Westminster Christian Academy's Alumni Fund Banquet

Westminster Christian Academy will host its annual Academy Fund Banquet sponsored by the Alumni Association. This year's banquet will be featuring speaker Dr. George Grant on January 25, 2010 at the Brockway Campus. Special music will be provided by Westminster alumni Christie McCleary Weber.

Dr. George Grant is the president of the King's Meadow Study Center, the pastor of Parish Presbyterian Church, chancellor of New College Franklin, and the founder of Franklin Classical School. He is the author of dozens of books in the areas of history, biography, politics, literature, and social criticism and he has written hundreds of essays, articles, and columns. His work on behalf of the homeless, for international relief and development, for racial reconciliation, and for the sanctity of life has been profiled in such varied media outlets as the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Focus on the Family, the 700 Club, the Coral Ridge Hour, Point of View, Crossfire, World Magazine, and Christianity Today.

Christie McCleary Weber (Class of 1991) has been an active musician all her life. She's performed various genres of music ranging from classical to musical theatre. Most recently Christie performed the role of Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute. Various roles include Gretel in Englebert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Mimi from Puccini's La Boheme, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Mother from Ragtime, Juliette from Gounod's opera Romeo et Juliette, and Kate/Lilli from Kiss Me Kate. In the summer of 2009 Christie performed with the Nashville Community Chorus as a featured soloist in Mozart's Grand Mass, as well as singing Barber's "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" with the Tennessee Valley Music Festival.

If you would like to attend please contact Mr. David Hammond (david.hammond@wca-hsv.org or 705.8000) for information on how you can be part of this year's banquet. Blessings!

A Nation at Risk... Still!

In April of 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education published A Nation at Risk. The study clearly rang an regarding the deterioration occurring in our secondary schools. The study stated,

"Secondary school curricula have been homogenized, diluted and diffused to the point that they no longer have a central purpose. In effect we have a cafeteria-style curriculum in which the appetizers and desserts can easily be mistaken for the main course."

The report was the first of many warnings issued to all regarding the issues occurring within our schools, especially the issue of morality in our public sector and many private sector schools. There was a deterioration of morality taking place in 1983, and things have not improved. Gary DeMar in his book, Whoever Controls the Schools Rules the World states our issue,

"Modern educational theory lacks a comprehensive and cohesive worldview. The lack of a central purpose is at the heart of the problem."

The nature of learning is one rooted in standards and views of the world. Someone has to decide what to teach, how to teach and by what standards to teach. DeMar states that "the development of an educational philosophy will always rest upon some ultimate standard of authority." There is no neutrality when it comes to education; the process will not allow it. Your students will be indoctrinated and encultrated by the school they attend because it is a naturally occurring by-product of the process of learning. There is no stopping it.

We know the created order, just like mankind, is distorted and tainted with sin. Modern man has a dilemma with out Christ and modern education, left unchecked and corrected, will continue to replicate this issue as best illustrated by this story as told by Norman Harper,

"A certain factory worker had the responsibility of blowing the whistle every day at precisely 12:00 noon. In order to be sure of the correct time, he set his own watch by a clock on the wall of the local jewelry store. After doing this for some time, it occurred to him that the jewelery store owner had to have some standard by which he set his clock. Thus, one day when he was in the store, he inquired of the owner, "Sir, how do know what time to set your clock?" The jewelry store owner replied, "Well, you see on the other side of town there is a factory and every day precisely at noon they blow the whistle..."

Education is about history, math and English too, but do not be fooled, it is also very much about worldview, indoctrination and enculturation. George Grant, who will speak at our Alumni Banquet this January, reminds us of this,

"One of the best demands of Christian discipleship, of following Jesus Christ, is to change our way of thinking. We are to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). We are "not to be conformed to this world but [are to] be transformed by the renewing of our minds" (Romans 12:2). In other words, we are commanded to have a Biblical worldview. All our thinking, our perspective on life, and our understanding of the world around us, is to be comprehensively informed by Scripture."

This is a tall order, but one worth pursuing. How will you instill this idea and way of thinking in your children? Might I suggest praying about Christian education in conjunction with a Christ-centered church and regular family devotions. Dr. Grant reminds us that a "Biblical worldview in not optional. It is mandatory." Blessings!

Dr. George Grant and Worldview

Dr. George Grant writes about the importance of Christians having Christian worldviews.

"One of the basic demands of Christian discipleship, of following Jesus Christ, is to change our way of thinking. We are to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). We are "not to be conformed to this world but [are to] be transformed by the renewing of our minds" (Romans 12:2). In other words, we are commanded to have a Biblical worldview. All our thinking, our perspective on life, and our understanding of the world around us, is to be comprehensively informed by Scripture."

"God's condemnation of Israel came because "their ways were not His ways and their thoughts were not His thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8). They did not have a Biblical worldview. When we begin to think about the law, or bio-medical ethics, or art, or business, or love, or history, or welfare, or anything else apart from God's revelation, we too have made ourselves vulnerable to condemnation. A Biblical worldview is not optional. It is mandatory."

A strong statement on the necessity of a Christian worldview, and the reason children must be educated in an environment where Christ is King and a Christian worldview is foundational. Blessings!

Economics Made Easy by Dr. George Grant

Dr. George Grant provided the economic lesson below on his blog. Enjoy!

Economics, commonly known as the "dismal science," can actually be easily understood. Here are each of the basic economic philosophies explained in simple "two-cow" terms (first articulated years ago during a delightful dinner in Washington DC with Murray Rothbard):

Communalism: You have two cows. You keep one and give one to your neighbor.


Communism: You have two cows. The government takes them both and--from time to time--provides you with sour milk.


Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes them and sells you the milk.


Liberalism: You have two cows. The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, and then pours it down the drain.


Socialism: You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point that you must sell them both in order to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow which was a gift from your government.


Free-Market Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.Centralized, Multi-National-Corporation-Based, Government-Subsidized,


Democratic Socialism: You have two cows. You sell one, force the other to produce the milk of four cows and when it dies you write off the depreciation, hire a lobbyist, and garner a government bail-out and tax-breaks in order to purchase two new cows. Repeat.