Interviewed by a Homeschooler

Emma Curtis, one of the students in our local home school association (High Country Christian Home Schoolers), e-mail interviewed me for their online publication. Here are the questions and my answers:

1) How long have you been homeschooling?  Six years

2) Do you have any tips for new homeschoolers that plan to have large families?

We recommend selecting a curriculum that allows you to teach some subjects to several grade levels at once. We use My Father’s World. We are able to teach Bible, History, Vocabulary, Art, and Science to our three oldest together (5th, 4th, and 2nd grades). This is not only efficient for the parents, but it gives us more of a group learning experience with more dialogue and learning from the other students. Although they are studying the same basic subject, they are allowed to work at their own levels.

I would assume that a large family full of undisciplined, selfish consumers would be quite miserable. The only way it is possible to have a large family and a peaceful home is for each family member to see himself or herself as a productive part of a team. It is important to establish a culture of service, strong relationships, kindness, and shared purpose.

3) What are the Christian principles that your family embraces most?

The purpose of our family is to love God, love people, and make disciples. This is not unique, of course. We believe that is God’s purpose for all believers, families and churches. As I mentioned in the last question, having such a purpose is one of the keys to having a productive, peaceful home. All other principles, guidelines, or questions fall somewhere under these goals.

4) What are some of the greatest triumphs and trials our family experienced while planting a new church in Boone?

The greatest trial of our experience in starting Highland Christian Fellowship was working through significant theological and practical difference with other believers. This can be hard at two levels. First is when such difference are dealt with wrongly, without humility, patience, and love. Second is when such differences cannot be resolved, even when dealt with rightly. We have learned that it is important to discern between primary and secondary issues of faith. There are comparatively few primary issues of faith that must be met for Christian fellowship. In general, I’m afraid the Church often makes too much of secondary issues.

The greatest triumph of our experience has been the tremendous spiritual growth of everyone involved. Many of us have seen the last few years as providing the most significant spiritual growth in our lives. Now that we are established, our hope is that the greatest triumph will be that God uses us powerfully to see the lives of others transformed by the love and truth of Christ.

Two Are Better Than One, part 1

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken."Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

As "the Preacher" continues through his list of vanities, he seems to make a few positive observations along the way. Here he explains that two people working and living together are better than one. There appear to be four reasons given for this. First, “they have a good reward for their toil” (v. 9). Two people working together produce more than one. This seems obvious by simple addition. But I think more is in view here. Two people working together will produce more than the same two people working individually. Couples, packs, teams, and communities have a dynamic that is encouraging and motivating.

One reason they produce more is also the next and separate reason two are better than one: “If they fall, one will lift up his fellow." Two people working together are better than one because they help one another in weakness and failure. People who work together can complement and fill each other out. Sometimes our individual weaknesses and failure become our destruction. But not if someone is there to help us. It’s like a safety net.

This idea is also tied into the work. Its not just the fallen person who would suffer, but the work. In the context of the mission of making disciples, this is a critical aspect to Christian community. It is not an individual task; we are to work together to accomplish it. And so we are called to exhort, correct, restore, forgive, strengthen, encourage, love, pray for, and bear one another up.

There is one other important dynamic to such teamwork: willingness to be helped. “Well, of course, why would anyone not want help?” PRIDE! We don’t even want to admit we have fallen and need help. Independence and self-sufficiency is the virtue of our culture that makes us weak.

Cyber-"Fellowship"?

“Better is a neighbor who is nearthan a brother who is far away.” Proverbs 27:10b

Communicating long distance is ever becoming easier: long distance calls, online chatting, cell phones, video calls, e-mail, long distance travel, blogging, Facebook, internet communities, etc. We must not be fooled by soaking in cyber-“fellowship.” Nothing replaces consistent, flesh-and-blood, face to face fellowship. Nothing replaces the local body of Christ. And I mean local. We even stretch the limits of this kind of fellowship when we have to drive an hour to gather with God’s people on Sundays and therefore rarely have contact throughout the week.

"You Have Cake on Your Face"

I was at a wedding once talking with an old “friend” I had not seen in a long time. We caught up for 10 to 15 minutes. As that conversation ended, I immediately ran into a close friend of mine. He took one look at me and said, “You’ve got cake on your face.” So I had been standing there talking for all that time with cake on my face and my “friend” never told me. I recently read these Proverbs:

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; Profuse are the kisses of an enemy. . . . Oil and perfume make the heart glad, And the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” Proverbs 27:5-6, 9

How refreshing and comforting it is to have friends in your life who love you enough to tell you the truth. That is the kind of community we have been building in our church. Although one has to be humble enough to accept the truth, I have a sense of security knowing that my church family will not let me wander off to my own destruction.