Glen Schultz

This book is a bit redundant and I don't agree with everything in it. However, it did precisely what I always hope reading will do. It has messed with me. It provoked me to think and question how churches need to come alongside parents as well as how I need to change my parenting. It provoked me to think about how to challenge parents to consider serious biblical instruction that we could offer after school for public school students. I know it is a longshot, but that is where my mind is running after completing the book. Though he doesn't say it out right, the way the author lays out the decision on how and where to educate your children, I don't think that he would ever recommend public school (He sees the decision of a believer to work in a public school as a different matter.) I'm not ready to write off the public school, however, I am now convinced of this: we parents are fools to take a hands off approach to the education of our kids. This is true in any environment, but is hugely true in the public school when you have little say over who teaches your child and little opportunity to evaluate their character. Education is not morally neutral. When I compare this to the huge importance mentors have on young people, being one of the significant keys to addressing the problem of youth falling away from the church, this becomes urgent. Urgent! I wish I had read this book when my older children were young. Though my adult children are doing well now, my laissez-faire approach to their education hurt them significantly.

Schulz defines kingdom education as "a life-long, Bible-based, Christ-centered process of leading a child to Christ, building a child up in Christ, and equipping a child to serve Christ!

Here are some important quotes:

"The Christian school must not be education dressed up for church. It must be the church armed for intellectual battle." quoting Al Mohler

"All parents are home-schoolers, training their children at home to some degree."

"Whenever Jesus talked about children, He always did so in reference to their nurturing and protection."

"The church must provide godly counsel, instruction, and supporting programs in matters concerning education if it is going to strengthen the home and, in turn, strengthen the effectiveness of the church. Instead of pastors and other church leaders supporting public, Christian, or home schools, they need to teach parents the biblical principles of kingdom education."

"It is time for churches to expand their ministries to include biblical education for children and youth throughout the week."

Commenting on this verse, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6, ESV) "We want to claim this as a promise that will assure us that our children will eventually walk with the Lord if we give them some training from a biblical perspective early in life. However, most of us fail to comprehend how intense this training needs to be."

Sometimes Shultz exaggerates in ways that don't help his case, for instance when he states that more believers should be encouraged to go into the ministry. I'm only comfortable with that challenge if a vision for every believer to see their work as a calling and all of their life having ministry potential as argued in Os Guinness book, The Call, and Tim Keller's book, Every Good Endeavor is also strongly encouraged. Still the book challenged me like few books do.… (mere)