The Why

In Simon Sinek’s 2009 TED Talk and NY Times best seller, Start with Why, he tapped into a very ancient concept. Aristotle and the Greeks called it the telos, or end goal and purpose. The idea underscores the necessity of understanding why we do what we do in order to effectively accomplish worthy goals.  If we want to pursue excellence we  had better know what excellence looks like.  We had better be able to articulate why we are doing whatever God is calling us to do.

On Friday, I had an opportunity to meet with some local pastors, community leaders, and staffers from the offices of Senator Budd, Senator Tillis, and Representative Hudson. We were receiving recognition for our recent academic successes and sharing information about the school.  I took a few minutes to share the “why” behind Bradford Academy. Below  are the words I shared.  I hope you find it helpful.

I founded Bradford Academy in 2008 with a very simple vision… this community and this generation of children need an opportunity to get something that I didn’t get… that is, a robust solid Christian education rooted in the history and heritage of our fathers.  In short, I wanted to give my children a better opportunity.

The events of this past week have made it abundantly clear that a Classical and Christian education is even more necessary to the future of our communities, our churches and to this country than I even realized.  By that I mean, too many people — too many young people — cannot or will not enter into a civil dialogue and discuss important ideas. 

Instead we’re seeing on one hand, an epidemic of violence and on the other apathetic indifference (or worse, people rejoicing in violence).  If you have spent any time this past week watching videos of Charlie Kirk and the work that he did, I hope that you have seen at least three things:

• One, the shocking unpreparedness of too many students who smugly parrot bad ideas and bad arguments. 
• Two, I hope you’ve noticed the size of the crowds, which may indicate a hunger for hearing good arguments.
• AND three, I hope you have noticed the example of Charlie Kirk himself, who had grown in wisdom and grace over the last few years and had come to realize that faith was the foundation for good government and conservative thought.

We have to do something different.  We have to educate our citizens differently.   What we have done for generations is not good enough. 

You have likely heard the quote by John Adams, who said “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (John Adams to Massachusetts Militia, October 11th, 1798)  Earlier in that letter he made it plain that if we promote and achieve liberty but live in “iniquity and extravagance,” he said “…this country will be the most miserable habitation in the world. Because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.”

This is why we began Bradford Academy. We need more young people whose passions are “bridled” by faith in Christ and a commitment to the word of God.  We are striving to train a generation of young people whose lives are shaped by the gospel and are prepared to enter into the marketplace of ideas in order to promote truth, goodness, and beauty.  We want to talk about big ideas like “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  We want to partner with families, and with churches, and community leaders to bring about a re-birth, a renaissance, in the kind of thinking and learning that formed the kind of people that formed this country. That kind of education is classical and Christian.

I am convinced that not only do we need a renaissance in education, but we need a gospel revival in every church and in every community, we need a revival in every state house and on every campus, in every classroom and in every living room.

We hope that Bradford Academy can be part of that, not for our own glory but for the good of this community and for the Glory of Christ our King.