Rev. Micah James currently serves as Minister to Families and Children at Northway Christian Church in Dallas. A certified teacher, she feels a deep commitment to education as a part of her call to ministry. Micah graduated from TCU in 2005 with a BS in Education and graduated from Brite Divinity School in 2012 with her M.Div. She is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

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The Church's Call in Educating Their Community's Children

by Micah James 10-13-2013
Community illustration, Sweet Lana / Shutterstock.com

Community illustration, Sweet Lana / Shutterstock.com

I love October. As a teacher, it was that time of year where rhythms were becoming established and the seeds of learning were beginning to sprout. In ministry, it is the time where I find myself riding the waves of my student’s school schedules in an effort to connect and converse. In either case, education, shapes not on the schedule of my life but the purpose.

As I breathe in the crisp autumn breeze, it reminds me to consider the larger partnership between the educators and the church. When we, as ministers and church leaders, consider what role education plays in the life of the church, we have to consider the active part of the church in the education of not only the church community, but its larger context.

Education, in the public context, is a constant topic of political struggle and strife. Education, in the ecclesial context, in its best is in-depth Bible study and at its worst is education by osmosis and observation. What is the call or consideration of the church to the topic of education? What role does the church have in the education of the community?