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Happy New Year! I am fairly certain that our world has never been so excited to flip the calendar from one year to the next. And yet this phrase, “happy new year,” that so easily rolls off the tongue, seems a bit flippant after the year we have just experienced. From our nation’s deadly struggle with racial inequality to the abhorrent events at the Capitol on January 6 to the growing number of COVID-19-related deaths, will this really be a happy new year?

On January 18, Americans recognized and celebrated the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Hopefully you read the related CACE blogpost by Joel Hazard, Head of School at Fort Bend Christian Academy. Joel wrote a powerful piece challenging us to consider how we will recognize this holiday this month. Joel’s experience is similar to mine--that the Christian school has subscribed to this as a day off, not a day to honor the legacy of Dr. King.

I am challenged by Joel’s words and those of Dr. King himself. I have a poster on my office door with a picture of Dr. King and this quote from his 1964 Nobel Lecture, “There is no deficit in human resources; the deficit is in human will.” He continues, “I do not wish to minimize the complexity of the problems that need to be faced in achieving disarmament and peace. But I think it is a fact that we shall not have the will, the courage, and the insight to deal with such matters unless in this field we are prepared to undergo a mental and spiritual reevaluation–a change of focus which will enable us to see that the things which seem most real and powerful are indeed now unreal and have come under the sentence of death.” We need to make a supreme effort to generate the readiness, indeed the eagerness, to enter into the new world which is now possible, “the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

“A mental and spiritual reevaluation.” These words make me stop and give thanks for Christian schools, places where teachers are challenging students to think critically about the place in history we find ourselves. To evaluate our thoughts on race and politics and what the Bible truly means by “love your neighbor.” To examine our junk-food media diet, as Ben Sasse noted in an Atlantic editorial this week, and “how we consume and produce news--or what passes for it these days.”

In my opinion, the need for Christian schools in our world has never been greater. The curriculum of our public schools cannot sufficiently guide students through these incredibly formative moments and deep questions of life because they cannot use the Word of God as the standard of truth. As stewards of the mission of the Christian school, we recognize the Lordship of Christ in all areas of life and learning. We respond in obedience to His call to be transforming influences in our communities, people with a Pentecostal mindset.

So bring on 2021. Our world still belongs to God. This is still my Father’s world.

This is my Father's world:
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.

This is my Father's world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King, let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

Tim Van Soelen
CACE Director

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Through our strategic planning, data analysis, professional learning groups, and blog posts, CACE supported Christian school leaders through the challenges of 2020. The most read blogs from last year focused on three themes: COVID response, improving teaching and learning, and diversity.

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We wouldn’t feed the caterpillar the same food as the butterfly. Similarly, we shouldn't assume young children learn the same way adults do. Recognizing the unique way that young learners engage and learn can shape the way we educate, and ultimately invite young children into God's story.

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One of our roles as Christian educators is to encourage and support each other, a role that requires an attentiveness and awareness of the needs of others. Understanding these needs often requires asking tough questions.

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