What is National Lutheran Schools Week? 

A time when Lutheran Schools celebrate the unique philosophy that allows us to strive for academic excellence while operating under Biblical principles that promote a Christian Worldview. Nationally about 9 percent of students attend faith-based schools so we attempt to communicate the message of a common unity shared across 81 schools in Michigan that vary in enrollment from 20 to over 540. Our philosophy is rooted in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) belief of “Faith Alone, Grace Alone, and Scripture Alone.” These beliefs help shape our philosophy that God blesses us to be a blessing to others.

How is Lutheran Schools Week Celebrated? 

There are 81 Lutheran schools in the Lower Peninsula and 81 different ways to recognize this week. Under the theme “Securing Each Child’s Future – Equipped” Lutheran schools will celebrate their uniqueness March 4-10, 2012. Over 242,000 students in LCMS schools from Hawaii to Florida, and from Maine to California will celebrate their unity. In Michigan this will vary from the 3,500 students gathering together on March 6 at Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw to have a combined worship service and a concert by the Christian duo “Lost and Found,” to the 20 students at St. John, Port Hope gathering for a Wednesday chapel. 

Equip Four Unique Characteristics

We will attempt to equip students with four unique characteristics, as we mark this week:

• Christian Service: Many schools like Concordia Lutheran, Redford on March 9 will be packing meals for “Kids Against Hunger.”  In conjunction with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans they package high nutrition, low-cost meals for people living in third world countries. Many Lutheran schools support local food pantries, women shelters, and other community agencies.

• Christian Worship: 3,500 students will gather for worship in Saginaw and Bay City and about 650 students on will gather at Lutheran High School Westland for worship followed with a performance by a Christian comedian.

• Sharing: Students from St. Lorenz, Frankenmuth will Skype with students in other states. March is also when Accelerated Reader has a Lutheran School Challenge to see who can read the most books.

• Fun: Many Lutheran schools offer fun activities such as crazy hair day, popcorn and a movie in the afternoon, a special person’s day, or invite grandparents to school.

Growing up, one of my favorite ways to pass the time was playing checkers. It was a quick game with little set-up needed, and I could find and train willing opponents easily. There were no fancy rules or tricky movements; each checker piece did the same thing. When I reached the middle grades, I became excited about using my same checker board but with new pieces to play chess. This game took more skill and thought because each piece had a different strength and movement pattern. I enjoyed learning how to deal with all the differences and possibilities in the pieces I maneuvered.

My belief is that relationships are the key to school ministry. Watching leaders in the church, I can see how these two games are reflected in philosophies about people.

On one hand, there are many leaders who still treat everyone the same, ignoring the differences in personality, learning styles, and communication that make the individuals they serve unique. Disregarding these differences can have a major impact on their ability to minister to those that God has called them to teach, lead, or minister.

On the other hand is the chess-like approach to relationships. When I accept people as different, I save time because I don’t waste it trying to change them to be like everyone else. Rather, I ask God to help me use their uniqueness to build the Kingdom. This recognition helps them to feel accountable for their unique role and it helps to foster a “sense of team” because we acknowledge (and appreciate) that others often do things we are not skilled to do.

When I watch how Jesus relates to people in Scripture, I see Him using the chess approach and not the checkers approach. He knew Peter’s personality when He asked Peter to walk on water. He knew John’s bond with His mother when he talked to them from the cross. He didn’t tell every disciple to do the same thing, but instead gifted them uniquely to be used differently in Kingdom work.

Teachers in Lutheran Schools are encouraged to learn about their children and use each child's God-given traits to help them develop and grow. God offers us insight into how we might encourage each child to work in the Kingdom. Some children need a hug, others a challenge, some a carrot, and others encouragement. Not all need the same thing at the same time because they were created different.

This Advent we look at shepherds and wise men who reacted differently to the same message, “A Savior is Born!” May you and I use different approaches as we share that same message with the unique people we encounter during this Advent season.

The above thoughts are based on an illustration from “Habitudes “ by Dr. Tim Elmore.

For most of us, the first person we see every morning, besides our spouse, is that strange looking person in the mirror. The mirror is a wonderful tool that allows us to see what areas look okay and what areas need to be addressed for us to successfully make it through the day.

NLSA - Facing the Mirror

National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA) serves as a mirror for Lutheran schools. This rigorous self-study process allows a congregation to spend months looking at its Lutheran school to determine a "future course of action" to follow.This self-study is then validated by a visiting team that seeks to affirm that "future course of action" needed to continue to be an effective school ministry. NLSA looks at many aspects of school life, but especially focuses on mission and striving for excellence. NLSA asks questions such as, "Does this Lutheran school intentionally 'Share Jesus' with those who don’t yet know Him?" and "Does the school build disciples with families of those who do know Him?" The second part investigates whether or not a school has built a strategy that allows for ongoing improvement in developing skills needed to be a good citizen and experience academic success at the next level of education.

Perry Bresemann, Associate Director of Lutheran Schools, talks about six words for a Lutheran school:

• Christ Centered
• Academically Excellent
• Responsibly Operated

NLSA looks at all areas of the school to determine if these six words are valid in the culture of the congregation’s school.

Six Michigan Schools Recognized in 2010-11

In the Michigan District, we celebrate six schools, which were recognized by the LCMS for their accreditation study and visits completed in 2010-11.These six are:

1. Guardian, Dearborn - Website

2. Immanuel, Frankentrost - Website

3. Immanuel-St. James, Grand Rapids - Website

4. West Shore, Muskegon - Website

5. Trinity, Port Huron - Website

6. Trinity, Traverse City - Website

We thank God for the NLSA process that allows us to study ourselves and continually challenges us to improve. We give Him the glory for the recognition given His schools in the Michigan District.

Change is something a lot of people must not like. Whenever I walk my dog around our home I inevitably find mostly pennies, but often nickels and dimes laying on the street or sidewalk near our community school. A lot of us throw our change into a jar saving it for a big purchase, but don’t always value its use in everyday life.

MY attitude about change is reflected in my purchases. I always bought foam shaving cream until I was forced to buy a gel, which I now like better. I like certain salads at Applebee's but they changed the menu and forced me to widen my options. Most people struggle with change! Many dislike the change brought on us by technology like fewer newspapers, more blogs, constant updating, tweets, and the like. But we are all learning how to adjust to change and even enjoy it. Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" (NIV).

Lutheran schools are changing how we identify with people. We are seeking to use technology to let others know about the Christian worldview and excellent academics available in our Lutheran schools. During the upcoming school year we will be using Facebook and the Web to introduce ourselves to new families. We are encouraging students, teachers, classes, and alumni to make brief videos about:

“Why I Love Lutheran Schools”

These one-minute videos can be uploaded to YouTube and tagged (iHeartLutheranSchools) and then a link posted on the FaceBook.com/LutheranSchools page. The video that has the most “Likes” receives a prize. Why change? Isn’t word of mouth good enough? We change because God places us in a changing dynamic world. We use the items of our culture to share Christ with new people and a younger generation that views technology differently then more experienced generations. We change because it’s time to reflect the relevancy found in a Lutheran school.

Consider making a video! Consider voting “like” for a video. Please share this with those you know who have something good to say about our Lutheran schools. Change... I’ll still look for it on the sidewalk but more importantly we need to embrace it in our congregations and schools as means to tell more people about Jesus.