Why
Christian Education?
Every school in Nashville
(and far beyond), public or private, has a worldview: a lens through which it filters the teaching of knowledge and truth. In Christian education, the worldview is
based on the person of Jesus Christ and on His Word, the Holy Bible.
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Why Christian education? If a person is wrong in his thinking about God, he is wrong in his thinking about everything else. Christian education teaches one to think Biblically about God and everything else so one may live in the light of reality.
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— Dr. Wilson Benton, Pastor Emeritus, Christ Presbyterian Church
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What makes education ‘Christian’?
L uke 6:40 teaches us that
everyone who xxis fully trained will be like his teacher. That is a powerful,
humbling, convicting premise for educators. Christian education has the freedom to point
to the Creator
in every academic discipline. What does it look like for our students to view the complex formulas of physics, the history of racism in America, or the epic poems of Homer through the Word of God? That is the question at the core of Christ-centered education.
Not required chapel or Bible courses, not opportunities for extracurricular ‘service,’ not the cultivation of ’character‘ or ‘citizenship,’…but the classroom as chapel, scholarship as devotion, Christianity at the base of the curriculum and suffusing all studies, the norms of faith guiding professional development… — James Bratt, Calvin College
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Whyeducation Christian at CPA?
CPA offers families
in our community the unique opportunity of an excellent, thorough, challenging college-preparatory education founded in a Christian worldview. When the living and active Word is read and preached, God promises to use that Word to transform and conform the minds, hearts and wills of His children so that they not only understand the truth about Jesus Christ intellectually, but that they believe in and love the Lord in the depth of their being. In turn, they also obey and serve Jesus Christ as Lord.
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One of the hallmarks of Christ Presbyterian Academy has been the ‘triangular partnership’ (some call it a ‘three-legged stool’) of home, church, and school partnering together to speak into the lives of our students. Implicit in that analogy is the fact that the three work best in concert—that it is not effective if one ‘leg’ of the stool, one ‘side’ of the triangle is missing. A parent once pointed out to me, ‘You know that it is not an equilateral triangle.’ He was right. Scripture says nothing about a Christian school. Scripture says nothing about a student interfacing with his church. Scripture has much to say, however, about parenting. If I were starting out as a young parent in the twenty-first century, I would want all the help I could get! I would want the church and the school on either side of me, holding up my arms like Aaron and Hur did for Moses, strengthening my arms for the task at hand. Soli Deo Gloria. To God Alone Be the Glory for this wonderful partnership!
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— Richard B. Anderson, CPA Headmaster
Applying
the Word to Life Under the guidance of a Godly, wise, and excellent faculty, students at CPA have the opportunity to rigorously and thoughtfully reflect upon, and apply, the Lordship of Christ to all facets of the academic disciplines and to a range of intellectual, emotional and spiritual matters. This extended application of the Word into all walks of life begins in the classroom with a depth, breadth, and precision that is impossible to achieve during Chapel alone.
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An education without a Biblical worldview framework is simply knowledge without a defined purpose. In a world
that rarely acknowledges wisdom and truth, and even more seldom seeks to define them, the Christian education is set apart as partnering with parents to establish a foundation for children that will serve them throughout their lives.
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— Rhonda Smith, CPA Middle School Principal
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Teaching and learning in
a Christian community allows
Christ-Centered Servant Leadership
To produce leaders for the next generation, we must teach students that true
leadership is found
in service. The culture in which we live tells us to
be self-reliant, self-motivated, and self-serving. In stark contrast, we believe that God’s people must stand firmly on His Truth and be God-reliant, God-motivated, and God-serving. By teaching students the value of Christ-centered servant leadership, a CPA education benefits both students and families. Even more important, it benefits our community and our world.
every area of study, every area of thought and knowledge, to be explored in the reality of God’s overwhelming presence in our
God’s mark on history, science, mathematics, and the languages is indelible and sure, and it is both our world.
privilege and our obligation to equip students to learn in light of His truth.
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— Katherine Koonce, CPA Academic Dean
Equipped To Be Salt and Light
As students progress from elementary to middle and through high school at CPA, they are equipped for success along the way. Our success is not defined,
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Christian education is not just
a chance for young minds to be filled with truth that illuminates all of life.
however, simply by accolades and accomplishments.
It is also a chance for young hearts
CPA has 1,170 graduates scattered throughout
to be captured by the example of
the world serving in areas such as health care, law, finance, construction, professional athletics, fine arts, education, missions, and more.
For who and what we love is ultimately what we truly believe.
teachers and coaches.
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— Bill Delvaux, CPA Instructor of Bible
Making A
Difference In The World Our call to spread the Gospel is not limited to geographic locations or occupations. Whatever they do and wherever they go, whether it is five miles down the road or halfway around the globe, CPA students are making a significant positive impact—all in the name of the One whose very life has been marked indelibly in their hearts and minds. Therein lie the power, the promise and the priority of Christian education. Soli Deo Gloria indeed!
Mission Christ Presbyterian Academy, an educational ministry of Christ Presbyterian Church, assists Christian families in helping students come to know God, evaluate all knowledge and all life by His truth, and live transformed by His truth for His glory.
Motto
~ Soli Deo Gloria ~
To God Alone be the Glory
Christ Presbyterian Academy | 2323-A Old Hickory Blvd. Nashville, TN 37215 | (615) 373-9550 cpalions.org