Sheltering versus Shepherding

When I was a younger father, an acquaintance of mine asked me, “Aren’t you really just sheltering your kids from the real world by sending them to a Christian school?” I didn’t have a great answer at the time, but as I thought about it, I came up with what I should have said – which was “I’m so glad that my kids go to a school that does not shelter them from the reality of God!”

To be fair, there is a protective benefit to sending your children to a school like CCA – and we, as parents, should unashamedly admit this. Wise parents should desire to send their children into an environment that is physically, emotionally, and spiritually safe. To send a child into a school that is physically unsafe, emotionally challenging, or spiritually in error – in order to be “salt and light”- is not what God intended. In Deuteronomy 6, the Bible commands parents to intentionally and regularly expose our children to teaching that leads them to love God well. Part of that command, in my opinion, includes being very intentional about their formal schooling.

So, as parents, and as Christian school educators, we are not called to shelter our children, but, rather, to shepherd them. Shepherding well requires care, protection, and leading. It requires teaching a child what to love and, just as importantly, what to avoid and reject. It provides boundaries while also giving freedom to explore. If done well, children lose their innocence and gain wisdom at an appropriate rate.

Thank you for the investment that you are making in the lives of your children by sending them to CCA and entrusting us to partner with you in their education. Together, we will show them the reality of God and teach them how to share that love with a world that desperately needs it.

David Landis

Superintendent