Hello fellow educators,

Welcome to podcast #8. I want to thank all of our Heritage staff, families and those who are outside the Heritage family who have emailed about how the podcast is helping. At the end of this podcast I will have the details of a special gift we would like to send to those who email us for the first time.

Last week we presented the first category of the Student Learning Outcomes we use as our map for discipleship based Christian Education at Heritage Christian Schools. These outcomes give us a picture of what we want our students to know, experience and possess when he or she leaves our school. You can find this document at TheChristianEducator.org.

This first of five categories of outcomes speaks to the spiritual goals we are cultivating in our schools. Today we will discuss Intellectual and Academic Learning Outcomes and Physical Fitness Learning Outcomes. In next week’s podcast we will talk about the Social and Relational Learning Outcomes and Vocational Preparedness Learning Outcomes. Keep in mind that we see these categories as interdependent upon each other and any division we apply is really only to make these outcomes definable and measurable. For example, to seek a vocation with spiritual direction and preparation is placing the will of God as foremost in our lives. When we live a life of balance and good health we will have the best opportunity for fulfilling social interaction and relationships.

Here are the Intellectual and Academic Learning Outcomes with my commentary mixed in:

•  It is our goal, expectation and purpose that our students will see and understand every academic discipline through a Biblical perspective.

There is no academic activity in a Christian School that is more important than this outcome. To see the world from a Biblical perspective and worldview is what distinguishes a Christian school’s curriculum from that of any other type of schooling. To make disciples of Jesus is to give our students the view of the world through his eyes. We need to ask, “What would Jesus see?” as we look at every topic and discipline we teach.

I am reminded of a conversation I had with a close friend of mine from Church who had opted to send his kids to public school. His reason for this revealed a flaw in his perspective the world. He said, “I want my kids to get education about the real world. Our church and our home will take care of the spiritual education.”

He took dualistic approach to reality. This means that my friend created a different category for spiritual truth from that of “real world” truth. I replied to him, “Whose ‘real world’ are you trying to teach your kids about.”

The idea of Biblical Integration begins with the premise “All truth is God’s truth.” This implies that everything in the world and outside of the world has been created by God and, as the Designer of all things, He is the first authority on understanding the true nature of everything. Therefore any and all disciplines of learning must start and end with Him who has the sole distinction in the universe as “The Truth” (John 14:6).

It is our task as Christian Educators to present God’s world and all of it’s principles, disciplines and applications to our students as succinctly and biblically as is possible in our limited understanding. This means that we are to figuratively “go into all the world…” (Matt. 28:19) and take our disciples with us as we try to understand it through the means God has given using the tools of “special revelation,” that is, the revelations that comes to us from the scriptures and the Holy Spirit, and “general revelation,” the revelations we come to understand by observing our world with our senses and intellect. It also means that “truth” is not exclusive to Christian teaching or the Bible itself. We can know truth outside of the Bible and, in fact, to seek truth exclusively within the confines of scripture would be to rob the reality and splendor of such statements in scripture as:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. Psalms 19:1-2

Here is our next set of outcomes:

•  It is our goal, expectation and purpose that our students will grow and develop in the academic disciplines of:
• Language Arts which include reading, writing, speaking, listening and thinking.
• Humanities which include philosophy, literature, the arts, history and social sciences.
• Mathematics, Sciences and Technology
• Fine Arts which includes visual art, music and drama.

These are the main subjects of what is called a liberal arts education. We are trying to give our children a broad understanding of their world and give them the tools needed to work in and engage this world. Each area brings to us great themes that we can explore through a Biblically center approach.

In language arts we are meeting with the Word. There are no words without the Word, who was made flesh and dwelt among us.  Opening books is opening God’s world as seen through the eyes of others. Learning other languages opens us up to love to minister to others in their own cultures. The amazing processes in our brains that convert these abstract symbols into meaning is one of God’s greatest gifts. God uses language and story to reveal himself to us.

As we study the humanities with a Biblical perspective we will see history as His Story because all of history began in eternity. The great human conflicts of history reveal this spiritual battle of good and evil. We can see man’s fallen-ness in history as well as God’s redemption. As we study philosophies of men we can contrast the great thoughts of God and His prophets. As we understand the human experience we can come to see our great need for the Creator.

Mathematics, Science and technology are some of the greatest subjects to see the world from God’s perspective. When we think of concepts such as the Trinity and the Infinitude of God we can only see them in the abstract realm of mathematics. God has made this world and the laws of physics to work with indescribably precision and patterns that reveal the delicate and deliberate hand of the Creator. As we penetrate this creation with the skills and applications of the sciences we must stand back in awe of the Creator in a spirit of humility, repentance and worship. We are truly fearfully and wonderfully made.

In the arts we find that the Creator has made us in His Image. He has breathed within each of us a sample of his creative power. We can recreate our world and explore its many dimensions through this amazing creative ability. Through drama we can tell His story, through music we can feel His story through the canvas to the lens we can capture His story.

• It is our goal, expectation and purpose that students will develop critical thinking skills that they may learn to question, solve problems and make wise decisions. 

  This is more important today than it has ever been before. We live in a world where information is at our finger tips. We need to teach and help our students learn to think well, to evaluate data, to understand where it comes from and who is giving it to us. Our students need the information and revelation of a Biblical perspective to give them the grid they can reason from. Education is more about training the mind than it is about filling it.

  • It is our goal, expectation and purpose that students will be prepared for post secondary education including Bible schools, vocational schools, colleges and universities. 

  In most cases our students will leave our hallowed halls or our home education programs and enter into the secular world. Yes, a handful will be called out to study and pursue a vocation in church ministries but most of our students will be taking the next step into the work force or post secondary education. Our schools should always keep this end in mind. We have to provide adequate preparation for the various directions our students will be called to. If we as a school cannot get them ready for the next step then we need to pass our young disciples on to someone who will. When our kids leave Heritage they will enter a spiritual battle will challenge there God given call and faith and we have been charged with the responsibility to make them ready.

  • It is our goal, expectation and purpose that students will meet or exceed the academic learning outcomes of the Province of British Columbia as stated in the BC School Act. 

  We have entered into a partnership with our Provincial Government. In BC we receive a very significant amount of funding for our program. The biggest condition we must meet to receive this funding is to teach the Provincial Learning Outcomes. Fortunately our government acknowledges our unique perspective as a religious school and they have given us the freedom to teach their outcomes from our perspective and bias. When we encounter learning outcomes that are contrary to our Christian world such as, man has evolved from apes, or the validity of same sex marriage, we have the liberty to teach our view. For the most part their learning outcomes do not conflict in any way with our approach to the subjects and disciplines. Obviously, they lack the foundational perspectives we are trying to bring to our students in a Christian worldview but in most cases they are easily accomplished in our liberal arts approach.

  Here are our Physical Fitness Learning Outcomes:

  • It is our goal, expectation and purpose that students will understand and treat their bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit.

  This idea comes directly from the scripture in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. The scripture clearly points out that our bodies are not our own but they have been purchased along with every other part of our life through the redemptive sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. There we are stewards of these bodies and must care for them as such. The following outcomes show in what ways God calls us to care for the physical well being:

  • It is our goal, expectation and purpose that students will learn, value and participate in:
  • a lifestyle of physical fitness and regular exercise
  •  a healthy diet and nutritional eating habits
  •  personal hygiene and cleanliness
  • healthy, modest and chaste attire
  • personal safety and well being including an awareness of the dangers of all forms of substance abuse 

  In each of these areas the scriptures give us definitive principles to live by. Exercises, though it is temporal in its profit it helps sustain and elongate our lives 1 Tim. 4:8. Whole passages in the Old Testament were dedicated to the types of foods and preparation of those foods for God’s people. Though many of the dietary laws do not pertain to us today it is clear that God wants us to eat in a healthy manner. The same can be said for personal hygiene and cleanliness. Modesty and chastity in how we dress is a principle found throughout the scripture. We are not to adorn ourselves in seductive and compromising attire for the sake of those we are trying to love. The scripture is clear that all substance abuse is clearly outside the will of God. In our school and home we must continually do all we can to educate and eliminate all opportunities for potential substance abuse, this includes alcohol, steroids, illicit drugs and the misuse of prescription drugs.

  Finally our last Physical Fitness outcome reads:

  • It is our goal, expectation and purpose that students will develop a godly attitude and participation in competitive sport, learning the dynamics of fair play, individual and team participation and always striving to do their best. 

  One of the greatest joys in my life has been coaching our kids. I can think of few activities that compare to the growth and development that competitive sport can bring into the life of students. Participation in team sport creates multiple opportunities to teach and help students in their character and attitude development. The challenges of athletics can bring up personal issues and hurdles that can be brought to the cross.

  I will never forget the year in which two brothers on our team lost their mother to cancer. This was my first year of coaching basketball so I brought in a young man from our community to help with the team. We were coming to the end of our season and this young man’s frustration with our lack of winning came out in the locker room after a game. He challenged the students with a comparison of our team struggles to how he had to overcome his personal struggles in losing his mom last year, also to cancer. While sharing this he remembered that two of the boys on the team had just lost their mother. He realized what he had done and in his sorrow he broke down and began to weep. The entire team came around him and prayed for him. The prayer was led by one of the boys who lost his mother. Later that year this young man gave his life to Christ and went on to pursue a vocation in the ministry. The shared passion and emotion of sport can bring the best and sometimes the worst in us. It always leads to amazing teachable moments.

  Next week we will dive into the next two categories of outcomes. If you would like us to mail you a free copy of my book simply send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and let us know what type of an educator you are, home schooler, classroom teacher, school administrator, or interested parent. Please let us know how you heard about the podcast and, of course, please include your mailing address.

  Thank you for listening and for your commitment to discipleship-based Christian education.