I am a huge advocate for Christian education.  But I am also an advocate for school choice, which means I think the best education system for a community is one which provides parents the right and ability to choose from among several educational options, according to what they think is best for their child, whether it is home school, a religious or independent private school, or public school.   So, although I think Christian parents should always consider a Christian education as the first option for their children, I realize  Christian Fellowship School may not be the best match for all children.  Personally and as a spokesman for CFS, I wish to honor and respect the God-given authority and responsibility of parents to guide their child's education.  

That being said, I want to address an important aspect of Christian education that is sometimes thought of as a negative.  That aspect is our commitment to teach students from a Biblical worldview.  Teaching from a Biblical worldview has sometimes been criticized as sheltering students from "the real world"; therefore, students are not prepared to face the trials and temptations of college. (Which makes for a good argument for Christian colleges, but that is another discussion.)   

Paul Richter, who was CFS Administrator from 1992 to 1996, said the following in a memo to the CFS School Board in 1994:

                Are we isolating our children from the "real world" by sending them to Christian Fellowship School?  No!  If you want to isolate your child from the real world, send him to public school.  There, in kindergarten through 12^th grade, he will learn about a world in which there is no God and no devil, in which there is no heaven and no hell.  He will learn of a world where man's wisdom is sufficient to answer life's questions and to solve life's problems.  He will learn of a world where right and wrong changes as fast as the Missouri weather and where there is no truth.  He will learn and be conformed to a fairy-tale taught by grown-ups.     

 I do not mean to use the above quote as a criticism of public schools or of Christian parents who choose public school for their children.  I simply want us to recognize that reality includes God, eternity, truth, redemption, sin, and grace.  Learning about our world in a context that ignores God is not addressing reality. 

Of course, we want our children to learn  how to handle the trials and temptations of life.  If you have been a part of CFS for any length of time you learn that sin, relationship issues, and even trials still occur.   Are our students sheltered from some of the sin issues that may abound in other educational settings?  I hope so, although probably not as much as I would like.  In teaching from a Biblical worldview, we try to guide and instruct students on how to deal with sin issues, how to ask God for His grace to navigate life, and how to receive His love, so that they can love others, including those who seem unlovable.  In our upper level spiritual life classes we discuss Christian apologetics, theology, ethics, sexuality, world religions, and other topics which will help our students to face a range of life issues when they leave CFS.

Will CFS students be prepared for everything they face in the future?  Probably not.  I know I face things regularly for which I do not feel prepared.  But I do hope they will know how to lean upon, call upon, and trust the One who is in the midst of everything.   I pray our students will learn to interpret the world around them from a Biblical worldview.  A perspective that says God is the creator, sustainer, and savior of the real world.