Building Up the Body: One Student at a Time
Michael J. Evans, MA
Associate Director, Urban School Services, ACSI
As schools continue to open their doors to students from diverse spiritual backgrounds, it is critical that school leaders revisit their spiritual expectations of incoming students. Effective leaders and teachers must work with students who are at a variety of places along their spiritual journey. For schools interested in strengthening the spiritual lives of students, intentionality with all students is foremost while those schools are becoming less spiritually exclusive.
We certainly know the reality of a student who has made a commitment to Christ, has all the right answers, and enjoys the privilege of Christian parents. Yet the appearance of that child’s spiritual evelopment may or may not display an accurate picture. Likewise, the opposite is true: a child with limited spiritual resources, lacking a traditional commitment to Christ, unaware of the “right” responses, and on the edge with certain behaviors may indeed be more receptive to spiritual realities. We know well the lesson from the story of David and Samuel: man looks at the outward appearance—the stuff that is seen, easily assessed, measured, and addressed—but God looks at the heart.
If Jesus had followed the religious rules of engagement, He would not have chosen the tax collector Matthew. Certainly, there could have been a list of reasons why the Messiah would avoid inviting a tax collector into His inner circle of students. Would Matthew pollute the others? Would he be able to lay down his deceitful ways? Could he break company with bad influences? Would he be a problem child for the Master?
If my Bible knowledge serves me correctly, Matthew was not the one who caused the biggest problems. Peter would betray, Thomas would not believe, Judas—well, we know about Judas’ issues—but Matthew would serve beside the Lord and be one of His great disciples, a pillar in the early church.
Who are the Matthews in our communities—those young boys and girls we need to view beyond the obvious outer appearance and see as God sees them, full of potential and promise?
All students, whether they come to us like a Peter or a Matthew or even as rugged as a Saul of Tarsus, need a prescriptive plan that will encourage, strengthen, and sharpen their spiritual development. And Christian schools are uniquely prepared to engage in that type of development. I suggest schools and leaders take the following steps to move in that direction:
1. Clearly articulate a biblical core definition of a disciple of Jesus, ensuring brevity in order to focus on what matters. Your list may include some of the following characteristics:
- knowledge of the story of redemption as revealed in the Bible
- connection with a group of believers for encouragement, ministry, and accountability
- use of spiritual disciplines to grow in relationship with God and usefulness in the kingdom
- correct view of salvation, forgiveness, grace, and obedience
- willingness to live a life obedient to the Lord in all areas
2. On the basis of the list, take inventory of each student’s spiritual development. We have often measured a person’s spirituality by using artificial assessments such as church attendance, Scripture memorization, and good behavior. Here are some questions you may want to use in an inventory as you invite parents, pastors, other significant adults, and the child into the discussion:
- On the basis of the biblical definition of discipleship, what are the child’s significant spiritual goals?
- What resources are available to the child and his or her family to meet these goals?
- What additional resources may be needed to help the child meet these goals?
- In what areas of spiritual development does the student lack in significant ways?
- What can the school do to encourage the child’s spiritualgrowth?
- What are the limitations of the school in successfully helping the child?
3. Develop a plan to celebrate areas of strength and to address areas of struggle. On the basis of discoveries from the two earlier processes, develop a spiritual IEP (individualized educational plan) for the child. Allow the plan to shape the child’s daily instructions and interactions. The following are questions for consideration:
- How does the plan affect Bible curriculum and instruction?
- How does the plan affect Bible memorization?
- How are spiritual disciplines incorporated in the curriculum so that the child goes beyond just head knowledge about God?
- What is the focus of chapel services or devotional times?
- What mentoring (or one-on-one time) is needed?
- How do the parents and other significant adults stay connected to the child’s spiritual growth?
- Can service projects and mission experiences support the spiritual goals?
- How can this child be encouraged in having an ongoing, voluntary relationship with Jesus?
Our challenge comes from having adopted a one-size-fits-all mentality regarding spiritual development: “All children need to know …” “All children must …” Our relationship with Jesus is much more personal than that. Yes, there are some basics that everyone must know, do, and believe, but we must understand the individual nature of relationship with Jesus.
Again, clarifying the expectations that Jesus had of His disciples, working through an honest evaluation, and then developing a plan will help us move forward in developing strong disciples of Jesus.
Urban Schools 12.3