Renewed Vision

Dr. Bryan Chapell preaching at Berean Baptist Church, Livonia, MI - 5/4/2013

Every once in a while God gives me a special dose of encouragement that lifts my eyes from the immediate to the eternal, from the short term pressure to the long term goal. 

Last weekend God gave me this kind of encouragement through the preaching of Dr. Bryan Chapell (I was privileged to be a photographer for our church's men's conference). Dr. Chapell is a student of classical rhetoric and spent many years teaching seminary students to apply these principles to the art of preaching. In the process, he has become a master herald of an eternally life-changing message. 

The writing curriculum that we use in Compass, our small cottage school, is the foundation for the art of classical rhetoric. As I listened to Dr. Chapell I couldn't keep the tears from flooding over as he exalted Jesus Christ using the very tools my students are learning in our class.  

My dreams for our students have never been that they achieve the highest scholastic scores or graduate from top colleges or make lots of money (though they might do all these things). I have dreamed and prayed - and still dream and pray -- that God will use our program to prepare them to be well-equipped elders and reverent women of the next generation. I pray that they will love the Logos, the living Word. I pray that they will discern between good and evil. And, I pray that they will faithfully present the good news of God's glorious salvation in Jesus Christ because they have been transformed by His words of love. 
 

As I listened to Dr. Chapell preach, my heart overflowed with gratitude for the skills our kids are learning. Maybe, just maybe, God is using these writing classes to prepare heralds of Hope!

You can listen to Dr. Chapell's messages here: www.fg13.org
and see the writing program we are so grateful for here: www.classicalcomposition.com