Most Important Component

In a recent edition of Classis, the quarterly publication of ACCS, Patch Blakey poses a question and then offers a response:

What is the most important component of a classical Christian school? I would hasten to assert that it is the school board. The school board, more than any other “agent” of the school is responsible for the successful operation of the school. A corollary to this is the equally weighty fact that the school board is also responsible for the failures of the school. As the board goes, so goes the school. Someone may respond that I am being too broad, too sweeping in my characterization of the school board as being responsible for the success or failure of the school. But, this is the nature of the school board. It is ultimately responsible for everything that happens at the school, just as . . . the captain of a ship is responsible for everything that occurs within his command. Responsibility and accountability have a telos, an end point. With schools, it is the school board.

If Mr. Blakey is making an overstatement, it’s not much of one. “As the board goes, so goes the school.” The school board is the gatekeeper of the school’s vision, creating policies and exercising oversight while ensuring that the school maintains the right course. If the school board does a good job, then the school prospers.

And this is why I am so grateful to God for the Regents Academy school board. I feel very privileged to serve under such wise, committed, peaceable board members who understand the times and embrace a great vision for classical Christian education. Most parents will never know how much our board labors and sacrifices on behalf of the school, but we see evidence all around us of their prudence and passion for this ministry.

Acts 17 records the Apostle Paul’s missionary travels through Asia Minor. After being opposed by envious and evil men in Thessalonica, Paul and his travelling companions journeyed to Berea, where they found people who were “more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica” (Ac 17:11). The Scriptures recognize that there are different kinds of people in different places: some are beset by base motives and poisoned relationships while people in other places tend to be generous and accommodating. Elsewhere in the New Testament Paul quoted – and agreed with – the generalization that “‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons'” (Titus 1:12). Thankfully, that doesn’t describe the Regents board! I knew from the moment I first met the Regents board members that I had found fair-minded and generous leaders who were patiently and carefully cultivating a vast vision for educating children in Nacogdoches, Texas.

So let me urge to join me in thanking the Lord for the Regents school board. They are working together as responsible stewards to take the school in the right direction. Each board member is dedicated to the school and has been for many years. They understand that what we are building is not just for our children but for our grandchildren and for future generations of children who will need an education that equips them to take every thought captive for Christ.

And let me urge you to pray for our school board by name: David Alders, MaryAnn Bentley, Ron Freeland, John Henry, Michael Kunk, and Mark Sowell. Ask the Lord to give them the grace and grit to make sound decisions on behalf of the school and to continue to guide us in fulfilling a great mission.