"Keeping Christ in the Classroom"

I have a fascination with the messages various businesses and establishments post on their marquees. For example, there is a Laundromat on Union Street in Bangor that is within shouting distance of the airport. For nearly a decade their marquee has read, “JET ENGINES: THE SOUND OF FREEDOM,” or something akin to that, in reference to the Air National Guard base located at the airport and its role in supporting America's military. Churches often attempt pithy comments, too, to evangelize from the roadside. Some succeed, and some don’t.

I’ve seen the title of this post in front of a parochial school off and on for more than a year now. As with the other messages that other establishments attempt to proclaim, I find myself pondering the implications of the words chosen.

“KEEPING CHRIST IN THE CLASSROOM” sounds very noble and pietistic, but what does it mean? Certainly there is a sense of defiance in play, as the school in question stands opposed to the secularization of education in the public sector. It sounds an assertive note that not only do they “keep Christ in the classroom” but also that other schools should do likewise. Conversely, it could prompt critics to cry, “Yes! Keep Christ in your parochial classrooms and out of ours!”

Now, I suspect that the message is intended to embrace the appropriate world-and-life view that knowing God through his Son Jesus is the proper foundation for all worthwhile knowledge. And perhaps I am splitting hairs to suggest that perhaps the sentiment should be worded a little differently, but I make my suggestion anyway. Instead of “keeping Christ in the classroom,” shouldn’t we be “keeping the classroom in Christ”?

It seems to me that we unintentionally box Christ into the classroom when we “keep him” there and thus end up with a man-centered ideal by thinking we are in control of where Christ is, missing the point as much as the secularists do. It makes me think of the question raised often by soldiers on both sides of a war when they ask if God is on their side, and hearing the reply that it is far better for the soldiers to be sure that they are on God’s side than to worry about him being on theirs. Should not we, as Christian educators, strive to keep our classrooms in Christ than to keep him where he already is?

He is there whether the academics acknowledge him or not, and if there are Christians in the classroom is it not their responsibility to be in Christ and on his side?

Which speaks louder, the words or the actions of Christians? Whether in public, private or Christian schools, Christian educators and learners are the most effective ambassadors of their Savior when their actions scream that they are abiding in Christ. And the screaming actions of active and passive obedience to Christ are not shrill, nor are they accompanied by shrill words.

Here is an example:
Yesterday, I heard my niece speak of how the Lord has changed her and matured her understanding toward the lost sinners she encountered on a mission trip last week. A year ago, she said, she viewed the insults and mocking of the righteous by the unrighteous as evidence that those lost men and women did not deserve to hear the Gospel or to go to heaven. The Lord has taught her that neither does she deserve to have heard the Gospel nor to go to heaven. This year, she viewed those mockers with compassion and a desire to help them by sharing the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ with them.

The shrillness was gone, replaced by love. That is how it needs to be for Christians all the time. We are to be the aroma of Christ (II Corinthians 2:14-15, NIV). When we are the aroma of Christ by our humble obedience and faithfulness, then we are in Christ.

If we are in the classroom as educators or as learners, then we can be faithful for our part of the classroom to be in Christ. We can think critically about the messages that bombard us from other educators and learners, filtering their ideas through the truth of the Bible. We do not have to be preachy, self-righteous, or obnoxious, but we can stand firm with the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6:1-20, NIV) When we do have something to say, if our lives are producing "fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 3:8, NIV), then our actions will support what we say (that's what I mean by "screaming actions"), and we are more likely to be heard with respect and openness.

Doing this means being humble before the Lord. Psalm 139 provides for us the command and the assurance of how well the Lord knows us. We plead with him to search and know us, and with the psalmist we reflect on how intricately involved God is in our lives already. Someone that knows us that intimately and loves us anyway can be trusted to "create in [us] a clean heart," just as my niece learned. (Psalm 51:10) With humble reliance upon the Lord, we can keep the classroom in Christ.

So is it splitting hairs to say that we should “keep the classroom in Christ” instead of “keep Christ in the classroom”? What do you think?