To Know the Truth and To Make Him Known

Creating a definition for communication is described by a textbook as “impossible” and not “very fruitful” (Littlejohn & Foss, 2011, p. 4). However, personalizing communication within the context of my life experiences provides fertile ground to bring essential concepts to life. My professional life has focused on Christian secondary and elementary education. My desire is to echo the words recorded in III John 4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in Truth.” The foundation of Christian education is evident in two cross-curricular disciplines, Bible and Language Arts. I have adopted the theme: To know the Truth and make Him known.

To Know the Truth

God has revealed Himself in the Word of God coaxing us to seek Truth through the Author of Truth. As an educator, my first priority is my relationship with this Author. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises” (II Peter 1:3,4).

To Make Him Know

No matter what discipline I am communicating to my students, I desire to inspire them to know that the Author of Truth is revealed through His Word and His creation. Integrity is essential in this communication to my students as the messenger and the message must match. “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2:7-8).

My stated purpose in communication is consistent with Frank Dance’s (Littlejohn & Foss, 2011) three dimensions of communication. The first dimension is a level of observation that is broad and comprehensive. My students have the opportunity to observe my knowledge of the information, my ability to communicate that information, and my character and integrity as the conveyor of the information. The second dimension is my intention that student change behavior or attitude based on the content of the information communicated.

As an educator, the third dimension of a normative judgment is a key aspect of the communication process.  Educators cannot be satisfied with an intention for students to connect with the information. I must consistently assess my students to determine whether the transmission of information is successful. Assessment of student learning (Caffrey, 2009) comes in the form of formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments are relationship-based assessments that occur as the information is being communicated. Questions and observations provide the basis for gathering data to determine if the information is being learned. Summative assessments tend to be more formal collection of data to determine learning from a chapter test and to the high-stakes testing used to assess a school’s Annual Yearly Progress.

I believe that principles of communication inherent in my professional definition of communication are also essential to my personal communication. My desire to live a consistent life based on the revealed Word of God that clearly proclaims Truth in both speech and deed. I pray for the sensitivity to understand those to whom I speak so that I can present the Truth in a compelling manner whether they are in an academic setting or across the street.

Caffrey, E. D. (2009, April 9). Assessment in elementary and secondary education: a primer. Retrieved March 24, 2013, from Federation of American Scientists: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40514.pdf

Good News Publishers. (2001). In The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton: Crossway.

Littlejohn, S. W., & Foss, K. A. (2011). Theories of Human Communication (Tenth ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Corrupted Communication

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

Ultimate reality is found in a Person. That Person chose to describe Himself as the Word. It is clear that God created language to reveal that ultimate reality to His creation. It did not take long for language to begin alter the first humans’ view of reality through language. After the fall of Satan described in Isaiah 14:13-14, we see the first example of the language of God being twisted to challenge the existing social order.  Genesis 3 records a conversation between the serpent and Eve. The serpent began by questioning the meaning of God’s Word, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Eve then provides us with the first recorded human interpretation of God’s Word, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.” The serpent proceeds to completely transform the meaning of God’s Word, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Ever since creation, the battle over language and communication has fierce.

Socially constructed reality “is that persons and groups interacting together in a social system form, over time, concepts or mental representations of each other's actions, and that these concepts eventually become habituated into reciprocal roles played by the actors in relation to each other” (Berger & Luckmann). Linguistically constructed reality is essentially symbolic. Words provide meaning for both the concrete material in the world, as well as, abstract concepts. Both social and linguistic constructions of language have been active in language development since the beginning of creation. In the last century, we have observed man’s attempt to reach meaning via these two constructions. Modernism sought to construct reality by discovering ultimate reality through human reason. Postmodernism has focused on the deconstruction of language by minimizing the original intent of the author.  “A text, then, is not a book, and does not, strictly speaking, have an author. On the contrary, the name of the author is a signifier linked with others, and there is no master signifier present or even absent in a text” (Derrida, 2005). Reality and the language that represents it gains meaning based on the interpretation by the hearer and is not bound by the intent of the author.

Does what we observe in our world today accurately reflect what the Bible describes as a result of the fall? I certainly believe that it does. A Biblical worldview requires that one view the realities of the world in which we live through the lens of Scripture. Broken communication was one of the first visible evidences of the man’s fall into sin. Adam and Eve hid themselves from the Word in the garden to avoid the consequences of a conversation with God. This Truth will have a great impact on us as we seek to communicate with others.

Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (n.d.). The Social Construction of Reality. Retrieved March 23, 2013, from Iowa State University Department of Sociology: http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/Berger.pdf

Derrida, J. (2005). Postmodernism. (G. Aylesworth, Ed.) Retrieved March 23, 2013, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/#5

Good News Publishers. (2001). Genesis 3. In The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton: Crossway.

Why International Night at Penn Christian Academy?

 Let the peoples praise You, O God;

Let all the peoples praise You.

 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!

For You shall judge the people righteously,

And govern the nations on earth.

Psalm 67:3-4

“It’s the song of the redeemed
Rising from the African plain
It’s the song of the forgiven
Drowning out the Amazon rain
The song of Asian believers
Filled with God’s holy fire
It’s every tribe, every tongue, every nation
A love song born of a grateful choir.”

He Reigns by the Newsboys

“You're the God of this City

You're the King of these people

You're the Lord of this nation.”

God of this City by Chris Tomlin

On Friday, March 22^nd at 7:00, Penn Christian Academy will observe the rich, creative diversity of God’s creation as we celebrate cultures from around the world. It will be a glimpse of the day when “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Come witness it with us!

Thayer and Theology

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Several nervously excited middle school students left our campus on Friday morning. A paper is held to their chest, you watch their lips move as they occasionally glance at the paper. If you listened closely, you hear a soft voice utter, “mighty Casey has struck out.” You see the hint of a smile as the paper is folded, placed in a book and carried it onto the bus.

The ACSI Speech Meet hones the verbal skills of its participants. It illustrates the application of two essential aspects of our curriculum: the Word of God and language arts. The goal is to produce students that know the Truth and make it known. Knowing the Truth involves a Biblical worldview that is comprehensively infused throughout the entire educational program. Equally important is developing the rhetorical skills necessary to articulate that Biblical worldview in a variety of disciplines. Reciting such poems as Casey at the Bat may not be the equivalent of a theological discourse, but it does cultivate confidence in the exercise of verbal skills. These skills are enhanced through class discussions, science fair defenses, and other regular rhetorical opportunities. Christian Education is purposeful in developing students that know the Truth and make it known.

Casey at the Bat by Ernest Thayer