It was what our children were not learning that really began to convict me. My wife, Gladine, and I had our three children in a public elementary school. We assured ourselves that our children were getting a good education. After all, most of the teachers our children had were professing Christians. We couldn’t imagine that these teachers would deliberately teach anything that would be overtly “anti-Christian.” These were good solid Christians educating our three young ones. What more could we ask for?
But, gradually, I began to be convicted about what these fine people could not teach our children in a public school setting. These teachers were required to teach history, for example, as if God had nothing to do with history. It wasn’t that statements were made against God. It was just that God was left out of the picture. The message of Proverbs 1:7 kept coming to my mind, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 9:10 had a similar message, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
The Holy Spirit began convicting me of my responsibilities as a father to make sure our children were getting a God-honoring education. Politely withdrawing our children from the public school, my wife and I began a journey into educating our children in a way that had God as the starting point – as the foundation. After homeschooling our children for several years, we were eventually led to Lakeland Christian Academy. Although tuition for three children was a stretch, we knew in our hearts that we were headed down a path that honored God and provided for our children. Now our children were learning, for example, that history was the outworking of the providence of God. God was the starting point for understanding all subjects in the curriculum. Our children’s classes were being taught by people who shared our convictions and exemplified true knowledge and wisdom.
In addition to this core issue of a God-centered education, we enjoyed the “extra” benefits of seeing our children involved in music and athletics. We are pleased that our children had friends who were a joy to be around.
All three of our children have been on their own for a while now. They are all married and making a difference for the honor of Christ in their families, in their churches and in our community. Each of them has expressed thankfulness that LCA helped prepare them not only for higher education but for life. Gladine and I are glad we made the switch to Christian education.
Larry McCall
Pastor of Christ’s Covenant Church and an LCA Alumni Parent