Equipped For Service
I am thankful for the first few weeks of another year at Pinnacle Classical Academy. This August, in fact, marked the start of my fifth year of teaching here. I am grateful to be able to look back and see all that God has done in my students, and all He has taught me, over these five years.
Each school year, we choose a theme—a truth for our faculty and students to meditate on as we work our way through the year. This year’s theme is service to others.
PCA’s vision statement lays it out clearly: “Pinnacle Classical Academy seeks to graduate students instilled with a lifelong love of learning, equipped for service in love to God and man.” This year, we’re focusing on the latter portion, equipping students for service and guiding them to love their fellow man.
Though we emphatically affirm that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works, we also recognize that serving others is an important part of the Christian life. Even “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28 ESV). James reminds us that a true faith is one that serves, especially caring for those most in need. But equipping students for such service and stirring their hearts to such a calling is no simple task.
Many schools mandate volunteering. This oxymoronic conundrum aside, how can a school stir its students to service—not just to do it for marks on a résumé, but to desire to serve? In our fallenness, every one of our hearts wishes to put our own interests first but for the grace of Christ. We cannot teach that out of our students. But we can show them the better way that Christ showed us.
For example, we use sayings with our students throughout the day to remind them of how they ought to treat one another: “leave it better than you found it,” “honor God with the choice of your words and the tone of your voice,” and “when in line, step by step, silent and straight.” These sayings serve as reminders to love one another even in small ways. Clean up your mess so someone else doesn’t have to do it for you. Speak respectfully to one another, not only in what you say but in how you say it. Walk calmly and quietly out of care for the classes you pass.
Can these sayings really change a child’s heart? I wouldn’t claim so. But they do help train him to act in ways that consider others and not only himself. When cleaning up his own messes becomes a habit rather than a chore requiring constant reminders, he will take that habit with him out of the lunch room and into his home, his church, or the playground at the park.
Like a graduate student who develops a taste for coffee in his quest to counteract sleep deprivation, or like the young man who cultivates a palate for sushi in order to impress his crush, we can train our appetites. The more we practice serving, the more serving becomes part of our habit and inclination.
At the same time, we must also remind ourselves of why we serve lest it become drudgery or self-righteousness. Each morning this year, students at Pinnacle will sing hymns and recite Scriptures that reflect our calling to serve. As we start our day singing, speaking, and affirming these realities together, our prayer is that the Holy Spirit will work these truths into the hearts of our students and faculty.
Laurel McLaughlin
Upper School Teacher
