By Jeff Keaton
When making the argument for Christian education, some have stated that if a child attends public school, they are likely to become an atheist. Although an atheistic worldview dominates public education, it hasn’t been my experience that most children from Christian homes who attend non-Christian schools adopt atheism as their worldview. However, almost every child who attends any form of non-Christian education will become what I like to call a “secularist.”
Here’s what I mean by this statement. When a child spends thirteen years in a school where God is never connected to any relevant part of the world (math, science, history, English/language arts, business, medicine, law, government), they naturally assume the only thing God is involved in is what happens at church and their personal faith. I will go so far as to say that this Sacred/Secular Divide is the great curse of the evangelical church in America and in many other parts of the world.
Our churches are filled with secularists who love Jesus but have no idea what His thoughts are about the real world they live in Monday through Friday. Therefore, when they are in church listening to their pastor or singing worship music, or when they are having their devotion time or listening to Christian music, they feel like they are doing something sacred and holy. But, when they go to work on Monday, they feel like they have entered the secular world.
Other than Christian ethics causing them to behave well in their work setting, they have no idea what God’s thoughts are about the ultimate purpose for their work and how their work fits into His great plan for humans and the world. Most secularized Christians fail to see their work as a part of God’s call for humans to take dominion of the earth and restore all that is broken and out of alignment with God’s good design.
The beauty of a truly Christian education, in all of its many forms, is that it frees our children from the inferior view that education is only about helping them to make a living. It inspires them to see education as the journey God is using to help them find their place as one of His vice-regents in our world. As we show them the unique abilities God has given only to humans by stamping His image on us and inspiring them with the purpose of “repairing the ruins of our first parents,” the world comes alive, and the opportunities seem endless. If you need help making this kind of education a reality in your school or church, please reach out to us today.
Jeff Keaton has been a successful pastor, church and school planter, and ministry entrepreneur. As the founder and CEO of RenewaNation, Jeff works across the United States and Canada to help awaken the church to the great need to give every child a biblical worldview. Jeff is married to Michele, and they have two daughters, two sons-in-law, four grandsons, and one granddaughter. He is the author of The Life of Radical Faith.