During school holidays, I always value having just that little bit more time to listen to podcasts. The more I understand myself as a learner, podcasts are by far my most preferred way to absorb information. Books are great, but I’m a distracted person, so even if someone walks in the room to make a cuppa while I’m reading, I’m immediately distracted (and then I decide I want a cuppa as well).

One of the podcasts I engaged with was Rebuilders, by Red Church, with Mark Sayers at the helm. This program is a regular visit for me. In one of the episodes, Mark was reflecting on this notion of 'declinism', essentially a posture by which we as a society lean more towards thinking towards the decline of our society, than hope. This is often reflected in comments like “in the old days we used to manage these things better”, “it was so much better back then”, “leaders don’t know what they are doing anymore, bring back the leaders of the past”, “there’s no good news anymore”. The truth is, our world is looking pretty messy and it’s no wonder that we are drawn towards a posture of declinism, rather than one of hope, that we are called to.

Romans 8 (New Living Translation) tells us…

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.

As we as people of God await the return of Jesus, it’s so easy to join in the groaning as we get overwhelmed or even irritated with the messiness around us. However, what is it that others see. As people of hope, are we actually acting like people of hope? Is it hope that we are sharing? Is it oozing out of us?

One of the CEN staff members that we have been listening to is Sam Burrows, who has been challenging us around how much we are choosing to participate in the redemptive work that Jesus is doing. Sam suggests that we could ask the question “where are you at work, Jesus, and how do I join in?" This is a wonderful question that has hope at its heart.

You are the one doing good work in the brokenness of this world, Jesus, and I don’t just want to gawk from the sides, I want to participate, I want to help, I want to be part of what Jesus is doing. So good!

Our vision statement at MECS is “seeking the Kingdom of God in education”. As someone at a conference recently said – “when it comes to our vision, we need to make sure it’s lived, not just laminated!”

You know, our vision is epic. It’s big, bold and ambitious and I think we are doing a faithful job as a community of living it out and not keeping it just laminated. I see the way our teachers care (like, really care), I see the way our students are learning to restore relationships that are broken, I see the way that learning is translating into action, I see the way the support staff create a stable and firm support for our students and their fellow staff. I see our grounds, I see our gifts in action, I see so much that points to us seeking God’s redemptive work, his purposes underpinned by enormous hope, in the sphere of education here at MECS.

Let’s not be tempted to join along with the negativity and voices of groaning and despair, of declinism, but instead, let’s see that God is at work and warmly accept the invitation to participate.

Michelle Dempsey

Principal

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