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A return to the classroom Several weeks ago, the Rev. Mark Anthony, senior pastor of Trinity Fellowship Assembly of God, called and asked if I would be willing to teach a portion of a class for seniors at Trinity Christian School. I would be one of many local pastors who were being invited to teach and share. The course was designed to provide a foundation for a Christian world view for these students who will soon graduate and to expose them to the beliefs of other major, conflicting, views of the world. I agreed to participate. Trinity Christian School and I share a bit of history. When the school first opened over a dozen years ago, I was the pastor at Trinity. There were 17 students enrolled in grades K-2 (or was it K-3?) and the teachers were paid the grand sum of $8,000 a year. In 1996, I stepped down as the pastor but continued to pray for the success of the church and the school. Now, all these years later, Trinity has 700 students, magnificent new buildings, has added 10 acres of land, and boasts a full music, arts, and athletic program — including a high school football that made the playoffs in its first season — and a highly competent and professional staff. There is an energy and excitement among the students that is palpable. My first day in class as the “teacher of the week” brought back memories — mostly bad ones. While I loved high school, I rarely cracked a book. I walked a tightrope of keeping my dad irritated with me because of my grades but not so irritated that he would take the car away. In junior English, Mrs. Jean Massengill placed me and a couple of other football players in the far corner of the classroom and isolated us from the rest of the students so that we wouldn’t disrupt their learning process. The “evil corner,” she called it. The downside was that I wasn’t prepared for college — at all. I dropped out during the winter quarter and joined the Marines. When I returned to college armed with discipline and the G.I. Bill, I was ready. While the first day at TCS was, for me, awkward (possibly because I kept looking for the “evil corner” in which to sit), the rest of the week was fun and exciting. We talked about the foundations and beliefs of Christianity, Islam, Secular Humanism, Post-modernism, Marxist-Leninism, and Cosmic Humanism. We discussed how “beliefs” lead to “ideas” from which spring “actions” which always have “consequences” —often for hundreds of years. I tried to leave the students with something to ponder at the end of each class which would reinforce how vital foundational beliefs can be. For me, it was a “full circle” experience. A couple of the kids in the class were in that very first kindergarten class way back in the day. Now, here they were, seniors — 17 or 18 years old — being prepared to go off to college and find their place in the world. After my final class, as I walked through the buildings and stepped out into the sunshine, I thought about that day when two mothers and I discussed the possibility of a school. They, Regina Garrett and Vicki Smith, had a belief in the value of Christian education. That belief gave rise to ideas that were put into action. The consequence, that will affect generations yet to be born, is Trinity Christian School, 700 strong and still growing, still expanding, still racing toward a glorious future. Beliefs do matter. [David Epps is the founding pastor of Christ the King Church, 4881 Hwy. 34 E., Sharpsburg, GA 30277, between Peachtree City and Newnan. Services are held Sundays at 8:30 and 10 a.m. He also serves as a bishop to the Mid-South Diocese and is the mission pastor of Christ the King Church in Champaign, IL. He may be contacted at frepps@ctkcec.org.] login to post comments | Father David Epps's blog
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