Imagine something different: The case for new evangelical parochial schools

Not too long ago, my husband and I were watching a series of interviews with famous directors.  In one interview, a director contrasted the difficulties in his early career with his current acclaim.  It's funny, he said, that the same ideas that get you fired early in your career are what you get awards for later.

This is one of those ideas.

What if evangelical churches were able to come together to create their own regional parochial schools?

But what about existing private Christian schools? you may ask.  Or maybe you think, But the public schools in my neighborhood are really good!  Or, That's a nice idea, but we're already homeschooling.  Let me answer each question separately, with a final emphasis on what would make this idea a real game-changer.

Grants don't work: The short-term, non-solution for education reform

As I mentioned in my previous post, "Why Did I Quit Teaching?," I had some encouragement from others to go into freelance grant writing before I got my job as a teacher.  Unfortunately, the Great Recession coincided with my resignation, and I spent three years unemployed.  It was a difficult time for me and I was pretty discouraged.  I had to give up my apartment and live with my parents for about a year until my husband and I got married.  Besides the twin storm clouds of "What should I do with my life?" and "I failed at my first real job" looming over my head, career-oriented job openings were slim and multiple interviews were followed days later with a thin envelope or short email notifying me that another candidate had been selected for the position, or the position itself had been canceled.

So after we got married, my husband encouraged me to find some volunteer work to do that would at least help me get some skills in another field.  I thought that non-profit organizations might be more welcoming of my writing skills and liberal arts background than for-profit corporations, and that would give me a better chance of networking my way to a job.  Since we didn't have a lot of money to spend on gas, I looked for the closest non-profit and found a local high school education foundation a few miles down the road. I emailed its director, offering to volunteer.

Why did I quit teaching?

Introduction

I think, in some way or another, I have always been passionate about education.  This is for two reasons. First, I am fascinated by systems and the way they work.  Education, and public education in particular, is an enormous political, social, and economic system in America, so it's very interesting to think about from that perspective.  Second, I have had a very checkered educational and teaching experience personally, so I have a bit of a unique perspective on it as well.

Since I want to write and research education, I thought a good place to start was my own story.  That story has a particular turning point: the day that I quit teaching.

While I am concerned in large part with the state of the educational system in America, it strikes me that all this hinges on two factors: a student and a teacher.  There have always been students-- children who want to learn (voluntary attendance) or else are made to attend school by social and legal pressures (compulsory attendance).  For the foreseeable future, the kids aren't going anywhere-- a majority of parents still want their children to attend public or private school (though their reasons for it may vary).  But what about the teachers?  Are there still people out there willing to educate both children who want to learn and children who are compelled to attend?  If education is a right, rather than a privilege, is a requirement that we as a nation are capable of fulfilling?

Connection strategies: Outreach events & practices

Here's my last post on connection strategies, a series in which we discuss the way that you can solidify connections and a sense of community between people in your Sunday School or life group.  As mentioned in previous posts, a true community of believers is "sticky"-- it makes people feel loved, wanted, needed, and cared for.  It's more than a social club or a Sunday event; it is the body of Christ in action, meeting needs and growing the Kingdom.  By the same token, outreach is about more than numbers (reaching X number of people, growing by X percent, etc.).  It is about fulfilling the Great Commission and finding more people who need the love and care of Christ.

While your church may have some larger evangelism and outreach strategies in place, your Sunday School or life group can implement its own complementary practices for growth.  Here are some suggestions:

Connection strategies: Social events

In the second post of this series on connecting people in your Sunday School or Life Group we will focus on Social Events.  I think good social events have a bit of an art and a science to them (see 3 Elements of great church events for more details), but there is one thing that should always be clear: church is not a social club. It is a not a place for the beautiful people, the good people, the smart people, or the cool people.  It is a place for all people, and no matter how pretty, good, smart, cool, or all-around awesome we (think) we are, we pale in comparison to the Creator of the Universe Who Sent His Own Son to Die for Us (John 1:1-10, John 3:16).  With that in mind, the focus of church social events should be glorifying God, connecting with others, and reaching out to new people.

Here are some suggestions for church social events that are fun, welcoming to newcomers, and conducive to connection:

Connection strategies: Small groups and dinner groups

This post begins what will be my last planned series on church and Sunday School / life groups for a few weeks.  I have a few other things to write about, including education, that will start to show up in future posts (see my recent post on bravery in motherhood here).

As discussed in the More than a number series, it's important to plan for growth with your leadership team.  Once you get beyond a certain number of individuals or couples, you have a few options to make room for growth.

Facing the (gi)ants

Note: The post below was inspired by the MOPs "Be You Bravely" challenge.  If you're a mom of a young child, please check out this amazing organization at www.mops.org. 

It was well past my regular bedtime as I finally crawled beneath the covers that night.  My husband was gone on another work trip, as had so often been the case since we moved to this new city for a year of training in his new job.  At the end of a long and lonely day chasing after our toddler son, I looked forward to finally snuggling under the warm blankets for a little sleep.

Just as I picked up my smartphone for one last email check before lights out, a streak of black flashed down its side. 

A caring community: Illness and loss

As last post in this series on a caring community in your Sunday School or Life Group, this post focuses on helping your group deal with serious illness and loss of a loved one.

Just as we've discussed in the other posts in this series on celebrating births and adoptions or helping with job loss and financial difficulties, being caring and consistent is important is an important goal.  However, since illness and loss can manifest in many different ways in a individual or family's life, I believe these situations often call for a degree of greater flexibility than others.

As with job loss, sometimes the path of recovery or treatment for a serious illness can be a long one.  It can also bring complications of having the one in need be "out of sight" for long periods of time.  Here are some thoughts on how to support the family or individual:

A caring community: Job loss and financial difficulties

The second in a series on the caring community at church, this post focuses on what your Sunday School or Life Group can do to show love to members who are enduring job loss or financial difficulties.

I believe this is another area where it is prudent to discuss with your leadership team and your minister before acting.

A caring community: Celebrating births and adoptions

This post begins a new series on how your Sunday School or Life Group community can care for each other through different life events.  Today we're talking about a life event that effects most young married groups: the births of babies and adoptions.

"Be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28) certainly takes on a new meaning when you are working with a class of newlyweds and young married adults!  Before you know it, there may be a large number of expecting mommies and daddies in your group-- and don't forget about those who may choose to adopt a child.  Here's a few questions to think through with your leadership team when creating a plan to celebrate growing families:

Talk to me: Prayer requests & testimonies

Today's post is the last in a series on communication in your life group or Sunday School class.  Prayer requests and testimonies may not be first on your mind when it comes to a discussion on communications, but bear with me as I demonstrate how they are integral to the growth and unity of your class.

First, let's discuss prayer requests.  There are numerous scriptures in the Bible exhorting us to pray for each other (James 5:16, Ephesians 6:18, Matthew 18:19-20, among others).  Prayer requests are a great way to bring unity to your class because they involve the verbal act of confessing life's difficulties (or victories, more on that in a  moment) and the spiritual act of intercession.

Talk to me: Talk to each other!

As we continue our discussion of communication in Sunday School and Life Groups, it's important to remember that communication is not just top-down, from leadership team to the larger group.  It is also important for your group's leaders to talk to each other.  If you have assembled your team (more in future posts), you should be meeting together regularly to plan, discuss, and pray.

Here are some helpful tips for maintaining communication for your leadership team:

• Meet often.  This probably means meeting in person together every four to six weeks.  If not everyone can make it to the meeting that is ok, but it is best to hold this meeting at a regular time (say, the second Sunday afternoon of every month) and to send out minutes/notes afterwards.  
• Take the temperature.  Everyone has a different personality and perspective.  Ask your team if they sense any needs or interpersonal dynamics in the group that should be addressed.  Ask if your current practices (events, schedules, outreach) are going well.  See if anyone on the team is feeling overburdened or needs help with a task.  

Talk to me: Get the word out!

In my previous post, we discussed the Biblical basis for making your group's communications relate desire and qualification of the audience.  As promised, this post will give you some tools for accomplishing those goals.

In my experience, there are four formal ways to communicate to your group:

1. In-class verbal announcements
2. In-class visual announcements (PowerPoint/bulletin board/whiteboard/clipboard)
3. Weekly e-newsletter
4. Facebook group or Facebook fan page

While you do not have to use all of these media, I suggest using at least two of them-- one in-class, and one digital.

For in-class verbal announcements, the best time to do this is at the beginning of class, before the Sunday School lesson.  Use a format that implements the 4WHC details:

Talk to me: Desired and qualified

As we enter February, we continue our focus on growth by looking at communication.  When I moved to a new city with my family six months ago, I was eager to learn what was going on in town. What are the good restaurants?  The fun activities for kids?  The best parks and walking paths?  With the help of a local parents' magazine, moms' group e-newsletters, and a great county parks website and city app, I quickly found what I needed to know to begin shaping a life here.  The local parents' magazine led me to a consignment sale by a MOPS group, which in turn led us to the church we joined a month later.  The city app and local signage led our family to some fun Food Truck Friday outings in our new downtown, and the parks website helped me find which parks had playground equipment (and shade!) nearby for my son to play on hot summer days.

All this was relatively easy not just because of the internet, but because these groups were talking to me.  They made themselves and their information easy to find, and

More than a number: Showing up for life

A few months ago, I picked up the latest audiobook from Charles Murray.  This tome was entitled The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead, and despite the fact that I am somewhat older than its intended demographic (newly graduated college students), I still found it informative and entertaining.

One interesting thought broached in the "On the Pursuit of Happiness" portion of the book was Murray's directive to "show up for life."  As I recall, he noted that it is very easy these days to get out of commitments-- to parties, to relationships, to society, or anything really.  But by choosing not to participate in life, you lose out.

More than a number: Emotional and spiritual space for growth

In last week's post, we discussed ways to make physical space for growth in your Life Group or Sunday School class.  This week, I would like to talk about ways to make emotional and spiritual space for growth with your group.

Growth and change can be a funny thing.  If you have a class that has been the same size with the same people for a long time, people can begin to experience what I call the "Goldilocks Effect".

More than a number: Physical space for growth

Like many parents at this time of year, I am finding myself surrounded by too many toys.  Many are the gifts of generous relatives to my son this past Christmas.  Some are baby toys that he has outgrown or broken.  Others are big kid toys that will be useful in the future, but he is not old enough to play with yet or understand.  

As many parents will confirm, when your child has a lot of toys out, he or she doesn't really play with any of them.  Sure, one or two favorites will still get the spotlight (for us, it's Leo the Lion and a wooden train set).  The rest will be veritable litter, strewing the carpet with colorful plastic and cloth. In that setting, each toy is just a number.  That's no fun for the child, the toy, or the parent.  Therefore, January has become my season of pre-spring cleaning, or what my husband lovingly calls "The Purge".

More than a number: Growing your church group

Well, it's January 2015, and while you're still trying to get used to writing a 5 instead of a 4 for the date, you are probably also thinking of goals for the new year.

Many churches use January's new year momentum to set goals for the growth of their church in Sunday School, worship service, Bible Studies, and other events.  Here are some ways to define growth that puts it in perspective with scripture.