by Jeremy Bratcher,
speaker at the Building Your Family’s Spiritual Heritage Symposium November 16, 2013
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about homeschooling?
Hold that thought. Write it down.
Now what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about why you homeschool? Again, write that thought down.
Theologian A.W. Tozer reflected on the significance of our thought life. He concluded, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
What would our homeschooling look like if we measured the significance and importance of what comes to mind first when we think of homeschooling? What would our homes and thus our homeschooling resemble if the first thing that came to mind was shaping our lives to be more like Jesus?
We live in a time where education has significant value in society; perhaps more than it ever has in history. Education is seen as a chief vehicle for shaping our society and culture, particularly here in the United States. Our government has put an enormous amount of resources into education. For the 2012 fiscal year, the federal government “invested” $107.6 billion in education. Why does our government spend in this way? What is the aim of public education?
The government system sees education as a means to maintain our cultural values of democracy, pluralism, and prosperity. This defines the ultimate goal of most public educational systems in Western culture. We want our kids to grow up to maintain our political structures, be tolerant of people with different beliefs and worldviews, and, most of all, become contributors to the economy. We want prosperous, healthy citizens, and the educational system is the means to get there.
In some regards, these are admirable goals. When government speaks of education and education reform, the target is to strengthen and advance these goals. But these goals are not God’s goals.
So again, back to the question at the beginning . . . what is the first thing you think of when you consider homeschooling?
Answering that question might be the most important thing you do for investing in your kids.
Jeremy Bratcher
Family man. Christ-follower. Fan of life. Lead Pastor of Magnolia Baptist Church. That’s not that bad a summary, but it really doesn’t capture it all. Jeremy grew up in a good, loving home, but it was a home without Jesus. We didn’t do “religion,” he said. Growing up, his personal life looked great on the outside, but inside, his world was falling to pieces. He wrestled with personal identity issues, anger, violence, drug abuse, most of it in secret. He was lonely and hurting. A few months before high school graduation, he heard the Good News of Jesus Christ for the very first time. . .God’s love, Jesus’ sacrifice and how He came to rescue and befriend broken, unwelcome, unaccepted people. He knew that this Jesus was what he needed in his life. Things have never been the same. Jeremy met his wife, Corrie, while attending Midwestern State University in Texas. They have four children together: Daniel, Anagrace, and twins Emma and Julia. He earned a Master’s of Theology Degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and is currently in the middle of doctoral studies at Talbot Seminary. Sign up online for the Symposium.