could have chosen to be born in Herod’s Herodion palace just a stone’s throw away.  But instead God chose a cave.  A cave that smelled like a barn and like an extinguished campfire is so much more symbolic of the sin-sick world that God’s Son entered.   When you think about His awesome gift, the smells of the cave take on the beautiful fragrance of God’s love.  Take your children to the cave this Christmas and introduce them once again to their loving Father and to their Lord Jesus.

Today I am not laughing.  I am not laughing because it occurred to me that many students in America are probably thinking of the pilgrims in much the same way.  The only thing an American student would probably add is  “those turkey eating, football watching, shopaholic people”.   After all isn’t that what Thanksgiving has become in secularized America.

We could bemoan the fact that the American culture thinks it is a good thing to sanatize America of anything Christian.  But instead, let’s celebrate.  Let’s celebrate the blessing of a God who loves us and a country where we can still freely worship and serve Him.  Let’s celebrate the sacrifice of those who came before us and paved a path to freedom.  Let’s celebrate the blessing of Christian education where our students can learn in the context of their faith and where Christian faith is lived out.  Let’s celebrate a place where thanksgiving isn’t a day but a way of life.  Let’s even celebrate the privilege we have to put our financial resources into the Kingdom by supportiing Christian education through gratefully paying tuition and giving to sustain the Kalamazoo Christian Schools.  When we put God first, we have less to worry about and more reasons to give thanks.

Consider this – what if we simply tried to walk in the shoes of another person for a little while.? What if we thought about the hurt our words might cause before we uttered them?  What if we thought about the hurt that our postings might cause before we posted those words on Facebook?

What if kindness replaced cutthroat competition?  What if uplifting words replaced gossip and slander?  What if love replaced hate, peace replaced conflict, patience replaced impatience, and goodness replaced evil thoughts and deeds?  What if we empathized with each other by walking in their shoes for a moment instead of running in our own shoes for personal gain at the expense of someone else?

What if all of those things happened?  Some would call it Heaven, but when Jesus gives us the greatest and the second greatest commands, he is talking about people living in harmony here and now.  That is kingdom living.  I would call it seeking to build the kingdom that God calls us to build here on earth.  That is what we are called to do.  People who love God and neighbor before themselves are the disciples that Jesus calls us to be.

Empathize – walk in another’s shoes for awhile.

What I remember most is the scenery.  It seemed that they filmed the entire film on a rainy night.  To this day I wonder why the producer and director thought that the Reformation event should be cast in a dark, depressing background.  It did not set the Reformation in a good light for me.  Who would want to be a part of something so eerie?

I don’t think much about the actual Reformation Day any more.  Even reformed churches tend to downplay the event.  On Saturday night our church will be reaching out to the Parchment community with Trunk-N-Treat instead of showing an encore edition of the dark Luther movie.  That is ok with me and it is not.

It is ok, because the Reformation was not an event fixed in time.  If we truly understand what it means to be reformed, we understand that reforming is not an event but a continual process.  We are God’s agents of renewal.  We are called to be constantly reclaiming the world for Him.  His kingdom has come and is also coming and we are part of that process.  The Reformation is so consistent with Christian education.  We are in the business of reforming lives and transforming His world.  We know that the Creator made a Creation that isn’t stagnant, but is full of life and change.  We are stewards of it.  We may disagree as to whether the globe is warming, but we cannot disagree that God calls each of us to use resources for Him and for our neighbor’s good.   We serve Jesus  our Redeemer by redeeming every part of it for Him.

It is not ok because Reformation Day is a good reminder for us to remember the blessings and sacrifices of those who opened the doors of renewal in the church.  But every day should be reformation day for those who believe that Jesus is Lord of every subject, of recess, of sports, of our relationships, of everything.  That is a fundamental and distinctive characteristic of reformed Christian education.   Kuyper had it right, “there is not one square inch of Creation of which He does not say, ‘this is mine’!”

From the early times the teachers of Israel understood the metaphor of salt to refer to the workings among their own.  That understanding grew from a Covenant of Salt that God gave to His people in Exodus.  The teachers understood the metaphor of light to refer to bringing the good news to the gentiles.  Isaiah often referred to the light for all nations or the world.

Jesus calls us to be both salt and light.  As salt, disciples of Jesus are called to flavor and to season fellow believers.  We do that through encouragement, through fellowship, through mutual accountability and through a number of other means.  We season each other so that we are not only flavored as individuals but so that the community of believers is preserved and strengthened.

We are light.  Those who are salted, that is those who are rooted and well-grounded in the faith, must become those who flavor others within the community but who also let their lights shine to the world.

We are not called to be just salt.  We are not called to be only light.  We are called to be both salth and light.  At KCMS we want to give our developing disciples of Jesus opportunities to be both as well.

Of course, too little salt is not very tasty.  But too much salt is almost worse.  Too little light doesn’t illuminate anything.  Too much light is blinding.  May God give us just the right amount of salt and light.

Simply put “Talmidim” is a Hebrew word which we would translate as “disciples”.  The reason that we use the term “Talmidim” instead of “disciples” or “discipleship groups” is because the meaning of Talmidim is so much deeper and richer than the connotations that we give to our English word.  “Disciple” is defined by Webster as “pupil” or “follower”.

A “Talmidim” doesn’t simply seek to learn what the teacher knows as a pupil might do.  A “talmidim” does not simply tag along as a follower might do.  A “Talmidim” seeks with all their heart, soul, and strength to know and understand what the teacher knows, to do what the teacher does, to be what the teacher is.  A “talmidim” of Jesus seeks with all of his or her being to be like Jesus!

Isn’t it an amazing blessing that Kalamazoo Christian has the privilege to  give our students the opportunity to  choose to be “Talmidim of Jesus”!

I intend to use this blog again this year a one of several communication tools.  It will be a tool to inform parents about KCMS.  It will be a tool which I hope will help you to get to know me better.  It will be a tool that at times will be used to trumpet the call for a strong commitment to Christian education.  And don’t be surprised if you see a faith lesson from the Land (Israel), because telling God’s story in the context of the Land is a passion of mine.

I have another new goal for 2009-2010 – to better communicate with parents.  Beginning in October there will be a monthly opportunity for a 30-45 minute dialogue between parents and the principal on a selected topic. Depending on the topic, I may invite a teacher to join us.  There will never be a perfect time of the day that will meet everyone’s schedule, but I will try to vary the times and publish date, time, and topic well enough in advance to enable a parent to attend if they are interested.

I welcome your feedback.  If you would like to suggest a topic of interest as long as it is positive in nature, please feel free to reply by adding a comment to the blog.   If you prefer, feel free to send a note to me or send it by email.  On Friday, October 9 from 11:45 – 12:30 in our Media Center, Mr. Mastenbrook and I will host a meeting on the topic of  “Athletic Expectations and Goals at KCMS and Our Relationship to the MHSAA”.   On Friday, November 13 from 8:00 – 8:45 I will host a meeting on the topic “Homeland Security & KCMS”.

In Jesus’ world and in other 21st century cultures, things are quite different.  I have a nephew from Ghana, Africa.  My wife and I are amazed at the honor and respect that he naturally shows to my wife’s parents.  There is a humbleness of spirit and a yielding to the wisdom of age.  Jesus knew that too.

In June I was blessed teach in the first century Galilean synagogue at Gamla.   The chief seats in the synagogue were reserved for the aged-wise and learned.  No one should be so presumptuous as to assume their place in those seats.  Better to await the invitation from the community to be seated there.

How different things are in our culture (and not for the better!).   I find myself in disbelief every time that a prospective parent says to me, “we really like KCMS, but we are letting our child decide.”  I am gracious, but I want to say, “you are doing what?”  God has entrusted parents with the responsibility to nurture and train up their children.  Children are not yet capable of the discernment and wisdom of adult decisions. It is not within their capacity.  I want to ask, “if you child asked for your car keys would you give them to him or her?  After all, is that a more important decision than whether they are trained in a Christ-centered place or a God-neurtral place?”  I hold my tongue but I want to say, “if your child said, I’ve decided to experiment with sex, drugs or alcohol, would you say, ‘I’m leaving that decision to you’?”  Of course not!

If you are a parent considering Christian education, I invite you to sit in the chief seats.  I invite you to exercise your God-given wisdom and to stand firm with a commitment to God’s call to train your children in His ways.  Frankly, His way is the only way.  Someday your children will be older and wiser and will recognize that too; assuming that they have seen a commitment to the ways of God modeled in you.

First century fishermen on the Sea of Galilee caught fish with a variety of net-types.  One type of net was set over a few hundred feet and then dragged.  All sorts of creatures became entangled including both fish and snakes.  The fish were kept; the snakes were destroyed.  A good fisherman/parent would never discard a fish and give a snake to his son for lunch.  How silly!

I am so thankful for Kalamazoo Christian parents who have chosen fish over snakes for their children.   These are parents who realize the great value of Christ-centered education and who sacrifice and commit to providing it for their children.  Staying the course of obedient living by putting God first in the education of your children is ‘giving your child a fish and not a snake’.

Occasionally at enrollment time a parent will say, our child would like a bigger school or there is more of this or that at the local public school or…  At the risk of sounding judgmental, I make no apology for saying, “Be careful.  Look at the Word.  Jesus makes it clear that we must give our children fish and not snakes.”

Jesus concludes His thought in verse 11, “if you then, even though inclined to evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more then will your Father in heaven give good gifts to you.”

In Numbers 6: 24-27 God speaks His blessing on His people through Moses and Aaron. ‘ May His face shine on you’ can be literally translated as ‘God smiles on His people when they obediently follow Him.’  I pray that the ways we talk and act will put a smile on the face of God.   We often tell our students, we may not always be watching, but God is always watching.  May what we do in public or private always be God-honoring!  May those we meet always see followers of Jesus in our actions.

May God smile on each of you and may you cause God and your neighbor to smile.