A Note from Mr. Bolen

 

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

 

 

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,

 

 

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.

 

~ 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,