|
 Home About Us Faculty & Staff Have You Heard Calendars Monthly Calendar Helen Hyatt Herald Scrip Program Classrooms Online Grades Handbook Tuition & Registration Links Facilities Management Plan Contact Us |
 Have You Heard Welcome to Have You Heard! We will be bringing to you from time to time news articles and information that we believe are pertinent to Christian Education. If you come across information that you believe should be shared with the rest of the school family, please email the Principal for review.
Recently, the College View SDA Church pastor wrote an article on the difference between public and Christian education. We hope you enjoy the article. Public and Christian Education: There is a Difference by Pastor Ron Halvorsen, Jr. A few years ago, I was asked to speak about gangs at a public school assembly program. Some of the teachers in the school knew that my father had been a gang leader in New York City before becoming a Christian. This was a rare opportunity for a minister, and I accepted the invitation. But as I said yes, I realized there would be limits to what I could say. The day of the big assembly arrived. I had prayed about it, asking for God's leading and blessing. I felt His presence with me as I spoke. The young people were tuned in and listening with interest to this guest speaker—a preacher in a secular arena. As I concluded my talk, the teacher that was in charge of the assembly came forward and asked me if I would be willing to take some questions. I agreed, and immediately hands flew up in the audience. One by one, those young people started asking questions about my father and his gang. But the question that was most on the mind of my audience was: How did dad get out of the gangs? How did he get out of a life that was leading to prison or death? I had shared the tragic ends of some of his fellow gang members. Now the students wanted to know what made the difference in my dad's story? I hesitated—not because I didn't know the answer, but because I wasn't supposed to share it in this setting. In public school, you are not supposed to talk about Jesus. You can use His name in vain on the playground, but you aren't supposed to lift Him up as the answer to life in an assembly program. The audience sensed my hesitation, and that only made their curiosity grow. More students began to ask the question aloud without waiting to be recognized by the teacher. They wanted the answer to their question. Students were encouraging me to just tell them. It was amazing, and it only directed the spotlight of full attention toward the answer. The teacher looked over at me and told me to go ahead and answer the question. So I told them about Jesus, and how my father's life was changed by Him in an amazing way. I told them about how that happened. I told them about the call a pastor had made and how my dad asked his friend Richard to go forward with him and become a Christian. I shared how Richard looked at my dad and shook his head slowly and said, "No Ron. It costs too much to be a Christian." I told them that Richard now spends his life in prison for murder while my dad not only lives free, but has traveled the world sharing Jesus with others. Then the audience was applauding. As I left, the teachers all thanked me, but I was never invited back. It's not that the students or the faculty didn't want me to come back. It's that, when it comes to rules about not speaking about Jesus, I'm a law breaker. When it comes to being silent about Him, I'm a dangerous man. What am I saying in all of this? I am saying that when it comes to the most important things in this life—or the life to come—public schools are duty bound to remain silent. However, in church schools all across this land—in the schools operated by our church here in this city—Jesus is spoken of fluently, worshipfully, and constantly! I have spent my ministry in school settings because I not only believe in Christian schools, I want to have a part in their ministry. If you have children, youth or young adults of school age, send them to our schools. If you are a child, youth or young adult, come to our school this year. Don't stay away because you think you can't afford it; talk to me or someone else in charge and see what can be done to help you join our school this year. It is not enough to spend your days learning how to read, write and do arithmetic. You need to learn how to read God's word and to write your life story with the Word, Jesus Christ, in the center. Without Him, nothing else really adds up. Yours in the ministry of Christian education, Pastor Ron
|
|
 |
|
|