On what are we centering our schools?
It’s a question I’ve been sitting with, especially after listening once again to Neil Anderson’s session from this year’s Fall Retreat and while reading the books of all of our keynote speakers. In conversations with school leaders and in my own quiet moments, this question keeps rising to the surface. In the midst of the planning, the programming, the pressures of the year—what is truly at the center of our work?
This summer, as the Society for Classical Learning gathers for our annual conference, we are grounding ourselves in a truth that must shape everything we do: The Preeminence of Christ.
This is not just a theme. It’s a call back to our first love. It’s a re-centering of our hearts and our schools around the One who is before all things and in Whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:17).
Christ Is Not a Piece of the Puzzle—He Is the Whole Picture
In classical Christian education, we speak often of integration—of teaching subjects not in isolation, but in light of God’s truth. But it’s easy, even in our best intentions, to let Christ become an add-on to our curriculum, a theological accent rather than the foundation.
The Apostle Paul’s words in Colossians remind us that Christ is not just important—He is preeminent. That means He is first—in order, in importance, and in glory. He is not just the end goal of our students’ formation—He is the beginning and the center of it, too.
For classical Christian educators, this changes everything. It transforms our classrooms into places of worship. It changes how we view our students—not just as learners, but as souls made to know and love God. It changes how we measure success—not just in grades or college acceptance, but in virtue, wisdom, and faithfulness.
Why This Theme, and Why Now?
Let’s be honest: the work of leading and teaching in this space is not getting easier. The cultural moment we are in is loud, fast-moving, and often disorienting. Our students are growing up in a world where truth feels negotiable, identity feels unstable, and faith can seem irrelevant or even unwelcome.
And yet, this is the very moment when we must be the most clear about who we are and what we’re doing. We are not just running schools—we are forming lives. We are not just transferring knowledge—we are shaping affections. And we are not doing this work in our own strength, but under the lordship of a risen and reigning Christ.
That’s why this conference is so important right now. It gives us space to step back, to breathe deeply, and to realign ourselves with the truth that Christ is the center of all things—our teaching, our leadership, our relationships, our mission.
A Call to Reorient Our Work
When Christ is preeminent, our schools don’t just teach differently—they feel different. There’s peace in the hallways. There’s purpose in the work. There’s joy even in the middle of the grind. Because we’re not just aiming for academic excellence—we’re pursuing something deeper: Christlike formation.
This isn’t about adding more to our plates—it’s about reordering what’s already there. What does it look like for Christ to be preeminent in how we manage a classroom? In how we discipline a student? In how we plan a lesson or lead a faculty meeting?
This year’s conference will give us space to ask those questions honestly and to listen well—to one another and to the Lord. It’s a chance to be refreshed, refocused, and reminded that we are not alone in this work.
What You’ll Experience at the Conference
You’ll hear from pastors, thought leaders, school leaders, teachers, and authors who are walking this road with conviction and humility. You’ll engage in conversations about how to bring clarity and courage to your community. You’ll be equipped with practical tools—but more than that, you’ll be reminded of the deep, sustaining truth that Christ is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
This isn’t just professional development. It’s soul development. And it matters—not just for you, but for the students and families you serve every day.
Holding Fast to What Matters Most
As we gather this summer under the banner of The Preeminence of Christ, we are making a declaration together: that Jesus is not just part of our schools—He is the Lord of them. That in a noisy world, we will keep our eyes fixed on the One who never changes. That we will labor not for applause or results, but for faithfulness.
So come. Bring your questions, your weariness, your hope. Join us as we remember what’s most true and what matters most. Christ is before all things. Let us live—and lead—like it.
