Radical Faith

In my office, I have a couple copies of the New Testament of the Bible that look like magazines. I picked them up a few months back because I liked how they looked and thought they were cool. I also thought that I could use them in conversations with students that I see in my office from time to time. I find myself using them more and more because of the relevant devotions and contemporary language that is used throughout. One of them is called Refuel 2008 and is published by Thomas Nelson. Last Friday as we were preparing for graduation, I had a moment of peace and quiet and picked up the Refuel 2008 Biblezine to read during the few precious seconds of calm in a busy and hectic day. As I was flipping through the pages, a section called "Radical Faith" caught my attention. It referred to the passage in Acts where Peter and John were speaking to the council about the life and power of Jesus Christ. It is in this passage that we read Peter's words in Acts 4:20, "We cannot keep quiet. We must speak about what we have seen and heard." (New Century Version) The article then went on to discuss what this means for us today.

When is the last time you couldn't keep quiet about the Good New of Jesus Christ? That's a good question that hits most believers hard. We often get more excited about our favorite team winning a close game than we do about what God has done in our lives. But there needs to be some passion in our witness, too. Peter and John were facing death here, square in the face. They stood in front of a group of the most important religious figures of the day, all of whom wanted them silenced, if not killed. Yet Peter was unapologetic about what he had seen. He couldn't keep quiet about Jesus. Refuel 2008 pg. 141, NCV, 2005 by Thomas Nelson.

This may seem a bit odd as an end-of-the-school year blog. Nonetheless, I hope you will hear my challenge for all of us as we head off into summer vacation. Let us all continue to share the Good News of Jesus Christ as we all go our different directions over the next couple of months. At MCS, we have much for which to thankful. We've had a great year! Many new things have happened and there are many more exciting things on the horizon.

Please join the leadership in prayer for God's provision and support as we enter into a campaign to raise money for our new education building and renovations to our current facilities. Plans continue to move forward in the area of parking lot construction, water retention and drainage, and master planning for the new building. Be looking for updated information on our website over the summer. We are looking for several volunteers that would like to help us as we establish 10 different committees to lead and serve in the following areas of our campaign. 1. Campaign Steering Committee, 2. Spiritual Emphasis Committee, 3. Public Relations Committee, 4. Major Gifts Committee, 5. Corporate/Foundation Gifts Committee, 6. General Gifts Committee, 7. Church Relations Committee, 8. Special Gifts Committee, 9. Estate Design Committee, 10. Alumni Committee.

As you can see, we have a lot of work to do in the days ahead. If you would like to help in one of the areas please contact me at the school, 268-8667.

Have a blessed and safe summer.

See you all in the fall.

In Christ,
Pat

Biblical Worldview

In today's culture, we are bombarded by beliefs and philosophies that are counter to a biblical perspective of life. At Mandarin Christian School, we believe that teaching our students about God the Creator, our Heavenly Father and His perspective on the world is one of our highest callings. Last month I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Daniel L. Akin, Ph.D., President of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, as he discussed the topic: "How to Think Like a Christian In a Counter-Christian Culture", at the Orlando Student Leadership University Conference. For those of us there, it was sad to listen to what is obviously becoming more and more the norm in our culture. Many Christians have fallen prey to the philosophies of this world and have neglected the teachings of the Bible.

"Timothy, guard what you have been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge." I Timothy 6:20

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of Truth." II Timothy 2:15

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." I Peter 1:13

"Always be prepared to give an answer [apoligia] to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." I Peter 3:15

And He [Jesus] said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." Matthew 22:37

A worldview is a comprehensive view of life through which we think, understand, and judge, and which determines our approach to life and meaning.

The Barna Research Group found that only 4% of American adults have a biblical worldview, and only 9% of those categorized as born-again Christians have a biblical worldview.

Our desire at MCS is that every student would have a clear, articulate, biblical world-view perspective of life. We believe that is what God desires and expects of His followers.

Justice, Mercy, and Humility

A few weeks ago I mentioned some of my favorite verses in Scripture. I started with Micah 6:8, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." As I was leading a group of high school students today in our Student Leadership Institute (SLi), I challenged them with a perspective of leadership based on this verse in Micah. SLi is based on the biblical model of leadership exemplified in Jesus' life of servant leadership. I believe that Jesus modeled Micah 6:8 in His life and leadership every day. He sought to be just and fair. He lived a life of mercy and grace. He showed the ultimate act of humility by offering His life for our sins.

I hope and pray that the leaders we train at MCS will always seek to model their leadership after Jesus. The world will continue to tell us that leadership is about power. I believe that the true power in leadership comes as we serve others.

In closing this week, I want to personally invite each of you to join us for our first graduation on Friday, May 16 at 7:00 p.m. The ceremony is being held at Christ's Church - Mandarin, located at 6045 Greenland Road, Jacksonville. It would be awesome to pack the auditorium with all of our MCS families. Please plan on coming and supporting our first group of seniors as they graduate.