3. What It’s Going To Take - VOCATIONAL ACADEMICS

3. What It’s Going To Take
VOCATIONAL ACADEMICS

We live in an age when many people confuse education for schooling. One involves learning. The other includes passing exams. The latter is a system. The former is a process. Sometimes the pressure of schooling takes a crushing toll and I am going to argue for a re-think of how we as a society go about educating so that this toll on those in this system can begin to be diminished and we help to produce people who know how to think not just what to think.  

Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
Proverbs 1:5

REMEMBER YOUR SCHOOLING?

For those of us who are well into our adult years, I have a question for you. How much of what you were taught in either elementary (Primary) school or even High School do you remember? Chances are, for many of us, not much. Even though it’s been more than 40 years since I was in Primary school, my recollections tend to be clearer about the peoplerather than the chalkboard. I remember Mrs Wallace. She was left handed. She was my grade 4, 5, and 6 teacher. She had perfect handwriting. She impressed upon me the importance of neat handwriting. Apart from that, I can’t recollect any particular thing that she taught me – except that, she really cared about her students. Not everyone at Corio Primary School was so fortunate. It was a rough neighbourhood and, as a sad reflection of this, several of my school chums didn’t make it through to the end of teenage years. I can understand why for some children their school experience is more about surviving than being educated. 

Reynolds, Frances; Hannah More (1745-1833); Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/hannah-more-17451833-189014

When Kim completed her first Master’s degree, she took as her major research project a study of the various schooling options in Tasmania. This involved looking at the history of schooling in Tasmania. I think it surprises most  people, as I was, to discover that ‘public education’ is a fairly recent development. In our State, it is around 150 years old. William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833) became concerned that much of England’s woes were due to a general lack education among the masses. There was, at the time, an education system that involved private tutoring or expensive Grammar Schools which only the wealthy had access to. This tutoring prepared these privileged few for a university education at either Cambridge or Oxford. Wilberforce describes his own time at Cambridge as a time when “he had little inclination or need to apply himself to serious study. Instead he immersed himself in the social round of student life[4][17] and pursued a hedonistic lifestyle, enjoying cards, gambling and late-night drinking sessions – although he found the excesses of some of his fellow students distasteful.” After Wilberforce’s conversion to Christianity, he encouraged Hannah More (1745 – 1833) to start a ‘free school’ in a poor area of England where the population was generally illiterate. Miss More did so. In fact, the project was so successful, she founded 12 such free schools by 1800 and helped to establish Kenyon College in Ohio (USA) in 1824.

THE FOUR Rs OF EDUCATION

Initially free schools were sponsored by philanthropists. Government involvement in public education came much later. These schools were founded to focus on “The 3 Rs” – reading, writing, and arithmetic. For Hannah More and the other public education pioneers, such education enabled common people to develop the skills necessary to read the Bible and learn about the God of the Bible. This, they reasoned, was essential for character formation. In fact, as Evangelicalism began to inspire missionaries to go into all the world, wherever they went they started schools. Indeed, it has been noted that wherever Christianity has spread to it has resulted in schools being established. Perhaps the most notable example of this was William Carey who went to India. He helped to pioneer schools and a university as he established churches and led people to Christ. The link between Christianity and public education is indissoluble. The 3 Rs, it was rightly reasoned, were necessary for people to come to know their Creator and Redeemer. Even such things as the rules of grammar and spelling were seen as indispensable in knowing the God of the Bible because they were ordained by God to accurately and precisely present the truth.  

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
Proverbs 9:9

Over time, Christian educators reasoned that it wasn’t just reading and writing that was indispensable for knowing God and His Word more deeply. It also involved mathematics(arithmetic). Most people think of arithmetic as just dealing with numbers. But Christian educators showed that arithmetic was actually a branch of philosophy (the study of thinking) which pointed to the God of the Bible. After all, numbers are actually concepts and how they interact is also a concept and concepts are the stuff of philosophy. My long-time friend, Pete Hall, a physics lecturer, taught me a long time ago that maths deals with objective facts that point to an Objective Cause – which is confounding for those people who claim that there is nothing objective in the universe! The ‘finger-prints of God’ can be seen in mathematics because numbers and how they interact is grounded in objectivity (unchanging facts). Two plus two equals four and it always does. This is an objectivereality that points to the Ultimate Objective Reality.  

This is an illustration of why we should refer to the 4 Rs not just the 3. The fourth R is reasoning. It also is a branch of philosophy (thinking). It involves understanding the laws of logic (which are also objective) and also point to the Ultimate Objective Reality (God). Yet sadly, Philosophy is rarely taught in our schools. Philosophy is the study of how to think about issues by reasoning to a conclusion. Reasoning involves giving reasons – not just opinions. Its study also helps people to distinguish truth from error, reasonable from unreasonable, plausible from implausible, likely from unlikely. These are the learning skills required for determining whether human beings matter; what is a human person; what is moral; what is ethical; what are our obligations. It shapes how we answer the big questions of life. Is there a God? What happens when I die? Could someone time-travel? How then should we now live? 

(Select) youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
Daniel 1:4

THE SHIFT FROM EDUCATION TO SCHOOLING

As governments became increasingly involved in education they established their own free schools which became known as State or Public Schools. Newly established Departments of Education introduced teacher registration. Teachers’ Colleges were later absorbed into established universities. States set minimum standards of education for students and established what was once called scope and sequence for all schools to administer. Then, the Federal government saw the need to establish a national curriculum with new minimum standards for all schools to have their students satisfy. They then introduced national testing for literacy and numeracy (in Australia this is called NAPLAN). The unintentional result of this was that schools and teachers became assessed by the public for how well their children did on these tests (rather than how well their children were learning) which resulted in an increased effort on the part of teachers to ensure their students could do well on these tests. And whenever the focus shifts to learning how to improve test results, the danger is nearly always going to be that learning suffers as test-skills improve. When this happens, a child has then been schooled but not necessarily educated. I won’t go on to mention the amount of compliance paperwork or classroom ‘crowd control’ which also distracts teachers from teaching! So what’s a better solution to this education Vs schooling dilemma? 

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Matthew 7:28-29

EDUCATION AS A VOCATION

A vocation is ‘a life calling.’ It requires professionalism in the truest sense of the word. It becomes a person’s identity. I am a pastor by vocation. There are those who called by God to be teachers. They will live out their vocation in various contexts – public schools, private schools, training providers, business consultants, universities, colleges, pre-schools, kindergartens, and even churches. But there is one place which trumps each of these for its effectiveness. Home.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, 
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, 
and when you walk by the way, 
and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:7

Every parent has at least one vocation: as a teacher. As such, they don’t depend upon their children’s school teachers to teach their children, rather, they work with their children’s teachers to help them to teach their children. This doesn’t mean that every parent has to have memorised the Periodic Table (but snaps to you if you have), or how to calculus, or what a dangling participle is. But every parent has the capacity to teach their children what they know as their children are ready to understand it. Then beyond that, parents can ensure that their children respect their school teachers and follow-up on their children’s homework. To supplement this, parents should get to know those who are trying to help them to educate their children – their children’s teachers. This at least involves attending parent-teacher interviews, and responding to communications from their children’s teachers. What I am about to propose is an essential and necessary part of what it’s going to take for how our society can experience and enjoy the divine blessings of happiness, security, wellness, fulfilment, enlightenment, and prosperity.

• I want to encourage those who are called by God to be teachers of young people. Teaching can be a frustrating job (as I’ve touched on), but we need teachers who can push through the frustration because they see their profession as a vocation, not just a job.      

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
First Peter 4:10

• I also want to encourage parents to see their role as the one overseeing their children’s education with school teachers assisting them – and to see that their primary education is the 4 Rs so that their children can read the Word of God for themselves and develop a deep and abiding love for the God of the Bible. 
• I want to encourage teachers who are called into educational leadership to develop their leadership skills and take the necessary steps to aspire toward becoming principals. Schools, just like churches, are only be as good as those who lead them.
• But I especially want to challenge young people to commit to become teachable and life-long learners. As good as parents and teachers are, the learning process is most contingent upon the learner. There is some merit in the old Oriental saying, “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.”

He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way.
Psalm 25:9

2. WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE - TRUE JUSTICE

WHAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE, Part 2 

TRUE JUSTICE

I need your forgiveness. It has been rightly said that whenever you put an adjective (a modifying word) in front of the word justice that justice no longer means justice. This is why ‘social justice’ actually distorts the word justice. Thus, because I am forced to entitle this second instalment, True Justice (so as to distinguish it from all of the other modified versions of justice), I must seek your forgiveness – but I hope that the content of what I am going to manifesto will compensate for my literary violence. In this second instalment of my manifesto for how our society can experience and enjoy the divine blessings of happiness, security, wellness, fulfilment, enlightenment, and prosperity, I am going to challenge those who are called to arena of justice to fulfil their calling just as I did for those called to politics and government in the first instalment.

O LORD, You hear the desire of the afflicted;
You will strengthen their heart;
You will incline Your ear
to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
Psalm 10:17-18

WHAT IS JUSTICE?

Justice is primarily about what is right and true. It involves reasonable fairness based on what is right and true. (This is why we must be careful using the term social justice because it invariably involves positive unfairness.) Because it is grounded in what is right, it is unavoidably linked to the work of legislators who are responsible for codifying (writing in Law) what is right. This is why words matter. And this is why grammar matters (including pesky little things like commas and apostrophes which can inadvertently change the entire sentiment of a law).  

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Psalm 82:3

The Scriptures speak a lot about the need for those people of influence to defend those less fortunate from abuse and oppression. The need for justice is viewed in Scripture as especially needed for the vulnerable – widows, fatherless, disabled, and the destitute – who are most susceptible to have it denied to them. In the late 17th century in England, a person could be imprisoned for missing a repayment on a loan, or, even if it was only alleged (even falsely) that they had committed an offence, and there was no judicial process for them to get justice – and no release from their imprisonment – until they had paid the jailer for their time in remand. One of the reasons we should all thank God is for a legal right called Habeas Corpus which was introduced by the British Parliament in 1679, and has since been adopted by most western countries. It now means that someone cannot be imprisoned unless they have been charged with a crime and had their case heard in a court of law. Habeas Corpus is fundamentally grounded in a Christian worldview which regards all people as being equal under the law and entitled to reasonable justice. Sadly though, there are too many nations today where this is not the case and people can be held in prison – and even tortured – without being charged with an offence or the due process of having their day in court. Saudi Arabia is one of the worst such human rights abusers of any nation according to Amnesty International.  Obviously they are not the only nation which do not recognise Habeas Corpus as a human right. China, Yemen, Syria, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Russia, and Turkey, each fail to provide reasonable justice to its citizens. Because I regard the unstoppable light of the Gospel through Spirit-empowered Christ-ambassadors to the transforming force for good in the world, I expect that eventually each of these nations will succumb to the message and influence of the Gospel and that they will subsequently embrace a Christian worldview in the justice systems. I therefore expect that there maybe teens reading this whom God has called from birth (they would have already become known for their keen sense of justice and concern for human rights globally) to become lawyers, or barristers, or attorneys, or judges, or justices, who will play a role on the international stage of diplomacy by using their trained legal minds to become the agents of such national transformations.

How blessed are those who promote justice,
and do what is right all the time! 
Psalm 106:3 NET

WHY DOES JUSTICE MATTER?

Justice matters for three important reasons. Firstly, it is the express will of God our Creator and an expression of His heart of love for all mankind. To promote true justice is to invoke God’s blessing (Psalm 106:3; 112:5). Secondly, it fulfils the second of God’s two great commandments for all people – to love your neighbour as yourself (Matt. 22:39). Thirdly, it becomes the framework for the Gospel to be understood and heightens men’s consciences to their unworthiness and need for a Saviour (Rom. 7:7).

Have you sensed the call of God on your life to be a minister of justice? I’ve already mentioned lawyers and judges as ministers of justice, but there are also those who serve as police and in the military. In addition to these public service roles, there are other ways to minister which you may not be familiar with and while some of them are ‘front-line’, many are invaluable behind the scenes roles. For example –

The International Justice Mission – works to free slaves around the world by working with local law enforcement. IJM Officers are usually seconded from experienced ex-Police and Military personnel. They rely on public donations for their vital work. Did you know that there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in human history?

Compassion Australia – is a Christian based organisation which is working to break the cycle of poverty in the Two-Thirds World. On their website they state, “Worldwide, 385 million children live in extreme poverty. Poverty robs children of their basic rights to learn, play and grow. In its ugliest form, poverty can lead to exploitation, child labour and even death. It’s unacceptable. That’s why our Child Sponsorship Program exists. Because more powerful than poverty is the hope of Jesus, the care of a local church and the encouragement of you: a loving sponsor.“

World Vision is possibly the world’s largest child sponsorship ministry. In Australia, under the leadership of Claire Rogers, they have made a significant re-mission focus back toward being a Gospel support ministry.

The Alliance For Defending Freedom is based in the USA and has a team of attorneys who take up the legal cause of Christians who are being ill-treated because of their faith in Christ. There are moves afoot to launch a similar ministry in Australia.

WHAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE

For those called into the frontlines of the judicial system as lawyers and barristers, and for some of you, as justices, your pathway necessarily involves you reading the classics and studying history, theology, English, philosophy and rhetoric – before you embark on your law degree studies. Chances are, that if God has already called you into the legal fraternity, you have already met practising lawyers and law students. Your road ahead is going to hard. It will require you to become highly self-disciplined and determined. You might be surprised how God will use you once you have qualified as a lawyer – it may not be in the courtroom where He will use you and your training! 

In recent times in America, and in other countries, radical social change has taken place when just one unelected judge made a ruling that changed the law and thereby the course of history! We need lawyers and judges who fear the Lord and understand the Christian worldview is not about imposing religious ideas, but about upholding reasonable justice and th truth for all – especially the most vulnerable. For those of us, and that’s most of us, who are not called into the frontlines of administering and ensuring justice, we can play our part in three vital ways:

Labor Party Policy on Abortion promotes great harm to the most vulnerable

1. At the ballot box – don’t waste your vote! If any political party or candidate promotes injustice (especially where the most vulnerable will be abused) do not vote for them! No political party or candidate is perfect, but whenever a party scandalously boasts about having a policy where they will fund the termination of a person’s life – whether it be a baby in the womb, or grand-parent in a nursing-home – do not vote for them!

2. Over coffee – whether it be catching up with your girlfriends or mates, or even around the water-cooler at work, when injustice is innocently and ignorantly promoted in conversations, be prepared to offer a winsome, reasonable, correction. This might be in the form of two questions- “Do you believe the unjustified taking of an innocent human being’s life is wrong?” “Did you know that without exception, those who work in the field of Human Embryology all regard a foetus in a mother’s womb as a human being?” 

3. On your knees – those in the political and justice spheres often feel that the Christian community are not fully behind them – and often feel that many in the Church simply do not care about the big issues confronting our society. As someone who is frequently the beneficiary of other’s prayers, I well know the difference between having people praying for you and no-one praying for you. It is my desire to inspire and help many more Christ-followers into politics and law, and it is equally my desire to muster people who will pray for them to be strong in Christ and His Word, and filled with courage to do what is right.  

Can I count on you to do these three much needed things? If you are one of the few whom God has called into the sphere of Law, you are destined to play an important role in defending the rights of the vulnerable, and uphold the reasonableness of the Christian worldview. And this is a role we need more lawyers and justices who know the love of Christ to fulfil. Tell me what you think and leave your comments below.

-Andrew Corbett

1. WHAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE - REDEEMING POLITICS

1. WHAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE: 
BABIES & POLITICAL PATH-TREADERS

The eighteenth century Irish writer, philosopher and British politician, Edmund Burke, once famously said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Perhaps his words touched a young boy by the name of William who would grow up with a desire to enter politics and do something about the evils of English society some twenty years after Burke uttered these words. If Burke was alive today, and he had heard what happened in New York recently – or what is being proposed in South Australia – he might say, “I told you so.” I’m guessing, many years ago in New York, some young people, influenced by an ideology, committed their lives to changing society’s attitudes. This may have led to them embarking on a ‘political pathway’. They probably joined the Democratic Party quite young. They probably joined neighbourhood committees, sporting clubs, charity boards, and even municipal councils. I guess they would have been frequent participants at rallies and protests and maybe even helped organise them. I can imagine that they were quite active on their college campus joining fraternities and clubs to expand their social contacts. And eventually, the day came, when they had the numbers in the New York Legislature to pass a bill strangely called, New York’s Reproductive Health Act. The new law allows for an baby’s life to be terminated at any point in its mother’s pregnancy. South Australia is now proposing similar legislation.

¶ God-devotion makes a country strong;
God-avoidance leaves people weak.
Proverbs 14:34 [THE MESSAGE]

I speculate about the political pathway of New York’s Governor, Andrew Cuomo, and his political colleagues, because I believe that there are some hard lessons to be learned from it which I will soon point out and put out a call for young men and women to consider whether God is calling them on a political pathway to be ‘Esthers’ and ‘Daniels’ in an emerging generation of new political leaders of our State and nation.

New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo and Hillary Clinton

THROUGH HIM AND FOR HIM

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.
Colossians 1:16

I anticipate that there will be many people who will object to what I am about to propose. They will cry, “Separation of Church and State!” and assert that the Church should ‘stay out of politics’. But I’m not arguing for the Church to get into politics. I’m appealing for those followers of Christ whom God is calling to make a difference for good in our society to accept their call and get on a pathway toward it. (I might also point out that it is usually repressive regimes which have the purist forms of ‘Separation of Church and State’ and that human rights generally don’t fair well in those regimes). Australia has never adopted a ‘Separation of Church and State’ approach to societal well-being. Rather, Australia has always had a ‘Cooperation between Church and State’ approach. This is seen in many facets of our society such as education, health, and welfare. There are some problems in society that the Church is just simply better resourced than the State to deal with. (Money alone doesn’t solve every problem.)

Our goal is not to ‘Christianise’ society. Our goal is to spread the fragrance of Christ into every arena of society so that women are not viewed as objects; children are respected and protected; leaders serve; politics guards; and sex is never unhinged from commitment. We strive for the vulnerable to be cared for. We seek for the enterprising to be ethically innovative, and development to be appropriate and sustainable. We want to inspire artists and artisans and imagineers to produce beauty. We want our environment to reflect its True Creator and for those called to subdue it to improve it. Thus, our mission is far bigger, far broader, far grander than just a ‘nice weekly worship service’. As Colossians 1:16 states, every realm of society – its governments, its institutions, its authorities – have been ordained by Christ to serve Christ for the glory of Christ.

There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!
Abraham Kuyper

GOD’S SOLUTIONS TO TOMORROW’S PROBLEMS

The fruit of the righteous is like a tree producing life, and the one who wins souls is wise.
Proverbs 11:30

F.W. Boreham once famously wrote, then illustrated how, God’s answer to every problem the world has ever faced has been a baby. He showed how the people who God clearly used to bring about justice, needed reform, and great good, came to necessary maturity just as the world faced its darkest hours. And while many Christians have put their hats in the ring of politics to make a much needed difference, all too often they have virtually attempted to ‘jump the queue’ in the process. It’s time we got a bit more intentional (and savvy) about how we encourage and support the divinely called into a life of political ministry. Simply seeing the need, or being well-intentioned, is not enough to qualify someone as an electable candidate. Despite what some think, winning a political election is not just a matter of ‘luck’!

Sometimes the ‘queue’ looks like saying hello to more people than most; running for SRC at Primary School (and if unsuccessful, trying again); joining a High School sporting team; joining Rotary; getting involved in community groups (such as Neighbourhood Watch); volunteering for a local charity; serving on the board of a not-for-profit organisation; attending more functions (including friend’s parties and more formal events); joining a political party; volunteering to help an already elected member get re-elected; getting involved in a Trade Union or University fraternity or club; standing for local council (and if you fail, running again); and then once you have personally connected with a few thousand people, run for State or Federal Parliament. Of course, in the meantime, get a trade or profession and diligently apply yourself in it in order to achieve two important things: (i) a strong work ethic; and, (ii) a strong reputation as a person of upstanding character. While many people have been taught that Proverbs 11:30 is about evangelism, its context is a actually a reflection of all that I have just proposed for someone who is a potential political candidate because what King Solomon is saying is that a wise person is someone who takes the time to get to know a lot of people and wins them over.

Perhaps you were born at just the time to be God’s response to the cries of God’s people (Esther 4:14).  

¶ During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Exodus 2:23; 3:4

WHAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE

Of course, I’m not suggesting that Christians in politics is the sole solution to society’s woes. But I am saying that it is a necessary part of it. It is my hope that young men and women in our church who are called by God to enter politics will take advantage of all the leadership development resources we offer and equip themselves to reach their leadership potential. This is one of the reasons we have a Youth Group. It is a seed-bed for youth leadership development. In my next instalment, I want to talk to another group of young people in our church, without whom my appeal for people with a political call on their lives to step-up will be made very difficult, if not impossible.

Andrew