Following Christ: A short primer for Educators and Parents

By James Hogue

Wisdom comes by the spirit of God through the Word of God, the Bible. Followers of Christ must be in the Word in our day of many false beliefs. Will we as parents lead our children to follow Christ? Will we as educators follow Him anywhere in our day? May this primer encourage you to follow Him and seek Him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685262808

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Following Christ: A short primer for Educators and Parents

James Hogue

ISBN 978-1-68526-279-2 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68526-280-8 (Digital)

Copyright © 2022 James Hogue

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

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Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Introduction

In a moment of intense grief due to feeling like he could not ever escape his sins, a young man got up from speaking with a friend because he wanted to be alone. His friend saw something was obviously up with this young man and decided to not say anything or get up but let the young man have solitude to vent his griefs to his Father. Verses like Psalm 79:5 ESV and Psalm 79:8 ESV came to this young man’s mind, which say, How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever? and Do not remember our former iniquities.

This young man felt as if he was enslaved, held captive by his sins. He said a few words to his Father, How long? Tomorrow? How much longer must I feel enslaved? Why not now? Why not this hour put an end to my bondage…to my uncleanness? At this moment this young man heard a voice of a neighbor close to where he was, hearing a young child sing a song, chanting over and over again, Take up and read. Take up and read (Augustine 1996, p. 210).

This young man is whom history remembers as Saint Augustine. I tell this story because, like his time in the Roman Empire, there are a lot of ideas flying around society—political ideas, social ideas, and theological ideas. In his moment of needing direction, God gave him the direction I believe He gives to us as well: Take up and read. Augustine interpreted this statement to mean he needed to open the Word of God, the Bible, and read it. I believe this is the greatest need in the church today.

This short book is directed toward those who work in our education system, toward parents of students in our education system, and toward those who aspire to work in our education system. I believe we all need to hear what is written in this short book.

There are many ideas today about life and the point of life. It can be confusing and hard to not feel overwhelmed and confused by them all. This goes for educational thought as well—pedagogies, educational theories, and philosophy. There are many thoughts and ideas on what makes a good school, good educator, and good student that one can feel like pulling the hair they have left out. So many ideas can have a numbing effect on the mind—where formerly reasonable people tend to say Okay to the winds of the day because, really, it’s easier than to think through things.

We need to step back and think, What is actually the point in educating children? Why do we do what we do in today’s schools, and why do we think it is good? Is it good?

It is my goal that we think about why we are here, biblically, using the Word of God. How can we, who are followers of Christ, follow Him in the classroom, at school, or at home? We submit to Christ—we follow Christ—and to His Word to us. We do not submit to man and his ideas. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men (Col 3:23). Our aim is to please Him. He brought us out of death and gives us the free gift of life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23). Therefore, our aim in all we do—including in the classroom, the office, the admin building, and the home—is to honor Him, please Him, and glorify Him. There are no days off in this mission of following Him! May this small book be used by Him to help us love Him more, seek Him more, and follow Him more steadfastly as educators.

Chapter 1

The Christian Purpose

If one would ask someone this question Why are you here in this world? one would get many different answers from not knowing to knowing for certain why one is here, from apathy to full-blown zeal regarding why one is here. Many educators and parents would suggest at least in part their why would be answered by noting their influence on their children, students, other families, or their community.

Humanists would say that their why is to produce self-actualizing people (Ornstein and Hunkins 2017, p. 41). According to Aristotle, the goal or purpose toward which all is moving is greater thoughtfulness or greater depth of philosophical juncture. In Buddhism, the why is, pretty much, to not have a why—true peace is derived from being able to think about nothing and have a zeal for nothing (p. 32).

Maybe we’re here to learn things for the common good. In China, during the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, if a child was older than eight years old, he or she went to school. The focus of the schooling was what was needed for everyday life and teaching community morals. This was done with some students in their middle teens going off to a university and some going into the community to work and feed the community.

Maybe the why is to change society. John Dewey expressed that education, in his view, is a way toward social reform, seeing education as a means of serving the society. Maybe the why is to save the world—to save the planet from…us.