On Friday I had the opportunity to meet with 30 Christian educators from the Durham Region.  On Monday, I had the opportunity to meet with Christian educators and principals from schools to the east of us.  The topics were different on paper, but the point was the same at both – how do we continue to improve the way we think about and practice distinctly Christian education?  

I’ve noticed a trend away from simply thinking about the Christian life as a pursuit of the head.  That is to say that the direction in Christian education seems to be turning towards the physical and tangible manifestations of practicing the Christian faith, rather than only the cognitive pursuit of knowledge and truth.  For me, it’s safe to say that we ought to do both, not one as exclusive of the other.  However, I do think that for a time we emphasized head over heart.  

In Mark Labberton’s “Called”, he points out that “Jesus does not say, ‘Believe me,’ but rather, ‘Follow me.’  If we are going to pursue God’s call, it’s an act of trusting and following – of behaving and living in ways that reflect our life and purposes.  We aren’t saved by our actions, but we are saved for our actions to become those that make God’s like in Jesus Christ visible.” (p. 71)

Echoing this are verses we know well from the book of James, Chapter 2: “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?”  And he goes on to answer his own question: “faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

Is it any wonder that we use the verb ‘walk’ to describe our journey of faith?  Implied is that faith is more than knowledge – it is practice, discipline, virtue, habit.  If we emphasize head over hands and feet, we miss a very important part of the exercise of faith.