School Philosophy

Community

How do I learn, live and serve with others?

In his Meditation 17, 17th century poet John Donne writes "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee..." The words of this great poet and preacher are still worth our consideration.

We are inundated with a plethora of media stories about rugged individualists, many of whom have clawed and scratched their way to "the top." If they could adopt a slogan for themselves it might read, 'the end justifies the means' or perhaps, as in the popular bumper sticker, 'he who dies with the most toys wins'. The emphasis is often about self-promotion, self-fulfillment and self-gratification.

How do we, as a Christian community, learn, live and serve with others? And what does the Apostle Paul intend to communicate when he states, "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." It would seem that no person is truly an island and when another suffers, be it half way across the world or in our own backyard, we all suffer.

How we handle our admissions process at BCS is one aspect that defines our distinctiveness. Unlike many private Christian schools, we do not require academic testing as a prerequisite for admissions. Our desire is to serve the entire family. For example, a family considering our school for the education of their children may have a highly capable child, a gifted child with a learning disability, a child who faces many educational challenges or one who is right in "the middle." Most parents are aware that each of their children is gifted and learns differently. BCS is committed to preparing [all of our] young people to live fully for God...

How does BCS live with the tension of meeting a variety of needs and expectations? This challenge is taken on daily in typical classroom settings within the context of relationship. One of our core values at Bellevue Christian is that education is relationship. Learning to think through life from a biblical perspective is a process that involves students and teachers willing to invest in relationships. BCS co-founder, Dr. Al Greene says "our knowledge cannot be genuine unless it is rooted in love- love for God, for our neighbor, for ourselves and for the creation. Modern man thinks of learning in terms of curiosity (for pure science) and control (for technology). That is a tragic misunderstanding, for compassion or love is basic to any true learning." It is the goal of BCS that upon graduation, students are ready to enter the next season of their lives with the ability to understand, evaluate and transform their world from the foundation of God's unchanging values.

Because life is constantly changing, life is full of surprises and wonder. The handsome high school quarterback sports a bald head and a spare tire at the 10-year reunion while the "class nerd" is now a multimillionaire and owner of a software company. The child who at one time tearfully struggled to read words that appear backwards, now enjoys reading as a favorite pastime. And that wild and reckless teen who was 'headed for hell' is now leading missions trips to Guatemala during his summers when not teaching students in the rural setting far from his hometown. Real education is not self-serving; it is about changing lives.

How do we serve others? Not in isolation. We serve within the context of a vibrant community that is ever-changing. God knew of the times we would be tempted to pull back from one another rather than to live in unity. When writing to the Philippians, the apostle Paul says, "make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Serving others requires that we not only recognize our individual giftedness but also understand we have been gifted by the Holy Spirit to serve one another. Love for one another compels us to serve those around us.

As we look forward with anticipation to all that God has in store for our community, we do so not with a spirit of fear, but with an awareness of our Sovereign Lord who leads the way. We can expect change in the days ahead and, at the same time, we can place our trust in our God who never changes.