Why Christians should be cautious in criticizing Common Core

I hesitate to write this blog because I am not a Common Core advocate.  I care nothing about promoting these standards or fighting against them.  What bothers me as an educator, parent, and Christian, is all of the misinformation and misrepresentation of well-meaning people.

I am not in the least an expert in all things education.  I graduated 14 years ago with a B.S.E. in Elementary Education.  At the time of my studies, I was encouraged to teach much of what Common Core is driving down the pike.  However, a decade ago, there was no concrete way to implement the ideals.   I did not immediately enter education as a vocation--instead I primarily stayed at home with my three children during their pre-school years.  I became a full-time teacher for the first time last year, during the first year of Common Core's implementation.  

Though I can understand the concerns about CC in literacy, I am not educated enough myself to speak in that arena.  I CAN inform others of the practical implications for math, since this is the subject I most adore, what I'm teaching every day, and it is in THIS area that I perceive others being completely misinformed.

In my classroom, there are at least 4 different dynamics going on.  First, I am accountable to teach the Standards.   This is non-negotiable.  Second,  I have a curriculum that was adopted and purchased by the school.  Third, I am trained in different programs during professional development on how to deliver these standards.    And fourth, I have 53 students who think in a variety of ways, use a variety of methods, and bring their own reasoning and thinking into the classroom.

The Common Core Standards are my classroom "Bible" so to speak.  WHAT I teach is driven and focused by these standards found at www.corestandards.org.  It is in these standards that I find I am suppose to make sure my students understand 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication, for example.  The standards "command" I teach the following:


* Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.
* Multiply, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used.

Let's use an example of 42 X 37.  Most adults in the U.S. were taught a standard algorithm, which as a teacher I CAN and DO teach, but NEVER at first.  This familiar algorithm is what you will find on the right of this picture.


On the left-hand side of this picture is a standard algorithm that is taught in some other parts of the world.   It's called the lattice method if you want to explore further. If what is on the left confuses you, don't worry--adults from Asia for example, will look at what is on the right with the same freak-out mentality that American adults have when they see the method on the left.

When teachers teach multiplication based on concrete models of place value, it may look like this depending on curriculum that a teacher has:

 
With this array, the student understands that 4 in 42 MEANS  40.  The student is to understand that in multiplying we can break apart the place values, multiply those and then add the products together to get the answer. 

The above form is in a concrete drawing, but can also be represented like this:

 

The examples above may be some that curriculum gives me to teach, but how this shows up in the classroom may be different depending on the teacher and the program he/she has been influenced by.  In my classroom, and many others in my building, students show their work to the entire class and EXPLAIN it verbally or in written form.  Other students are encouraged to figure out how their peer got an answer.  As students are taught place value, the relationship between multiplication and addition, they may come up with their own way of calculating a problem such as 42 X 37:

 

 

In the above example, the student started with 37 X 10, something known and familiar to him, and then added that answer 4 times.  Then he added on 37 X 2 to get his final answer.

 

On any given day, my students may have 8 different ways of working the same problem.  The part that is DRIVEN by Common Core is the REASONING.  Almost every standard I bring to the classroom tells me to reason and compare and contrast relationships between various mathematical expressions and computations.  This is the part that takes so long.  I would argue that it does not dumb down any student, but forces them see the same problem in a variety of ways.  At the end of the day, concept, or year, the goal is that every student has at least 2 ways of approaching a problem correctly, and can explain or reason why he/she solves it that way.

 

 

 

So why, as a Christian, am I cautious to criticize as I have seen others do so?  In keeping with the "common core" way of comparing and contrasting relationships between unlike things and reasoning, here is why:

 

The christian's written standards are found in the Bible.  Those commands are often broad and general.  You will find a multitude of books written to give specific help on an area commanded by the Bible.  These books are not the same as the Bible, and there is room for mis-interpreting a "standard" or representing the Bible in a way that was not originally intended.  Depending on a christian's church, he or she will receive different training and programs on HOW to carry out and practically apply their faith that they are informed of by the Bible.  And lastly, there is individualism in the Christian faith.  No two Christians attack or understand life's problems the exact same way.

 

How many times have I seen people reject Jesus or the Bible because they didn't like the way others practiced their faith?  Or how many times have denominations and trainings promoted legalism, rigidity, or confusion? How many times have the authors of Christian books deviated from the meaning of Scripture?  If a person is going to intellectually reject Jesus, I at least respect him or her if s/he does so from reading the Bible itself.  I do not respect, nor accept, criticism of Jesus based on churches, authors, or individuals who claim to know Him.

 

My point is that Christians who throw darts need to be prepared to defend themselves when darts get thrown back at them.  We believe in a triune God who is 3 persons in one.  This does not add up mathematically.  We believe in God in the flesh, born from a virgin; this defies science as we know it.  The world looks at our standards of belief as insane AT FIRST, and it is our responsibility to bring clarity to the craziness.

 

Particularly if you claim the name of Jesus, be careful how and what you criticize.  Do not look at something you don't understand and automatically call it stupid.  Make sure that you understand what you are condemning.  If you hate Common Core, by all means speak your mind, join groups, share you tube videos, fight in the political realm, but MAKE sure you distinguish between the standards, curriculum, professional trainings, and the application made by a student.

 

We can not make productive change in ANY area if we make judgments before we get understanding.

The Real Put-together Life

I walked into my dad's camper and was intrigued by the aging quilt that laid across his bed.  I recognized the handy-work--my kids have been cuddled up with Mamaw's makings for years.  My children have never met their great-grandma but they've heard many stories about her.  She left a profound impact on my life and my perspective on life in general.  She was a woman who wasn't impressed by spotless kitchens--who were they serving if clean and empty?  She was a woman who didn't obsess about a little dirt on her floor--clean floors don't tell the story of who's coming and going, or the work the family was able to do outside.  But you would be hard pressed to find dust on her Bible during her latter years--that book was moved, used, read, and internalized.

The quilt instantly reminded me of my heritage--I come from a long line of hard-working women.   However, this blanket looked different than others she had made.  My dad told me that Mamaw sewed it from her husband's overalls after his clothes had seen their better days.

Typical.  The woman wasted nothing. She also wrote a poem  about the clothes that were used to feed my father and gave it to my dad along with the quilt.  The covering smelled like the woods--my dad would spend days hunting and roughing it and then lay down to rest at night under grandma's gift.  Something in me didn't like seeing the quilt laying there dirty, stained and torn.  I wanted to preserve it--clean it and hang it somewhere so I could remember her.  For a moment, I wanted to display it, so that it could be seen, to keep memories alive of the woman I miss so much.

My grandma would roll over in her grave if she knew that thought.  The quilt-- stained, torn, imperfect as it may be, is doing exactly what it was designed to do.  Its destruction is what makes it beneficial.  And she would help me understand  that her quilts were made as illustrations of the way God intends for us to live: "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it." --Luke 17:33 

God says that if you want your life to last (particularly beyond the years you have left on earth), you have to "lose" it.  The Scripture literally means "let it be destroyed".  We have to suffer (whether big or small ways) in order to store up treasures in heaven.  We have to turn away from disregarding the things of God in order to enjoy the things God made.  We have to resist our own ways of understanding in order to have the rest God intended.  We give of ourselves in order to gain the relationships God designed for us.  We resign our control in order to retain self-control.  We have to be USED in order to be USEFUL.

Our lives shouldn't necessarily be pretty, preserved, or framed so the world can see how wonderful we are.  When a life is well-lived, it looks like my grandma's quilt that covers the chills of those she loved.  It's messy, perpetual, and layed down for others so that they can know how awesome God is.

A different kind of parent: yes or no?

Years back, I read a parenting book where the author suggested becoming a "yes" parent instead of a "no" parent.  He said that he made the conscious decision to say yes to his kids more than he said no.

My first thought was "how ridiculous."  It was clear to me that this author was a man who spent hours away from his family while his wife fielded the hundreds of questions that came at her in a day.  I'm sure other mothers can relate:

"Mom, can I...?"
"Mom, would you...?"
"Mom, can we...?"

I can not calculate how many times my children ask to do something that is either not good for them, not good for their siblings, or worse....a significant cost to my own time, energy, or money.  I mean, the kids would be constantly interrupting my daily plans.  My original thought when I read this author's suggestion was that if I answered yes more than I answered no to my children, I would be sleepless and moneyless.  And I've seen the parents who never say no to their children--in my opinion they are usually pushovers who raise spoiled children.

But then I took a running record of myself.  I realized how "no" is actually my first and natural response.  And as I listened to parents in the stores, and around town, and I thought, "wow...we all sound the same."   We parents have become broken records.  "No. No. No."  This is what we sound like to our children.  And I know something about the human heart (because I know my own): if we know that the answers are always going to be "no", then we'll stop asking questions.  Eventually, we won't ask--we'll do what we want, when we want, and won't bother to check with the proper authorities.  The end result to a constant "no" style of parenting is a calloused  child who may obey when someone is looking, but is just waiting for the chance to do his "own" thing first chance he gets.

When I think of God the Father, I realize that He deals with His children very differently than a mom like me who barked "no.no.no".  When God created the Garden of Eden, it had numerous freedoms and only ONE restriction.   Scriptures say that He wants to give us the desires of our hearts--WHEN they are rooted in love and enjoyment of Him.  I didn't want to become a "yes" parent or a "no" parent, but I want to be a parent who models God's Fatherly love.  So I started becoming consciously aware of my answers to my children.

"Mom can I have apple juice?" she asks 2 minutes before bedtime.  Instead of no, I answer:
"You can have some in the morning."

"Mom, can so and so come play?" she asks while I have something planned. Instead of no, I answer:
"Let's look at the schedule and find a good time for her to play."

"Mom, can I have the latest video game equipment that cost hundreds of dollars and will consume my life so that I am a complete addict and want nothing to do with the real world God made?"
Okay, this is a hard one for me.  But what did Jesus do when people asked Him questions?  He answered with questions.  So now I have conversations like this:
"What makes you want one?  How do you think it will benefit you?  Do you think this is a good use of money?  How long will it take you to work for the money to pay for this?  If you got one, how will you control your time spent on it?"

Parents, we know that "no" is often the easier answer.  That answer cost nothing of ourselves.  It doesn't require us or them to think about deeper issues.  So I'm making a strong attempt to engage my children's questions so that they will never stop talking to me.  When the kids get older and the issues more costly, I want them to always feel like they can come and ask me, because I can help them, like God does, to see when the proper time and place would be and under the right guidelines for their wishes to be fulfilled.  God's style of parenting is so different than most of what we see--He isn't bowing to our every whim, but He entered our world, took care of our needs, and modeled a sacrificial love not based on pat, simple answers, but a growing relationship that wasn't easy on Himself.

My son has picked up on this conversation game the other day and asked me a series of ridiculous questions trying to get me to say no.  It has become fun for me to answer him with a positive series of words rather than negative ones. 
"Mom, are you an alien from outer space?"
"Son, it's about time you realize that your mother really is an alien."

Dear [parents], I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul.  Keep your behavior excellent so that....(the Gentiles) may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.  paraphrase of 1 Peter 2:11,12

Getting Ready for Christmas

We've made the grocery and menu list, prepared the tree, cleaned out the closets, and pulled out the dishes for entertaining.  I even made my bed.  These rare occurrences can only mean one thing--some very important people are coming over.  This year, our house is the hosting place for my family's Christmas get-together. 

There is one word that best describes Christmas for me (and many others) this year--PREPARATION.  In most cases, we spend more time planning and working toward an event than we spend during the event itself.  It made me think about the way biblical characters prepared for big event that now millions of people celebrate.  How did Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, the shepherds, and the wise men prepare for the coming of what was promised?  How did they make their hearts ready for the coming of the King?

Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, was told in her later years that she would have a son.  Her child would not be ordinary, but a man who would literally PREPARE the way for Jesus, by teaching people to turn from their own ways and thoughts and turn toward Him.  When Elizabeth heard the news, she did something I would never think to do--she secluded herself.  She spent 5 months alone, praying and worshipping God, and thanking Him for what He had done.

Not long after young Mary found out she was pregnant with God, she traveled to her older cousin's house.  Mary and Elizabeth spent three months of fellowship together.    They prepared for the miracles of their lives by enjoying each other's company, talking about the days to come.

When Joseph heard from God what He was suppose to do, he took care of Mary.  Joseph prepared for his son in a way that I would never see as an act of celebration--he abstained from sexual relations with his own wife.  He and Mary then obeyed the laws of the land by traveling to Bethlehem because the government required them to register for a census.  The couple didn't get to spend much time on a nursery, for the baby came on His own time, in His own place, and was laid in a feeding trough prepared for animals.

The shepherds were merely doing their jobs.  They were taking care of their earthly responsibilities and then quickly and hastily, ran to meet the baby as soon as they were told by the angels. The shepherds carried no earthly goods on them, which is in stark contrast to the wise men.  With love and admiration, the wise men brought gifts--costly gifts and laid them before the young King.

As I look at the lives of these ordinary people in Scripture, I am encouraged that their preparation looks different from each other.  Some prayed, spent much time alone, spent concentrated time together, some traveled, some talked, some abstained from their rights, some worked, some were good citizens, some brought words of truth, and some brought elaborate gifts. God designed His people to function beautifully--we all play different roles.  We work together by working differently--each one taking care of his own part. 

I hope that no matter what your preparations look like this Christmas, they are done out of love for the Savior and the people He created.  Our preparations are only worthwhile when we are obeying the Words of the Father, and enjoying our niche in the kingdom.

The tension of the Christian public school teacher

Yesterday was one of the hardest days I’ve had in the educational field.  I’ll spare you of all the details—but nothing went according to plan, technology failed me, and I ripped a hole in my pants.  Leave it to me to bring a literal meaning to the phrase “showing your tail off”.  Thank goodness for jackets to cover and a short ride home to change!  But those things are not what bothered me so much.

A little background:  on the first day of school I had an “ask the teacher” session.  The students were free to ask me any appropriate question and the subject of music and singing came up.  The students asked if I liked to sing and if I would sing to them.  As awkward as it was, I sang the first song that popped in my head – “Amazing Grace”.  I’ve noticed that one student often sings the song during transition times, and three weeks later, keeps asking me to sing nearly every day.  Yesterday was no exception—the conversation went something like this:

Student: “Mrs. L, you gonna sing for us again?”

Me: “I would love to sing a lot, but I have to teach.”

Student: “Well, I bet Grace would be real proud the way you’re singin’ her song.”

Me: “Do you think grace is a person?”

Student: “huh?”

Me: “Do you know what grace means?”

Student: “I just thought it was a girl’s name.  And you sing her song real good.”

Me: “Have you ever heard “Amazing Grace” before?”

Student: “Not til you sang it.  Why?  What does grace mean?”

And this is where the tension in my heart arose.  I’m a public school teacher and a Christian.  Were it not for my position, I would have explained the entire song to him.  Were it not for the fact that I had 26 other people to be responsible for, I could have taken the time to help him really understand.  However, we were off to the next class so I told the student to ask my daughter, because her middle name is Grace and she should know what it means.

I had a couple of minutes later to find out this boy asked my daughter during recess what the word meant.  I’m stunned that he is so curious and I can’t help but wonder why he is so fascinated with a song he heard for the first time three weeks ago.  I could tell him that grace meant getting what you don’t deserve.  I can explain that grace can not be earned by your good behavior, that grace is freely given but that it costs something to the one who gives grace.  But unfortunately, for this season, I can’t tell this student that he’s half right—grace is personified perfectly by one Person, but He’s not a little girl.  I can’t tell my students that before we mustered up some good behavior, Christ died for us, took all the punishment that we deserve and put it on Himself.  I can’t tell them it’s by grace we are saved.

I CAN show my students what grace is, but honestly that’s harder.  I get stressed, I get overwhelmed, I get ticked at technology and changed plans, and I have to unwaveringly dish out consequences for “bad” behavior.  I’m not nearly as good at personifying grace like my Savior, and that scares me, because I clearly have a HUGE responsibility to introduce children to a grace they’ve not known before.

But I have to trust that grace is at work with or without my efforts.  This season, and this song, isn’t finished yet….

“Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved….

How precious does that grace appear, in these hours I still believe…””

From Infant to Pubescent: hope for when you can't enjoy it

There is a group of people that I have much compassion for.  Perhaps I pity them.  I definitely want to encourage them.  I'm not necessarily talking about the poor or the broken-hearted or the fatherless or the widows...I'm talking about a very specific group of women:

the new mothers of young children.

I was in this group once, but am now a few years removed from that title.  I vowed that I would never tell a young mom what I was sometimes told "Just wait til you get to the teen years--then parenting becomes really hard."  I swore while in the midst of diaper changes and sleepless nights, I would not forget what my life was like.  

Ten years into parenting and then it happened.  I nearly forgot....

I was working in the baby room at church about a month ago.  For the first 10 minutes I rocked happy babies while sitting on my keister.  No baby was talking to me, no one was asking questions, and none of the children were running through the room. For a second, I had this ludicrous thought: "Why was I SO stressed out when my kids were little?  These babies are so sweet and the room is so calm."

You know what happened.  Eventually the contented, drowsy infant protested my sleep-inducing endeavors.  No longer was he satisfied in my arms...or on the floor...or in the crib...or in ANY bouncy, swingy contraption.  It wasn't long before I realized another crawler had grabbed my drink that I nonchalantly placed beside me and poured it all over himself.  Halfway through the worship service, the toys that had pacified so many children were now covered in drool and flung in every direction on the floor.

And as I made my way to the laundry room of the church, my senses came back to me..."Oh yeah, now I remember."

I remembered again as I was talking on the phone to my young friend with a first-born six month old child.  With her sick baby in the middle of the teething stage, it had taken us three weeks to coordinate that one phone call.  My friend had gotten her baby down for the treasured afternoon nap and called me to talk about motherhood.  We talked for an hour about the relentless care it takes to keep a newborn alive.  We talked about the struggle most moms go through when they realize their social life no longer consists of people their age.  For my young friend, our conversation was the only hour of the day she could talk to me.  The rest of the hours were spent attending to baby's every need.  But while I was on the phone my 6, 8, and 10 year old entertained themselves in the house while I sat on my porch.  My children played, fed themselves, and managed not to damage any property.  In fact, they were creatively figuring out how to solve our current household problem:  flies.  I suppose I've never introduced my children to the fly-swatter, so while I was on the phone, they busied themselves by making home-made fly traps with index cards and glue sticks.

(yes, this contraption actually CAUGHT a fly)

Then I remembered once more during a 3 day get-away with multiple families.  While in the hotel, the families with pre-schoolers had to constantly coordinate their schedules around naps.  My family did whatever we wanted.  Sometimes that meant we entertained a baby so the parent could tend to other children.  As I watched adults tote portable high chairs, cut their toddlers' food, spoon-fed their infants, strap and unstrap bibs, it dawned on me that I no longer have to physically feed my children; I simply introduce them to the options and they can fill a plate themselves and find their own napkin.  As I watched mothers and fathers wrestle their children down to change diapers, tie shoes, and search for missing hair-bows, I realized that a new era has occurred for me: I simply speak, and out of the room comes a self-dressed, potty-trained, fairly well-groomed child.
I further remembered when our families went to the hotel pool--every child age 3 and under refused to actually GET IN the water for more than 2 minutes.  The toddlers busied themselves with every contraption not made for children's use.  They took it upon themselves to transfer water from the pool to the floor, lounge chairs and tables.  One particular child spent fifteen minutes gathering shoes and throwing them into the water.  As for my school-aged children?  They actually SWAM.  I am happy to report they also practiced their diving skills as they retrieved every sinking sandal and fallen flip-flop.  Needless to say, those parents of the young children sat for maybe 15 seconds at a time while I and a mother of teenagers read books, chatted in complete sentences, played on our phones, and occasionally asked our older children "hey, would you get that shoe?"

I don't mean to sound like my post-preschool/ pre-puberty stage of parenting is now simple, easy or a breeze, but it is a breather before encountering the hormonal teen years.  My relationship with my children is less physically-exhausting and more emotionally-exhilarating than in the younger years. I spend less time putting them in solitary confinement because of their fits and more time socially-coordinating their friendships.  We still have problems, but I have the sleep and mental stamina to quickly find solutions.  And instead of wondering what I do all day, I can now actually make a list of the things I do in a day.

So, mom, your time is coming.  It doesn't happen overnight, but if you're diligent now, one day you look back and realize how long the days and short the years were.  Take all other pressures off yourself because you have one HUGE job--to keep your child's terrible twos and toilsome threes contained to the pre-school years. You don't want them reeking havoc on people and property for the rest of their lives, but take heart, you've got approximately a five year window to get the task done. The training that it takes to get your child from a consumer to a servant, from a self-worshipper to self-sufficient is tedious, tiring, and monotonous.  You SHOULD be tired.

I remember now why young parents are so exhausted.  But the good news is after parenting for ten years..... I *almost* forgot.
"So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." Galatians 6:9

Who's Your Daddy?

On a visit to the optometrist the other day, I watched the doctor with fascination as she tested my three children.  I was intrigued by her gadgets and contraptions, had great respect for her knowledge, and appreciated her thorough communication with me.   She further captured my curiosity when she  examined my youngest child and remarked “I have no doubt these kids have the same daddy.”

This doctor has never seen my husband.  She hasn't looked in his eyes or even seen his face.  And although our children share similar features with their dad, this ophthalmology- uneducated mom doesn't think my kids have their father’s eyes.  My husband’s are bright blue and captivating while the kids’ eyes are hazel and cute.  The youngest is far-sighted, the middle child has 20/15, and the oldest is near-sighted.  However, with the right amount of examination, a trained doctor can see what my naked eyes can’t--that the size and shape of the children’s optic nerve are remarkably similar.  The making of their optic nerves reveal that those three children were made in the likeness of one dad.

This experience made me wish it was just as easy to tell who the children of God are.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if someone could look at me for less than 60 seconds and say “I know who Tonya’s Father is.”?  If someone were to examine me, he or she might catch me in the few moments of anger I have toward the people I love most.  One might find me frustrated rather than free, worried rather than worshipping rightly, discouraged rather than disciplined.  One might catch me in a moment of gossip, with a condescending tone, or impatient spirit.  There are times when my heavenly Father may not be as obvious in my life as I want Him to be.

And so it is with the many who call themselves “Christians”.  Believers and unbelievers alike find it hard to figure out who the authentic followers of Jesus are, because the walk doesn’t always match the talk.  However, the Bible makes a clear distinction between the “saved” and “unsaved” in 1 John 3:10:

By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Note the criteria mentioned in John 3 for true followers of God:

1)      someone who practices righteousness

This means that Christians will sin from time to time, but they do not PRACTICE sinning.  A believer may have a moment or season of anger, lust, pride, envy, jealousy, etc, but this does not characterize a child of God.   Upon examination of one’s life as a whole, one should be able to see the sinful habits being replaced with godly ones.

2)      someone who loves his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ 

This means it is contradictory to love Jesus and detest His people.  A believer chooses to forgive their church member for an offense rather than remain bitter against them.  Followers of Jesus lovingly correct a church leader that they feel is wrong rather that criticize or condemn him/her.  Christians are more concerned with their brothers and sister’s walk with the Lord than the way in which s/he conducts matters that are not sinful.  Disciples dispel fellow believers’ drama rather than create drama or run away from people’s pain.  God’s children choose to encourage, uplift, teach, serve, and help fellow brothers and sisters rather than isolate themselves from the Church.

Did you notice what was not in this list?  The Bible doesn’t say a person’s correct theology will ensure his eternal security.  1 John 3 doesn’t mention how often Christians should read their Bible, go to church, how many charities they should be involved in, how adept their evangelism skills are, or EVEN how to love unbelievers.  These are all good things, but are not evidence of the children of God.  Those who are trained by Scripture can recognize the similarities in God’s children much like the optometrist could infer the likeness my kids have with each other. 

In my own life, I can “see” God’s heart when I’m with my parents and in-laws who are actively involved in two opposing political parties—the love, care, and respect they have for each other is bigger than their political differences.  I recognize God’s children when at play-dates with my friends who home-school, public school and private school—we can enjoy and learn from each other even though we have different educational philosophies.  I experienced the beauty of God’s children when I taught a bible study consisting of students from 7 different demoninations—they could discuss Scripture respectfully despite their differing interpretations of it.  And every Sunday I witness my church enjoy each other’s presence regardless of the color or economic status of specific members.

Who are the real Christians?  We look different from each other.  We have diverse styles.  We have various gifts, strengths, skill-sets, weaknesses, struggles, and personalities.  Some of us are near-sighted at times when others see clearly.  We have different perspectives; we don’t always “see” life the same way, but we worship the same God.  We are made in His image—and that is most evident when we practice His ways and genuinely love His people.