Training Young Minds

In one generation, as the book of Judges points out, the Israelites experienced rapid decline in their allegiance to God - that shows how quickly it can happen. Following the death of Joshua, according to Judges chapter 2, we can read these words:
10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.
11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals;
12 and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.

That's all it took - one generation.  Even though in Deuteronomy 6, Moses had admonished the children of Israel to teach their children about the ways of the Lord, once the Israelites entered the promised land and after their leader died, the decline was steep and rapid.  That becomes a challenge to Christian parents to model the teachings of Christ and make sure the principles of Christ are being relayed to the next generation and generations to come.

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Parents have a Biblical responsibility before God to train and equip their children to walk according to His ways, and in Deuteronomy chapter 6, we find these words:
4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

We have continued to see parents rightly challenge their local boards in an effort to hold them accountable for curriculum that concerns them.  Christian parents are rightly considering the educational options they have available to them for their children - we can remember that Christian parents are given the responsibility in Scripture for raising their children according to God's principles.

A new educational option has emerged over the past few months and was announced at the recent National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Orlando and the Florida Parent Educators Association in the same city the same week. It's called Covenant Journey Academy and it is an online Christian school that was founded by Mat Staver, who is recognized as Founder and President of Liberty Counsel and is heard on Freedom's Call on Faith Radio.  The school's website describes it this way: "CJA is a full-service K-12 online Christian Academy that is available around the world 24/7/365 with more than 150 courses all taught by certified teachers."

The site notes that CJA is "built upon the foundation of a Christian worldview with the vision to empower courageous generations of highly skilled people thoroughly grounded in a Christian worldview to transform the culture."  And, CJA hopes to be part of what it calls a "revolution," stating:

While the popularity of homeschooling has experienced a 2-8% annual increase for the past several years, the COVID lockdowns caused a surge in the number of families choosing to become more directly involved in the education of their children. As a result, America is experiencing a revolution in education, having already witnessed explosive growth in homeschool students from an estimated 2.5 million in 2019 to 4.3 million in 2023.

So, not only did the COVID crisis expose parents and children to virtual education, but it enlightened parents of some children to ideologies that were being taught that were of concern. The CJA website states: "Parents are sick and tired of having their children indoctrinated with gender ideology or critical race theory that divides people and pits students against one another based on race, ethnicity, or gender."

In an article posted at CBN.com, Staver lamented the indoctrination into these philosophies and highlighted critical thinking from a Christian worldview perspective; the article stated:

Staver said he found “a lot of Christian schools, whether they’re at the graduate level or K through 12 and may be Christian in name … they’re not thinking biblically [for] each one of these courses [in] how to integrate them.”

Covenant Journey Academy, which launched with 150 courses taught by Christian-certified teachers trained in biblical worldview, hopes to change these dynamics and better prepare students by presenting content through a faith lens.

Staver said one of the most versatile parts of the Covenant Journey Academy is the fact “any student, any family, anywhere in the world can be part of this.” And for private schools looking to launch but without infrastructure, the institution provides the curriculum and services needed for students to thrive.

Provost and Executive Vice President of the Academy, Dr. Shanna Akers, is quoted on the Academy's website, saying: “...As schools around the nation are increasingly using education not to teach but to challenge traditional American values, to deconstruct biblical morality, and to re-write the American story, Covenant Journey Academy is empowering parents to provide their children with excellent private school education in the safety of their own homes.”

The Board of Advisors of CJA includes a number of high-profile Christian leaders, including former Cincinnati Mayor Ken Blackwell of Family Research Council, along with his wife, Rosa, an experienced educator; Tim Geoglein of Focus on the Family; Rick Green from Patriot Academy, Bishop E.W. Jackson of STAND, Samuel Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and Lt. Col. (Retired) Allen West. 

Kudos to Mat Staver and the leadership team of Covenant Journey Academy.  You know, a desire of mine on the Meeting House radio program is not only to point out challenges to our Christian faith in our culture, but to provide Christ-centered solutions.  The CJA founders saw a deficiency, and have taken concrete steps to provide a solution. 

Parents obviously have an opportunity to enlist a partner for the training of their children. And, we recognize that Scripture teaches that the responsibility to raise children according to Biblical principles falls upon the parents; now, parents will definitely sub-contract that to others, such as the local church, to community organizations, sports clubs, and schools - but it is incumbent upon the parents to make sure that those contributing to their children's lives do not violate or contradict the principles that ideally should be being taught at home.

We recognize that in society today, the well-being of children is being defined in ways that are radically different than the Bible would define it.  Politicians and thought leaders may claim to have the child's best interest in mind, but as we have seen over the past month, we have people in power that practice a different morality. Children must be taught to think critically and Biblically about the world around them - and while parents do have a degree of protection they can provide, ultimately, the kids have to decide for themselves.  So, the challenge is to equip them in the best ways possible.