Join the Journey to a Faithful and Flourishing Christian School
Almost thirty years ago, I began refining my skills as an ethnographic researcher. I’ve always been intrigued by cultures and communities, so I decided to figure out how to study them in a formal way, taking the best stories and lessons, and sharing them with others. I found myself embarking on a lifelong quest to observe, listen, learn, and share. I studied everything from first-generation online communities to hacker and Amish communities. However, my greatest interest was and is Christian learning communities of all types.
Twenty-five years ago, I began my journey of interviewing, observing, reading everything I could get my hands on, and sharing what I learned with others. Through it all, I ultimately wanted to know what it takes to create and sustain a truly faithful and flourishing Christian school—one that is unquestionably and entirely aligned with its stated mission and, by almost any reasonable standard, flourishing in doing so.
After more than a thousand interviews and exploring hundreds of different learning communities, I put my findings into a book—a guide to help other schools in their journey toward fidelity and flourishing. Thanks to the wonderful team at Concordia Publishing House, God willing, that book will release in the Summer of 2025. In the meantime, and well after that, I also decided to create this publication as a place to share progress.
I’m starting this Substack publication without a clear plan beyond my desire to connect with others who care about nurturing faithful and flourishing Christian schools. However, here are a few things that I’m planning to do at this point:
Keep you posted about the progress of the publication, when pre-orders are ready, and when it is available for purchase.
Continue my quest to learn more about faithful and flourishing Christian schools, and share what I discover.
Invite the experiences and perspectives of others with the same passion, and share those conversations through recap articles, podcast episodes, or some other medium that seems useful.
Let you know when I or someone else is presenting online or in-person on a topic relevant to faithful and flourishing Christian schools.
The book includes a roadmap/template that a school can use for continuous growth and improvement, so I’m thinking about finding some schools who want to go through the process together—then I can share what we learn in those groups.
Perhaps other things will emerge from this publication as well, and it may be that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew with these five goals. Regardless, if you’re intrigued and want to join the journey, please consider subscribing. Since it’s free, the only thing you have to lose is the time you choose to spend reading.
So, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and let the learning and networking begin!
Together in His Service,
Bernard
P.S.
I am indeed an author, Christian education leader (at the time of writing this, I’m humbled to be a Christian university president), and ethnographic researcher. I’ve developed a few skills over the years, but I’ve made some big mistakes and fallen short as well, and I continue to do so. I don’t claim to have it all together. I’m just a stubborn student and a dogged learner, despite my limitations and flaws. So, I don’t ever intend to come off as some sort of expert who knows exactly what your school should do. I am overjoyed, however, to see if we can learn a few things together, honoring God and being a blessing to others. So, again, please consider subscribing and following along.