Developing a Faculty Equipped to Inspire both Men and Women to Excellence

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

Most classical and Christian schools have mission statements involving the equipping of leaders for the cause of Christ. At the same time, most Christians acknowledge that God created women and men with critical differences. Have you considered the implications for your school? Three educators share their experience and invite you to share yours in this seminar exploring the different pressures on and aspirations for young men and women of Christ.

Leslie Moeller

Leslie Moeller is the Chairman of the Board of the Society for Classical Learning and has served on the SCL Board for 12 of the last 14 years. She currently consults with Classical, Christian schools across the nation in the areas of leadership, administrative function, and governance. She is a member of the Board of New Covenant Schools in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the Board of Academic Advisors for the Classic Learning Test. Most recently, she helped lead a three year restructuring of the Upper School at the Covenant School in Charlottesville, Virginia. Prior to her family’s move to Virginia in 2015, she spent 13 years at Geneva School of Boerne where she served in multiple roles including Chairman of the Board, Head of School, Capital Campaign Co-Chairman, founder and coach of Geneva’s nationally-ranked debate program and Senior Thesis instructor. She received her Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School and her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Economics from the University of Virginia. Leslie and her husband, Eric, have three children.

Rob Shelton

Rob Shelton is the Headmaster of Logic and Rhetoric at Geneva School of Boerne, and has been in his current position for four years. Before coming to Geneva, he served as a youth pastor for 22 years, 19 of which were in the same church; during which time he also taught as an adjunct in rhetoric at UT San Antonio. Rob has a BA and an MA in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Though he works in Boerne, Rob and his wife Kathleen, and their twin daughters resides in San Antonio. Rob sees his current role as a combination of all his experience that allows him to prepare the next generation of Christian leaders through the unique conduit of classical Christian education.

Aaron Southwick

Aaron Southwick is a graduate of Liberty University, and teaches Rhetoric School humanities at Geneva School of Boerne. By reading and studying the classics, Aaron seeks to instill in his students a love for language - the medium through which God's truth, goodness and beauty are revealed in literature.

Real Life Stories: Graduating a First Class with Excellence

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

Given the fledgling nature of many of our programs, it is often difficult to know if we are heading in the right direction and making the right decisions. We want to retain students throughout the rhetoric years and see whole classes graduate, not just the few who “stick with it.” Hear the journey of Geneva School of Boerne, how they planned and implemented their rhetoric school program and saw the fruit of a successful first graduating class.

Rob Shelton

Rob Shelton is the Headmaster of Logic and Rhetoric at Geneva School of Boerne, and has been in his current position for four years. Before coming to Geneva, he served as a youth pastor for 22 years, 19 of which were in the same church; during which time he also taught as an adjunct in rhetoric at UT San Antonio. Rob has a BA and an MA in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Though he works in Boerne, Rob and his wife Kathleen, and their twin daughters resides in San Antonio. Rob sees his current role as a combination of all his experience that allows him to prepare the next generation of Christian leaders through the unique conduit of classical Christian education.

Real Life Stories: Creating Rhetoric School Culture – House System and Honor Code

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

There are many factors which contribute to an upper school culture, most of which are out of our control. However, these two programs, if done well, can enhance the culture and put the impetus in the students’ hands. This seminar is for those who might be interested in started these programs or for those who wish to share what’s working or not working with their existing programs.

Rob Shelton

Rob Shelton is the Headmaster of Logic and Rhetoric at Geneva School of Boerne, and has been in his current position for four years. Before coming to Geneva, he served as a youth pastor for 22 years, 19 of which were in the same church; during which time he also taught as an adjunct in rhetoric at UT San Antonio. Rob has a BA and an MA in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Though he works in Boerne, Rob and his wife Kathleen, and their twin daughters resides in San Antonio. Rob sees his current role as a combination of all his experience that allows him to prepare the next generation of Christian leaders through the unique conduit of classical Christian education.

Only Obedience is Real

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

When I was a youth pastor, I had what many would call a demanding and teaching-based ministry, so all this talk of spiritual formation reminds me of similar discussions I used to have with parents. They wanted the youth group to be less like school. Now, as the leader of a school, the parents want the school to be more like youth group. This leads me to think that “spiritual formation” is not
a concern specific to Christian schools, but a trend within American Christianity.

While a youth pastor, I found myself dreaming of a time when I would not have to defend demanding discipleship or serious training of the mind, so when I took the opportunity to lead a classical Christian high school, I thought the time had arrived. Surely, I thought, these will be people who “get it.” As we all know, however, this is not necessarily the case. It seems that many of our parents still traffic in a form of latent Gnosticism: there is “real” life and there is “spiritual” life, and education is not a part of the latter.

So I find myself having to dust off the arguments and advice I used with parents in the church when they had concerns that their students weren’t “growing spiritually.”

1.It seems the city of Corinth had plenty of “spiritual” people in the church, but Paul thought it necessary to educate them: “Now concerning spiritual things, brothers, I don’t want you to be ignorant.” (1 Cor. 12:1) Paul even had to “make known”to them that saying “Jesus is accursed” wasn’t a Spirit-led endeavor. It seems that spiritual formation in the New Testament involved a great deal of instruction.

2. If instruction is spiritual formation, then some might counter that it only concerns “church” stuff and thus, the instruction that is happening in most classes at school isn’t really helping spiritual formation. I counter that Jesus claims to be “the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6) If this is indeed so, that Jesus is the truth, then what we do with the truth, we do with Jesus. Learning to recognize truth, to admire truth, to defend truth, and to follow truth thus seems a highly spiritual endeavor.

3. Many might concede these two, but when all is done, the retort may follow, “Yes, but I don’t see that it’s real to the students.” By “it” they mean Christianity and by “real” they mean…well, what do they mean? Whatever it is they mean, there is a dominant view out there that seems to argue that “making it real” happens through spiritual formation.

Which brings us back to where we started. When it comes right down to it, perhaps we should admit that Jesus never talked about spiritual formation. He did, however, talk much about obedience. In fact, he said that the measure of how real this stuff is to a person is his or her obedience: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) It seems obedience trumps spirituality, or, perhaps, obedience is spirituality. If that is true, here’s the rub: obedience is an act of the will and cannot be conjured or cajoled, whether in school or a youth group. We cannot “spiritually form” students because we cannot force obedience. What we can do, however, is to educate properly so students are better equipped to obey. Knowing the world accurately conceivably helps them to act obediently and correctly within it. And maybe then we can break down the American Christian Gnosticism that motivates the concern in the first place.

There is no “spiritual” life alongside “real” life. Spiritual life is real life lived in obedience to Jesus Christ.