Teaching Truth

Biblical education is at the heart of Legacy Christian Academy.

Every day, in every grade, our core value of primacy of scripture is ever present. Sometimes the messages are bold, as in Bible class, and sometimes the messages are more subtle, like learning about character traits. One thing is clear, however: The truth of the Bible is woven throughout the fabric of every piece of the Legacy quilt.

THE LITTLEST EAGLES, in our Pre-K 3 classes, are greeted every morning by warm hugs and big smiles from their adoring teachers. They enter the classroom and, after getting settled, start their day joyfully singing, “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Worship gets the children moving and excited. And their teachers demonstrate the importance of lessons such as serving and caring for others.

ACROSS THE HALL IN MRS. COOPER’S PRE-K 4 CLASS, the kids are learning about the letter H and are continuing their lesson on the five senses. Marshmallow the Hedgehog (notice the H) is in class today to help the children learn about touch. “How many eyes did God give us to see?” Mrs. Cooper asks. “How many ears did he give us to hear?” When Marshmallow joins the fun, the kids get to touch her (exploring the senses of touch and sight), and Mrs. Cooper marvels: “Isn’t it neat how God made this defense for the hedgehog to curl into a ball with its quills?” The kids look on with the eyes that God gave them to appreciate His creation in the hedgehog. IN MRS. BUTLER’S KINDERGARTEN CLASS, students are reading The Recess Queen. In this book, the main character, Mean Jean the Recess Queen, isn’t very kind. Mrs. Butler is curious: “What if we saw a friend that was alone on the playground? What could we do to help that friend? What would Jesus want us to do, and how does he want us to act in the way we treat others?” The book provides good lessons in how to be kind and show good character. The memory verse for the month is about kindness, which also pairs with the theme for chapel, so the fruit of the spirit of kindness will be reinforced not only throughout the day, but also throughout the month.

Mrs. Cooper incorporates hands-on learning with Marshmallow the hedgehog.

Mrs. Schuller spends quality time with her little Eagles.

Mrs. Butler reads The Recess Queen to her Kindergarten class.

She’s dedicated to her profession as a Christian educator: She wonders aloud, “Would I be convicted of being a Christian teacher if someone was taking me to court? At the end of every school day, if you came into my classroom and you couldn’t convict me of that, then I haven’t done my job and I simply shouldn’t be here. I know He sent me with a purpose and a plan. It’s a high and holy calling that we have. It’s a privilege to be in this school and to teach the faith.”

Mrs. Atkins’s first-grade class is full of eager learners.

OVER IN MRS. ATKINS’S FIRST-GRADE CLASS, the teacher is busy praising honorable character traits in her students and living out her will to teach God’s love for them. One of her favorite Bible verses is 3 John 1:4 — “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth.” Her priority as an educator, she says, is to let her students know that God loves them, how much He loves them, and that she loves them.

Teaching the curriculum is an important part of the day, but if the lesson veers off track and naturally turns to one of God’s love, she’s excited to embrace that change. Being able to teach God’s love through the curriculum and seeing her children grow from the beginning of the year to the end of it, she says, is what she loves most about being a Christian educator.

MRS. SNIDER’S CLASS SECOND-GRADE CLASS is making textto-Bible connections as they read A Bad Case of Stripes. In this story, Camilla loves lima beans but she worries what others will think of her. She just wants to be like everyone else. One of her students remarks “That’s like Daniel, when we read about Daniel in the lion’s den. He stood up when nobody else would.” As the class listens attentively, Mrs. Snider is teaching the students to look at situations through a biblical worldview lens — even in second grade. Mrs. Snider shares lessons in A Bad Case of Stripes with her 2nd graders.

MISS TAYLOR IS HERSELF a Legacy graduate (Class of ’16), and now teaches third grade in the very classrooms in which she used to sit as a student. Her students are completing a study of David and Jonathan, who was David’s best friend but also King Saul’s son. Their discussion incorporates life lessons as Miss Taylor poses this question: “How do you become somebody’s best friend?”

Students throw out answers — “You get to know them.” “You spend time with them.” “You talk to them.” Miss Taylor then points out that this is the same way they grow in their relationship with the Lord.

After the discussion, students pull out their Bible journals and reflect on what they learned. Ashlynn McNeely likes to summarize the story before she writes out her life lesson. In this instance, she says, “I learned that you can be like David and trust God in many deadly battles.” Ashlynn may not be facing deadly battles in the same way as David had to, but Miss Taylor applies the lesson to challenges they may face, such as temptation and using hurtful words.

A FOURTH-GRADE MATH CLASSROOM may seem like an unlikely place for biblical integration, but, says Mrs. Buffington, “there are plenty of opportunities to encourage our students in their knowledge and relationship with the Lord. With the Bible as the center of the math we teach, we recognize and acknowledge God as the author of order and patterns in our world. The love and excitement of learning,” she says, “is enhanced with the treasures of Scripture woven into lessons. We ultimately want to point our children to a personal relationship with Christ.” And what about specials? Students in our Lower School get to attend art, music, Spanish, PE, and science classes, and they’re exposed to the Bible in all of those classes as well.

COACH JOHNSON USES BIBLICAL LESSONS every day in PE; the class begins by reciting the verse of the month and then the students pray together. Once the physical activity gets going, it’s easy for Coach Johnson to find opportunities to emphasize honorable character. One example she gives is in dodgeball. If a player gets hit, the individual should be out of the game. Often it’s up to that player to demonstrate integrity and leave, as not everyone notices what’s happened. “You know you’re showing integrity,” the coach tells her students, “when you do the right thing even when nobody is watching, because you get a chance to honor God with your honesty. It’s an awesome thing, to be able to honor God in that way.”

Miss Taylor reviews Ashlynn McNeely’s entry in her Bible journal. Mrs. Buffington finds plenty of opportunities to incorporate scripture into her fourth-grade math class.

Coach Johnson loves to help her students find ways to glorify God with their actions.

IN THE LOWER SCHOOL SCIENCE LAB, Mrs. Walsh tells her students that what they’re learning about is what God has created. When discussing the five senses, for example, she talks about how God gave us the sense of touch so that we can use it to discover his world. “Our sense of touch keeps us safe in many ways,” she says. “We have a heavenly father who loves us and there are so many fun and pleasing things to touch in this world — which is why it’s so hard to keep your hands off everything!”

Students giggle as they acknowledge how difficult it is not to touch all of the things that God gave us.

They learn how God made the world and how He holds it all together. Mrs. Walsh wants to be sure that her students make the connection between science and faith from a young age.

MRS. WATTS GUIDES her fifth-grade math students by teaching their spirit, mind, and body. A lot of what happens in her class, she says, is sowing the seeds of God’s word in their everyday lives. “Every day is an assignment from the Lord,” she tells the fifthgraders. “Every task you get, no matter how big or how small, is an assignment from the Lord.” She is busily planting little seeds in her students, encouraging them to be faithful in the tasks they’re given, and explaining that those tasks then build to other tasks. “God always has your next assignment,” she says, “and nothing gets to you that has not gone through Him.”

Her words help her students to manage anxieties and pressures, which seem to mount quickly in Middle School.

MRS. LOE FINDS abundant opportunities to convey biblical principles to her students in sixth-grade English. Even when studying grammar, she points out that God created the spoken word and the written word, and both are meant to be used in such a way that people can understand what we’re saying and writing. “When you ignore the rules of the written word,” she says, “you’re going to confuse somebody. So, for example, you can’t share scripture if you’re not doing it well.”

Mrs. Loe says being a Christian educator is a treat because she witnesses her students mature even after they’ve left her class, and she loves to share in the things that God does in their lives.

Mrs. Walsh is molding fossils and helping this fourth-grade science class learn about the senses God has given them. Mrs. Watts works with one of her fifth-grade students.

Mrs. Loe enjoys working with her students and watching them grow in their faith.

DOWN THE HALL IN MRS. THOMAS’S SEVENTH-GRADE HISTORY CLASS, the teacher’s goal is to expose her students to the ideas that have shaped our nation that come from a biblical worldview. Our founders, even though not all of them were Christian, relied on scripture to create our founding documents and our government systems. When the class studies such documents as the preamble to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, Mrs. Thomas points out that “every human bears the image of God, and that’s reflected in those documents.” History is His story — God’s story of redemption, she says, and it’s important to study and understand how His story came to be, and how it impacts the world around us and the culture of our country.

A Divine Moment

Every Monday the Legacy Middle Schoolers, as part of their community time, have dedicated time alone with their Bibles and their journals. It is time to reflect and to appreciate the Lord’s presence in their lives. On one of those days, In Ms. Tullos’s fifth-grade class, a moment happened that can only be described as divine.

The class was working in their journals just like every other Monday. Toward the end of the period one day, there was some time left over and Ms. Tullos asked the class if anyone had a prayer they would like to share. Joshua Harmon (’29) raised his hand to share his journal entry. What happened next had a profound impact on everyone in the class and it has become a defining moment for Ms. Tullos as well. Joshua, seated unassumingly at his desk, shared his prayer aloud.

Mrs. Thomas challenges her students to understand how His story has impacted history.

“Dear God, I pray that you would fill me with wisdom, with your word, and with the Holy Spirit so that when people challenge me I can tell them what is right and true with confidence and understanding of The Word. If it’ll be your will, God, Amen.”

Ms. Tullos was struck. “Joshua, can you read that again, but stand this time?” So, he stood, and he read it again. The class sat in awe. Ms. Tullos asked him to pray the prayer over the class, and so he did. He was gentle with the message yet firm in his conviction. The class collectively felt the weight of the moment. Ms. Tullos, as a pastor for over 20 years and now a Christian educator, knew she needed to take hold of this moment and give it the time and attention that it clearly deserved.

Joshua was saying “God, would you help me be ready to answer for why I believe in you.”

Ms. Tullos says, “Joshua is very sensitive to the Holy Spirit, but on this day, he was in touch with Jesus and listening enough to hear the prayer. The presence of God was very real for us because we all just wanted to hear it again.” Ms. Tullos likened it to the story about when the Lord calls Samuel (1 Samuel 3) and, as a child, he was open and willing to hear God’s word. “This child’s prayer was so timely,” she says, “with all of the challenges currently in the world; the pandemic, the US leaving Afghanistan, and so many other things, the Lord spoke through Joshua and he delivered His message to the class.” The moment was truly divine.

BEFORE HER EIGHTH-GRADERS even enter the classroom, Mrs. Guthmann is praying big things for them. She walks around the empty room, faced with a sea of chairs, and begins to pray over them. She pictures the students who will be sitting in those chairs over the next five periods and thinks to herself, What if just one of those students goes out and reaches five people for the cause of Christ? And then she envisions that happening all over her room. “Imagine,” she says, “what that would do for the Kingdom.”

Mrs. Guthmann happily welcomes her students into her room for another day of scientific exploration. In Mr. Hernandez’s art class, students are challenged to find their God-given gifts in various media.

Mrs. Guthmann wants students to remember two things from her class; first, that the Bible is truth, and, second, that science only provides evidence that demands a verdict. “The Bible is the most attacked book ever,” she says. “People want to try to prove the science wrong, and they have never been able to do it. The Bible is always truth, so if one of those things, the Bible or science, is going to be wrong, it’s always science. The Bible is irrefutable truth, which makes it stronger than fact. When you know that, everything must be measured against it.”

Middle Schoolers also get the opportunity to participate in fine arts in the form of studio and digital art, worship and vocal arts, band, and theater production. IN HIS ART CLASS, FOR EXAMPLE, MR. HERNANDEZ starts by explaining to his students that God is the ultimate creator. “God has created everything we know,” he says, “and because we’re made in His image, we’re also able to create, but at a much smaller scale.”

He turns each project into a little devotional and challenges his students: “How do you showcase Christ in what you’re doing?” He encourages them to appreciate their own artwork because, he tells them, “that’s how God has made you to create things. God has given you specific giftings — things you’re good at. You might not be good at watercolor, for example, but your gift is in graphite.”

Mr. Weaver engages freshmen in his Ancienty World History and Theology class.

Once students graduate to the Upper School, every year students will take a course dedicated to expanding their biblical understanding and knowledge. The Upper School Bible curriculum is designed to take students on a faith journey that will prepare them to understand and appreciate the faith of others while solidly defending their own with logic and reason.

All freshmen take Ancient World History and Theology, where they gain a firm grasp of what’s happening in the Bible and understand its historical context. As sophomores, they take a worldviews class. There, students study a historical overview of philosophy and its foundation. They then take that knowledge to achieve a deeper appreciation of the Christian faith and apply it to various worldviews. The last stop for all Upper School students is apologetics, in which they’re further equipped to defend their faith through discussion and reason. In addition, students take a biblical class that aligns with their designation in the Professional Schools Program, whether it be Faith and Science, Christian Perspective on the Arts, or Servant Leadership. Seniors also have available to them an honors elective course called The Christian Mind.

Biblical education takes place everywhere — on the court, in the band hall, on the stage, in the locker rooms. COACH ROTHACKER ENCOURAGES THE GIRLS ON THE VOLLEYBALL TEAM to give everything they have as though working for the Lord. She teaches them to “think through the lens of what God says about who they are,” she says, and to study their identity in Christ. The team has to work together cohesively to succeed, and the more interconnected and grounded in themselves and in their faith they are off the court, the more unified and committed they can be on the court.

The volleyball teams circle up in prayer before hitting the court.

ASK ANY FOOTBALL PLAYER AND HE’LL LIKELY TELL YOU THAT COACH SMITH is like another Bible teacher — with the locker room and the field as his classrooms. Coach Smith preaches to his players that they should jump into the game with both feet, and do the same thing with their faith. “We’re not going to be perfect,” he says. “Faith is not about being perfect. It’s about giving our all, because that’s what Jesus did. He gave his all for us.”

Coach Smith is serious about his calling to shepherd his players into becoming young men. He lets them know, he says, that “being tough isn’t demeaning people. Love, though, love is tough, and Christ was love. This game of football, it mirrors life in a lot of ways and you develop love because you go through things together.”

At Legacy, the Bible takes center stage. Its truth is taught in every grade and reinforced year after year. The repetition that transpires during the learning process is what gives the lessons staying power and enables our students to apply biblical concepts to real-life situations. Every day is an opportunity for students, from the youngest to the oldest, during their Legacy years and beyond, to challenge themselves to grow in their faith.

THAT’S TEACHING TRUTH. THAT’S THE LCA WAY.

The football teams begin and end every game in prayer.

BIBLE TEACHERS Anthony Glenn WORLDVIEWS

Anthony Glenn, who received a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies from Criswell College, in Dallas, and earned a master’s in Christian apologetics from Biola University, has been instructing young minds in the classrooms of LCA for 12 years.

It’s fair to say that Mr. Glenn has a firm handle on the Bible: He has taught seventh and eighth-grade Bible classes as well as theology and church history in the Upper School. For the last two years, he’s been entrenched in the subject of Worldviews with sophomores. As he leans into the lectern at the front of the class, glasses in his hand and the book The Consequences of Ideas at the ready, his students are eager to learn what he will impart.

His classroom has a certain calmness to it, but the subject matter he covers is both intriguing and challenging. In many ways, his course is like a bootcamp in biblical thinking. Christian Worldviews, if well understood, answers all of the important questions we encounter throughout our lives.

In Mr. Glenn’s class, students start with a historical overview of philosophy and its underpinnings. The philosophical foundation gives them a sense of its importance and is an essential building block to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith. Students then take what they’ve learned and apply it to various worldviews, such as Deism, Naturalism, Nihilism, Existentialism, and New Age. The content of the course engages students. It gets them thinking, and the questions they pose are not only relevant but also challenge their ability to discuss and debate.

Mr. Glenn sets lofty goals for his students: He wants them to understand what it means to love God with their heart, soul, and mind; to identify their own worldview; and to respect the worldview of others. He’s attentive to the fact that after students leave the refuge of Legacy, they’ll be challenged in their faith in countless ways. He wants students to finish his class with confidence in their ability to identify their faith, to stay true to it, and to defend it intellectually.

Mr. Glenn maintains an open-door policy. Students often come to him for help in a crisis, whether that be a crisis of faith or a social/emotional hurdle so common to adolescents. Relationships formed during a school year and that continue beyond are priceless, and their impact can be eternal. The teachings in Mr. Glenn’s Worldviews class resonate with students long after they’ve left his classroom.

Anthony and Bonny Glenn have been married for 16 years. The couple have two sons, Max (’19) and Rhett (’25), who both entered Legacy in Kindergarten. They also have two very spoiled dogs, named Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly.

Testimonial by: Ryan Yasilli (’16)

Mr. Glenn’s impact on my life has been immeasurable. In ninth grade I took Theology, which really laid the framework of how the church started and what the church and Christianity as a whole have come to now. The most important and life-changing class, though, was Mr. Glenn’s Worldviews, which I took in 10th grade.

For me — and many other students — born and raised in Frisco, I grew up where 80 percent of the population has similar religious, political, and overall worldviews. Taking a class where you learn about all different types of worldviews challenges you and forces you to take a step back and really think about why you believe what you believe. Worldviews with Mr. Glenn stuck with me; what I gained from his class enabled me to help a lot of other people from all walks of life and different worldviews.

My relationship with Mr. Glenn was awesome during my time in his class and I still keep in touch with him on a regular basis, which is special.

BIBLE TEACHERS Chris Keyes CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE ARTS

Chris Keyes joined the staff at Legacy Christian Academy in 2016. She’s now Senior Director of Fine Arts as well as the Dean of the School of Fine Arts in the Professional Schools Program. Mrs. Keyes is keenly aware of the tremendous advantages to developing competencies in the fine arts and how that integrates with other programs to foster a more interdisciplinary approach to learning and life as a whole.

In the course Christian Perspective on the Arts, Mrs. Keyes uses the book Imagine, by Steve Turner, as the primary text. Her class is very collaborative, and with the book as the basis for in-depth discussions, students are able to find both historical and contemporary examples of art and how it intertwines with the Bible to offer a perspective that is both sensible and insightful into how faith can influence artists creatively.

“Where do you see Christians in the arts today?” Mrs. Keyes asks her students. “If the only Christians you see in music are singing praise and worship in a church, the audience for that is people who are already part of that conversation. I mean, you see praise and worship music that’s created by Christians, sung for Christians, and enjoyed by Christians, but what does it say to the world at large?” She explains: “Believers should have a voice in what goes on in contemporary art culture, not just within the Christian world.”

The class delves into the successes and challenges of various artists who have professed themselves to be Christian as well as those who live the fact that they’re believers through their work. The unit culminates with students selecting an artist they deem to be successful who is also a proud Christian. The class is rooted in discussion and debate while exploring the concept of Christianity and its involvement and influence on the arts. Mrs. Keyes says she enjoys the journey of being a Christian educator because she relishes spending her days with students and colleagues who have a common language, hope, and message.

Mrs. Keyes met her husband, Upper School science teacher John Keyes, at Tennessee Temple University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music, and a lifelong partnership in both marriage and teaching was forged. The couple have two daughters, Shelby, and Cat (’18). They also have two cats, Bristow, after the Sydney Bristow character in Alias, and Bartlett, named for Jed Bartlett in The West Wing.

Testimonial by: Ashlyn Braly (’22)

When I started at Legacy, in seventh grade, I was a shy and scared kid. I had always been pretty good at choir, so I decided to join the class at school. When I got there, I met a teacher who I could tell cared so much about music and singing, but I had no idea then what an impact she would have on my life. I started as a 12-year-old girl who had become afraid to sing by herself, but Mrs. Keyes coached me and helped me to overcome a fear that seemed like an unmovable mountain. She taught me so much, not only about music but about confidence as well. Because of her influence, I blossomed as a person.

I’m still in choir today, and it’s all because of Mrs. Keyes. She has always been a teacher who cares about her students’ well-being. I know she wants to see me succeed in life, and I’m really grateful for that. I hope everyone who joins the choir will see just how amazing Mrs. Keyes really is.

BIBLE TEACHERS Doug Branch FAITH AND SCIENCE

Doug Branch has been an educator at Legacy for the past nine years, and he has opened every class period by reading scripture because, he says, “you can’t go wrong starting with the word of God.”

Mr. Branch has vast expertise in teaching all manner of science, from AP Chemistry and biology to physics, but he now finds himself immersed in the Professional Schools Program, teaching to students in the schools of engineering and medicine as the resident expert in a course aptly called Faith and Science.

Mr. Branch has been a scholar of both faith and science his entire life. He has a bachelor of science degree in sociology from Texas A&M University and a master’s in education administration from Texas A&M Commerce, making him an Aggie through and through.

“Science is one of the areas that is commonly used to attack the Christian faith,” says Mr. Branch. When students move on to college (particularly secular colleges), they’ll inevitably be attacked with the knowledge of science versus the “mystical” faith of Christianity. He wants his students to go on to higher education not only knowledgeable but, more importantly, unwavering in their faith, and equipped to influence those around them. The skills that are reinforced in Mr. Branch’s class will be used again in college, from researching and reading, to posing thoughtprovoking questions, to presenting in front of an audience.

Students in Faith and Science learn that science is valuable, but its value is to reveal the glory of God. Mr. Branch encourages his students to take science and use it to look at the Bible from a different perspective. His ultimate goal is for students to have an awe for God. He wants them to realize who God is, how great He is, how big He is, and how wondrous the universe He created is. He teaches them that science is not attacking their faith. The only thing that attacks their faith is the philosophy of science and its improper application.

For the past 20 years, Mr. Branch has been director of Straight Arrow Camp, a Christian-emphasis, nonprofit summer camp located on Lake Texoma. He has been involved with the camp for more than 45 years and even attended some of its earliest events. He is currently president of its board of directors.

Mr. Branch and his wife, Jan, have been married for 46 years. They have five children (fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Trousdale is one of their daughters) and 13 grandchildren, with another on the way.

Testimonial by: Alex Frye (’19)

When Mr. Branch comes to mind, there aren’t enough words to describe the massive impact he has had on my life. He was not only my chemistry and Faith and Science teacher, but he was also my mentor and softball coach for four years. In fact, he continues to influence me every day.

It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I fully surrendered to God and allowed His will to take over my life. Mr. Branch was the first teacher I told, and I’ll never forget how excited he was for me. He guided me through the process of not giving up when it was difficult and trusting God at all times.

Mr. Branch taught me that my identity is found in the one true King and not in my grades, softball performance, or other worldly things. It’s now, being away from home, when I can see his mentorship influence me in my everyday life. I’m currently taking part in an internship outside of my comfort zone, where I face new challenges and interact with many people who have misconceptions about Christianity.

Before I graduated Legacy, in the spring of 2019, I was afraid of how to navigate through life without being constantly surrounded by Christian students and teachers. Through Faith and Science, Mr. Branch taught me how to ask questions, defend my faith, and lead people to God. I can confidently say that he has prepared me for life after Legacy. I’ll be forever grateful for Mr. Branch and his wisdom, and I pray that one day I’ll be a mentor for someone as he has been for me.

BIBLE TEACHERS Ron Littleton APOLOGETICS

Ron Littleton has spent 43 years in Christian education. He has a bachelor of arts in English, philosophy, and Bible from Tennessee Temple University and a master’s degree from Liberty University in Bible and apologetics.

Throughout his life, he has sought out educational opportunities to broaden his own understanding and knowledge while learning from the best biblical scholars in the world. He spent several summers with the Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics, and was even at Oxford in 2011, when they celebrated the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible.

Mr. Littleton has held a variety of positions during his 13-year tenure at Legacy, and currently teaches apologetics to juniors. Bible Department Chair Will Weaver calls him the “anchor of the Bible program. He is unapologetic in his approach and has been instrumental in shaping what happens biblically at Legacy.”

Parents who attend curriculum night hear Mr. Littleton say that he’s “trying to teach the hell out of” his students. Although some may initially be aghast to hear a Bible teacher using such a strong word, his aim is to get people’s attention and for them to realize the gravity of what’s being taught in his classroom. What he cares about is not simply where his students will be in four, six, or even 10 years — his passion for teaching lies in where they’re going to be in eternity.

When students enter Mr. Littleton’s classroom, they’re in for a period of intensive instruction in defending their Christian faith. The door is locked as soon as class begins; this time is sacred and not to be disturbed. Mr. Littleton heeds his call to go to battle for his students’ souls, helping to shape them through their hearts, their minds, and their bodies. His goal first and foremost, he says, is that his students “may know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering.” Although he is fully aware that the battle has already been won through Christ, it’s in Mr. Littleton’s hands to demonstrate that

message to his students and — more importantly — to get them to accept it.

Mr. Littleton’s teaching has profound effects. Says Blake Snider ’10, who also had Mr. Littleton as his football coach, “Coach Littleton has had a lasting impact on my life. His class taught me how to defend and stay strong in my faith as a believer. I know the work he does at Legacy is making an impact that will last a lifetime for all his students.” Mr. Littleton has been married to his beloved wife, Kathy, for more than 44 years. The couple have two daughters, Michelle and JulieAnn; four grandchildren; and a 1-year-old Bernedoodle named Zeke.

Testimonial by: Dyllan Muller (’16)

“Why are you a Christian?” was a question Mr. Littleton posited to our apologetics class one day during my junior year. My mind immediately started racing, trying to put together a case for Christianity from the pieces of evidence I’d gathered over my time at Legacy. I realized that I didn’t have a very good way to synthesize them into a convincing argument. That’s when Mr. Littleton told us how he would begin to answer that question. His answer was simple yet powerful.

“Because it’s true,” he said.

He then elaborated: He’d provide evidence for the truthfulness of Christianity over the course of the year, but the essence remained that simple. Mr. Littleton believed in Christianity because he believed it was true; he believed Christianity was the best explanation of the evidence.

“Because it’s true” has stuck with me, even now, after seven years have passed since I first heard Mr. Littleton utter those words. This is the case only because of Mr. Littleton’s dedication to his students and his sincere desire that they love God with their hearts and minds and become convinced of the truthfulness and power of Christianity.

There have been times when people and circumstances caused me to momentarily question my faith. “Why do I believe what I believe?” I would, and still sometimes do, ask myself. In these moments, I always return back to the tools Mr. Littleton equipped me with when I was 15 years old. I’m not afraid to go where the truth leads because, as my eighth-grade Legacy science teacher, Mrs. Guthmann, would put it, “All truth is God’s truth.”

I believe in Christianity for the sole reason that I believe it’s true, and I’m in good company. Mr. Littleton would often point to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:14, that “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” Mr. Littleton instilled in me a passion to ensure that I never had “useless” faith. Instead, because of Mr. Littleton, my goal is to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [me] to give the reason for the hope that [I] have” (1 Peter 3:15).

Through the study of powerful arguments for the existence of God and the historicity of the Resurrection, reading material from renowned apologists such as Drs. William Lane Craig and Peter Williams, and diving into God’s word daily, Mr. Littleton’s apologetics class equipped me with the tools I need to know the veracity of my faith and to defend it well. Mr. Littleton knows how to help students in their faith journey in the way they need it most and when they need it most. Being an apologist is a continual, lifelong process: It doesn’t stop in high school, and Mr. Littleton knows that — I’ve even had interactions with him after graduation from Legacy, when he’s provided me with new material and evidence to sharpen the tools in my apologetics toolbelt.

To me, Mr. Littleton isn’t just a teacher I had the privilege of taking a class with for a year at Legacy. Mr. Littleton is someone who has been instrumental in enabling me to pursue God and defend him well in college and beyond.

BIBLE TEACHERS Ryan Martin EIGHTH-GRADE BIBLE

Ryan Martin is in his eighth year of teaching in LCA’s Middle School. He has the distinction of being the final formal Bible educator for all of our inquisitive Middle School students — the eighth-graders — before they join the ranks of the Upper School.

Mr. Martin sets his sights on teaching students not only about what we actually believe as Christians, but also why we believe it. He wants them to mature past what he calls “Veggie Tales Christianity,” in which, on the surface, they instinctively respond that Jesus is always the answer and that everything is about God. He tries to dispel the myth that studying the Bible is superficial. He urges students to think deeply in his course, which is thoughtprovoking and requires attention to detail.

“My greatest challenge,” Martin says, “is that a lot of my students understand an objection to Christianity or a good question about their faith but they’re just now at the age when they start to understand some of the beginnings of the answers.” Mr. Martin’s class provides the foundation on which students can integrate their childhood faith with intellect and reason. He wants them to develop an exalted view of the triune God and to be confident of that. He says he’s “excited to get to shepherd his students into a more substantial and grounded relationship with God.”

In addition to teaching, Mr. Martin is a co-coordinator of Biblical Worldview. In that position, he partners with all of the other Middle School teachers to create consistency of curriculum, ensure quality of instruction, and see worldview integrated into other subjects.

Mr. Martin earned a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from Abilene Christian University. He says the Bible teachers he had in college imparted valuable knowledge and, in many ways, kept him from heresy. It was their insistence on the word of God during his early years at ACU that paved the way for the defense of his faith.

Ryan and Kristen Martin have been married for nine years. They recently expanded their family with the addition of son James, born in October, who joined brother Judah (’34) and sister Elleanor, who is 3½.

Testimonial by: Abby Abbink (’23)

I was in Mr. Martin’s class in both seventh and eighth grade, and he introduced us to the idea of apologetics. Before I was in his class, I had never learned how to produce an argument and reason for my beliefs and strong faith. Through his teaching, I learned how to, for the first time, apply my classes to my personal life, outside of school. Before I took Mr. Martin’s classes, my faith was based on how I was raised by my family. Learning apologetics equipped me to start developing personal beliefs and a personal relationship with God. I learned how to discern truth, facts, and logic.

Mr. Martin is an influential, relatable, and memorable teacher. His teaching impacted me in a profound way, one in which he probably isn’t even aware.

BIBLE TEACHERS Will Weaver ANCIENT WORLD HISTORY & THEOLOGY

Will Weaver received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Oklahoma and has only to complete his thesis to earn a master’s in history from UNT. He also holds a master’s of divinity, specializing in the New Testament and theology, from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Fort Worth. For five years, Mr. Weaver taught Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and has been a formal Christian educator for more than a decade. He joined the Legacy Bible Department just four years ago and is now its chair.

Discipleship and teaching have always been Mr. Weaver’s passion. He first got involved in leading student ministry right out of high school and continued his commitment throughout college. Once he recognized that teaching in a formal classroom would afford him the opportunity to use his gifts and minister to students and parents five days a week, he knew that his true calling was in education.

Mr. Weaver’s Ancient World History and Theology class is the first stop for all of our freshmen. The Bible teachers in the Upper School, Weaver says, are “the closers. They’re responsible for bringing the biblical education journey of the students to a culmination that prepares them to enter the real world with a solid defense of their faith.” In his class, the combination of theology and history provides the basis for students to build their biblical education. The Bible is actually used as the course text when the class begins studying ancient Western civilization. Mr. Weaver’s extensive knowledge of languages provides a framework for a richer educational experience by further establishing connections throughout the content.

The primary course goal is for students to have a firm grasp of what’s happening in the Bible and understand it in its historical context. Armed with that knowledge, students are able to apply its principles to their own lives. Just ask Josh Wieber (’24):

“Throughout my life,” says Josh, “I’ve known a lot about the stories and geography of the Bible, but in Mr. Weaver’s class I was able to see many things in a different light and was also able to explore new details and information about biblical leaders. I grew so much in a deeper knowledge of the Bible, it’s stories and its people, and I know I have a much deeper understanding and relationship with God as a result.”

Mr. Weaver’s job doesn’t stop at teacher and department chair, he and eighthgrade Bible teacher Ryan Martin serve as the Biblical Worldview co-coordinators, which means they evaluate the biblical education of the school as a whole — a monumental task at a Christian school. Mr. Weaver is primed for this role: Over the last 10 years, he has drafted curriculum for more than a dozen courses for various educational institutions.

He is also the director of LEAD Legacy. He and co-director Cheryl Crawford are responsible for oversight of the overall program, from creating the curriculum to managing the budget and assigning faculty and staff to manage more than 150 Legacy Upper School students who participate in this leadership track.

Will and his wife, Traci — also a teacher — have been married 15 years and have two sons, Oliver (’32), who is in the Spanish Immersion program at Legacy, and Watson, who attends Pre-K 3. Will and Traci are actively involved in their church, Preston Ridge, and have been foreign missionaries in Texas for 14 years.

Testimonial by: Presley Kate Pittard (’23)

Mr. Weaver and his class have changed my perspective of the Bible and, ultimately, my relationship with Christ. Mr. Weaver’s class was not merely a Bible class or a history class; he taught about the Bible as a whole, cohesively aligning each event into God’s perfect story. Because of Mr. Weaver, I’m able to understand the background and context of events in the Bible, and that has proven to be incredibly important in my walk with Christ. Having Mr. Weaver as a freshman allowed me to practice what he’s instilled in me for my remaining time in high school. Because of this, I know that what he taught me will certainly carry with me through college. I count it as one of my greatest blessings to have had Mr. Weaver as my teacher; I wouldn’t be the person I am today without him.

BIBLE TEACHERS Barrett Hardage SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND THE CHRISTIAN MIND

Barrett Hardage has been in Christian education for more than two decades and just started his 12th year of service at Legacy.

Mr. Hardage is the only Bible teacher to manage two different courses: Servant Leadership and The Christian Mind, which is an honors-level elective only for seniors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Southern Methodist University as well as a master’s in biblical studies from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Mr. Hardage came to Legacy because he worked with his mentor teacher, who happens to be Legacy’s own Mr. Littleton, when they worked together at another Christian school. And that’s not his only Legacy connection, as Mr. Hall (Lower School assistant principal) was the first person to hire him out of college — albeit as a coach.

Mr. Hardage is as at home in the classroom as he is on the football field. Coaching football enables him to help shape young men. “Athletics,” he says, “teaches you the same lessons as the classrooms, but in a different way. Culturally we liken it to war: It’s a battle. In sport, we see a band of brothers heading into battle another group, but in a socially acceptable way.”

At Legacy, Mr. Hardage started out teaching American history in the Middle School. He then shifted over to the Upper School and took over Mr. Littleton’s Bible classes for a spell, along with teaching government and economics. He was then charged to develop the Servant Leadership course as part of the Professional Schools Program curriculum. His goal was to create a character study on the life of Jesus. “We can always point back to Jesus as the model for the character qualities we’re trying to develop in our students,” he says. He strives to maintain a balance between being practical yet academically rigorous while still providing an opportunity for relational growth in the students’ faith.

In The Christian Mind, Mr. Hardage challenges his students to worship God with all of their minds. They explore how to think Christianly, and what exactly that means. Students discuss current cultural issues and do more of a practical apologetics regarding those topics. It’s sort of a “how-to” guide to defending their beliefs in the secular marketplace by using logic and reason, at the same time looking at topics from a moral perspective. The big message Mr. Hardage sends, he says, is that the students learn they’re “not trying to win arguments; they’re trying to win souls for Christ.”

Barrett Hardage and his wife of 14 years, Janet, have two children, son Colt (’29) and daughter Bennet (’32).

Regardless of the role he finds himself in — dad, coach, teacher, adviser, or mentor — Mr. Hardage believes that “all of life is about our calling and how we live out that calling for the Kingdom.”

Testimonial by: Josh Norris (’16)

Coach Hardage was one of the most influential figures I’ve had in my life. My first instinct when thinking about the impact he’s had on my life is that it’s primarily from things outside the “classroom” (that is, other than what he said in front of the class, lecture-style). He knew me, pushed me to grow as a person, spoke into areas of my life I wanted to keep isolated, and lived out Jesus in front of me.

I went to a college that represents the “high-academic, ultra-liberal” culture that’s supposed to appeal to the people farthest from God, most militant toward Christianity. When I was there I grew an incredibly life-giving and fruitful relationship with Jesus, and out of that devotion was moved to lead others to a relationship with Christ. During all four years, I was discipling people, including the church kids, the never-been-inchurch agnostics, the “grew-up Muslim,” and everyone in between. My personal relationship with Coach Hardage, along with the tools from his class, shaped me for the four years after Legacy. He always told me, “It’s not hard to be Christian in college; in fact, it’s simple: You just have to do it.”

That simplicity was what changed things for me, because no matter what I “missed out” on in college, Jesus is just so much more.