Principal's Message - Week 5, Term 3
Last week I had the blessing of attending the Christian Schools Australia (CSA) National Leadership Summit. This is a national event held each year where the leaders of CSA schools across the country get together to learn, network and encourage one another in the work of Christian Education. It was wonderful to be reminded that there are 210 CSA schools across Australia educating over 91,000 students.
The theme for this year’s conference was flourishing. We were shown comprehensive data from across Australia and the world regarding people’s perceptions of flourishing and whether they felt they were living a flourishing life. There was much that I found interesting and intend to reflect on further. One of the findings that I was already aware of but enjoyed being reminded of again was that material success – wealth, power, belongings, fame – had very little impact on whether someone felt they were living a flourishing life. Things that were far more significant included whether they felt they were living with purpose, whether they had the ability to persevere through challenges and how often they found themselves in church.
The Global Flourishing Study which was presented, included data collection from over 200,000 participants, from 22 geographically and culturally diverse countries. The goal was to understand global patterns and local differences in human flourishing. One of the keynote presenters at the conference was involved in undertaking the research. The irony was not lost on him when he realised that for all his education (he had his doctorate and was working out of Harvard University), the results taught him that everything he had learned through his secular education that would provide a fulfilling life was not actually true.
Having been involved in education for almost 30 years, I have had a number of experiences where researchers have communicated the results of their extensive research to form conclusions that are actually Biblical principles. The apostle Paul writes in the first two verses of Colossians 3, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Jesus himself has similar sentiments when He encouraged people to store up treasures in Heaven, not on earth (Matthew 6:19-21).
Clearly, they both knew 2000 years ago that the things of this world will not provide ultimate fulfilment and lead to a flourishing life. That’s certainly not to say that we shouldn’t be aspirational in this world and enjoy the blessings God has bestowed on us, but it does mean that just as the Bible encourages us to keep an eternal perspective, we need to be mindful that the things of this world will pass, we cannot take them with us, and the most flourishing and fulfilling life comes when we ground our true identity in being a beloved child of God, created to be in relationship with Him, and forgiven because of what Jesus has done. That’s certainly what we are teaching your children.
God bless,