by Adam Kronberger / Head of School

One of the key foundations of discipleship training is the development of faith ownership. Key relationships in a person’s life are often an initial factor in someone's declaration of faith. This is often a part of God’s plan as parents pass on their faith to their children, or as friends share their salvation with loved ones.  But as the parable of the sower explains (Matthew 13), receiving the Word initially with joy is short-lived without developing long-lasting roots. 

The process of developing a personal authentic faith is based upon convictions. Convictions are the core of true belief, and they determine worldview and actions. But we know that not all convictions are equal.  I hold a conviction that the Diet Coke from McDonald’s is better than Diet Coke from a can.  Now while I may be able to back this up with research, the consequences of this conviction on my life are minimal.  Perhaps you know of someone who holds the conviction that the world is flat.  They may be able to provide their own research as well, and hopefully, the consequences from that conviction are also minimal.

Other convictions carry much more significant weight.  And our children are developing convictions at an accelerating rate. Even demonstrations of apathy quickly develop into habits and convictions surrounding purpose and value. While a true authentic faith is no longer dependent on the faith or support of others, the development of the convictions of such an authentic faith still remains in our hands.  As parents and educators and disciplers, we need to daily facilitate constant reflection and development of personal core beliefs founded on God’s truths.  It is the application of these truths in reality, and the resulting relevant questions, that can develop a personal ownership of faith.

Jesus remarks, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).  It is our responsibility to contribute to a home, a school, and a church that is constantly and clearly juxtaposing the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. If we choose to relinquish this responsibility to the world, the consequences will far exceed falling off a flat earth, or sipping on a flat Diet Coke. 

by Adam Kronberger / Head of School

I generally eat lunch at my desk for a quick 5 minutes as I check some emails.  I am currently having some challenges with my routine. Apparently, my eating habits are not consistently hygienic and sometimes crumbs are left behind.  So some sugar ant friends have  begun to show up. At first, it was just a few scouts. But now they have told all their friends and it is becoming more of an issue.  Actually, it is a big issue as my desk is sometimes a shared workspace and it is just downright embarrassing!

I know exactly what I need to do.  I have already purchased the proven Terro poison and simply need to leave it out on my desk.  The “poison” is almost entirely composed of sugar with just a little bit of poison mixed in. My reservation is that when I finally put out the delicious poisonous bait, the problem will temporarily get much worse.  I need to be prepared for an ant party on my desk for a couple of days as they tell all their friends where the “good stuff” is. Eventually, they will return to their hole in the wall and share their poison and fall asleep hopefully forever.  I have a tough job to do, but it must be done.

God is in the business of handing out tough jobs to us.  In Ephesians 2:10 we read that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  Oftentimes we have reservations though in truly engaging in these good works God has called us to.  Why? We know that often things will get harder before they get easier. In order to “overcome evil with good” we must go into the darkness and shine the light.  Whether the darkness is in our world, our community, or is in our own heart, bringing to death the pests that plague God’s design isn’t easy. But God has already prepared the results.  We just need to walk them out. 

I am grateful that you (hopefully) overlook my imperfect eating habits.  I am even more grateful that the Lord gives allowance for my shortcomings.  Before God calls us to these good works he proclaims in Ephesians 2:8-9 that “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  The good works do not produce our salvation.  Only faith leads to salvation. And there is no more reasonable response to this great gift than to ask God about the jobs He has for us and then to get to work. 
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​​​by Adam Kronberger / Head of School

A couple of years ago I knew our house was in dire need of a paint job.  As a former painter, I knew I would certainly not employ another for the job.  The big challenge was that our house sits on a ridgeline and some of its peaks are 30 feet above uneven sloping ground.  I did the math and determined that investing in scaffolding to do the job myself would still leave us money ahead, with a direct hand in quality control.  Besides the typical painting supplies, the final purchase included a safety harness.

A safety harness, when anchored to a secure high point, provides a safeguard against the risk of a fall from dangerous heights.  The design, while not focused on comfort, provides a shock-absorbing lanyard that spreads out any potential fall over 6 feet of increasing tension (kind of like a parachute).  While still potentially painful and shocking, the harness basically “catches” you as you fall. 

Even when harnessed to a secure point, there were many moments on the top level of the swaying scaffolding that I would be frozen in fear.  In those moments it seemed like the completion of the job was just too big for me.  I would feel like giving up.  But my motto became “Simply focus on the next thing...the next step, the next handhold, the next brush stroke.”  Those thoughts must have been repeated in my head thousands of times, and you know what, the entire house got painted!  

Sometimes we might find ourselves in crises that seem overwhelming.  Despite the Lord’s promises and eternal safety He provides, we can become frozen in fear.  Do your current circumstances have you hanging on for dear life?  Consider reading the book of Acts this month.  Allow the narrative of God’s intentional hand of faithfulness in the life of Paul to give context to your situation.  As you find comfort in the testimony of the safety we have in Christ, continue reading through Paul’s letters to the churches (right after the book of Acts) to take your perspective to another level.  When Paul declares he can do “all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), he is referencing all circumstances, especially the difficult ones.  With Christ, we can simply focus on the next thing He has for us as He is all we need.

While there is fortunately a limit to the heights of my house, there are heights God has prepared for you that you have yet to imagine.  If I had fallen when painting my house, I would have experienced a surprising and somewhat painful tension on my harness.  But I would have been safe!  Sometimes we fall, either because of our own doing or the fallenness of this world, and experience some pain and tension in our lives.  Most importantly, we remain safe.  Let us live out the prayer, “Father, let all circumstances work together for Your good and Your glory,”  and He will take us to heights unimaginable!
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– Adam Kronberger / Head of School

​​​by Adam Kronberger / Head of School

We have probably all experienced or participated in the blame game at one time or another.  Maybe we were accused of something we didn’t do, or perhaps we shifted our own blame onto somebody else.  Perhaps a stranger bumps into the pyramid of oranges at the grocery store and looks at you with a condemning eye as shoppers watch the fruit cascade onto the floor.  Or a passenger on a bus begins to smell the effects of Taco Tuesday while the guilty passenger points toward the innocent baby in diapers.  The star player commits his final foul in a playoff game so his teammate quickly attempts to convince the official the foul was on him instead.
 
Once when sledding at Diamond Lake as a child, I joined in with a crowd playfully throwing snowballs in the direction of the snowmobiler grooming the slopes.  My throw happened to be less than playful as it landed squarely on the windshield of the snowmobile.  The disoriented driver looked past me toward somebody else and commanded, “Off the mountain!”  My flesh rejoiced!  How fortunate for me to have the blame placed on someone else.  My conscious was fully in the clear….until I found out that it was my companion who had been unfairly discharged.  Within minutes, my clear conscious was replaced with a tortured disappointment in myself.  What was I to do? 
 
We know that sin entered this world through us humans. Since then, God’s creation has played the blame game, not choosing to take responsibility for continuous transgressions.   God decided the solution was to take the blame for us.  The crucifixion of His son Jesus Christ on the cross was the penalty for the sin we are incapable of reconciling.   Even one of the thieves on the cross recognized this truth while the other thief insulted Jesus (Luke 23).  It is helpful to be reminded of the reason Jesus died on the cross. He sacrificed His life for us because we were to blame and he took the guilt for us.  What are we to do?  Respond daily with a grateful and repentant heart eager to be an ambassador for His offer of redemption for others.
 
For an inspirational story of God’s forgiveness and redemption, I highly recommend the movie Overcomer!​
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– Adam Kronberger / Head of School