Still Learning

I have recently read a book called “The Call” by Os Guinness. This week I shared a chapter with the staff at devotions, and next week I will share the best chapter, called “Let all your thinks be thanks”.

Here is an excerpt from the chapter’s introduction. Well worth the read and to ponder…

What does it mean to pay back in life? To discharge our deepest debts of all? To fulfill our obligations for simply being human? How do we pay back our fathers and mothers? Were our parents just “the luck of the womb” for us, or more? How do we pay back the one teacher who made all the difference in our school years? Or the youth director or team coach whose noticing us in a special way drew out a part of us that was crucial in our becoming who we are today?

Or, at another level, how do we repay the profound way we are moved by films such as David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia? Or by such dramas as Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare’s King Lear? Or by listening to a Bach cantata or Mozart requiem? And most profoundly of all, what do we owe for the beauty of a sunset or a daisy? And to whom do we direct our gratitude simply for being alive?

The answer is easier for those with a sense of the “miraculous” in their story. Fyodor Dostoevsky was capriciously reprieved seconds before his execution by firing squad in 1849; he saw all his subsequent life with the sweetly lit intensity of a man come back from the dead. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was inexplicably healed from cancer in Tashkent in 1954 only weeks from death after being discharged from the hospital to die; he gained a new sense of mission from his gratitude. “I did not die, however. With a hopelessly neglected and acutely malignant tumour, this was a divine miracle; I could see no other explanation. Since then, all the life that has been given back to me has not been mine in the full sense: it is built around a purpose.”

But for most of us the underlying debts of life are not so obvious or dramatic. Unless we are forced to think about them, we take them for granted. We can pick up a CD-ROM and a few presses of a finger conjures up an entire dictionary the likes of which Samuel Johnson laboured years to assemble. A few more touches and the computer spews forth information that would have been the envy of Aristotle or Augustine, and that would have taken a monastery full of monks slaving several lifetimes to copy.

… we can come close to a reductionism that is misleading when we assume that paying the market price of an object means paying in full what we owe. A few minutes and a few dollars and the best editions of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony can be ours to enjoy when we like. But can we ever repay how we are touched by the fire of his “Ode to Joy”?

All sorts of curious twists arise when we pursue such questions. Isn’t it hypocritical, for example, that when we convict people for doing wrong to society, we say they “owe” something and must “repay the debt”—yet when society has so obviously showered so much good on the rest of us, we take it as our right and live as if we owe nothing in return?

But in the end we come back to the same basic question. What does it mean to repay in life? For our heritage? Our schooling? Our language? Our freedom? Our physique? Our looks? Our health? Our life? At that point a deep divide opens up. By its very character the modern world answers: You owe nothing. By its very character, the Christian gospel answers: You owe everything.

Thus a further dimension of calling appears—calling is a reminder for followers of Christ that nothing in life should be taken for granted; everything in life must be received with gratitude.

I want to take the opportunity to welcome all of our new families to school, and to say “welcome back” to our returning families. I also wish to welcome Mr Terlich to our Primary Department, teaching Year 3.

I trust that the school holiday period was a time of refreshment and rest for your family.

For the School, we were excited with many aspects of the HSC results released in the first week of our holidays. You can read more about that on our website and my comments in an earlier post on my blog.

In 2012, our theme will be “Redemption”. As I shared with the staff at our conference last week, to be human means that we need Redemption. (Here is the slideshow that supported my presentation to staff)

Redemption conjures thoughts of recovery, repayment, rescue and vindication. The Bible is all about God’s Redemption of us. It teaches us that we are, each and every one of us, sinners by nature and by choice. This is why Jesus came into the world:

• Jesus came to live the life we could not live;
• Jesus came to die the death we should have dies;
• Jesus came to gain the reward we could not earn.

Even outside of this all-encompassing gospel story, there are so many in our society who need Redemption, simply because of the issues that they face in this fallen and broken world. We face issues of abuse addiction and a range of other, assorted troubles.

Here is some data that I shared with the staff (based on US research):

Abuse:

• 16% of boys are sexually abused by age 18 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Adverse Childhood Experiences Study”, www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ace/prevalence.htm )
•  25% of girls are sexually abused by age 18 (ibid)
• 28% of children are physically abused

Addiction:

• More than 70% of men aged 18-34 visit a pornographic web site in a typical month (“Statistics on Pornography, Sexual Addiction and Online Perpetrators” SafeFamilies.org, www.safefamilies.org/sfStats.php)
• 8.5% of American adults meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism (“Alcoholism Facts” www.learn-about-alcoholism.com/alcoholism-facts.html)

Assorted Troubles:

Eating disorders, Anxiety, Cutting and Self Harm, Depression, Suicide and mental illnesses in the home are faced by countless others.

I believe that the US data that I shared with the staff during conference week do not differ significantly from what similar research would say if research were done in Australia.

What’s more, from my experience, there is no reason to think that the Nowra community differs greatly from the devastating picture these statistics paint.

As Mike Wilkerson, in his book “Redemption” writes,

… Fill in the blanks with your own trouble. You are surrounded by it. It is impossible to live life on the earth and not be stung by sin and suffering. Even more sobering is the fact that you are certainly the cause of some of that trouble to others around you.

Abuse, addiction and assorted trouble send us searching for answers, explanations and stories to make meaning of it all. We need to know the story that makes sense of life, the story about a personal Redeemer, who offers hope for real redemption. This is the story of God as told in the Bible”

This is the story that we will seek to explore in more detail in 2012 at NCS.

We trust that students, parents and staff will find continue to find encouragement and hope as we tell, and retell, the story of Redemption in different ways throughout the year.

Once again at this time of year we face the ups and downs of the HSC results. There are the joys and encouragements of those who have worked so hard and gained wonderful results, there is the frustration for those who worked hard but just didn’t get to their goals, and there is the mixed feelings of frustration and justification that a teacher feels when those who didn’t make an effort get results that reflect their lack of effort.

But the greatest dissonance I feel at this time is that no matter what we say throughout the year, no matter what the media and culture says about the important things that schools do and contribute to the character and faith formation of students, everyone at this time of year focusses on results, results, results.

At NCS this year, we could easily do the same. Michael’s fantastic results especially are cause for celebration and gratitude to God for Michael’s gifts, recognition of Michael for his faithfulness in using his gifts well, recognising Michael’s parents for their clear encouragement and support, acknowledging his family and friends for the help they have given in many ways over the years, and commending the teachers for their efforts over many years in teaching Michael. Indeed, when I spoke to Michael about his 99.85 ATAR, he thanked me and the school for the help we have provided in getting him to these results… ” I know that I couldn’t have done this without NCS” were his words to me.

These are all great things for which to be thankful, and I do not wish to detract from Michael’s academic achievement.

But, what matters more to me and to the staff of NCS is that Michael, and so many of his peers, leaves us with an HSC in his CV and the Holy Spirit in his heart.

Michael’s comment to me is one of humility. This humility is consistent with the faith in Jesus and desire to serve Him that Michael, and many of his classmates, have demonstrated over an extended period of time. And this is evident in so many students in our school across all the grades.

This is the real blessing of being a part of the NCS community. Fantastic HSC results are wonderful to achieve, to celebrate and acknowledge.

But, in time, their meaning and memory pass.

The heart of the matter, is a matter of the heart. And what is written on the hearts of young people as they leave NCS is always more important than what is written on any piece of paper.

We had a wonderful night on Friday celebrating 11 year of schooling for our graduating Year 10s. They looked fantastic, and the speeches from Jono and Aimee were wonderful. I really appreciated Hugh and Jenna praying for the school – this was the first time at a Yr 10 graduation that students had prayed for the school. Thanks to Mr Harrison and Mrs Dickinson for organising this event.
Some parents commented that they appreciated what I had to say about living a life with a purpose. I repeated a phrase that I read recently (can’t remember what book) that spoke of too many in Australia having “plenty to live with, but nothing to live for”. It is my prayer that all NCS students will live lives of purpose, living in the light shed by the reality of the creative, sustaining and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We pray that those who are leaving will remember all that we have tried to teach them during their time with us, and that we will be a great help to those who are staying for the next 2 years.

I had the privilege of attending the CSSA Triathlon at Penrith on Friday 21st. Mr Harrison joined with Mr Hammann (PE teacher at ICS, and ex-school captain of NCS) ran a great day.

The mutual support of the athletes both within and across the various schools way a joy to observe. It was also wonderful to see the efforts, encouragement and service of the NCS students who came either to compete or assist with the running of the day.

After the day ended and the students headed home, I was able to attend the launch of “It only takes a spark”, a book of the history of the early days of Christian Community Schooling in Australia. This event was a wonderful encouragement, and we will be getting some copies of this book for the school library. Recommended reading!

What a wonderful assembly we had today, saying goodbye to our Year 12 students. They planned the whole event, and it was enjoyable and encouraging. Great to see so may parents there as well. We wish all of our senior students God’s blessing as they complete their final preparation for the HSC.

I am still learning, and there are ideas from the 2011 CSA conference that I am being challenged by. Here is one that I am keen to share with my teachers and parents that must influence our teaching and learning community.

Prof James Dalziel (from the Macquarie University E-Learning Centre of Excellence) told us that 21st century students are wonderful at using technology but recent research shows us that this does not necessarily guarantee that they can use the technology for learning. This needs to be explicitly taught, not assumed.