Nothing short of a great Civil War of Values rages today throughout North America. Two sides with vastly differing and incompatible world-views are locked in a bitter conflict that permeates every level of society. … Instead of fighting for territory or military conquest, however, the struggle now is for the hearts and minds of the people. It is a war over ideas. And, someday soon, I believe, a winner will emerge and the loser will fade from memory. … As we will see, the hottest battles in this civil war are being fought on educational turf, and this is where eventual victory or defeat will occur.
Dr. James Dobson
Children at Risk: The Battle for the Hearts and Minds of Our Kids
Dr Dobson wrote those prophetic words over 20 years ago… today we see proof that he was correct every time we turn on the television or log into the internet, proof that we are indeed loosing the battle on many fronts. Ultimately, I believe we will win the war. Our God is stronger. We have confidence we are on the winning side. This confidence unfortunately can have a downside. When victory is assured it’s easy to say the occasional battle lost doesn’t matter all that much. However, in war, each lost battle has casualties… and in this case, the casualties are eternal. These casualties are our students and as Christian teachers we will one day have to answer for them.
History shows, those with a united front, a united focus, are far more likely to prevail. So too, we as believers, working in education, engaged in the front lines of the battle, need a united focus. I believe that is what this new paradigm I have to share with you will offer.
I didn’t write this book in the conventional way of education literature. I believe that by the end you will understand why. I believe you will be entertained, enlightened and encouraged and, in the end, it will give you the very simple tools you need to start changing the course of the battle for your students. I believe that working together with a shared focus, by the grace of God, victory is at hand. I hope you will join the call to battle. Let’s stand shoulder to shoulder on the front-line.
