What makes us different? During the summer of 2006, while I was writing our not-for-profit application (again), this question dogged me. How could I justify to the American people that 1) we shouldn’t be paying taxes for what we do and 2) the kinds of schooling that we offer is intended to bring peace and prosperity to all, not just Americans. When Americans can practice and export these two, we’ve won on every front. This is utterly different from the schools of terrorism in which children are trained to be sacrificed, a variation on a black theme found in the Old Testament, and which the God of the Bible condemned. As Christians, we seek to bring the Kingdom of God to the world, and it should bring liberty and justice for all, not just Christians, an ideal that is at the heart of American thought. American thought is a product of the influence of the Word of God on the world! (American thought isn’t the same as Christianity.) What kind of students would we like to produce? In the Bible, several models stand out. There is Moses, trained at the University of Egypt, in all the languages and knowledge of the world known at that time. His knowledge first led him to an arrogant act that cost him 40 years away from his people. Thoroughly humbled, he became the recipient of God’s law, and was the first to write it down for the world. It is possible that it was he who developed the Hebrew alphabet, and taught literacy to the Israelites during their 40 years in the desert. There is Solomon. By the grace of God, Solomon thought to ask for wisdom! And God granted it to him. The Bible records the difficult questions he pondered, and the fact that there aren’t always tidy answers to be found. In the New Testament there is Paul, who was educated at the University of Jerusalem, a religious school. His knowledge was so certain and his dogma so tight that it took a special visit by God upon him to break the full truth onto him. (There’s a lesson here about a strict religious education. Approach with caution.) Was all of that education lost? Not at all. Paul uses his training in rhetoric and logic to write the book of Romans. He also understands mercy, since it was delivered to him, and he asks for it on behalf of Onesimus in the book of Philemon. My favorite model is Daniel, who was snatched captive from Jerusalem as a young man and trained at the University of Babylon in “the language and literature of the Babylonians.” He clung to his faith, and gently refuted his ‘instructors’ with a little science. Recall that he chose to obey God’s law, and refuse the unclean foods served up as regular fare from the king’s table. He asked for 10 days of comparison between he and his companions, who ate only vegetables, and the others in the same training program who shared the rich foods from the king’s table. Daniel and his companions were found to be more physically fit than the others. Daniel became so adept at administration that before long, he found himself in the administrative end of the king’s court. Daniel’s willingness to serve, along with his divine inspiration to properly interpret dreams, got him into a position to protect the Jewish people while they were in exile. He valued life, and got the rest of the king’s foolish advisors and perhaps much of the kingdom through at least three changes of monarchy with relatively little bloodshed. This was at a time when it was common for a new king, especially a conquering king, to execute the old court of advisors so there would be no dissent, espionage, or sabotage in his new rule. Someone, perhaps Daniel himself on his knees in all humility, told these new kings to hang on to that Jewish administrator - he knew everything that was going on in the kingdom, and didn’t care who was king. He was there to serve. Daniel was absolutely gifted by God in administration and prophecy. But he never disregarded someone because they were not of his own religious viewpoint. His prophecies worked their way into the Persian thinking, and it was wise men of learning, descended, at least in schooling, from those same Babylonian court advisors, who showed up at the door in Bethlehem, bringing gifts for the Jewish king newly born. They had learned of his birth from their astrology. (Does that mean astrology is real? No! It means that God intended the world to be there to worship at the birth of Jesus.) Daniel’s pursuit of the heart of God, first evidenced in his unwillingness to defile himself with the foods banned from the Jewish diet, is primary to his success. The pursuit of the heart of God and salvation from God go hand in hand. Next, his model of service, wisdom, and knowledge is what I want for every ZLO student. We must all have a servant’s heart. Leaders serve. Moms and Dads serve. Then, pursue wisdom, which is advised by knowledge. That picture of being able to go anywhere in the world, to serve, and to open a door to sharing the good news of God’s Kingdom is the one I want students to see when they come to ZLO. The goal isn’t a high school diploma or entrance into college. The goal is people equipped to serve, no matter where they are. We dish up plenty of knowledge here, but we pray that it is to serve wisdom, and that wisdom will serve the servant, who builds the Kingdom of God. Molly Crocker
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