I THOUGHT YOU WERE A BAPTIST

This is a possible response I could get, when I share where my children are going to school this year. Growing up, I went to a Christian school, that was a Baptist school held in the Baptist church I went to: www.grandviewparkbaptist.org . I loved it; and I believe it was a tool God used greatly in my spiritual and academic development.

As parents, we have had our children in public school, home school, and Christian school. I fully believe that all 3 are options for Christian families, depending on how God is leading them. I have heard the arguments that passionate people have, from each of those perspectives. Our experience has been that God wants us, each year, to go through the process of praying, thinking, studying, talking and waiting until He is ready to let us know. It has been very interesting, as it relates to school, for the 5 years we have been in Ohio.

One of the great blessings for us has been the school that rents space from our church: Westside Christian Academy www.westsideacadey.org It is a non-denominational school, with a classical style of education, and we have really appreciated learning more about that. What really makes it special, in our opinion, is its great leadership and teachers, that care about our children, and care for our families. They are not just out to give our children an excellent education (which we believe they are getting); but they are interested in partnering with us as parents to help our children become devoted followers of Jesus Christ. That is the most important thing to us. Our youngest 3 are blessed, once again, to attend Westside Christian Academy this school year.

Our oldest 2 are entering high school this year. Our desire for them as well is that they would be growing in their walk with Jesus Christ. Could they do this by going to a public school? Of course. They wouldn't have the Christian education or teachers that were trying to help them grow (or allowed to talk about it publicly in class); but that is really the parent's responsibility, not the school. We had our children registered for public school this year, until God opened a door and we determined He was leading us a different direction. We are very thankful for Christian teachers and families who are being salt and light in the public school system.

The school God led us to is close to the other school, which means our church as well. But, it also, is not Baptist. It's Lutheran! Lutheran West High School www.lutheranwest.org is a Christian school, but will certainly be different than WCA or any Baptist school we might send them to. For our family, it seems to be a place where their faith will be challenged, especially as it relates to living out what they believe. I admit, being a Christian school graduate myself, and being around Christian schools all my life, that Christian schools are full of sinners just like public schools. And in some cases, the apathy toward Christ that can be found in Christian schools can be a harder issue for students to work through than if the lines were very clear, as they usually are in a public school. However, we are excited about the leadership at Lutheran West as well, and the Christian teachers that want to create an environment where Christ is honored and followed. Since the details of how we ended up here seem so clear, as coming from God, we are confident that this is the best place for our children to be, at least this year.

So, what is the deal, being Baptist, that we are sending our kids to Lutheran and non-denominational schools? Because it fits with how we see ourselves, and we want our children to see themselves. We have no problem with being in a Baptist church. We hold to the Baptist Distinctives; but since no one really knows what those are, except for Baptist College graduates, we emphasize something much more important. I want to be known, not as a Baptist, but as a follower of Christ. I want our children to identify themselves as followers of Christ, and not answer the question: "hey, I'm Catholic, what are you?" with "I'm a Baptist". Since there are so many kinds of baptists out there, and people only know about Baptists according to the experiences they have had, I am much more interested in them knowing that we follow Jesus Christ and we follow the Word of God. Being in a non-denominational and Lutheran School will help our kids see that there are those in other types of churches that also follow Christ with all of their hearts; and that there are people in all churches and schools, including ours, that are perhaps religious, and may even attend something called Baptist, but are really just following their own desires, not God's.

May God bless these schools, that are a blessing to our family, and may your family be led by God, as is the prayer for ours, to help your children grow in Jesus Christ, and to use whatever educational system you choose, to help in that process!