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UPPER SCHOOL: GIFTED GUIDES
GIFTED GUIDES
AS A CHRISTIAN
SCHOOL, we have always been very concerned about the well-being of our students and BY KYLE MORRILL, their families, as HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL well as our faculty and staff. However, we have made a concerted effort over the last several years to be very intentional regarding the well-being of our Upper School community.
There have been rapid changes and challenges that have arisen in our nation’s culture over the past few years. Many of these changes have created great confusion and insecurity in the hearts and souls of adults and teenagers.
In this post-modern world that we live in, truth has become increasingly subjective.
Social media and other forms of media have created confusion for many regarding truth and identity. Many lines have been blurred concerning right and wrong. The Christian/ biblical worldview has become increasingly criticized and politicized. At TCA, we have always been committed to teaching our students the foundational truths of God’s Word and to equipping them to be able to deeply understand their faith and articulate and defend the blessed hope that we have in Jesus Christ. In the Upper School, we hope to be even more vigilant and focused on the social and emotional needs of our students as they solidify their ultimate identity in Christ. To that end, we are very excited about our new counselor, Rachel Armstrong. She has been appointed to oversee the social and emotional well-being of our student population. Rachel Armstrong is a graduate of Baylor
University and has her master’s in biblical counseling from Dallas Theological Seminary.
Her primary professional experience has come from her association with the His Story Coaching and Counseling group as a licensed professional counselor, where she has served as a youth specialist since 2014. Her focus there has been in the areas of depression and anxiety in young people. Rachel is married to Frank, and they have three little boys—one in kindergarten, one in preK and a two-year-old.
Rachel has already established herself as a very proactive, involved and fun presence in the Upper School. She has teamed with Dr. Matt Lambro, our director of student development, to ensure that we have programs and opportunities for our students to grow in areas that impact their overall well-being and social/emotional needs. She has joined with other Upper School administrators as we strategize ways to help individuals and groups navigate through challenging experiences. Rachel combines a great sense of humor with keen insights regarding the lives of teenagers. She is very approachable and makes others feel comfortable in her presence. She has already been such a blessing to all of us in the Upper School, and we hope that our TCA students and parents will consider her as a first-line resource as needs arise.
Much of what Rachel does with teenagers would be described as triage counseling. When students are experiencing social or emotional challenges, she spends one or more conversations with them trying to discern the level of concern and possible immediate action steps. She listens and provides valuable perspective. If situations appear to be more serious in nature and more long term in concern, she works with parents to find outside resources and counselors who can take a deeper dive into the challenges of the individual student.
Rachel’s commitment to students’ wellbeing as well as the mission of our school is evident in the expertise and care she has already brought to her role in the Upper School. Please join us in welcoming her to our TCA community. You are welcome to contact her should any need arise.
Students’ journey through Upper School life under capable and caring direction with the addition of Rachel Armstrong and Fran Legband to the administrative team
Also with the goal of providing the best educational experience for our students, we are very pleased to welcome Fran Legband as our new assistant head of the Upper School. Fran grew up in the Dallas area and went to college at Stephen F. Austin University. She and her husband, Scott, have four children, all of whom graduated from TCA. Like many of us educators, she began her teaching career in the public school arena. She cut her teeth in some outstanding programs and schools before choosing to stay home for a season in order to raise her own children. Fran came to TCA in the fall of 2002 as a part-time history/English teacher in the Upper School. She quickly became full time and transitioned into the position of head of the History/English Department. TCA is widely recognized for our outstanding history/English curriculum, which is very distinctive and is more of a liberal arts, great works or Classical Christian approach. We began this method of teaching back in the mid-1980s. Fran has been instrumental in helping to fine tune our curriculum into the great educational experience that it is today.
Besides being a master teacher and outstanding department head, Fran has developed a reputation in the Upper School among our fine faculty and staff as a true leader. Last spring, when Janie Heard announced that she was leaving after seventeen impactful years in the Upper School, many teachers approached me and encouraged me to name Fran as the next assistant head. The Lord’s timing was perfect. Several years ago, Fran completed her master’s in educational administration and was patiently waiting for an opportunity to expand her role at TCA.
In our roles as the head and the assistant head, Fran and I are considered the “instructional leaders” of the Upper School. Fran’s knowledge of best practices in the classroom gives her instant credibility and competence as she works with our teachers in curriculum and instruction. Fran also is in charge of girls’ discipline and our Student Support Team and serves with Dean of Students Bob Dyer heading up our Honor Council.
Fran is a gifted communicator and Bible scholar who has spoken at many women’s conferences throughout the years. She has a great sense of humor, practical life wisdom and a listening ear. Because Fran has been an integral part of our Upper School for so many years and has watched her four children progress through TCA, she is uniquely qualified to step into this position of great importance and influence. She has already positively impacted so many areas of the Upper School and has quickly learned so many of the ins and outs of our school division. We are very blessed that she has joined our administrative team and that she will work tirelessly to ensure that we continue to build on the foundation of excellence that we have established over these many decades of “developing the whole person for the glory of God.”
Welcome back, SUMMER@TCA!
BY JUSTIN ZAPPIA, DIRECTOR OF AUXILLIARY PROGRAMS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF M cWHORTER ’05
After most area summer camps were forced to deliver their content virtually during the summer of 2020, in-person summer programs were all the rage during the summer of 2021. Summer@TCA was no exception! We were thrilled to offer a full slate of academic courses for Middle School and Upper School students, several Middle School and Lower School sports camps and an amazing Bible-centered day camp for children in grades K–5. While many people use summer as a time to rest and revitalize, Summer@TCA saw the summer of 2021 as an opportunity to reboot the program in some very meaningful ways. The reset gave us a chance to reflect on our purpose and to enhance the program in ways that would bless people in our community during the summertime.
Our new Summer@TCA program featured courses and camps for academics, arts and athletics as well as a Bible day camp for grades K–5.
TCA’s summer programs have always been meant to serve our community members by offering high-quality classes that supplement children’s academics. This will always be the case. We recognize the importance of upper-schoolers having a chance to forge ahead, Middle School students getting assistance with summer assignments and children in lower grades having the tools to combat “learning loss” during the extended summer respite. In assessing TCA’s mission during the school year and looking at other summer opportunities for kids in the area, we recognized that a true biblical curriculum for elementary age children did not exist. After discussions with several area camp directors and TCA’s team of school-year Bible curriculum planners, we decided to build the first (as far as we know) comprehensive Bible-based day camp in the DFW area.
In our Trojan Day Camp, students were grouped into ageappropriate teams throughout the week and focused on a new biblical topic each week, such as “Loving Others” or “Spending Time with God,” all under the overarching summer theme of “Running the Race” toward God’s Kingdom. These themes allowed our counselors the opportunity to inject biblical discussion (we had devoted worship and Bible time every day) into the mix of general summer fun, which included water activities, bounce houses, STEM projects, gym games, art activities and more. This all became part of an unbelievable summer experience for students and counselors. Some parents reported that their children loved the intimate nature of
our small groups and that they felt known and cared for. Others mentioned that they appreciated their kids being in a “device-free” environment where the children were engaged in meaningful ways that brought them joy during their summer weeks. Most importantly, we had several kids who reportedly gained new knowledge of their walk with Jesus during their camp experience, and parents told of a true shift of heart toward the Lord. Summer@TCA is proud now to continue the amazing work that TCA delivers so well during the school year.
One of the greatest new aspects of Summer@TCA 2021 was how it provided an environment for older students to prove mastery of the content they consume in their classrooms and on the athletic fields by modeling for younger students and becoming teachers themselves. Oftentimes student modeling comes in the form of Upper School students serving as mentors in a course for younger grade levels or student-athletes assisting a head coach in a sports camp. Both current TCA Upper School and Middle School students and young alumni served as staff and volunteers last summer. In addition, current and former students were hired by the school to serve as counselors in our new Trojan Day Camp. It was a great blessing to be able to provide this employment opportunity to those who might need full- or part-time jobs during the summer months. It was an even greater blessing to witness the fruits of many years of hard work by the students (and their former teachers) who served as camp counselors during the summer! There is something special about the connection an older student can have with an impressionable Lower School child and the lasting impact that is often made. These are just some of the examples of our summer success stories on the TCA campus. Plans for the future include expanded enrichment opportunities for Lower School students, continued growth of our sports camps for Middle School and Lower School students as led by our amazing TCA coaching staff and expanded opportunities for summer service for Upper School students through our Trojan Day Camp.
Be on the lookout for our Summer@TCA brochure, which will come out in the early spring of 2022. Registration typically opens in early April. If you are an Upper School student or a recent graduate of TCA and are interested in working as a counselor during the summer of 2022, please reach out to Justin Zappia at jzappia@trinitychristian.org to learn how to apply.
Current and former TCA students who served in the Trojan Day Camp: Blake Birmingham Mollie Birmingham Heath Booker Avery Booker Daniela Figueroa MJ Massinger Olivia Ouimette Samuel Rodriguez Jackson Rogers
The Amazed Mr. Bradley
BY FRAN LEGBAND, ASSISTANT HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF M cWHORTER ’05
If you’ve been around Trinity Christian Academy any amount of time, you hear about our unashamed Christianity, our “small town” community feel and our top-notch college-prep education. And the engine of our academic strength is our beloved faculty. By taking a walk through the halls of the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools, you will find teachers who have been here for decades and many who went to school here! But the teacher with the longest tenure at TCA, enjoying forty-plus years in the classroom, is our very own Bill Bradley. Mr. Bradley began his career in education at TCA by teaching Middle School Bible before moving over to the History/English Department in the Upper School. He has taught the subject to both sophomores and freshmen, has led as History/ English Department chair and has worked with dozens of teacher teammates in continuing to provide the very best education for all students who walk our halls. But what stands out about Mr. Bradley is not really his tenure or his teaching journey; it is the EFFECT he has on his students in the classroom.
“Let’s go to the Lord today, class. Let me pray over you Psalm 91 as the noon hour approaches: ‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” . . . You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.’” Students in Mr. Bradley’s classes know that he has at least ten favorite psalms he often speaks over them at the beginning or ending of almost every class. They have come to expect it and enjoy it and miss it once they leave his class. Senior Juliana Voth mentioned how much she loved Mr. Bradley’s prayers in class, as well as his brain neuron cell that hangs in his classroom. “A lot of what Mr. Bradley does and says in class is to make you wonder. I loved looking at that brain cell every day. It reminds me to wonder.”
As a former History/English Department chair and colleague of Mr. Bradley for over twenty years, I sat down with him to discuss his 40 years here at TCA and how one enjoys such longevity in such a taxing but worthwhile field. Bill Bradley loves his work in the classroom, but not so much being praised for it. What he emphasized in our discussion was that he owes his effectiveness as a teacher to the place and to the people who gave him the space to thrive as a life-long educator. He said that the “most significant thing” that contributed to his success as a teacher was the space he was entrusted with to do his work. Without a consistent administration who supported his efforts in the classroom, Mr. Bradley claims that “he would not have stayed this long at this place.” It was their trust that allowed him to unlock “the magic and potential of the classroom.” He spoke a lot about teaching as magic, but not as much like the tricks of illusionists, but more as the wonder caused by teaching the young to “see the unseen.” Mr. Bradley’s delight with learning and fostering it in others is still strong. He remarked that having leaders who “understood and protected”
the sacred spaces of the classroom fostered his and his students’ flourishing for these decades.
You might find that flourishing in his classroom in the middle of a very ordinary week. It’s Wednesday morning, and as twenty-two half-asleep ninth-graders walk into Mr. Bradley’s first period class, the words of Psalm 42 are projected on the large Promethean touch-screen display. He begins with the words of the psalm, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” before moving his students into groups to begin a simulation to make early Greek thought come to life. Some students take the role of a politician, while others impersonate soldiers, merchants or farmers. They discuss how their lives in classical Athens are turned upside down by this new teacher Socrates and what happened to him. Mr. Bradley’s delight in ideas becomes contagious to learners. Even after 40 years teaching, you will often hear Mr. Bradley say after reading some excerpt from Plato or Virgil, “Isn’t that magnificent?”
In addition to his love for the classroom, Mr. Bradley always speaks gratefully of his fellow faculty, both those in his department and the faculty at large. Mr. Bradley’s strong connections with the faculty and their collaboration benefit his work with students. Mr. Bradley sees all faculty like “the uncles and aunts” of the students, seeing their potential and having the foresight to unlock it. Though not as intimate as parents, we aunt and uncle-like teachers are connected to our students by bonds of affection and spiritual kinship, making us a spiritual family. He suggested that “we share the responsibility” with the parents of rearing the students, and as such are able to help each other along. As a
DURING AN IMPROMPTU DISCUSSION with some former
students, Mr. Bradley shared an image he believes the Lord impressed on him as a message of encouragement:
I recently had a strange dream that all these construction guys started showing up at my house. They’re carrying stuff, and they’re unloading stuff, so I come out of the house, and they start asking me a lot of questions, and I answer their questions, but I don’t know what they’re doing. More and more keep showing up, and I start looking for a foreman to ask what it is they’re doing with my house. Slowly I start noticing that they’re hooking onto everything they can hook onto; they’re hooking onto the roof, hooking onto the bricks and even digging up under the foundation. I was really confused, and right as I woke up, I thought—and I honestly think I said it out loud as I woke—“Oh, they’re lifting the whole house!”
I’m on the edge of my bed, thinking, What was that about? And then I realized that is what the Lord has been doing in my life the last two years. He’s trying to remodel my whole life—Patti dying, and my mom dying before that. I had become a paranurse for my wife, and now I’m adjusting to my role changing because my patient is gone. Have any of you had remodeling in your house—major remodeling? You know, that process gets horrible. Three weeks in or a month in, it gets really horrible. It’s always more extensive than you thought. And at some point, you think, I wish we’d never done this. I’d go back to the way it was. But then, there’s this joy when it’s finished, and it’s so much better. God sometimes upends your whole life, but in the end, it’s better.
This is just one example of how Mr. Bradley seeks to be authentic with his students about what the life of faith entails.
closely connected adult in young lives, Mr. Bradley models a life of devotion and contemplation before his students and invites them into it.
He went on to mention that this faculty community has not only been a force for good in student lives, but also in his own. After walking a long road of suffering with his beloved wife Patti, Mr. Bradley credits his school family and friends with helping to fill the spaces that were left after losing Patti a few years ago. Mr. Bradley lives his whole life before and around the community at TCA, and this sort of transparency and faith he has exhibited though hardship has strengthened and instructed many. But Mr. Bradley did not let suffering stop him.
Mr. Bradley still seeks a life of adventure. He has been known in the last couple of years to go on weekend camping and hiking expeditions with faculty friends. Recently on a trip to Arkansas, Mr. Bradley, Bob Williams (Upper School history/ English teacher) and Dennis Saffold (Middle School history/English teacher) were all hiking and came to a rushing river crossing their path. Mr. Saffold moved on down the river to look for a safe place to cross, and Mr. Williams saw Mr. Bradley standing on a rock overlooking the river, gauging his chances of success
in leaping across it. Mr. Williams said, “JUMP!” Mr. Bradley has been jumping rivers and forging new trails in the classroom and in his own life for a good long time. Obstacles like rushing rivers don’t stop him from moving into the adventure ahead.
He credits TCA and its people for continuing to fuel his fire for teaching and desire to go further. He said that really “the most strange but most wonderful thing after almost 41 years at TCA is that there has not been one single day that I thought about working anywhere else—no other school.” His continued zeal for teaching and the classroom he credits to his ninth-grade teaching team, Stephanie Burgoon and Bob Williams. Even after so many years, Mr. Bradley thinks of himself as an “average” teacher compared to the people he works with on his team, in his hallway and in the Upper School. “The quality of teaching here today is nothing short of spectacular,” he says, and it is this collegiality that continues to push Mr. Bradley to collaborate and innovate with his material and with his methods. “I am as unimpressed with myself as I have ever been,” he says.
But what we say to him as a faculty, as administrators and as an army of former students and parents is “Thank you.” Thank you for not trying to cultivate a false image, but for being willing to live your whole life and therefore your life wholly before us. Thank you for the gift of service, sacrifice, humor, insight, adventure and wisdom. Congratulations, Mr. Bradley, on forty-plus years of service at Trinity Christian Academy!
Have you ever considered that we are each a letter known and read by those we encounter? Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:2, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.” As teachers, we feel a responsibility to pen our portions of each student’s letter carefully. Each day, we have students whose lives have different characters, plots and settings outside the walls of our classrooms. As we help to craft each student’s story, we encounter a wide range of literary genres. Depending on limitless variables, a student’s genre might shift on any given day from drama to adventure to humor. Regardless of where students are on their journeys, we love and equip them for what the future may bring.
Nowhere in the TCA Upper School is this process of equipping students for the future more vital than in our Bible classes. The goal of the junior- and senior-year Bible classes is to equip and encourage our students as they leave their home, church home and TCA to base their whole lives on the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, that is the goal of every area of TCA’s curriculum and every TCA teacher, but the Bible Department is specifically tasked with helping students grapple with the reality of God’s Word—in all its complexities and in all its implications for how we live our lives.
BUILDING FAITH
by exploring God’s Word
It is the joy and honor of our Upper School Bible teachers to explore God’s Word together with young minds—to discuss, probe and wrestle with life’s biggest questions alongside these teenagers who will soon enter adulthood and face crucial decisions about the paths they will take. Whether they are becoming familiar with the New Testament books of John, Romans or 1 Corinthians or engaging in systematic studies of creation, the Trinity or the atonement and resurrection of Jesus, Upper School Bible teachers seek to partner with parents and the church at large to help students understand and embrace the core, historic truths of the Christian faith. The aim is not rote memorization of Bible facts but training in the life-giving practice of searching the Scripture to learn God’s ways, God’s heart and God’s promises.
Upper School Bible Department Head Bob Dyer shares an insight from theologian A. W. Tozer: “Satan’s greatest weapon is man’s ignorance of God’s Word.” Graduates of TCA are not ignorant of God’s Word. Their junior and senior years saturate them in the truths of the Bible. “Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we hope to make learning God’s Word more than an academic pursuit. Our hope and prayer is that these young people would truly take and eat the ‘meat’ that is Truth for their lives—now and forever,” says Mr. Dyer.
It’s not always an easy process, but one that is worth the effort. Senior Bible teacher Jeremy Gregory explains, “We dig into the Scriptures to explore the importance of the historical-religious-political context of the text and the power of intertextual references. The Bible is saying way, way more than just a surface reading of the text. In class students give presentations on difficult passages of the Bible and faith—over topics such as theodicy, genocide, homosexuality, men’s and women’s roles and slavery. Together we wrestle with these passages and apply ways to communicate these stories and teachings first to ourselves and then to others.” Current sophomore at Baylor University Sage Yassa ’20 relates how this approach has affected her life and college career: “My time at TCA absolutely equipped and encouraged me in the faith. I transferred to TCA from public school in “We wrestle with my junior year, and learning in a Christian environment for even the difficult two years helped teach me how to apply my faith to all areas of my academics and life. Bible classes at TCA also acted as passages of an excellent introduction to academic study of Scripture, the Bible and which would have been a significant learning curve at Baylor. Baylor’s required Christian Scriptures and Christian apply ways to Heritage courses treat the Bible almost as though it were communicate any other historical text. Though this approach has merit, most Christians do not view the Bible this way, and many these teachings students who were raised in a Christian environment react to ourselves and negatively to this new method of study. Bible classes at TCA, particularly Senior Bible with Mr. Gregory, provided me with to others.” a gentle introduction to academic study of the Bible. TCA’s approach also demonstrated to me that academic study could —UPPER SCHOOL BIBLE TEACHER JEREMY GREGORY contribute to my personal faith journey.” In Bible class, we create memorable experiences that help to instill a biblical worldview in students and prepare them for how they might live out their faith. One example in the junior year Bible class is an activity that fosters students’
ability to recognize and understand the “essentials” of the Christian faith. For this project, students research doctrinal statements of churches and various Christian institutions. The students then develop their own personal doctrinal statement. This practice promotes an understanding for students to stand firm in their faith in the wake of an increasingly secular, morally relative, pluralistic and “anti-Truth” society. Danielle Parker ’20, shared that this activity not only helped her in her developing faith as a high school student but also when she entered college. “The doctrine project helped me identify theologically sound churches I was interested in when I arrived at Wake Forest University.”
—DANIELLE PARKER ’20 FUELING HOPE
by developing spiritual disciplines
In a dark and despairing world, the hope that the gospel offers is what we pray shines all the more brightly in students’ lives. Having heard and believed the truth of salvation through Jesus, young people have the opportunity to be light in this world as they are shaped and molded more and more to look like Him. Developing a love for God’s Word is essential in order to fuel a vibrant relationship with Jesus. We intentionally instill these disciplines in class.
For instance, senior Bible students take some time each class period to meditate on Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. Mr. Gregory explains, “At the beginning of each class, we read, interpret and apply a small section of Matthew 5–7. Through this exercise, we seek to model what it looks like to start each day reflecting on some specific instruction
from the Lord and examining our lives in response to that teaching—for example, what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be pure in heart, to avoid anger and lust, to be merciful people and peacemakers, to trust God’s provision in our finances, to give to the needy and to be faithful to our word. Learning from the most important sermon ever will guide students both in their Christian walks and in developing the habit of daily dependence on God’s instruction and direction.”
We are excited when we hear from alumni that their grounding in God’s Word continues to direct them in their spiritual lives. Recent graduate Will McIntosh ’21 shares, “TCA really equipped me well with understanding how to live a fulfilling life based on God’s purpose. It showed me what true Christian community looks like and how to seek it out. And it prepared me well emotionally for handling hard situations by reminding me where I find my joy and helping guide me toward good foundations.”
Another way we develop students’ ability in their study of Scripture is to regularly provide them opportunities to teach biblical content after studying texts. We believe one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it. One example is the “Encounters with Jesus” paper, which allows the students to relate their personal story of faith with a character from Scripture. Bob Dyer explains, “With guidance and parameters, each student is encouraged to think through his or her life in Christ. Did the student first meet Jesus as a skeptic, like ‘doubting’ Thomas? Or maybe he or she approached Jesus like the rich young ruler, filled
Senior Bible students (above and below) worked on a project in which they each selected a contemporary ethical issue to research and gave a class presentation on the topic, defining the issues, describing the history and context of the issue, laying out the various points of views (typically conservative and liberal), critiquing both views as a Jesus follower and then lead in a question/response time as students in the class wrestled with the issue.
with pride and eager to do some work of righteousness to be approved by God? Some have shared seeing themselves like the woman who washed Jesus’s feet with her tears—broken by their sin and overcome by Jesus’s love and forgiveness. We have read stories of victory and heartbreak in these testimonies, each unique to the individual but common to the plight of man.” Not only are the students able to reflect on their own journey of faith in Christ in a meaningful and powerful way, but they are also able to develop the skills of communicating biblical insights to others.
EXERCISING LOVE
in confronting cultural issues
At TCA, we encourage students to ask tough questions, push back, be honest with doubts, and do it with civility, kindness and patience. Students wrestle with the issues of our world through a biblical lens, including topics such as abortion, cancel culture, homosexuality, #MeToo, social media, transgenderism, tribalism and more. Jeremy Gregory shares his heart for what it looks like to engage secular worldviews as Christians: “The aim in the lectures and presentations is to learn other points of view, listen (because listening is foundational on how to show love to our neighbors) and respond lovingly in word and deed to others—yes, with our biblical convictions, but also with our Christ-like compassion.”
Will McIntosh relates an occasion he had recently to do just that: “I have had the amazing opportunity presented by the Lord to take an atheist friend to church for the first time, and because of how we studied different worldviews last year, I feel well equipped to answer his questions about my relationship with God and be a loving person.”
Nicholas Wong ’17 is a recent graduate from the University of Texas, where he double-majored in art and pre-med programs. When considering how TCA readied him for the culture he experienced in college, he shared, “I quickly found that being surrounded with people who stand for different things but communicate and aspire through a common medium sets the stage for healthy discourse and fosters an empathy that circumvents conventional conversation. Rubbing elbows with people who do not share your beliefs offers a unique opportunity to strengthen your convictions and develop skills to communicate with those people effectively. TCA was formative in reinforcing my faith development, and UT allowed that faith to be tested, shared and owned.”
The work we see God doing in the lives of alumni is the fruit of our labors, for which we are so grateful. “I am thankful for TCA, because it is a place where I can teach my younger brothers and sisters in Jesus to love God and love others by the way we live out our lives with a deeper understanding of God’s Word and of God’s world. By modeling and teaching empathetic love, truth and justice as is embodied in Jesus, TCA students will take the aroma of Jesus into our broken and beautiful world,” says Mr. Gregory. Bob Dyer adds how we must be dependent on God in this endeavor: “There is no perfect family or perfect parent or perfect church; yet, as imperfect parents, imperfect pastors, imperfect teachers and imperfect mentors we are commanded to be God’s instruments in the process of delivering the gospel to our young people and instructing them in the way of righteousness, that they
—UPPER SCHOOL BIBLE DEPARTMENT
HEAD BOB DYER
and those whose lives they touch may be transformed by the Holy Spirit.”
Our aim at TCA is not to curate each student’s journey into a picture-perfect story or to insulate them from challenging thoughts or controversial topics found in today’s culture. Instead, we appreciate the epic expeditions our students find themselves launching into. We take seriously the responsibility of writing God’s truth on their hearts and preparing students with a biblical and theological foundation for the adventure of unknowns that lies ahead. We send them out as living letters, carefully written by God’s wisdom, authority, creativity and passion and by His grace expressing His infinite love to the world. Upper Room, Nicholas Wong ’17
This painting is my meditation on the book of Acts—specifically God’s design for his early church and how a body of people under Christ ought to operate: complementing one another in strengths and weaknesses like that of a living organism. I was thinking about the tension between individuality and anonymity as it pertains to the beauty of the Whole Body or the Church.
This piece was special to me because it was one of the first times I could speak freely with my peers about Christ and Scripture through the vernacular of art discourse. Through class critiques, we bypassed the formalities and safeguards of a cold conversation and spoke openly about the themes of Acts in a surprisingly welcoming and curious atmosphere. I haven’t been able to strike up natural conversations like this outside the bounds of art with my fellow classmates without being weird, so I’m thankful for the access that this piece granted.
Upper Room was among the works featured in the 2021 TCA Alumni Art Exhibition, which ran from October through December in the Trinity Art Gallery.
