CQ

Three weeks ago I was in Krasang, Thailand standing in front of twenty-two hundred students. Our team of Westsiders was invited to teach English at the local public high school. Each school day begins with an assembly. All of the students stand in perfectly straight lines wearing uniforms in the front yard of the school. On this day they asked me to come to the stage to introduce our team and express our purpose to the nearly all Buddhist student body. I must admit that I was afraid and it took courage for me to speak to a large Thai audience with no time for preparation.

During the assembly a twelve-year-old boy from Grace Ministries named James was standing in the front row. He is a beautiful child with ears that could make him take flight at any moment. Before coming to Grace Ministries he lived in poverty and had few opportunities. What impressed me most about James that day was his courage. Each day the school community begins with a Buddhist prayer, as would be expected of a primarily Buddhist country. Students give respect to the spirits of the school by clasping their hands together in front of their faces in a gesture they call a “wai.”

As I watched the sea of students paying respect to the spirits, I saw this twelve-year-old Christian young man with his hands clearly at his side in respectful opposition to the beliefs of the majority. I was later told that in similar assemblies the student body kneels and bows in prayer while the Grace Ministries students remain standing.

How often are we challenged in our faith and daily lives to hold to a commitment with such conviction and courage as these young people? Matthew 5:10 states, “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.”

Courage is about more than standing strong in the minority. It is also about pursuing Christ with everything in you and making the risky choices to do so. The pursuit of Christ can be painful and challenging, yet full of growth, joy and meaning.

Acts 4:13 says, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Our courage as disciples does not come from our own skill or effort but from our association with Christ. It is through our unashamed pursuit of Him that we can have the courage of a twelve-year-old boy or a group of high schoolers from Lake Oswego Oregon.

I saw glimpses of this kind of courage over the past month as I spent time living in community with twenty-one students and six adults from Westside. Our trip was incredibly stretching for all of us. For three weeks every aspect of life was different. The experience was a complete assault on the senses, requiring courage just to function. The food, language, temperature, religion, economy, skin color, transportation, toilet, bathing, architecture, and community are all very different. It was beautiful to see our students adapt and respond to these challenges.
I saw in our students the courage to seek God openly, the courage to desire a more disciplined life, the courage to suffer with those who suffer, the courage to pursue purpose each day, the courage to risk vulnerability and honesty, and the courage to translate what they believe into how they really live.

C.S Lewis describes courage as “not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” Coming home from this testing and tremendous experience I am profoundly encouraged by the next generation of leaders, both American and Thai.

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It is the night of our spring awards event. As I slip into the choir room, Roger Allcroft (head varsity golf coach) is speaking praises to this year’s state championship golf team. He played a picture montage, gave out awards, and recounted numerous stories from the season. At different points during the presentation he is emotionally moved. Roger’s eyes well up with tears of pride. He is fulfilling his mission to equip the next generation. As a result of a passion for golf the athletes see more clearly the nature of Christ’s character. Although the team had accomplished the ultimate achievement in high school sports, it was when Roger spoke about moments when the players had demonstrated Christ-like character, integrity, courage, humility, and compassion, that he displayed pride and emotion. The extraordinary nature of Christ is so attractive.

The author of Hebrews 12 uses an athletic illustration to bring us to the bottom line. Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it.

Roger is one of those veterans cheering on the next generation. His life speaks, “Young people fix your eye’s on the goal, keep your eyes on Jesus. When your vision is foggy and your steps are uncertain, keep your eyes fixed on Christ.”

As the year comes to an end I find myself with a slightly foggy view on life. It is a challenge for me to keep Christ in view while attempting to keep up with a break neck pace of events, mounting tasks, and challenging relationships. It seems so important to get it all done, to be successful, to “win the state championship.” Then I remember that God’s kingdom has a completely different set of values. Thank you for reminding me Roger.

At the end of the golf awards ceremony something very extraordinary happened. There was very little gloating about a championship. As Roger completed his portion of the evening, the team got out of their seats to present their gifts to the coach, as they typically would. Then on their own initiative each player took a moment to communicate the value and admiration they felt for Roger and Eric Grimberg (their senior leader and individual state champion). These were deep, spiritual, and heartfelt statements. I found it extraordinary for young men to speak this way. It was refreshing and inspiring. As I listened to each member of the team I thought, “They get it!”

I believe this occurred because Roger and Eric live in a way that reflects the nature of Christ. Even though they both have experienced amazing success this year, humility is the word that most clearly describes these two men. Humility is so attractive and that is what has allowed Roger and Eric to speak into the lives of these young men. As we depart outside the walls of Westside this summer, let’s return with stories of Christ viewings. Let’s be near to where He is.

“So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name.” Hebrews 13:13-15

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Two weeks ago thirty friends of the school converged on the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver for a weekend of strategic planning. The majority of our board and a sampling of teachers and parents gathered together with a very specific mission. The first goal was to confirm the validity and potential impact of our vision and the second was to prepare a detailed plan to realize that vision. We have specifically been praying for the past year that the Holy Spirit would lead us to a vision that was in line with our historic mission, yet still fresh and relevant to the needs of the current generation of young people.

As we discussed the vision on Friday night there was a sense of God’s leading and a unity among the group. There is much more to come in the near future regarding the outcome of this strategic planning retreat.

One of the natural next steps is to begin to communicate our mission with this vision and plan in mind. I believe we have an important story to tell. I have heard it said that you should have an elevator talk, a ten minute talk, and a more extensive presentation when representing a movement or organization. So, here we go. Here’s my four minute elevator talk that I would share with a potential parent or friend of the school. Step inside and let’s take a ride to the 100th floor. You get to start us off be saying, “So, tell me about Westside.” And I respond with:

We are a school community of nearly three hundred students, almost forty staff, and our average classroom has less than twenty students. I’ll start by bragging a bit. This year we learned that our seniors scored an 1127 on the SAT compared to a 1052 and 1021 for the state and national average. Nearly all of our graduates go on to further education, some being accepted for admission to elite institutions such as the Georgetown, Princeton, and Westpoint. We offer Advance Placement tests in a number of classes, and 80% of the students taking these exams earn college credit.

Most of our sports teams and extracurricular groups are in the top 10% in the 3A division for their GPA, some teams have even been at the very top. Last year our golf team won the state championship. This year our girl’s basketball team finished sixth place in the state. Our boys and girls cross country team finished 2nd and 3rd this season at the state meet. In recent years our choir has won two state championships. Last year they sang by invitation at Carnegie Hall. Each year we put on two major theatrical productions with nearly a third of our student body involved.

Our Business/Marketing club (DECA) has experienced success with locally and nationally honored student projects. Over one third of our student body participates in local or international missions during their time as a student. Every student participates in some kind of community service while attending Westside.

We are proud of these successes, but we are also thankful that the story does not end there. We will have students that will graduate from our school and become doctors, attorneys, parents, teachers, executives, pastors, and engineers. The question we feel we must ask is, “For what purpose do they serve in these capacities?”

We believe that our vision as a school is quite unique. Our mission is to equip servant leaders in God’s kingdom for the next generation by educating and developing the whole person for the glory of God.

So, there are really three primary purposes that drive our school.

1. Equipping leaders who think, feel, and live like Jesus
2. Discovering the nature of God’s Kingdom
3. Inspiring the whole person through our educational process

When we say that we want to educate the whole person we mean that it is not enough to just impact our students to think. It is not enough to make them feel deeply about something, and it is not enough to have them do something or respond with action to learning. But rather reaching the whole person demands that we engage the entire educational triangle, what they know, what they feel, and what they do.

We live in a culture with very different values from God’s Kingdom. One of the most important things that we can do is to continually present opportunities where students can discover what is important in Gods economy.

Life is a gift. Some may see life as purely a gift to be used for themselves. I believe it is a gift from God to be given back to Him for the sake of others. That view completely changes the way followers of Christ approach education (or anything really). In this view students are not consumers seeking a school that will give them the best opportunity to promote themselves; Rather, they are stewards with a responsibility to equip themselves to serve God and others..

Yes we have experienced success in academics, arts, and athletics. We have won championships, sung in famous halls, and been accepted into elite colleges and universities. That is fantastic, but if that’s all there is, we have failed..

I believe that once we make a decision to follow Christ, we join in His mission to reach the world. We believe that our students will change the world. For that reason we take our vision very seriously.

Well, I’m sure we’ve arrived at the one hundredth floor by now. My hope would be that this four minute talk (ok, maybe five minute talk) would generate some questions along the way and inspire further conversation.

Our strategic planning retreat generated a very exciting and comprehensive plan that will be fleshed out even further over the next few months. As we begin to execute the plan it will address the following questions.

In order to more completely live out our mission we must know:

1. What are the best ways to teach?
2. How do we help students discover God’s Kingdom?
3. How do we equip them to lead from a Christ-centered focus?
4. What do we need to do to acquire a facility to fulfill our vision?

Join us in prayer as we continue to discern answers to these questions.

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Follow the links to learn more about how you can get involved in the Thailand Project. 

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Recently I discovered the beatitudes in Eugene Petterson’s The Message. This section of scripture begins to describe the nature of God’s Kingdom. I often get drawn into a kingdom that promotes the opposite of these values.

Matthew 5: 3-10
 ”You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
 ”You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
 ”You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
 ”You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
 ”You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
 ”You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
 ”You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
 ”You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

I had the privilege of coaching basketball at Westside for six years and loved every minute. It was so rewarding to use the medium of sports to communicate truths about God’s kingdom. Some of the most powerful opportunities to experience these truths were through a loss or team adversity of some kind. When involved in athletics we can very easily get drawn into believing that winning is supreme. I believe that winning is not the definition of success for a citizen of Christ’s kingdom. That is not to say that it is wrong to win, but I don’t believe that it is our ultimate aim.

John Wooden is considered one of the most successful collegiate coaches of all time. He certainly won some games. In fact his UCLA teams won ten NCAA Division I national titles over the last twelve years of his coaching career. After retiring he was asked if he missed winning championships. His response was that what he missed was the practices. He was more about developing a discipline for the process than focusing on the uncertainty of the result. He described seasons that were precious to him where they did not win a championship because of a series of uncontrollable events. Based on my knowledge of Wooden and his faith, I believe that he operated from a different value system than many coaches. He once said, “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” Wooden was not concerned with winning basketball games as much as he was developing quality people.

Last week our girls basketball team played in the OSAA State Championship Basketball tournament for the first time in our school’s history. I could not be prouder of what they accomplished this season. We did not win a championship, but I do believe that our team, coach, and bookkeeper demonstrated the values of God’s kingdom. On Thursday afternoon we played Nyssa in the first round of the tournament. It was one of the strangest games I have ever seen. Our girls were in control of the game and at one point dominated the entire third quarter only allowing one basket by Nyssa. From the beginning we were in foul trouble which limited the playing time of three of our five starters. It looked like we were going to win the game until we fouled out two of our key players midway through the fourth quarter. Slowly Nyssa began to chip away at the lead. Our girls battled back and things looked hopeful coming into the final few minutes of the game. Then a crucial play stopped the game for over ten minutes. The scoreboard displayed the score as tied with a little over two minutes to go, but two of the three books did not agree with the board. The two books had documented that WCHS should be up by one point with two minutes to go in the game. This is critically important to the strategy at this point in the game. It is moments like this that we get to prove which kingdom we will serve.

After ten minutes the referee made his decision and the score would stand. Officials later confirmed that a mistake had been made by the referee. Our team, coach, and bookkeeper graciously accepted the decision and played their best, yet they came up short in the end. Nyssa went on to win the state championship, and our girls went on to finish 6th.

Our team could not have done better at the tournament. We do not measure success by trophies, championships, or reputation, but by our ability to reflect the values and economy of God’s kingdom. Well done team!

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Last week I was involved in nearly seventy new student interviews in three days, connecting with each new family for about seven minutes. It is a challenge to find out very much about a person in that amount of time so I did not mince words. I asked each student to tell me their greatest passion or uniqueness. This is always fascinating and revealing! My feeling after meeting these students is joy and a sense of privilege. We will be blessed to have these young people in our community. I was blown away by the depth of many of the students. One young lady shared about the adversity that had impacted her family over the past few years and how that experience has clearly shaped the direction of her life. Another student shared about his passion for Christ and a clear calling to vocational Christian ministry. These are eighth graders! Other students went into depth about their love of art, athletics, music, or science. With nearly every student I could see them come alive as they described those things that get them up in the morning. As we offer our gift in this way we bring glory to God with our life and our talents. I believe Westside is unique in its desire to help students DISCOVER their calling in the place “where (their) deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” (Theologian Frederick Buechner’s now famous quote.)

Just a few days ago a group of Westside students, staff, and friends encountered the devastating impact of hurricane Katrina. They also crawled into the small grass hut of a Sudanese refugee family living in the uncertainty of an ongoing war in Northern Uganda. They met a young Ugandan boy who was forced to kill his father by the “Lords Resistance Army.” They encountered families that live and work in the city dumps of Mexico City. They met children lying on urine stained linens, chained to their cribs in smelly, dirty, and dilapidated Romanian orphanages. This group of Westsiders has been exposed to the real world through an intentional experiential exhibit called “REAL LIFE” at the Northwest Medical Team headquarters. Through this exhibit these students learned experientially about geography, politics, economics, art, music, statistics, leadership, and the power of a well illustrated story. They also encountered a God who is present in the lives of each of these real people and real situations. Now these students and staff are praying that God will transform their hearts and minds and show them how they are to engage the real world.

This educational experience is an illustration of one of the pillars of the school’s vision.

Vision Pillar III – DISCOVER – Experientially presenting the reality of God’s kingdom and heart.

At the core of this part of our vision is a movement toward intentional learning experiences and collaborative relationships that enrich and deepen student learning. Through experiences we believe we can more fully engage and impact all three educational domains (what we think, how we feel, and what we do). We see this part of our vision supplementing and supporting our daily classroom activities, allowing us to fulfill our mission (to educate and develop the whole person). We believe God uses experiences to powerfully inspire and motivate the discovery of passion and purpose.

Every few weeks I make it a practice to walk through one of our art classes to be inspired by the amazing artistic talent of our students. During one of these visits I struck up a conversation with the beloved Donna Symer. I asked her, “How can art be used as a gift to show love to others?”  She said, “Every Friday I select one student and have them sit in the middle of the class. The other students and I circle around and sketch a portrait of the student.” She paused and her eyes welled up. “Before I lift my pencil I pray that God will help me capture the most beautiful quality of the child.” At the end of the period, Donna gives the portrait to the student. What a gift! Donna is modeling to her students that a passion for art can be used to express the heart of God.
 

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Follow this link to watch a fifteen minute Frontline documentary on the power of Micro-loan’s. Over the past month Marta and I have begun loaning funds through Kiva and are believers. This documentary specifically highlights the work that Kiva is doing in Uganda. Give it a shot!

 UGANDA: A little goes a long way (VIDEO)

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Last spring I had the opportunity to visit New York City with our choir. Our hotel was right at Grand Central Station and we frequently traveled by subway to get from one place to the next. The New York subway system in the eighty’s and early ninety’s had a reputation of being a very dangerous place, but on this trip I felt perfectly safe as we maneuvered through the subway system.

Something seemingly small happened in the mid to late nineties that dramatically changed New York’s increasing crime rate. Malcom Gladwell describes this phenomenon in his book, The Tipping Point. Gladwell believes that epidemics of ideas, products, and movements develop and grow out of the introduction of the right people, message, and context or environment. In New York City, new leadership believed that the context of an environment of graffiti and broken windows encouraged criminal behavior. Their idea was to begin a campaign to systematically clean up the subway.  To their surprise, the crime rate declined monumentally and almost overnight. The ripple effects of this change have altered the overall perception of New York City. In this case an epidemic of pride in one’s city, which in turn led to a decrease in crime, was set in motion by the removal of graffiti.

As I read through Gladwell’s book over Christmas, seeing example after example of the tipping point factor in action, I could not help but begin thinking about the elements that could begin an epidemic within our own school community. I started by dreaming about what that epidemic might look like.

Imagine if you will a learning community where people are captivated by Christ, motivated to take initiative in learning, and inspired to discover their purpose in God’s economy and kingdom. Learning is a very high value in this community and it is experiential, meaningful, and inspiring. The relationships are life-giving, joyful, supportive, and encourage a high level of excellence. This community is not static and joins Christ in initiating significant movements, working to connect people’s greatest passions with the world’s greatest needs.  The young people that emerge from this community have been exposed to excellence in the arts, athletics, and academics. Students are becoming independently motivated learners because they see how what they are learning is equipping them for their journey beyond this community.

I envision an epidemic of enthusiastic rich learning within a Christ-centered community.

In many ways we already possess what is required to begin a spiritual and learning epidemic within our community. This fall we outlined a vision document that communicates in ideal language what we believe God is calling us to pursue over the next three years. We are now beginning to pursue specific strategies to bring that vision to reality. This four page document simply put speaks to the following elements of our school:

Listen – We seek to be a community that begins all purposes with God’s purpose in mind. We are intentional about listening for that purpose.
Relate – The development of healthy relationships within our community is foundational to learning and pursing a life of influence for Christ.
Inspire – Instructional methods in the classroom and extracurricular experiences are developmental, holistic, learner-focused, and encourage the development of a passion for life-long learning.
Discover –Through unique experiences we are able to challenge students to begin the discovery of Gods values, mission, and passions in their lives. 
Lead- We believe that our students can change the world and we are intentional about developing them as Christ-centered leaders.

Gladwell describe the type of people, message, and context or environment that when combined can initiate an epidemic of ideas, products, and movements. Although his thoughts are not directly from a Christian perspective, elements of his message and case studies confirmed for me that our vision includes these elements (the right types of people, messages, and environment) and could lead to a significant learning and spiritual movement within our school.

Let me give you two examples of how this may already be occurring (there are more).

I believe that when students are inspired to learn and begin to discover something they are passionate about, beautiful things happen. If you visit our science lab each day at four o’clock you will see students engaged in active and self motivated learning. This did not occur until we developed a new science team who established a new learning culture. The science team is very relational and has focused on the science inquiry method, a learner-focused approach, and frequent hands-on lab exercises.  Something has happened within this area of our school.  We have students that are passionate about science like never before. We also have better equipment, because people appreciate what is happening and are eager to give. Our science department has now become one of our greatest strengths; we have more students interested in pursuing science and a greater ability to direct resources toward the program.

Another example started very humbly this fall. Three junior students came to me with a heart of compassion for our school and a desire to do something to encourage spiritual growth. They have a vision to see Westside become a place of passionate devotion to Christ. As we talked about this we thought the best place to begin would be to pray. So, we committed to praying each week on Wednesdays at lunch with a listening heart. It was just the four of us all fall and a very simple effort.

During spiritual emphasis week some amazing healing and spiritual encouragement occured within our school. There has been a steady movement of students seeking God in new ways. We have had some powerful chapels and life altering spiritual conversations with students. We have twice as many applications for the Thailand trip this year. God is bringing some amazing people and opportunities into our community that could have tremendous spiritual influence in the lives of our students.  God is actively transforming us into disciples. I believe that part of this movement within our school comes from the faithful devotion of a few students who have taken the lead to pray.  I believe that increased and sincere prayer has been the tipping point that is beginning a spiritual movement with our school.

I want to be a part of a movement that brings glory to Christ, don’t you? Let’s join together in prayer as we seek to begin a learning and spiritual epidemic at Westside.

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Post to follow soon…

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I am always inspired by innovative ideas and vision especially when they address issues close to the heart of God. Micro-finance is one of those ideas. In October of this year it was announced that Muhammed Yunas (founder of Grameen Bank) was selected as the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Since then there has been considerable attention given to the concept of micro-finance, and as a result many organizations working in this area are receiving more exposure. If you are not familiar with the concept of micro-finance I have included a few links and a video (16 min. documentary) below.

My business finance background finds this whole concept very intriguing. I have come to appreciate one organization that allows participants to finance entrepreneurs directly through the technology of the web. Through this organization you can setup an account, select an entrepreneur or small business owner online, provide a micro-loan, receive updates on your loan, get repaid, and loan again.  Check out Kiva.org and you can become a micro-financier within minutes. As you can read below the power of a very small loan can make a huge impact in the life of many in the developing world.

Resources:

• Great educational video (16 min. documentary) from Grameen Foundation
• The hidden wealth of the poor – The Economist
• Small Loans, Big Goals – Christianity Today
• The Nobel Peace Prize 2006 – Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank
• Basic Facts About Micro-finance – UNCDF
• Opportunity International – Christian Organization
• Grameen Bank – Nobel Peace Prize Winner 2006
• Take Tiny Loans to the Next Level – Business Week

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