Hello fellow educators welcome to podcast #84. In today's podcast I want to continue our discussion of Transformative Education. We've been talking about three crucial educational reforms that Heritage Christian Schools is involved in. We have spoken extensively about the first reform, Biblical Integration in our curriculum, in some of our earliest podcasts. This is the first aspect of reform that distinguishes us from our public school counterparts. We are attempting teach everything in our K-12 educational programs from a Christian perspective. Of course this means that the teachers and curriculum needs to represent that worldview. Our third area of reform is our use of technology both in the online line world of distance learning or home education and we are beginning to think about and create hybrid programs that integrate these technologies in the classroom. Of course we spend allot of time in our podcast speaking to this because of the unique role the Lord has given us to here at Heritage. We have been given a tremendous opportunity and resources to grow and develop in all of our schools. Heritage continues to expand its programs in very unique directions through both our campus and online programs and curriculum.

For the last few podcasts we have been grappling with the 2nd area of reform which we are calling transformative education. This is that messy aspect of education that mixes good Biblical curriculum with experiences and relationships that get to the heart of our students. We think because we are teaching curriculum with Christian education we have gone far enough, but this is not the case. It is one thing to teach a course that adds to their knowledge but it is another thing to go deep into the heart of student and help them see whom God has made them to become in Christ. To help bring true transformation in the lives of our students we have find ways to touch their heart and let them follow Jesus on their own. Teaching truth is important but Jesus didn't just teach truth, He was the truth. We must embody the truth and person we are bringing to our young people. This is transformative education. The last two podcast we spoke with two very dynamic online educators. They both showed how the relationships necessary for transformative educational experience can and indeed do happen in distance learning technology. In their enthusiasm they did make some contrasts with campus school education that has warranted a response which we will include today. But what I really wanted to convey was the depth to which online can go in reaching into the lives of students.

If you listen to the podcast regularly you will know that we are entering our 25th year in our campus school program. Today I want to include two our admin team in our podcast. Steve Smith has been with Heritage for the last eleven years and serves as our Secondary Principal as well as the Director of the Global Citizenship Program. He is a passionate educator and, I might add, he has had a significant influence upon my own kids particularly through the GCP trips to Mexico. Both of my youngest sons went to Mexico with Steve and my middle son Josiah returned to work with missionaries the following year. We also have Paul Kelly our middle school Vice Principal joining us and he is equally a passionate educator. He came to us from Young Life student ministries and has brought the ideas and principles of discipleship into our campus school. Both of these gentlemen are good friends and I respect their keen insight into discipleship. Here is part one of my discussion with Steve and Paul:

Audio Only

Thank you so much Steve and Paul. We will have part two of this interview next week. Please email us your comments and thoughts on today’s podcast. Also, if you would like us to mail you a free copy of my book or send you the download link for the audio version of, Discipling This Generation for a Digital World, 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 thank you for your commitment to discipleship-based Christian education.