An Eagle's Eye View of the CCS Building...

As our school family and friends will soon learn, our capital campaign is beginning to soar. We can't wait to share more about this at the 

CCS Fall Harvest Banquet on November 5, 2015. 

Two years ago, I posted some thoughts about soaring.  I read that post again today. It is a very good reminder of the hard work involved in rising up. Double-click that underlined link to read the full article yourself. Here is just a short portion:

"The promise that our strength can be renewed implies that it can also be depleted...Some may ask, "What about the promise in the second part of the verse that says, 'They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Doesn’t that mean that we will never get tired while serving the Lord?"  I don’t think so. Even well-trained  runners are exhausted after “pressing on toward the mark.” (Philippians 3:13-15)  I don’t think the word weary implies physical exhaustion as much as complete mental or emotional fatigue. In other words, being weary is not being tired from what you’re doing—it is being tired of what you’re doing. Weary is a dangerous place to be; it is dark and pathless valley cluttered with quit and overshadowed by the bad decisions of centuries past.

I can assure you that the CCS team is not weary. Even so, it's good to pause... to close our eyes and visualize, May this uplifting video enlighten our perspective with a view from above. 

[Notes: The cross in the architecture of this building, as seen from above, was the subject of a previous post and a front-page article in the April 18, 2014, Muskegon Chronicle. 

A small section of black roof east of the rotunda was painted silver to complete the image in the fall of 2015. Local pilots and guests flying into the Muskegon Airport (depending on landing route)have informed us that they can see the cross easily from the window of the plane.

Why Mission Matters...

Note: The following article is a line-by-line discussion of the mission statement of Calvary Christian Schools. It was first published in two installments on the cover of the final two school newsletters of the 2014-2015 school year.

When we say something was done on purpose, we mean it was not an accident, not a random sequence of mishaps, not an afterthought.  It was planned. It was intentional. This can be said of creation itself, and it can be said of the institutions in place that help us carry out God’s plan in this world.

The following is an abridged version of the CCS Mission Statement you see in all of our documents. It is abridged because we have recently been encouraged to trim the 37 words down to 18 words. This example is 6 lines with 3 words in each line to help us remember them. The first part of this article covers the first three lines:

Partnering with parents

to equip students

toward personal excellence

and the pursuit

of God’s purpose

for their lives.

Line one: "Partnering with parents…" This joint venture is based on the assumption that the responsibility of “training up a child in the way he/she should go” (Proverbs 22:6) falls first and foremost to the home. The Christian home should not fully delegate this parental responsibility to any institution, public or private, but it can choose to partner with educators who humbly serve “in loco parentis.” This Latin term literally means “in place of parents,” but it does not mean “instead of parents.” It more accurately implies “from the place where parents stand.” In other words, does it not make common sense to choose training partners who stand on common ground?

The staff at CCS strives to reflect parental care as they come along side to help instruct, direct, discipline (discipleship), and love their students. This being true, the “product” of the Christian school is not the student that the home sends to the setting, but more rightly the setting and service that the school provides to the home.

The average student spends over 15,000 hours under the influence and supervision of school teachers during his/her K-12 education. Imagine the educational advantage of having a like-minded partnership between the school and home. Imagine a school setting that purposefully integrates learning with life, science with conscience, facts with faith, theory with wonder, and wonder with belief.

Being like-minded is not being “close-minded” to differing perspectives—it is agreement on essential truths. It is as inclusive as God’s Kingdom but as limited as His narrow way. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Like-mindedness is best achieved through unity in essential matters, liberty in deferential matters and charity in all matters.

Line two: “to equip students...” The word equip comes from the Old French esquiper which means “to fit out or outfit for a voyage.” The Scandinavian variant, skipa, means “to put in order and man a ship.” The term “skipper” comes from this word.  The word equip strongly implies that a journey is ahead, one that requires forethought, outfitting, training, direction, and leadership. For this reason, CCS often describes our program as “life prep” rather than “college prep.” The objectives of Christian education extend far beyond college (though college is the next step for 85+% of our students.)

Line three: “Toward personal excellence” is the process of striving for one’s "personal best” in the formative endeavors of life. Scripture teaches that we are not equally talented in all areas and that we must work together to truly excel.  Becoming a leader is simply helping others strive toward personal excellence on the right path.  Effective leaders are people whose character, knowledge, and judgment command respect. They often lead not by taking charge but by being an example.  Striving toward personal excellence in community is a more worthy goal than trying to “be the best.” Thinking one must be “the best” will lead to either defeatism or elitism. God calls us to neither extreme. Our Heavenly Father asks only that we seek His help to do our best with the gifts and the circumstances He grants us.

Pressing toward personal excellence implies that God’s calling is a pursuit not a place, a journey not a destination. These thoughts are continued in the final three lines of the mission statement, which we will discuss in the next newsletter. 

Part Two of the Mission Statement Article was in the Summer 2015 Newsletter. It covers the final three lines:

Partnering with parents

to equip students

toward personal excellence

in the pursuit

of God’s purpose

for their lives.

Let’s  resume our discussion at the fourth line: “in the pursuit…”

 “The pursuit of” are words etched in history and our minds because of their use in Thomas Jefferson's “Declaration of Independence.”

These familiar words are part of what Jefferson called “self-evident truths”: “That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness….” 

In the Calvary mission statement, however, we add an understanding of happiness that transcends the feeling produced by favorable happenings and leads to the more enduring state of joy.

The difference between happiness and joy is similar to the difference between the word hopes (with an s) and hope (without the s). It is fine to have hopes, dreams, goals, etc. in life, but it is more important to have hope (singular) as Psalm 39:7 says, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” This thought rings out in an old hymn:

“My hope is in the Lord 
Who gave Him-self for me
And paid the price 
Of all my sin at Calvary”.

And so it is our goal to make sure CCS students understand that both passing happiness and lasting joy will come not from pursuing happiness as an end in itself but rather from pursuing God’s purpose for their lives.

Some may wonder if this part of our mission sounds educational enough for a school. After all, shouldn’t a school’s primary pursuit be high academic achievement?  Please understand, that these are not mutually exclusive goals. Calvary does pursue academic excellence. Our students do shine on standardized test, in the community, and in the college placement process.

For instance, there is no other school that comes close to producing the number of Law Day speech contest winners that CCS has through the years. This contest is open to all schools in Muskegon county; it is hosted by the Muskegon Bar Association; and for over ten years, CCS has had won well over a dozen top winners in this highly competitive public speaking forum.

Come to any CCS commencement program and you’ll see first-hand the countless academic achievements our students earn from various institutions beyond our walls

But good grades, high honors, and a fine education are not ends in themselves. They are bi-products of the equipping process (see second line of mission statement). Knowledge and skill sets are tools meant to be used. Used for what task?

 For what purpose are we equipping students? 

God’s purpose for their lives. That purpose is not a point on a calendar or a map or an org-chart. That purpose is an unfolding plan that students cannot fully understand at age 18… or age 38… or age 58 because God is never finished equipping us for his service.

Knowing God’s purpose on a daily basis involves striving to love God and our neighbor (as Christ summarized Mark 12:30-31). Keeping the vertical relationship (with God) and the horizontal relationships (with man) in order is part of God’s plan for believers.

Career choices, college plans, life partners, etc. are part of the unfolding pursuit--not of happiness as Jefferson said--but of the joy, contentment, and happiness that comes from seeking and fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. God has a plan for each of us. Our calling is to press on in His name.

Each summer we celebrate the 4^th of July, the birthday of the document mentioned above. Last May, CCS graduated its Class of 2015. It was a blessing to hear the students share their hopes and plans, but it was even more rewarding to hear them speak of their hope (without the “s”), their hope in the Lord, their desire to pursue His will.

It is understanding the difference between happiness and joy, hopes and hope, that will see our students through the highs and lows of the long, rewarding journey shared by all who follow Christ.                                  

 Tom Kapanka

CCS  Administrator

Hope Without the "S"

Hopes have a secret parlor
just big enough for two
with a loveseat near a reading lamp
and a window with a view.








Hope_ is a high cathedral
where we sometimes sit alone
in the silence of the stained glass
and the certainty of stone.

Hopes and dreams that happen
are the stuff of happiness
but more enduring is the Joy
of Hope… without the “s.”
© Copyright 2003, Tom Kapanka, Patterns of Ink
.
“…and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us…” Romans 5:1-5
.
This poem and post was originall written for my personal blog Patterns of Ink in 2003. and dedicated to my brother Jim and his wife Heather upon their son Joey's long-awaited welcome to their home. It was posted at Calvary's "To Begin With..." as an illustration of the final part of the Mission Statement post above it. 

CCS Freshmen Surprise Their Friend

I don't usually post personal items like this, and we will leave out student names for privacy, but a really cool thing happened today in our Freshmen Class. The Jostens Representative was here to deliver school rings for the Class of 2018. When she heard the story behind one of the rings, she got out her phone and recorded this presentation. (Sorry about the lo-def upload.)

The classmates learned that one of their new members really wanted a ring but could not order one. So they all pitched in and bought him a beautiful class ring. He is speechless but very moved. There is a moment of silence followed by laughter at the 29 second mark. Someone said, "We hope it fits." It did fit perfectly, and he wore it the rest of the day.

I later spoke with him (to get permission to share this), and he was still very moved by the kindness of his friends.

These events are unplanned. I knew nothing about it until the Jostens rep came into the office to show us what she had just witnessed. She was literally moved to tears and said in all her years of serving schools in this area, she has never seen this happen.

Interestingly enough this 9th grade presentation happened the morning after one of our seniors posted these candid thoughts on Facebook.

Calvary is a special place!

Crossing the Path

Just beyond the open gate

began a straight and narrow path

that prompted me to watch and wait

and whisper to myself: “He that hath

the Son hath life, and he that hath not…”

Thinking back, I saw the leper’s limb,

the blind man’s eyes, the empty cot

of one who walked because of Him.

I saw a desperate woman in the crowd

who having merely touched His hem

was healed and trembling cried aloud.

His perception and power amazed them

there as did his scribbling in the sand

the day the stones dropped to the ground.

When left alone, His outstretched hand

raised the woman to her feet and found

her uncondemned to go and sin no more.

Divine encounters all, cloaked in interruption

to Him who said, “Behold, I stand at the door

and knock,” yet He enters at His will so corruption,

sin, death and disease are met not with wrath

but mercy that, by faith, removes the dross

in that moment when we cross the path

that led Him…and leads us… to the cross.

© 3-22-15 Tom Kapanka

Back when I was writing more regularly, I tried to provide a special post or poem each Easter with embedded links  that give context to each image. (Links can be seen by clicking on the gold-colored words above.)

These thoughts were prompted by a sermon and a note from a friend who reminded me that God always has a purpose for making paths cross. I have said phrases like "crossed my path" all my life. It typically means that the encounter was happenstance or unplanned. But when I saw the phrase in my friend's note, I saw the double meaning of "cross," and how Christ changed the lives of those who crossed his path (which was in fact a path that led ultimately to the cross).

There are many other illustrations of this truth. To name just a few more: think of how Jesus treated the Centurion, Mary and Martha, and tax collectors who crossed his path. From a human perspective, nearly all of these divine encounters with Jesus were "interruptions." This does not mean they were not part of the plan or that they caused our Lord to stray from His path or lose focus, for indeed, his path--his purpose--was to encounter people and change their lives. It happened again and again during His earthly ministry and happens still today.

At CCS, we try to respect each other's time, we try to make appointments with teachers, etc. rather than just stopping them in the hall or at church, etc. Even so, we know there will always be "people interruptions" that come through our door or across our path. The same is probably true for everyone in every work place.

When this happens, how do you view those opportunities to reflect Christ? May these thoughts be a reminder to follow Christ's example regarding those who cross our path, even if they do not share our perspective (or even our best interest).

I heard a pastor say recently that 40% of our Lord's recorded ministry was initiated by an "interruption." In the case of Matthew, the tax collector, Jesus initiated the interruption by simply saying "follow me" as he passed.

Today He asks the same of all who claim to have crossed His path.

Have a wonderful Holy Week and Spring Break!