The Psalmist puts the burden of educating our children squarely at the doorstep of parents—not the church, nor the government, nor the greater community. Things which “we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He hath done.” (Ps. 78:3,4)
The responsibility lies at home, with parents and grandparents. That does not mean that we cannot benefit from Christian education through the church or through educational institutions, but those helps do not absolve us from parental responsibility first and foremost, for “He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.” (Ps. 78:5-7)
That is how the “faith once delivered to the saints” is perpetuated from generation to generation. Parents accomplish this assignment by careful and prayerful instruction through our words and works in our homes before our youth, so that they will have the opportunity of knowing and trusting the God whose person and promises we have embraced by faith.
When I was a child, Christian schools and colleges were not common, especially for students in grades 1-12. Homeschooling was virtually non-existent; so I was the product of a public education. Schools then were diametrically different than schools today. I can remember many teachers who were committed to teaching the fundamentals of math, English, history, geography and music—the fundamentals without the liberal froth that is so common in today’s public school system. About the worst indoctrination we were exposed to then was that the United Nations was a positive entity that would foster dialogue between world powers, with the intent that World War III might be avoided. My mother was unrelenting, though—until the day she died—that we should “get the U.S. out of the U.N.” She saw early on what it was all about; and though as a high-school student I debated the opposing position with her, I learned, and am still being almost daily reminded of, how right she was!
We were blessed, Ellen and I, to be able to enroll our children in Christian schools for most of their years prior to going to college. And, again, two of the three of them graduated from a Christian college, while Marti attended Bob Jones University for two years and then finished at Butler here in Indianapolis, where she received her degree. We were thankful to have schools that were Christian in their educational philosophy to send our children to, and to recommend to members in our church; realizing, though, that no Christian school could ever be a panacea for all problems that arise in the process of educating one’s child, and that ultimately the responsibility for educating our children belonged to no one else but us.
Speaking of the philosophy of education, Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying that “the philosophy of the classroom in one generation will become the philosophy of the government in the next.” And, we have we seen that truth played out in real time today!
Those of us who desire a quality educational experience for our children (and grandchildren) have become alarmed the past couple of decades over the closure of many of the Christian colleges that once were alive and apparently thriving, but now no longer exist. A few smaller colleges are still open, and some are doing well in holding to their mission statements. But the number of larger Christian colleges, especially those where a well-rounded, traditional liberal-arts education can be gotten, is shrinking dramatically.
That is why I have followed with interest the transition that my alma mater, BJU, has been churning through the past couple of years. In the academic year before the one just concluded, the president resigned following some irreconcilable differences with the BJU board; and, through this present year, a triad of leaders guided this nearly 100-year-old Christian liberal arts university. Just a few days ago, the presidential search committee introduced to the students, staff, alumni and interested individuals the new president, Joshua Crockett, a BJU alumnus who currently pastors Morningside Baptist Church in Greenville, SC.
As an alumnus, my interest was deep-seated because of my love for BJU, my awareness of the critical need for a university today with BJU’s historic distinctives, and because I have a grand-daughter who is a student there, as well as friends who have children enrolled there. And there are innumerable other reasons!
That’s why I was more than pleased to learn that Pastor Crockett was chosen to lead BJU to its 100th year and beyond. I had the privilege of getting to know the Crockett family well when the patriarch of the family, the late Leigh Crockett, pastored a sister church here in Indiana, Grace Baptist Church of Anderson. Joshua followed his father as pastor there. Like his father, he was involved in, and with, the Indiana Fundamental Baptist Fellowship of Churches, a strong group of pastors and churches that has been known far and near as a group that holds faithfully to the tenets of historic fundamentalism.
Joshua Crockett is, in my opinion, the right choice to lead BJU on to greater heights while maintaining a conservative approach to Christian education in its finest tradition. Congratulations to the BJU board in this fine selection; congratulations to Joshua Crockett in being chosen to fill this key position for such a time as this in training the generations that are to come!
“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children….” (Deut. 6:7)
YOU and GOD 