When I was in graduate school, my mentor professor encouraged me to ask “Why?” five times to get to the core issue. My wife quickly noted the wisdom of asking the question (five times) to myself and not out loud.
At a recent conference, the keynote speaker spotlighted a bestselling trade book entitled, Start With Why. (Sinek, 2010) That led me to a video of Sinek on TED where he promotes the idea of a “Golden Circle.” Reminded of our golden triangle, I jumped in with both feet and viewed the video. I can testify it’s worth the 18 minutes.
Why?
Because Sinek makes a strong case that the why behind our mission gives life and real meaning to the daily operation of our mission.
We’ve been so busy “rising up and standing firm” that our blog entries slowed significantly. The hiatus is over. The blog is back! Let's reignite our thinking about why we do what we do with this tease: the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) recently asserted that the purpose of our schools is to transform lives.
I disagree.
Transforming lives is a big order. Too big, I might add, for a school … or, even parents. Noble as “transforming lives” sounds as mission statement, isn’t such transformation the work of the Holy Spirit through the living body of Jesus, the local church?
If so, then, what is our purpose? Why do we do what we do? Why does your family make sacrifices to literally “buy into” Little Rock Christian Academy? I offer two reasons:
- We do what we do … to advance a holistic education where Jesus and his Word are the true north and anchor of all learning. We exist to grow the mind and heart of God’s people, especially the children. Between K4 and 12th grade, there are 16,000 hours of interaction with teachers and peers. Who is “on duty” for those hours? What will be shared over the course of 16,000 hours? Are those 16,000 hours aligned with your family’s core values? Are those 16,000 hours saturated with a Christian worldview? LRCA lives out good answers to these questions.
- We do what we do … to prepare students for collegiate success so that they may influence society for good and for the Kingdom. We tell our families that our job is to make sure their children are ready for life beyond high school. During a recent visit to Hill Country Christian School in Austin, Texas, I noticed the motto: “Preparing for College, Preparing for Life.” Accountable to Jesus and in accord with the believing Church, this is a noble, necessary purpose.
Our primary purpose differs, then, from “transforming lives.” Yes, we eagerly pray for and pursue transformed lives. But, ultimately, transformation remains the work of the Holy Spirit over time. It is rarely complete by age 18. Our job is to faithfully present God’s truth to the next generation, to authentically model God’s truth in our daily lives and provide a Christ-centered foundation on which to produce great readers, thinkers, writers, entrepreneurs, scientists, mathematicians, athletes, artists, teachers, pastors, salespeople, inventors, technicians, mechanics, soldiers, senators, doctors, pharmacists, programmers and more to the glory of God.
Why LRCA?
Aligned with your core values, we are dedicated to these first principles in pursuit of exceptional results. Ever accountable, we are relentlessly and passionately committed to serve you well by providing an excellent education, saturating the learning process with the truth of Jesus and God’s Word.
Can I get a witness?
Gary Arnold
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