Ken Sibley on America

During Grace Pointe's youth revival, Ken Sibley discussed faith and America. So far, after two days, we are averaging 20, have three professions of faith, one rededication, one confirmation (they wanted to confirm they were saved).

Vertical Curriculum Alignment

In 2006, I accepted an offer from the Cherokeean Herald newspaper in Rusk, TX, to be promoted from part-time to full time employment. My new job was reporter, ad sales and radio personality. Yep, three positions, only one me. To this day I remember those days with fondness (no joking or sarcasm. I enjoyed the work.)

One of my first assignments as reporter was to interview Dr. Ray DeSpain, the new Superintendent of the Alto Independent School District. Dr. DeSpain was taking over a school system that enjoyed a great amount of success in athletics (The football, track, baseball and softball teams were perennial state playoff powerhouses), but struggled academically. In fact, as Dr. DeSpain was taking the job, the Texas Education Agency (T-E-A) was in the process of deeming Alto High School as "academically unacceptable."

Dr. DeSpain had just one year to work with the high school principal to bring the rating back up to "acceptable," or else the T-E-A would step in and offer "assistance."

After working long, hard hours to extend the school day by 20 minutes, offer after school programs and peer-mentoring programs to bring up test scores, Dr. DeSpain began to work to insure that the "unacceptable" rating would never again be applied to any Alto ISD campus. He instituted "Vertical Curriculum Alignment."

Vertical Curriculum Alignment works like this... The school received a list of TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) from the state. This list included what the state felt that a kid should be able to do by the end of each grade. These skills were tested by the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) test. Should a school fail to have an acceptable percentage of kids in all grades and/or ethnic/economic subgroups pass the test, the school is deemed "unacceptable."

So to make sure the students were being taught up to the level that the state demanded, Dr. DeSpain instituted a program, Vertical Curriculum Alignment, designed around those TEKS. If the state wanted 1st-graders doing long-division, the Alto had better make sure Kindergartners had a firm understanding of numbers, counting, and possibly even some light arithmetic. Instead of repeating what was learned the year before, there would be a quick review and then the teachers would build on what was taught last year.

The goal of vertical curriculum alignment was to make sure that all teachers and educational professionals were on the same page as to where a student should be in his educational development. There were goals for what a high school graduate should be able to do, and there were benchmarks to be met along the way to make sure that the student was on track to meet those goals.

It was well planned, well executed and successful. Alto High School got the acceptable rating, and the football team celebrated by winning the state title. In addition, some of the teachers and students received national recognition. Alto High School was a sudden success story.

Contrast that to the approach to youth ministry employed by most modern New Testament churches. If a child were raised in church (and I understand that this is becoming a rare scenario these days), where should he be in his Bible education when he is in Kindergarten, 3rd Grade, Junior High, High School, and then College and Career class?

What basic Bible concepts should a grade-schooler be able to grasp? When should we begin to see enough maturity for a child to be able to make a reasoned decision regarding salvation? When can we expect that child to begin to understand a call to the Lord's service? How are we preparing them for these developments? Have we even thought about this?

I submit to you that the vast majority of churches in America today approach children's ministry by handing out a story sheet and coloring page, maybe a craft, with little regard being paid toward the big picture of that child's spiritual development. It's not that children's ministry workers and teachers are bad or lazy, it's just they haven't been trained.

I also submit to you that pre-teen and teen ministry in America has been reduced to "don't do drugs, don't have sex, don't get a tattoo, now let's go play ball." Again, it's not that the youth workers and teachers are bad or lazy, it's that the critical training of these volunteers is non-existent. Don't blame the workers, they are doing the best they can (in most cases) and are overwhelmed by the non-stop onslaught of Satan's forces.

That being said, I am sure that there are churches that have it all together... and praise God for them. In the meantime, what should the rest of us do about preparing to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? What should we do to teach them about the Lord and what expectations should we have at certain ages? What should the benchmarks be?

Those are the questions we should be asking.

Read the Book!

If you study the history of military aviation in the United States, and don't learn about a man named Chuck Yeager, then you didn't really study the history of military aviation.

Yeager had a flight career spanning 60 years, was an accomplished fighter pilot in World War II, earned the title of "ace" in just one day (to earn the ace title, you have to score five air-to-air combat victories), scored the first victory over a figher jet, was the first man to break the sound barrier, then broke another speed record at Mach 2.44 (2.44 times the speed of sound), and commanded a figher wing to success in the Vietnam War.

Yeager's success in aerial combat and his survival through World War II (where he was shot down once) and Vietnam were the results of his committment to knowing his aircraft. Whenever he was assigned to a new aircraft, he got the instruction manual for that aircraft and learned it. He would learn its capabilities, its systems, its emergency backup systems, and emergency procedures should something go wrong. He knew his aircraft's abilities and shortcomings.

Lack of understanding of their aircraft cost many figher-pilots their lives or freedom during Vietnam. Airforce training showed the pilots how to fly and safety procedures, but many pilots didn't know their aircraft's capabilities in combat, an ignorance that cost aerial combat victories, F-4's and pilots alike. Furthermore, those pilots weren't trained in aerial combat maneuvering (a.k.a. dogfighting). Then men like Yeager, Robin Olds, and Steve Ritchie arrived in Vietnam, and taught the younger pilots those skills. A lack of knowledge killed Air Force pilots, but proper training, reading the books on the jets, and applying that knowledge saved many pilots and gave the U.S. the victory in the air.

Yeager's success was based on the fact that he took the time to read the book and learn his aircraft, then apply what he learned in combat situations. He read the book! It works the same in ministry and the Christian life.

All too often, ministers wreck their ministries, and many times their churches, because of a lack of knowledge. This lack of knowledge comes from a lack of reading, not commentaries, but the Word of God.

God gave us the Bible to thoroughly equip us for whatever forms and points of service for which he has called us. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) If a minister knows the scriptures, he will know how to counsel and work with a couple that is facing the prospect of divorce, he will be able to encourage a woman who is married to an unGodly husband, he will know that he is responsible to intervene when he knows child abuse is taking place, and he will know how important the roles of him and the church are, more importantly, he will know what those roles are. To quote the preachers from years ago, "It's in the book!"

The book is only as good as it is read, however. Those instruction books for those planes would have been little use had Yeager not read them. In order for that information to help Yeager, he would have had to read it and learn it before taking off. Imagine what would happen had Yeager taken his flight wing into the air, detected enemy aircraft at 11 o'clock, then decided, "Hey, I think I'll consult the book for this!" With most aerial combat situations (dogfights) lasting less than 60 seconds, he'd be dead before he got the book open.

It is important to make sure you are studied up on scripture BEFORE you find yourself in a Spiritual battle, position of service, or counseling session. If you wait until then, then your only hope is to consult Strong's Concordance, and at that point, scripture is likely to be taken out of context and misapplied, leading to further devastation. Or, you can just shoot from the hip, give your own advice, and disregard God's instruction.

The Bible says to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)."

Study your Bible, learn God's will, apply His truths to your Christian walk and ministry. You might just find that you have a successful 60-year ministry ahead of you.

Irreplaceable

Did anyone notice the slap in the face the Philadelphia Eagles handed their longtime starting quarterback Donovan McNabb? The slap didn't come in the form of being traded, the slap came in the form of to whom McNabb was traded. What in the world am I talking about? Let's go back a couple of years.

February 2008, Brett Favre announces his retirement from the NFL and the Green Bay Packers. However, by July 2008, Farve decides that he wants to go back into the NFL. The Packers told Favre that they would not guarantee him the starting QB position, at which point Favre demanded to be traded.

Favre's desire was to play at Minnesota. The Offensive Coordinator for the Vikings was a coach that Favre loved and desired to play under. However, Green Bay, who still owned Favre's contract, refused to release him from the contract and allow him to play at Minnesota. Why? Because the Packers realized that while Farve might not be good enough to be their starter anymore, he was still good enough to start in the NFL, and could possibly do some damage to his opponents.

Green Bay was not willing to release their former star quarterback to a division rival, Minnesota, and have to play against him twice per year. They didn't want to be on the receiving end of his offensive prowess. So a deal was worked out that sent Favre to the New York Jets, where he played one season before retiring again. He was later released from the Jets, and then came out of retirement yet another time, and being a free agent, was finally allowed to sign with the Vikings.

Contrast this with the saga of Donovan McNabb. McNabb, 34, six years younger than Farve, was considered by many to be past his prime in Philadelphia. Sure he had better days with the Eagles, made good plays, and even led the Eagles to a SuperBowl appearance, but the past couple of seasons, Philly fans booed him instead of cheering him on.

Though he was once the face of the franchise, he was now being regarded as the man who was holding the franchise back (this from a team that signed Michael Vick). During the offseason of 2010, McNabb lost his starting position with the Eagles to Kevin Kolb. McNabb, like Farve, had seen great days with his team, but was no longer considered good enough to start. Unlike Favre, however, the Eagles placed very little confidence in McNabb's ability to compete in the NFL. Why else would they agree to trade him to longtime NFC East rival Washington?

In the NFL, you never send good players to division rivals. (1) You have to play against them twice per regular season, and possibly a third time in the playoffs. (2) If they succeed against you, you'll hear it from ownership, media and fans about how stupid you were to let them go to your rival. (3) You never want to give a division rival the ability to outperform you. It's bad enough to lose in the playoffs and miss the Superbowl. Even worse is to lose while your rival excels, mostly because you handed them your ace.

So when the Eagles traded McNabb to the Redskins, they basically said, "This guy is totally expendable. He's a bum, and has no potential in the NFL." Once the face for the franchise, now the garbage to be hauled away.

There's a lesson to be learned here. Many are the church members and preachers who think that the sun doesn't rise until they awake in the morning. Many are the church members who think if they leave, the church will have to close its doors. Many are the preachers who think that if they leave, the church will not be able to find another pastor as qualified as himself. Friend, you are a fool to believe such folly.

The churches of the Lord are preserved, prospered and built by the Lord Himself. Sure, He uses the labor of those willing and obedient to accomplish His will, but He doesn't NEED us. He allows us to serve by His grace.

Consider Ephesians 4:7 "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ."

Christ gives us a gift, the gift of a position of service. That gift is given by His grace (the undeserved favor he extends toward us.) So your position of service and leadership is not given to you because of your credentials and the fact you've earned it, it's given to you by God's grace, which means you don't have credentials and you haven't earned it.

Now if this does not convince you that the Lord's churches will not survive without you, consider 2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."

God's word is the treasure, we are the earthen vessels. Earthen vessels (clay pots) are not pretty, but are easily breakable, and easily replaceable.

So, the next time you think you are high and mighty, just remember that you are nothing more than a sinner saved by God's grace, put in a special place by His grace, all because He loves you.

I don't write this to berate you, nor to discourage you, but that we can all keep things in perspective as we serve the Savior.

One final thought, Old Time Farmer wisdom teaches us that when we think we are a person of great influence, we should try to boss another man's dog around.

God bless you, everyone.