A Note from Mr. Bolen
October 25, 2025 - Hope: Assurance
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
Seven Core Virtues: Faith, Hope, Love, Prudence, Temperance, Justice, Fortitude
And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. (Hebrews 6:11-15)
The first of the seven essential virtues is Faith. The second is Hope, and our ability to have real hope depends on where our faith really lies.
When we put our faith in ourselves (or in government, human leaders, human ingenuity, or any other human institution), we’re trusting in promises that can’t be kept – the “salt land” of Jeremiah 17, barren, empty, and unable to sustain life. Consequently, any sense of hope we derive from such a faith is a false hope, and any sense of assurance or confidence we have is held in vain.
The writer of Hebrews warns us against such false hope and encourages us to trust in the One who keeps His promises. When we put our faith in the certainty of God’s word, we have a sure foundation, a solid place to rest assured of receiving genuine life. The real, meaningful Hope that comes from Faith in God, says the writer, is an assurance to our souls that allows us to live with confidence.
Abraham is the example that the writer gives. A man of 100 years, childless, living a nomadic existence in a foreign land – no one would have blamed Abraham for losing hope in God’s promise to possess the land and father a great nation. But despite his circumstances, Abraham chose to trust God, patiently waiting on God. And though it happened after Abrahm’s earthly life ended, the promise was indeed obtained. Because Abraham put his trust in God’s word, he was able to live patiently and with confidence, despite the circumstances.
And isn’t that the type of maturity we want to see in ourselves and our children? No matter what trials and challenges come while the world continues to languish under the effects of sin, God's people can yet live lives of quiet confidence with a real and enduring assurance of Hope, a Hope that comes from placing our faith in the Creator-God who made and rules the universe and who chooses to place His special care and love upon the people of His choosing.
Faith – trust in God's word – fills us with the assurance of Hope, allowing us to live with quiet confidence through all circumstances in life.
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
October 18, 2025 - Faith...Trust in God's Word
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
Seven Core Virtues: Faith, Hope, Love, Prudence, Temperance, Justice, Fortitude
Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
(Jeremiah 17:5-10)
We all live by faith. The only question is, what faith?
Furthermore, we all live out a faith, which aligns, or not at different times and in different degrees, to the faith we profess. Or to paraphrase another writer, we all have the faith we say we believe, and then there’s the faith that gets worked out in the way we live.
God, in His mercy, challenges us to examine our lived faith to see if it aligns with a true faith in Him and His word. He also, because of His great grace and mercy, tells us the difference between the two faiths, as well as the consequences involved. We can either trust in God’s word, making it the ultimate guide for our thoughts, attitudes, and actions, or we can trust in ourselves on the belief that the best policy is to “follow your heart.”
This passage in Jeremiah reminds us that our hearts deceive us. We need new hearts that are submissive to God’s authority as communicated by His word and preserved in the Bible. This faith sustains us to live fruitful and meaningful lives. It gives us deep reserves of spiritual nourishment to stand firm and thrive in a fallen world. Trusting in God’s word is the Faith that leads to life.
By contrast, trusting in our hearts to lead us in right and wrong is compared to a “salt land,” a barren, empty place incapable of supporting life. If you want a visual image of what God is describing, Google up pictures of the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah – a dusty void that looks like the surface of the moon, where nothing can live. The salt prevents life from thriving in any way, and in the same way, trusting in ourselves and making ourselves the ultimate authority in our lives will lead only to empty meaningless and languishing.
So as we focus on our purposes and aims as a school, Faith is one of the core virtues we hope to cultivate (as much as we are able) in the hearts of our students.
One aspect of Faith is “Trusting in God’s living word, the source of true life.”
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
October 11, 2025 - Seven Core Virtues
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
Seven Core Virtues: Faith, Hope, Love, Prudence, Temperance, Justice, Fortitude
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-8)
Cultivating wise and virtuous students is a fundamental distinctive of classical Christian schools. It’s the primary distinctive that makes classical Christian education a more “humane” education than either modern secular educational philosophies.
Modern secular educational philosophies view people, and our children, primarily as economic units with their main function in life being work and consumption – working to produce goods and services that other people consume, and consuming goods and services that other people produce with their work. Modern secular education aims to equip students to be good workers and consumers.
Classical Christian education knows that humans are far more than worker-consumers, but rather, creatures made in the image of their glorious Creator. Humans are intended by God to live lives that reflect His divine nature and character. If their education reduces humans to anything less than this purpose, it does not equip them to be fully human and therefore is not “humane.”
Embracing the reality of human purpose, classical Christian education sets out to impact the inner person of the student, cultivate wise and virtuous citizens. This includes the student’s readiness for college and career, and it includes being both wise and virtuous as creatures who work, create, and participate in all aspects of society. But classical Christian education assumes that wise people of virtuous character will participate in government, commerce, and all the other aspects of society in wise and virtuous ways. The way we go about our business as people is an outworking of our inner person.
But as we think about the practical aspects of growing in wisdom and maturing in virtue, one question that arises is, “Which virtues should we focus on cultivating?”
Last school year we looked back to the historical heritage of classical Chritian education, finding that our forebears adopted seven core virtues as areas of focus. Those seven core virtues – Faith, Hope, Love, Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Fortitude – form a framework that support all other true human virtues.
For the rest of this school year, we’ll cycle through those virtues, looking at how they lead to and support the living of a godly and virtuous life.
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
Mr. Bolen
October 4, 2025 - Together in Christ
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14)
Christians (particularly us American Christians) usually think of our union with and identity in Christ as individual. And while individual responsibility and personal faith is important, it is also interesting to note that most of the Bible addresses the corporate life of faith.
When reading this familiar passage from Ephesians, for instance, it’s helpful to notice a few details. First, the passage repeatedly uses the word “predestined” and otherwise references the concept that God has established a plan for His people from the beginning of time. The passage also repeats the phrase and concept of being “in Christ,” so unity with Jesus is an important focus for Paul here. Third, all of the pronouns (including the use of “you”) are plural. Paul is not addressing individuals about God’s ordained work or their union with Christ. He is addressing a community in a corporate sense.
So for Paul, it seems to be the destiny (the ordained purpose) of God that Christians should experience the spiritual blessings of Christ, know the will of God, experience redemption, obtain God’s promised inheritance, find hope in Christ, and become sealed in the Holy Spirit – not primarily as individuals in individual relationship with Jesus, but in the context of a community joined to Christ.
In other words, my (and your, and our children’s) union with and identity in Christ is incomplete outside of the corporate unity and identity of Christian community. Without a connection to Christian community, the individual cannot fully experience the full and meaningful life that God made humans to experience. We can try to grow in Christ on our own, but it will always be less. And there are counterfeit communities that promise connection, but the life they fill us with is also counterfeit. Only in true Christian community can we be truly connected and grounded in the source of true life.
As we continue through this school year, let’s work together to cultivate a truly Christian community here at the school, one that binds our hearts to Christ and to each other in true fellowship.
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
September 27, 2025 - Pursuing Excellence
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
Do you see a man skillful in his work?
He will stand before kings;
he will not stand before obscure men. (Proverbs 22:29)
He will stand before kings;
he will not stand before obscure men. (Proverbs 22:29)
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. (Daniel 6:1-3)
Humans are made in the image of God, and therefore capable of imitating the excellence of His character. Because of our sin, we are constantly making ourselves the standard for our own excellence, which is a counterfeit excellence, and therefore, no real excellence at all. But through His great and precious promises, God makes His people to become partakers of the divine nature, calling them to live out His own glory and excellence as He does His good work in them.
God works in His people so that His excellence can be seen in them and worked out in their salvation. And it comes out in the most practical of ways.
If you’re familiar with the story of Daniel, you’ll remember that satraps and other high officials of Darius’ court used their craftiness (the world’s “wisdom”) to trap Daniel with his own excellence of character. Daniel stood out among them because, with his heart and mind captivated by the excellencies of God, Daniel worked to pursue that true excellence in his own life. Daniel didn’t pursue the marks of excellence set out by the culture around him. He set out to pursue the marks of excellence found in God’s character.
Two things resulted. First, the excellence in Daniel was recognized as superior to the measures of “excellence” in those content with the counterfeit offered by the world. Second, Daniel became a target of those who love the world’s standards.
In Daniel’s case, the Lord delivered him from the schemes of sinful men, giving him a long life of service and witness to God’s glory. But Daniel didn’t know that at the time, and he was willing to take what came to him as a consequence of his pursuit of God’s excellence.
As we raise our children before the sight of an excellent God, let’s spur them on to pursue His excellence in all that they do. That’s no small task. It requires courage and endurance in the face of hard things. But through the power of God’s salvation, we can do the hard work of growing, maturing, and pursuing His excellence for His glory.
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
September 20, 2025 - Maturing in Virtue
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
Him [Jesus] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:28)
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. (2 Peter 1:3-10)
God’s word teaches us that the flourishing, meaningful life available to us is one of continuous maturity that stems from wisdom. And the essential element that fuels that continuous maturity is salvation in and union with Jesus.
The New Testament writers, under the inerrant, infallible, and authoritative inspiration of the Holy Spirit, teach us how to live a Gospel-driven life with a fairly simple three-fold pattern. First, they warn us about the counterfeit of sin and its consequences. Then they show us the true life in Christ that He won for us in His death and resurrection. Then they challenge us to grow and mature in the life of virtue and loving obedience that marks redeemed people of God.
Adding the practice of virtue to faith is a core understanding of right living that we inherit in Christ. The early fathers of the church, who would have nearly all inherited the ideals and distinctives of the classical education in the Greek world of their up bringing, appropriated the four “cardinal virtues” of the classical world, and added to them three core theological virtues needed to give the classical virtues lasting and meaningful value.
Adding Faith, Hope, and Love to Justice, Fortitude, Prudence, and Temperance, the early and Medieval church built on the foundation of the teaching of the Apostles and Prophets (with Christ as the cornerstone) a framework for living a deeply meaningful life. One that lives out the gospel in every aspect – personal, familial, vocational, and communal.
Even as we seek to equip our children with the educational skills and knowledge needed for their chosen careers, let’s also work to cultivate the whole child to be a virtuous person, carrying the Gospel everywhere he or she goes in both word and deed.
In Christ,
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
September 13, 2025 - Grow in Wisdom
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
When I was a son with my father,
tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
he taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart hold fast my words;
keep my commandments, and live.
Get wisdom; get insight;
do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
and whatever you get, get insight.
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
She will place on your head a graceful garland;
she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.” (Proverbs 4:3-9)
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” So let no one boast in men. (1 Corinthians 3:18-21a)
No one can live a meaningful and flourishing life without wisdom. More specifically, no one can live a truly meaningful and flourishing life without the wisdom of God.
God teaches us over and over again in His word that there is a true and meaningful life that we can live, and then there’s a counterfeit life, one that appears meaningful but has no substance or value. Here, for example, through Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, God teaches us that the world has its own “wisdom” – a shrewdness about how to live that supposedly gains us something, perhaps an advantage in business, or a little extra money in our pocket to pad our chosen lifestyle, or a way to leverage a relationship towards some self-gratifying end.
But through Paul, God also calls such “wisdom” what it is – “craftiness,” which is a word that is intentionally meant to remind us of the craftiness of the serpent that Satan used to tempt Adam and Eve into original sin (Gen 3:1). What’s more, the fruit that God forbade Adam and Eve to eat was all the more tempting because it was “to be desired to make one wise” (Gen 3:6). What appears to make us wise by the world’s standards, in reality makes us fools before God. And in turn, what makes us truly wise, appears to be foolishness in the eyes of the world.
Growing in wisdom is, by definition, one of the major goals of a classical Christian education. So it makes sense that it should be intentionally noted in our focus statement as a school. But as we focus on being a “joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together,” let’s remain equally focused on the reality that none of this happens without the grace of God’s salvation, none of it amounts to anything if it does not serve to highlight His glory, and none of it is even possible apart from being in union with Christ.
In the end, being willing to look like a “fool” in the eyes of the world for the sake of gaining eternal life with God is worth it. So like the loving father of Proverbs 4, let’s partner together to cultivate God’s wisdom in the hearts and minds of our children.
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
September 6, 2025: A Joyful Community of Scholars
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)
An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. (Proverbs 18:15)
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. (Proverbs 18:15)
As defined by mission, Holy Trinity is a classical Christian school.
We work to be distinctly classical in our educational style, tapping into those things that have proven for centuries to endure, equipping students to be flourishing men and women who contribute to the flourishing of society.
We also work to be distinctively Christian, recognizing that Jesus is the King of all creation and the Truth that makes all other things true. Without Him “front and center,” we cannot flourish as intended by God, and all that we do is vain.
Of equal importance to our mission is that we are a school. We are not primarily a social outlet – though we want students to feel connected, have a sense of belonging, and cultivate community. We are not primarily an activity center – though we do see value in theater, sports, and other activities as a school. We are not primarily a church – though we do align with and complement the work of the church as a partner with parents in the discipleship of their children.
As a school, our primary work as a distinctively Christian institution is the work of education. And being unapologetically intentional about that, in no way, diminishes the distinctively Christian aspect of our mission. In fact, working to be good scholars, prioritizing learning, and exercising our minds at a high level is a natural and expected outworking of a “whole life” love of God.
The intelligent heart that loves the King of creation wants to know more about the creation and its King. The person who delights in the wisdom of the Lord will turn his or her attention towards always learning more broadly and more deeply. When we cultivate the life of the mind with rich stories, high ideals, big ideas, precise and creative thinking, insatiable curiosity, and a delight in learning about the world in all its parts, it points to the immense glory of the God who made it.
Let’s model for our children, in our homes and in our school, a love of learning and scholarship so that they might learn how to love God with their whole mind.
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
Mr. Bolen
August 30, 2025: Holy Trinity will be a joyful community
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. ~ Romans 12:1, 9-13
We often read the opening verses of Romans 12 in isolation from the rest of the chapter and as a command to the individual. There Paul tells us that worship is a “whole life” act, one that is not conformed to the patterns of the world, but transformed by a Spirit renewed mind. It’s interesting that the next several verses go on to address, not primarily what it means to live as an individual Christian in the world, but what it means to live in community with other believers.
Verses 3-8 teach us that the community of God includes a variety and diversity of gifts and dispositions. And the section begins with a warning against a common pattern of the world – making my own personal preferences, inclinations, or gifts the standard of measure for everyone else around me. Rather than thinking too highly of ourselves, we ought to have “sober judgement” about the value of diversity within the body of Christ.
What’s described in verses 9-13 is a joyful community. One that is not characterized by judgmentalism and criticism that makes individual preferences the measure of what it means to be Christian. Instead, it is characterized by genuine love, affection for one another, honoring the diversity within the body, zealous service together, rejoicing, hoping, being patient in times of hardship, helping one another as needs arise, and being welcoming and hospitable to one another.
That sort of joyful community – a joyful unity of diverse individuals – needs a commonly understood “fence” that marks out the limitations, creating the boundaries within which we can enjoy freedom together. At Holy Trinity, the commonly held bounds of Christian orthodoxy is found in our Statement of Faith. The principles in that Statement represent the Christian commitments on which we refuse to compromise. But they also mark out a broad field that leaves room for diversity of Biblical and theological understanding. It leaves room for a generous and joyful Christian community.
As we continue into this school year, let’s work to resist the patterns of the world – acrimony, derision, division, judgementalism. Let’s sacrifice the human tendency to elevate personal convictions to the level of universal standards. Rather, let’s be transformed by the renewing work of the Spirit, unified and unmoving on the foundational truths, and also joyful and generous when it comes to the diversity of gifts and perspectives inside the fence of orthodoxy.
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
August 23, 2025: For His Glory!
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the small and the great. ~ Psalm 115:1, 12-13
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. ~ Gal 6:14-16
It’s built into our school crest. It’s etched into the concrete on our front walkway. It adorns our spirit wear and sports uniforms.
SDG. Soli Deo Gloria. To God alone be the glory.
It is only by God’s grace that our work as a school has any value. Without that grace, we might be a great looking school, but in reality, our efforts would be vain and futile, a counterfeit currency that leads to a shallow and self-centered life.
But thanks be to our Father in heaven, that by His grace, our hearts and minds are turned from petty self interest to our true purpose – stewardship of God’s creation, and participation with Him in His redemptive work. By His Spirit, He has found us as “dead men walking,” made us to be new creations with life in Christ, so that the life of Christ will live in us and through us through the good works set before us, that we may walk in them.
Let us never overlook those letters etched into the walkway. May our school motto never become so familiar that it’s just words that we say. And as it rests on our awards certificates, our sports uniforms, and our diplomas, may it never become reduced to a mere logo while we puff ourselves up with our accomplishments.
Instead, from the overflow of thankful and humble hearts, let us delight in the glory of the Lord as we grow in the wisdom of God, mature in the virtue of Christ, and pursue the excellence of His name in all that we do.
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
August 16, 2025 - By God's Grace
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
I didn’t know I was dead. I breathed. Walked around. Did things. In fact, I did whatever my heart led me to do. I was my own authority. I made up my own mind according to my own understanding. I trusted the sincerity and goodness of my inner self and lived freely according to my own conscience. My life’s motto (if it can be said that I had a motto) was something like: “Cause no harm, find contentment, and do a little good along the way.” As far as I was concerned, I was as alive as any man.
Regardless of what I felt, though, God tells me in His word that I was dead in my trespasses and sins, following the spirit at work in the sons of disobedience, by nature a child of wrath (Eph 2:1-3). There was no amount of “cause no harm” or “do a little good” that was going to change that. I appeared to have life – and a fairly good example of one at that – but it was only an appearance. It was a counterfeit life. Like a phony $100 bill, it appears to have value, and it might make you feel good walking around with it in your pocket, but when you count on it to pay a debt, it’s worthless. It has the appearance of value, but the substance of value is not there.
And then comes the two most powerful words in human history. “But God” (Eph 2:4). Two simple syllables in English. Only six letters. And yet the eternal fate of every human soul turns on them. Apart from Christ, we have the appearance of life, and yet we are dead.
But God according to His mercy and grace brings us into true life in Christ.
This is just as true of us as a school as it is of us as individuals. We can have a rigorous curriculum, exciting classroom instruction, special events, great test scores, and championship banners on the walls. And by superficial standards, that might make us a “great school.”
But would it really? Would we really be able to pat ourselves on the back, give one another an “attaboy,” and have truly accomplished anything of meaningful value if we simply trust in our own strength and measure our work by the standards of a dull and rebellious world?
Of course not. We’d be a counterfeit school. We’d have the appearance of doing good things, but not the substance of it that endures. We wouldn’t really be living out what God has in mind for classical Christian schools. That only comes by God’s grace. We cannot work hard enough and do well enough to earn anything of lasting and meaningful value. God gives that as a gift, so that no one can boast in themselves.
And yet, “good works” are still something we are made for. Being a strong academic school is a worthy pursuit for God’s glory. Pursuing excellence in the classroom and on the field of competition is a work that is worthwhile. It’s what we were made for – good works, that we may walk in them.
So what does this passage teach us about living the Christ-centered life as individuals and as a school? It teaches us that we only have life, and that any good work we do comes as an outworking of God’s grace in the lives of His people. We are only walking the path on which God, by His grace, set our feet.
As we celebrate the first days of school, let’s remember that God’s people are His workmanship – the special recipient of His redeeming grace. Let’s strive to walk out the good works that He has already prepared for us. And let’s humbly rely on God’s grace to make us a school that “grows in wisdom, matures in virtue, and pursues excellence together in Christ.”
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
August 9, 2025 : Focus Statement
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ~ 1 Peter 2:9
Throughout Scripture, God gives His people statements or declarations intended to focus their attention on what it means to live out His plan for them. In this passage from 1 Peter, for instance, God focuses believers on our identity as holy priests who should live out the excellencies of the Savior who called us into His marvelous light.
As you read Scripture, you will find other statements that picture God’s people as a city on a hill, or a temple of living stones, or living tablets on which God’s word is written and “read” as we live public lives that seek to show the work of God’s redemption.
It’s helpful for us to have short, memorable statements that help us focus our attention towards the truly important matters. So many little things try to spread our attention thin and keep us busy doing and doing in an unfocused, scattered way.
As we came into teacher in-services this school year, we set a statement in front of us to help us focus our attention on the high ideals and values that make Holy Trinity unique and distinct from other schools in our area:
By God’s grace and for His glory, Holy Trinity will be a joyful community of scholars, growing in wisdom, maturing in virtue, and pursuing excellence together in Christ.
Holy Trinity exists by God’s grace and for His glory – it’s on our motto, Soli Deo Gloria! We work to form joyful scholar-citizens who will impact the communities that God calls them to as they step into adult life. We want to equip students for a lifetime of cultivating wisdom, virtue, and excellence in themselves and all that they do. And we want that to happen on the solid bedrock of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty we find in Christ.
We begin this school year with this statement in front of us, and we’ll spend the year exploring its parts and using it as a litmus test for the “why” behind our activities as a school. We’ll use it as a goal to hit in the classroom, on the court of competition, and in our life as a school. And we’ll ask the Lord to infuse us with His Spirit, on whom we are dependent in all things, and through whom God does His good work in us.
We are excited about what God has been doing at Holy Trinity, and we’re excited to see what He’ll continue to do as we focus our attention on His calling this school year!
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
August 2, 2025 : The First Question of Education
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.
~ Isaiah 43:19-21
My first year as a teacher 16 years ago nearly killed me. I taught Literature classes and separate Grammar & Writing classes for 7th and 8th grades. I taught three separate Bible classes, one each for 9th, 11th, and 12th grades. I was the faculty adviser for Student Government. Then, during the start of year in-services, a 6th grade typing class was tossed in at the last minute. I taught each of those classes in a different room, and to top it off, the 8th grade class that year had 13 students – 11 of them boys. Boisterous, talkative boys, mischievous boys.
It was almost both my first and last year in education.
But a few weeks after the last day of school that year, I realized that my chosen profession includes a special element in its rhythm. A chance to reset and start fresh. An opportunity to let the dust settle from the fray of the past school year, reflect, and be renewed and strengthened by our good Father for the work ahead.
Isaiah brought the word of the Lord to the people at a time of challenge and hardship, encouraging them with the reminder that they belong to a God of fresh starts and new beginnings. Like springs of water and rivers in a desert, God sets the past in its place and does a new thing that refreshes, restores, and gives us reason to praise Him.
This new school year brings us both new faculty and staff, as well as familiar ones in new roles. It brings students to a new grade level, and it brings new students to our school community. It gives us the opportunity to renew friendships after time away, and to welcome new friends. And it comes with the promise to learn new things about our God, His word, and His world as He takes us into a new phase of growth and maturing.
As we begin this new school year, let’s receive it as the gift of our loving Father, turning our hearts, minds, and strength towards Him in praise.
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen
July 26, 2025 : New Beginnings
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.
~ Isaiah 43:19-21
My first year as a teacher 16 years ago nearly killed me. I taught Literature classes and separate Grammar & Writing classes for 7th and 8th grades. I taught three separate Bible classes, one each for 9th, 11th, and 12th grades. I was the faculty adviser for Student Government. Then, during the start of year in-services, a 6th grade typing class was tossed in at the last minute. I taught each of those classes in a different room, and to top it off, the 8th grade class that year had 13 students – 11 of them boys. Boisterous, talkative boys, mischievous boys.
It was almost both my first and last year in education.
But a few weeks after the last day of school that year, I realized that my chosen profession includes a special element in its rhythm. A chance to reset and start fresh. An opportunity to let the dust settle from the fray of the past school year, reflect, and be renewed and strengthened by our good Father for the work ahead.
Isaiah brought the word of the Lord to the people at a time of challenge and hardship, encouraging them with the reminder that they belong to a God of fresh starts and new beginnings. Like springs of water and rivers in a desert, God sets the past in its place and does a new thing that refreshes, restores, and gives us reason to praise Him.
This new school year brings us both new faculty and staff, as well as familiar ones in new roles. It brings students to a new grade level, and it brings new students to our school community. It gives us the opportunity to renew friendships after time away, and to welcome new friends. And it comes with the promise to learn new things about our God, His word, and His world as He takes us into a new phase of growth and maturing.
As we begin this new school year, let’s receive it as the gift of our loving Father, turning our hearts, minds, and strength towards Him in praise.
In Christ,
Mr. Bolen