by Brian G. Daigle

If you’ve studied historical wars or battles, or read battle literature, or thought about a philosophy of war, or if you’ve simply paid attention during personal conflict, you perhaps have noticed that the aims of war (or conflict) may be separate from the methods of war, and the strategy for winning a war may be separate from the motivation for starting or continuing a war.
       If you’re paying attention to the current vitriol happening in the culture wars, you will notice that the same kinds of distinctions exist: aims of war, methods of war, strategy of war, and motivation for war. Let’s call these features of war. To be sure, there are more than just these four features, but these are the most important for our purposes in this brief article.
       In any given camp, or even within any given person, there can be a mixture of these features. I may agree with a man’s aim for war while disagreeing with his method or strategy or motivation. I may agree that a man’s war strategy is sound while disagreeing altogether with his motivation. These features can be found by varying degrees in a person, and they are even more numerous when looking at a group of people, like a political party.
      As you can see by these features, nuance is required in order to distinguish and judge these features, even in one’s self. Nuance is necessary for distinctions and differences, and they are necessary for considering the ethic of the feature. However, one of the dangers in wartime is the loss of nuance, often the loss of detailed thinking, especially at a time when emotions run high in the battle. In the current culture wars, especially those dealing with race and the historicity of race relations in the United States, there has been an over-individualization of the matter. There has likewise been a polarizing and politicization, by all sides. These sweeping and tornadic tones have created a context where sound and detailed consideration is not possible. That is, the vilification of one’s perceived enemy is so quickly expected today, there is no room to consider the kind, quality, or degree of a man’s enemy. Today, if another man is marked as my enemy (because of race or skin color or political affiliation or something he said once on social media), then he is my sworn enemy through and through, and it would almost be a cowardice thing to not look at everything he says and does through those eyes of hostility. He is over there. I am over here. And with every interaction the gulf between our battle lines thickens with hate. Bloodthirsty hate.
       Let us rewind a couple thousand years, back to 8th century BC, Ancient Greece. The Greeks and Trojans are in the ninth year of a ten-year war, the first major war recorded in Greek history, set down for us in one of the most important pieces of literature, composed by one of the most important poets, the world now tries to forget: Homer’s Iliad. Of Homer and his Iliad, notable historian H. D. F. Kitto states,

• “The Iliad and the Odyssey have been called the Bible of the Greeks. For centuries these two poems were the basis of Greek education, both of formal school education and of the cultural life of the ordinary citizen…Homer held and nourished the minds and the imaginations of Greeks for generation after generation –of artists, thinkers and ordinary simple men alike. Painters and poets turned to Homer for their inspiration and for their actual subjects…” (The Greeks, p.44)
• “The Iliad does not describe an episode in the war, colouring the description with passing reflections about this or that aspect of life; rather, the poet has taken the ‘subject’, this phase of the war [the ninth year], as so much raw material, to be built into an entirely new structure of his own devising. He is not going to write about the war, not even about part of it, but about the theme which he states so clearly in the first five verses. What shapes the poem is nothing external, like the war, but the tragic conception that a quarrel between two men should bring suffering, death and dishonor to so many others.” (Ibid., p.47)
• “The Greeks then, who for a thousand years turned to Homer for the education of their young and for the delight and instruction of the mature, were not turning to mere venerable relics or patriotic historical sagas or charming fairy-stories, but to poems which already possessed all those qualities which made the Greek civilization what it was.” (Ibid., p.55)
• “It is an interesting, though idle, speculation, what would be the effect on us if all our reformers, revolutionaries, planners, politicians and life-arrangers in general were soaked in Homer from their youth up, like the Greeks. They might realize that on the happy day when there is a refrigerator in every home, and two in none, when we all have the opportunity of working for the common good (whatever that is), when Common Man (whoever he is) is triumphant, though not improved—that men will still come and go like the generations of leaves in the forest; that he will still be weak, and the gods strong and incalculable; that the quality of a man matters more than his achievement; that violence and recklessness will still lead to disaster, and that this will fall on the innocent as well as on the guilty. The Greeks were fortunate in possessing Homer, and wise in using him as they did.” (Ibid., p.64)

The Iliad opens in the ninth year of the war, on the plains outside of Troy, during a squabble in the Greek camp. In general, the war is at a time of relative peace. There has been a truce called, in hopes that a simple combat between two fighters, Paris for the Trojans and Menelaus for the Greeks, can have their duel and decide the outcome of the war, once and for all. The gods intervene. A few important things happen. And a bit later a fool from the Trojan camp is divinely incited to launch an arrow at the Greek side. It hits Menelaus in the leg, and his brother, Agamemnon, launches the Greek side once again into blood-thirsty battle. Into the battle, Diomedes, a Greek fighter, is unleashing his own fury on the Trojans, winning with every arrow and sword stroke. Trojans are falling. Greeks are falling. Spears are piercing skulls. Swords are cutting into bowels. And then we have this scene:
 
And now Glaucus
son of Hippolochus and Tydeus’ son Diomedes
met in the no man’s land between both armies:
burning for battle, closing, squaring off
and the lord of the war cry Diomedes opened up,
“Who are you, my fine friend?—another born to die?
I’ve never noticed you on the lines where we win glory,
not till now. But here you come, charging out
in front of all the rest with such bravado--
daring to face the flying shadow of my spear.
Pity the ones whose sons stand up to me in war!
But if you are an immortal come down from the blue,
I’m not the man to fight the gods of heaven.
Not even Dryas’ indestructible son Lycurgus,
not even he lived long…
That fellow who tried to fight the deathless gods….
 
…No, my friend,
I have no desire to fight the blithe immortals.
But if you’re a man who eats the crops of the earth,
a mortal born for death—here, come closer,
the sooner you will meet your day to die!”
 
The noble son of Hippolochus answered staunchly,
“High-hearted son of Tydeus, who asks about my birth?
Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal men.
Now the wind scatters the old leaves across the earth,
now the living timber bursts with the new buds
and spring comes round again. And so with men:
as one generation comes to life, another dies away.
But about my birth, if you’d like to learn it well,
first to last—though  many people know it--
here’s my story…
 
There is a city, Corinth,
deep in a bend of Argos, good stallion-country
where Sisyphus used to live, the wiliest man alive.
Sisyphus, Aeolus’ son, who had a son called Glaucus,
and in his day Glaucus sired brave Bellerophon,
a man without a fault. The gods gave him beauty
and the fine, gallant traits that go with men.
But Proetus plotted against him. Far stronger,
the king in his anger drove him out of Argos,
the kingdom Zeus had brought beneath his scepter.
 
Proetus’ wife, you see, was mad for Bellerophon,
the lovely Antea lusted to couple with him,
all in secret. Futile—she could never seduce
the man’s strong will, his seasoned, firm resolve.
So straight to the king she went, blurting out her lies:
‘I wish you’d die, Proetus, if you don’t kill Bellorophon!
Bellerophon’s bent on dragging me down with him in lust
Though I fight him all the way!’
 
All of it false
but the king seethed when he heard a tale like that.
He balked at killing the man—he’d some respect at least--
but he quickly sent him off to Lycia, gave him tokens,
murderous signs, scratched in a folded tablet,
and many of them too, enough to kill a man.
He told him to show them to Antea’s father:
that would mean his death.
 
So off he went to Lycia,
safe in the escort of the gods, and once he reached
the broad highlands cut by the rushing Xanthus,
the king of Lycia gave him a royal welcome.
Nine days he feasted him, nine oxen slaughtered.
When the tenth Dawn shone with her rose-red fingers,
he began to question him, asked to see his credentials,
whatever he brought him from his in-law, Proetus.
but then, once he received that fatal message
sent from his own daughter’s husband, first
he ordered Bellerophon to kill the Chimaera--
grim monster sprung of the gods, nothing human,
all lion in front, all snake behind, all goat between,
terrible, blasting lethal fire at every breath!
But he laid her low, obeying signs from the gods.
Next he fought the Solymi, tribesmen bent on glory,
roughest battle of men he ever entered, so he claimed.
Then for a third test he brought the Amazons down,
a match for men in war. But as he turned back,
his host spun out the tightest trap of all:
picking the best men from Lycia far and wide
he set an ambush—that never came home again!
Fearless Bellerophon killed them all.
 
Then, yes,
when the king could see the man’s power at last,
a true son of the gods, he pressed him hard to stay,
he offered his own daughter’s hand in marriage,
he gave him half his royal honors as the king.
And the Lycians carved him out a grand estate,
the choicest land in the realm, rich in vineyards
and good tilled fields for him to lord it over.
And his wife bore good Bellerophon three children:
Isander, Hippolochus and Laodamia. Laodamia
lay in the arms of Zeus who rules the world
and she bore the god a son, our great commander,
Sarpedon helmed in bronze.
 
But the day soon came
when even Bellerophon was hated by all the gods.
Across the Alean plain he wandered, all alone,
eating his heart out, a fugitive on the run
from the beaten tracks of men. His son Isander?
Killed by the War-god, never sated—a boy fighting
the Solymi always out for glory. Laodamia? Artemis,
flashing her golden reins, cut her down in anger.
But Hippolochus fathered me, I’m proud to say.
He sent me off to Troy…
And I hear his urgings ringing in my ears:
‘Always be the best, my boy, the bravest,
and hold your head up high above the others.
Never disgrace the generation of your fathers.
They were the bravest of champions born in Corinth,
in Lycia far and wide.’
 
There you have my lineage.
That is the blood I claim, my royal birth.”
 
When he heard that, Diomedes’ spirits lifted.
Raising his spear, the lord of the war cry drove it home,
planting it deep down in the earth that feeds us all
and with winning words he called out to Glaucus,
the young captain, “Splendid—you are my friend,
my guest from the days of our grandfathers long ago!
Noble Oeneus hosted your brave Bellerophon once,
he held him there in his halls, twenty whole days,
and they gave each other handsome gifts of friendship.
My kinsman offered a gleaming sword-belt, rich red,
Bellerophon gave a cup, two-handled, solid gold--
I left it at home when I set out for Troy.
My father, Tydeus, I really don’t remember.
I was just a baby when my father left me then,
that time an Achaean army went to die at Thebes.
So now I am your host and friend in the heart of Argos,
you are mine in Lycia when I visit in your country.
Come, let us keep clear of each other’s spears,
even there in the thick of battle. Look,
plenty of Trojans there for me to kill,
your famous allies too, any soldier the god
will bring in range or I can run to ground.
And plenty of Argives too—kill them if you can.
But let’s trade armor. The men must know our claim:
we are sworn friends from our fathers’ days till now!”
 
Both agreed. Both fighters sprang from their chariots,
Clasped each other’s hands and traded pacts of friendship. (Book 5)

(end scene)
​
My father, upon first speaking with someone, almost always finds some kind of familial or social relationship with them. We used to make fun of him, saying that “if you talk with dad long enough, he will eventually find out you are his third cousin, or that he went to high school with your second cousin’s first wife.” When we were young, we found the habit burdensome, because it happened often, and it happened quite early in the conversation, which means the conversation dragged on. As I’ve gotten older I have now observed him, almost in admiration, at his questions, and how quickly he gets to know someone, not just know about them. I have somewhat adopted the habit: I like asking people where they are from, about their past, where their family lives, etc. I’m not as good as my dad, but about one in every four or five conversations I’m able to find some deeper relationship I have with this person that I otherwise may never have known. Maybe it’s a mutual friend, or maybe it’s mutual interest in a book we once read, or maybe it’s only that we’ve visited some of the same places and had some of the same experiences at those places.
       My dad is not a man with many enemies. Of course, he is not a perfect man, but he is the kind of person who “never meets a stranger.” And by this virtue alone he has been able to live mostly at peace with his neighbors. My dad is from a small Louisiana town, where he still lives. But when he goes into the world, he ensures the rest of the world stays just that small.
       This is at the heart of the Iliad scene. In the midst of the battle, in the heat of the war, we see a deep humanity which remains, which turns the tide of hatred, which keeps the vitriol at bay. That deep humanity is filled with story, lineage, empathy, speaking, listening, hospitality, gifts, mutual humanity, and pacts of friendship. In the center of this scene is one of the most important Homeric words, indeed one of the most important concepts for Ancient Greek society: xenia (meaning hospitality, or guest-friendship). 
       How are we doing with these deeply human artifacts? How is our habit of talking to people until we no longer vilify them? Is anyone stopping amidst the fighting long enough, with enough humanity, to ask these kinds of questions: Where are you from? What have you seen? Who is your family? Who was your father’s father? Do we have a historical pact, an objective bond, we must keep, before we commit ourselves to conflict?
       I suspect if we took the time for such consideration, we would often find reasons to seal pacts of friendship before entering into diabolical conflict. And the times we do not find bonds which need to be kept or alliances which can be formed, we would at least find enough ambiguity and empathy to keep the deep bitterness, the irrational and unhuman venom, at bay. In those moments, where consideration comes before the sword, we are asking that we and our neighbor commit to our common humanity, even in our conflict. We are asking that our conflict be couched not just in the fullness of human emotion, one emotion keeping another in balance, but even in the fullness of previous generations. Where Diomedes began is not where he ended, “Here, come closer,” he began, “the sooner you will meet your day to die!” And he ended with, “Let’s trade armor. The men must know our claim.”
        Where is your enemy willing to trade armor with you? Where is your enemy willing to tell the others of your agreed claim? Where is your enemy willing to trade hospitality with you, a feature of Greek society which they believed most honored Zeus, the father of gods and men? Where is your enemy for whom, as Christ commanded, you would dare to die? 

by Brian G. Daigle

 
I’m watching the Cutie conundrum play out, spreading a lot faster than COVID ever will. And I am watching the arguments and decisions on both sides as if Banksy had an equal-opposite artist countering his cultural drivel. The push from Christians is quite right, whether I take hold of the battering ram or not on this one. But one thing has confused me about the Christian response. It seems a bit late and a bit too loud, and altogether pointed in the wrong direction.
 

On Netflix Being Consistent 

If you joined Netflix, you joined a video-streaming service that has, from the beginning, played by other rules. Long ago they betrayed your Christian ethic, and I don’t just mean showing or not showing naked bodies. If you don’t believe me, look at the genres they offer, and dig around a bit. Sexual ethics were thrown to the wind when “LGBT” became a category unto itself. And just because they have the “for Children” category, loaded with bright colors and cartoons, doesn’t mean they have a deep Christian theology and philosophy about story-telling or objective truth or even a basic sense of aesthetic delight. If you have paid Netflix over the past few years, you have supported all the ideas that have led to Cuties, and you have paid for those ideas. I have too. The difference is, perhaps, that I expect the world to act like the world, and I expect to censor things for me and my children, long before the director decides that the cinematography ought to include the, heretofore, forbidden. Barnes and Noble has trash literature, and yet I still buy from them. Amazon has trash items, and yet I still buy from them. Netflix has trash movies, it always has, and yet I still get 90% of my movie entertainment from them. I can remember as a boy getting to pick one movie on Friday in Blockbuster, and being sure to walk past that shelf, because those  were movies I should not watch. Why? Because that’s what it means to be in the world and not of the world. I’m open to hearing the argument that Netflix should have been off our family’s list years ago, long before the Cutie thing, but the argument will mean very little coming from the vast majority of Christians who still choose far worse institutions and organizations to support, having spent very little time, if any, thinking biblically and soundly through the issues at-hand.

But you can be mad at Netflix. Just don't let your righteous anger stop there. There is no doubt that a platform like Netflix influences hearts and minds. But that is not what Netflix does primarily. At its core, Netflix seeks to meet the market demand. You see, Netflix is doing exactly what Netflix has always done: offer movies and shows they think the consumer wants. The more damning question for you, for me, and for our society is "What does Netflix think we want this?"  


On Turning a Blind Eye

Why are Christians surprised by Cuties? This is from 2013. It has been going on for years, in our cities. When it comes to my own daughters, I wrote this over a year ago when we had our own run-in with this mess in Baton Rouge. Have you been to a high-school football game in the past twenty years and watched the halftime show? Have you stepped foot into most public (and private) schools and listened to the music in the classrooms, hallways, and locker rooms? Have you attended a middle school and high school dance? Do see the literature our schools choose for the children, even Christian schools? Do you watch the award shows? Don't join the "Cancel Cutie Culture" unless you're willing to pull your kids from public school, reform the vast majority of Christian schools, or rework the church's concept of "Youth Group." Netflix has not failed our children; parents have. The Church has failed our children. Christian schools have failed our children. We have failed our children. 

To the Christians who decide to rise up and protest Netflix over a movie that is, quite clearly, consistent with their business model, I only ask: Where have you been for the past thirty years? Where has that energy been? Where has that cultural and aesthetic fire been? Where have you been regarding Sunday NFL cheerleaders and shopping malls and Coke commercials and Super Bowl halftime shows and college football dance teams? Local churches have bowed down to popular culture in nearly every area, and suddenly we want to retreat to the high ground, because a line has been crossed. But the high ground is a ways off from this valley, a long hike for where the Church finds herself. She had better be ready for years in the wilderness if she decides she truly wants to make the trek.
 

On Artistic Censorship

Another important part of this discussion is artistic censorship, the kind that crops up quite regularly in societies that prize freedom. It’s easy to have an artistic censorship which takes rifle-tight aim at a single piece of art or a movie or a single corporation or individual behind the art. It is much more difficult, and far deeper, to consider a philosophy of artistic censorship and then live consistently in the midst of an inconsistent world. It is even more difficult to have created a culture in the Church which makes good art and raises good artists, rather than creating a moral mob that censors a bad piece of art, when it so decides.

The church, Christian schools, and Christian families have capitulated to the world’s standard on nearly everything for the past several decades. The Church has not supported mature Christian education, Christian schools have bowed down to the gods of modern education, and Christian parents have gone along for the ride. The Church has not generated a Christian philosophy or theology of the arts, especially film, and we have not purposefully raised up great and God-fearing artists. And suddenly Christians bemoan Netflix. I repeat…

Netflix has not failed our children; parents have. The Church has failed our children. Christian schools have failed our children. We have failed our children. 
 
To be sure, I have not offered here a defense for Netflix. I have not indicated Christians should keep their Netflix account or should not keep it. That's up to you. Rather, I am offering a defense of Christian culture, and a warning that Christians ought to avoid the "Cancel Cutie Culture." I am offering a defense of sanity, a defense of consistency within the Church and those who claim Christ as King, over all things and at all times. 

by Brian G. Daigle

 
Presented to the Oak Hill Board by Brian G. Daigle on 8 August 2020
 
Leadership can be a lonely place. It can be a place of quiet darkness, a place of isolation, a place of abandonment, even a place of contempt. But this should not surprise us, for the zenith of leadership, the zenith of headship, was found in our Lord Jesus Christ, at the pinnacle of his earthly ministry, suffering and ultimately his crucifixion. Upon the cross he was utterly alone, utterly forsaken, taking the sins of the world, leading a sinful world into the graceful bosom of the Father, and at the apex of that ministry, he was alone, derided by all, mocked, isolated and lifted high, and a contempt to those around him.
 
Leading a company, leading a school, leading a family, leading a church are sometimes no different. We may labor to feed the sheep, to be at the tip of the spear, to be the first into battle, and yet we find ourselves least of all. This is indeed the paradox of the cross. At the greatest moment of human history, the greatest sacrificial act in all the cosmos, we find the punishment of a criminal. At the crescendo of God’s story, we also find the nadir. And so what are leaders to do, sinful leaders like us, weary leaders like us, insecure leaders like us, to do when we step into leadership positions? The inevitable is not far off: the first must become last; the king must become a servant. But what motivates us on this journey of leadership, knowing we will make hard decisions individually and collectively? The answer, in brief, is the joy set before us.
 
Hear the letter to the Hebrews: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
 
What then is the joy set before us in leading a school? What is the joy set before us in being at the spear tip in education reform in our city and our churches and even our families? What is the joy set before us when we give to a school more than we get, when the road gets tough, when our feet slip or our hands grow tired or our minds grow faint? What is the enduring motivation we have for stepping into and remaining in leadership positions as Christian men? In sum, the joy set before us is the glory of Jesus Christ. More specifically, the joy set before us is our work to provide an education that is both a help and a covering.
 
A Help
I have wrestled over the last many years to find the best metaphor for what classical Christian education is. And I have found many helpful insights. But none is so potent, so clear, so convicting as a quote I read last year by Calvin Seerveld in his book On Being Human. He states.
 
“Neighbourhooding is a glorious gift to human nature: the opening to give to and receive from one’s fellow human what is needed….Any seasoned teacher knows that teaching means you wash the feet of your students. In line with the texts before us you could also understand and describe teaching, or Christian leadership of any sort, as a kind of neighbouring, where you bind up the wounds, the traumata, of the younger generation who come to you, having been damaged at home or in earlier schools. Blessed are those who neighbor the poor people who have lost their way and become captives or have been damaged in the arts, or in the marketplace, or in the minefield of politics. And it is a wonderful occupation to be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord to bring healing and comfort to those with need, to give good direction and to announce the coming jubilee and judgement for music, commerce, family relations, philosophy—you name it.” (Calvin Seerveld, On Being Human, p. 63-67)
 
This is it. This is the joy of the work set before us: to be good neighbors, to be a help, to bind up the wounds, to heal the broken, to assuage the scorched. Classical Christian schools do this for teachers who were previously in corrupt schools, bad education. Classical Christian schools do this for students in previously rough academic situations. Classical Christian schools even do this for parents, providing a vibrant and strong community of Christians working together to mature from what has come before in each of our lives. This is most certainly true in these times, when the wounds of our Christian brothers are deep, when a post-Christian nation has cornered or circumscribed or cut Christian culture, the wide and vast expression of Christian belief and practice in every area of life. There is a biblical image which best captures the help classical Chris
 
“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. (Luke 10:21-37)
 
The wounds of our Christian brothers are many, and so neighboring, as Seerveld describes, is an important need of the hour, and it is an important function of a classical Christian school. It is, therefore, to be on the forefront of our minds as those who have been called to lead classical Christian schools. If we are to continue our good and laborious work in classical Christian education, neighboring, being a present help in times of need, must be one of the joys set before us.
 
A Covering
The second important motivation for classical Christian leaders, especially administrators and board members, is not just our responsibility to be a present help in times of need, but also to see our work as providing a covering. If we go a bit higher, we could say we are doing the providential work required of us in Christian community, of working to provide something for the Christian families and Christian students with whom we partner. But what is this thing we are providing?
 
“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:113)
 
The fathers in our cities, the mothers in our churches, the grandparents in our communities, God has placed upon them the divine responsibility of giving their children fish rather than serpents. This is true spiritually and it is true academically. But where is a faithful Christian father to go? Where is the stream of academic trout that would satisfy his children and fulfill his duty as a Christian father? One important answer is the classical Christian school. What a school like Oak Hill does is not just provide the opportunity for neighboring, but the opportunity for providence, and this particular providence, in a post-Christian nation, takes the form of a covering. A classical Christian school is a shelter for our children amidst the culture wars. It is a covering for our fathers and mothers amidst the onslaught of materialism and secularism. It is a bulwark to keep back the mighty waters of secular scientific humanism, into which the children of God would be undoubtedly swept if we do not stand firm in the faith. It is, therefore, to be on the forefront of our minds as those who have been called to lead classical Christian schools. If we are to continue our good and laborious work in classical Christian education, providing and covering, being a covering in times of greater hostility toward our Lord Jesus Christ, must be one of the joys set before us.
 
I believe it is true that the head of school has three parts to him, equal in importance and potential: he must be a CEO, a scholar, and a shepherd. And he must be growing in these three at all times and with prudent balance. Similarly, the board at a classical Christian school must be growing in three important roles: we are to be men and women who are generals, philanthropists, and counsel. As generals, we are to lead our work of helping and covering with strategy, courage, and forethought. As philanthropists we are to lead our work of helping and covering with sound investments of time, energy, and resources. And as counsel we are to lead our work of helping and covering with wisdom, eloquence, and mercy. And ultimately, we are to look at the Prototypes of types, the Images of images, the only Model that will sustain our imaginations and bolster our wearied minds: our Lord Jesus Christ. To reiterate Hebrews: “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”

by Brian G. Daigle

I am an author and a father. At times, those two parts of me appear at war with one another. The author looks at the father squarely and says, “And just where do you think you’re going? You have five more pages to finish!” The father promptly responds, bumping into the author's shoulder as he passes, “The kid wants toast. I’ll be right back.” And as a slug upon which salt is thrown, the author inside me dwindles a little more, or so it feels.  

There have been many times in the middle of writing when I stop to get a child milk, or sort out a disagreement that has escalated, or enter a midnight room to comfort a crying child. Or I push a whole project back a few months because I need to commit more time to the words made flesh and not the words made ink. I once heard Walker Percy’s daughter speak of how her father would spend hours in his study, behind a closed door, and would come out hours later smelling like sweat, and books, and thinking. I thought, “How lovely! All those hours with no interruptions.” I have not been afforded the same luxury, at least not at this point, with three little ones, on top of my full-time work as a Head of School. It is easy in my writing to get perturbed by what seem like incessant interruptions. But a few things have stood out to me and turned those moments into gratitude rather than grumbling.

God is paradoxical. The few minutes I lose each time I have to stop my writing and be a father, those few ideas that are lost, gone forever, those few pages that could have been brilliant, that one book that will never be finished or published, is overwhelmingly swallowed up by the countless blessings God bestows upon my writing because I’m a father and not in spite of my fatherhood. As much as I think I would be a better writer if I did not have to attend to the work of being a father, I would be a far worse writer and thinker and human without the gift of fatherhood. I do not become a better author by shoving off my God-given duties; I become a better author by leaning into them and incorporating them fully into my work as an author. And surely this gift is reciprocated the other way. I truly believe I am a better father because I take the time to write, to read, to study, to step away from fatherhood and pursue those gifts and interests God has given to me. "You want to be a better father?" God asks. "Then stop trying so hard at fatherhood and go read and write." "You want to be a better author?" God asks again. "Then stop caring so much about your writing. Step away and go be a good father." "But, you just..." I say. "The first shall be last," he responds. 

Inconveniences are adventures. I have often found that if I go into interruptions with the right frame of mind, with the right heart, those interruptions end up becoming some of my best material for writing. Chesterton said that “an adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.” I have taken that to heart with everything. I try to see inconveniences not as interruptions but as unexpected adventures throughout my day, in my monthly calendar, in the other work I do. I see it as God’s playful paragraph, his sovereign stanza, thrown into the life-story I think I’m writing. And he says, “Here. Read, and do something with this, and then see what I do with it.” I can only be a better author if I realize I write, always, within the Author’s greater story. My grumbling at inconveniences is only my way of saying that my story is more important than his, and we all know how that turns out.

Build good repute and good deeds. I have known men who write a lot, and I may even love their writing. But I have found that their lives are often shriveled and flattened. Because their lives are weightless, their words lose their gravitas. Eventually the man’s credibility diminishes, and I find myself elsewhere, seeking wisdom not just from words but from actions. It is no surprise then that many a children who have grown up in homes of great intellectuals or great professors or great authors end up resenting their fathers. There is no doubt that when a man has the author’s vocation, solitude is necessary. But he must not forget his human vocation, which extends beyond his writing. A large part of that human vocation is done in the flesh, with incarnate neighborliness. And so while it is incumbent upon him to love his neighbor through his writing, he cannot love his neighbor only through his writing. He must find that lovely, old, and tension-filled balance between the active life and the contemplative life. More than that, he must hear what our intellectual fathers have said:

“…mark you, the man who wishes to persuade people will not be negligent as to the matter of character; no, on the contrary, he will apply himself above all to establish a most honourable name among his fellow-citizens; for who does not know that words carry greater conviction when spoken by men of good repute then when spoken by men who live under a cloud, and that the argument which is made by a man’s life is of more weight than that which is furnished by his words?...an honourable reputation not only lends greater persuasiveness to the words of the man who possess it, but adds greater lustre to his deeds, and is, therefore, more zealously to be sought after by men of intelligence than anything else in the world.” - Isocrates in Antidosis
 
I am not the only one who feels this tug. Anyone who has multiple responsibilities—father and office manager, church elder and grandpa, mother and daughter, husband and co-worker—feels the tug of our responsibilities. There is not only balance to be found in our various roles—that is one important thing—but more than that, there is cooperation and co-fruitfulness to be found in our various roles. When God calls a man to a variety of vocations (callings, from the Latin vocare), God’s words will not be contradictory. God’s call upon a man’s life will not lead to confusion but sanctification, if only the man would embrace the polyphonic nature, or rather the symphony, of God’s voice.  

by Brian G. Daigle

Lots of things tug at a Head of School (or Principal) the first week of school. As many of us get back into the saddle in the coming weeks, it is good to have some simple yet profound reminders for how to keep our feet firmly planted and our hands steadily working on the right things. Here are a few pointers I tell myself and other Administrators, some simple "dos" and "don'ts"  on the first week of school. 
 
Do be present and visible.
Don’t be in your office too much.
 
Do meet with Department heads or other Admin to debrief from the week.
Don’t schedule meetings that can wait until week two or three.
 
Do get good rest.
Don’t look burdened, no matter how heavy the weight is.
 
Do get to school before everyone.
Don’t be one of the first to leave.
 
Do schedule an opportunity to meet with every class for a brief orientation.
Don’t overstep the teacher’s opportunity to properly orient his or her specific class.
 
Do stand outside each morning to greet.
Don’t miss an opportunity to share a kind remark with a parent about their child the first week, especially new parents.
 
Do expect to lead by word and deed, especially anything that has changed since last year.
Don’t get annoyed when you are asked to lead yet again.
 
Do look and stand with decorum and gravitas.
Don’t act stoic.
 
Do check on each teacher at least once throughout the day, to see how they are and how you may help.
Don’t pace with frenzy throughout the school and increase everyone’s blood pressure.
 
Do take a moment and sit quietly in your office.
Don’t stay in there too long.
 
Do answer the most important emails for your school that week, especially teachers and staff.
Don’t get distracted by outside interests or other professional ventures.
 
Do eat a light lunch each day to keep you nimble throughout the day.
Don’t let Friday night’s meal be anything other than something hearty and sloppy (like your favorite takeout Chinese and a good pint of Imperial Stout).
 
Do expect some things will go wrong the first week.
Don’t make any promises until you’ve had a chance to sit and think about how to best solve the problems that arose.
 
Do start each morning with quiet prayer, however brief.
Don’t leave until you’ve prayed again.
 
Do read this list again each year.
Don’t forget to add to it as you learn. 

by Brian G. Daigle                                                                                                                   painting by Enrik Udalen

 
When emotions run high, we stop thinking rightly. Three things are needed right now for Christians: clear minds, good hearts, pure intentions. This should help with at least one of those:  
 
Because fallacies birth forth from problems in one’s head and one’s heart, I have provided here advice on how to avoid each fallacy in one’s head and in one’s heart.
 
 
#1
Arthur American: “The looters are so wrong for the havoc they are wreaking!”
Fred Fallacy: “Are you seriously saying that officer is not a murderer?!”  
 
Fallacy committed: Argument from Silence
 
Explanation: If a man is silent on a subject, we cannot necessarily posit what he has concluded about that same subject. One should not accuse another of having presented an argument about which they were silent. To say that “beef is an important meat for American delis” is not to say turkey is not important. It actually says nothing about turkey whatsoever. And so a conclusion cannot necessarily be drawn about the speaker’s views on turkey.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s head: Consider carefully what your opponent is speaking about and what they are not speaking about. Find the subject of the sentence, and consider clearly what they have predicated about that subject. If that’s not the subject you want to discuss, then ask to change the subject.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s heart: Love your opponent more than your own position. Do not try to hear something your opponent did not say so that your position will be more justifiable.  
 
 
#2
Arthur American: “Why do you keep saying George Floyd got what’s coming to him?”
Fred Fallacy: “None of the video proves he is completely innocent, and so I’m sure there is a good reason he was in police custody, getting into trouble.”
 
Fallacy Committed: Ad Ignorantium (Latin for “to ignorance”)
 
Explanation: This is an appeal to ignorance. This is where one argues that their conclusion must be true, because there is no evidence against it. What this does is take the burden of proof off the speaker and places it on the negation of the speaker’s position or proposition. That is to say, the speaker puts forth that if there is no evidence against their position, then it must be true.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s head: In a conversation, be wise and open-handed with what is a truth-claim, what is a conjecture, what is possible, and what is still in question. We ought not to believe beyond sound reasoning and good warrant for belief. One is not at liberty to believe something simply because there is a lack of evidence to the contrary.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s heart: Don’t look to always put pressure on your opponent. Be the kind of person that seeks and defends the truth in every conversation, even if the truth is not on or supported by “your side.”
 
 
#3
Arthur American: “Why are you going to the rifle range every afternoon?”
Fred Fallacy: “Trump said, ’If they start lootin’, we start shootin’ and so I guess I better get this baby dialed in!”   
 
Fallacy committed: “Ipse Dixit” (Latin for “he said it himself”)
 
Explanation: Authorities have their sphere of sovereignty, and we cannot make a sound argument by relying on a person or institution who has overreached their sphere of authority. A Head of State does not have ethical authority over whether an individual ought to shoot another individual, or over what earthly treasures an individual ought to defend. It is neither legal nor ethical justification to say “I shot the looter, because Donald Trump said I could shoot the looter.” It is the same with celebrities, politicians, and government institutions.   
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s head: Consider whether the authorities to which you appeal are the ones which can rightly support your claim, which have the right and power to set the limits and guidelines for your proposition. Just because the celebrity said to wear a face mask doesn’t mean you should. And just because the celebrity said you should not does not mean you should not.  
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s heart: seek to provide your opponent with the right authority for their argument before you grasp for ones that may be able to support your claim. That is, seek to understand before being understood.
 
 
#4
Arthur American: “Why do you say we ought to engage in the race-rhetoric with liberal leaders?”
Fred Fallacy: “I’m saying this because I am white!”
 
Fallacy committed: Skinism
 
Explained: Skinism is referencing the mere color of skin, something physical, in order to explain something non-physical, something moral or spiritual. The speaker or someone else cannot use the color of one’s skin in order to conclude anything non-physical about that person. This is not the same as “racism,” as people of variant skin colors may be from the same race, and people with similar skin colors may be from different races. Skinism is to use skin color as a tool for reasoning and discernment on non-physical matters.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s head: Consider the real reasons for your position on a matter, and not merely what your opponent may want to hear or even what may be a more popularly accepted reason. Consider the universal virtue or idea behind your claim rather than merely the local reason, even if the local reason is related.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s heart: Love the truth over social acceptance. Do right by your neighbor by seeking the truth and not merely by satisfying your or your neighbor’s emotional expectations.
 
 
#5
Arthur American: “I appreciate Trump for mobilizing federal assistance against the violent riots.”   
Fred Fallacy: “You’re just saying that because you’re a white man!”
 
Fallacy committed: Poisoning the Well
 
Explanation: This a “fallacy of distraction” because it distracts from the point that was made. It takes the focus off the person’s position and places it on an area that is tangential to the topic at hand. In short, it attacks a separate issue, usually personal in the speaker, in order to discredit the speaker or take the conversation down a separate path. It “poisons the well” from which the water of the discussion flows: the speaker. Another variety of this is bulverism. Bulverism attacks how a person came to hold a position rather than the position or proposition itself.  
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s head: Restate your opponent’s position, and then state your opposition to it. As if your opposition aims at your opponent or their position. That is, are you referencing the same thing in your opposition as your opponent references in their original proposition.  Ask yourself simply if their proposition is true and how they support it.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s heart: In your imagination, place yourself beside your opponent, seeking to know the truth about the thing that is in front of both of you. Do not simply place yourself as across the battle line from your opponent. Also, realize that your opponent is more than that single idea they are presenting to you. Be fair in helping you and your opponent find the truth by staying on topic and not by distracting away from it, even if it does help your agenda.
 
 
#6
Arthur American: “It was an awful, just awful, thing that happened to George Floyd!”   
Fred Fallacy: “You’re just saying that because you’re a black man.”
 
Fallacy committed: Poisoning the Well
 
Explanation and avoidance: See above.
 
 
#7
Arthur American: “People are making this all about race! There is much more to police brutality than just simple issues of racism.”
Fred Fallacy: “I can’t believe you don’t think black lives matter! Unfriend me right now from Facebook!”
 
Fallacy committed: Straw-Man
 
Explanation: A straw-man resembles a real man, but it is not. In a similar way, a straw-man fallacy may have resemblance to your opponent’s argument, but is not actually their argument, and so presenting it and defeating it is neither logical nor helpful. This is one of the most common fallacies, for it allows us to set up our opponent’s argument in an unfavorable light, making it easier and obvious for us to defeat, when actually what we have set up is not their original position at all.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s head: Before you respond to your opponent’s argument, repeat their position back to them and ask if you have adequately portrayed their position. Allow them to clarify or correct their position or argument, then respond to it.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s heart: Seek to love your neighbor and the accuracy of their beliefs more than intellectual or social-media victory. That is, desire to win the argument and the man and not merely win the argument. A straw-man is a veiled version of falsifying information, and if you know you have done this and you go forward with it, then you are willing to lie in order to appear to have victory. Friendship is then lost completely from the argument; trust is severely damaged and your opponent, rightly, suspects you will not be fair.  
 
  
#8
Arthur American: “Why are you burning down the stores and houses in the city?!”
Fred Fallacy: “Did you see what that police officer did to that man in Minneapolis?! No justice! No peace!”
 
Fallacy committed: “Two Wrongs”  
 
Explanation: Two wrongs do not make a right. Justice is not necessarily served because the offending party suffers pain at the hands of the victim or because the victim’s subjective standard for justice is met. Justice is an objective standard, and for this reason it cannot be bartered with; it does not negotiate with terrorists. A multitude of offenses does not wipe out a single offense.     
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s head: Consider objectively a just theory of war and not just a practice of personal or communal vengeance. If someone has done wrong, ask if you are responding with wrong or if you are responding within the bounds of virtue and peace, even if that route will require delayed gratification.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in one’s heart: seek the redemption and reconciliation of your neighbor rather than their destruction and defeat, even if it is their ideas that ought to be defeated. You may smash a man’s ideas without smashing the man.
 
 
#9
Arthur American: “Why are they burning down the stores and houses in the city?!”
Fred Fallacy: “Because something has to be done! Today it’s a black man unjustly killed; tomorrow it’s fifty; soon enough Jim Crowe will be reinstated and lynching will be normal again!”   
 
Fallacy committed: Slippery Slope   
 
Explanation: A slippery slope exists when someone tries to link together a series of actions which have not been sufficiently proven to be linked. This is similar to a straw man fallacy or a fallacy of hyperbole, where an exaggeration is unreasonably made in order to get the upper hand in an argument. “If you allow your child to have one sip of wine, next it’s a whole bottle, and then they are alcoholics.”
 
How to avoid this fallacy in your head: Be honest with the consequences of ideas and not the possible consequences that will give the greatest emotional response from your audience. Winning the argument and the man is about presenting the facts of the case with the utmost clarity and proportion as possible. It is about knowing and exhibiting in one’s arguments the difference between certainty, probability, and possibility, and then making decisions accordingly. Also, read history. Know the truths of the matter and not the political hammers fashioned by one side of the other.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in your heart: Winning a man’s emotional sentiments will only win him for a season, until something with greater emotional pull tugs him away. Hope not for your opponent’s assent but his understanding. Do right by dead and living authors, especially dead, who are not hear to verbally defend themselves.
 
 
#10
Arthur American: “Why don’t you plan to vote for Biden this coming election?”
Fred Fallacy: “Stupid liberal news coverage is all into the riots, and the democrats just keeping supporting it all. I’m not about to become one of those lunatics!”
 
Fallacy committed: Hasty Generalization   
 
Explanation: A hasty generalization is when a conclusion is reached and extended to a group, or each person in the group, without the due support for such an extension. This may also be called a stereotype. It is also known as the fallacy of division: extrapolating the features of the whole onto the features of each individual that is a part of the group or team. Just because the Lakers are the best team in the NBA doesn’t mean their point guard is the best point guard in the league.
 
How to avoid this fallacy in your head: Distinguish between the particulars of the group and the particulars of each individual in the group. Know what binds the individuals in the group and what may be different about each. Get to know members of that group and what has caused them to be a part of it. Do not assume beyond what is helpful for a sound conclusion, and do not assume if you have the means to learn the truth.  
 
How to avoid this fallacy in your heart: Consider how complex of a person you are. Consider in your own groups and allegiances individuals who do not represent your purpose or reason for being a part of that group, even individuals who do not accurately represent your group. If you do not what someone’s sins cast upon you, simply because you are loosely associated with one another through being a part of the same group, then don’t do that to others. Love your neighbor as yourself.

by Brian G. Daigle

Right now we are all at home more, and that means our bad habits, and our good habits, are in sharp relief. Do our children obey our voice? Do our children get along? Do we like our children? Do they like us? Are we a balanced family of activity and quiet? Are we patient parents? All of this is being answered experientially for all of our families right now. And one of the areas it is seen most clearly is how messy our living space has gotten and how good we are at getting that in order throughout the day or at planned intervals of the day. How well are our children learning to clean, keep things clean, and how well are we at making orderliness and cleanliness an enjoyable thing for our family? Here are ten principles to do better what all of us right now are having to do.

1. Start with order. When things are unclean, it all begins with disorder; things are not in order. This is why parents must begin with order. Instruct the children to sit on the couch, orderly, and gain their attention. Turn off the television. Turn off the music. Stand before them. Put your phone away. And communicate clearly the path ahead. As they sit, they should be QRS: Quiet, Reverent, and Still.  
2. Have a goal. “Get everything clean!” is not a goal, and neither is, “This place needs to not look like a crap hole!” even if it is your desire. You goal should be SPAM (specific, practical, achievable, and measurable). Your goal should be to get this room cleaned and back in order. If you want the living room cleaned up, make a quick inventory of what’s out of place, categorize that, and then have a plan on how to communicate that. Have a goal for what getting things clean means. How clean? Big stuff? Little stuff? If your goal seems overwhelming, then break it into three or four smaller goals. In accomplishing those smaller goals, they will accomplish the main goal.
3. Be concrete. Give clear and concrete directions. This does not mean tell them everything that has to be done, micromanaging and prescribing their work. This means if you want their room clean, you realize that means three things: clothes, toys, and books. They need to put all their clothes properly away, and they need to come get you when that is done. Then, check it. If finished, next is toys. All toys and all clothes have a home. Put all toys in their home. Done? They can come get you. Then, books. Books have a home. All books have a home. Put each book in its place. When that is done, their room is clean. If you want to go beyond that then, great. Saying “Get everything picked up,” is overwhelming for a concrete thinker, like a child. And so you must give clear and concrete and attainable directions. You could even give them three categories and let them choose the order to clean those.
4. Have helpful phrases. “Everything has a home,” and “Work diligently,” and “Be joyful workers,” and “Focus on the task at hand,” are all phrases you will hear in our home when we have our children focus on organizing and cleaning. “Do your job,” is another when we find one has drifted over to another room to help or boss or distract a sibling. Have helpful phrases, use them, and expect quick and joyful obedience in them.
5. Clean with them. This does not mean clean for them. It means clean with them, model what you want from them. If you are on the couch on your phone, or if you are reading a book, or if you are walking around fussing at everything, that energy and effort and direction will be followed. More is caught then taught, so have them catch “good cleaning habits” by showing it to them. My children work so much more efficiently and much better when I help them pick up the blocks as opposed to me simply directing them to do it. I do not lead in picking up the blocks, and I will not continue picking them up if they stop or get distracted, but I will help them with their work.
6. Praise them as they go about their work. Children need to know and hear they are going in the right direction. Don’t let the distracted and disobedient child keep you from giving praise to the one following directions. Encourage them in the moment by a simple, “You’re doing well. Keep it up,” or “Thank you for working diligently, “ or “You’re doing a great job,” or “You’re getting so close to being finished!”
7. Turn on music. Make it an enjoyable time by turning on music. I can remember my mom playing music almost every Saturday when she was cleaning and asking us to clean. That music made it much more enjoyable, almost as a dance. It lifted the mood and even allowed fun moments of dancing or singing amidst the cleaning.
8. Close with order. When everyone is done, have them reconvene back where you started, back where you gave directions. Sit them back down and give final words on how they did, how well that went, what to improve upon, and expectations moving forward. Don’t fuss. Don’t lecture. The battle is over and now is a time to encourage and teach the troops. Turn the music down or off. Sing with them. Pray with them. Read a book. Having some fun and creative closing ceremonies to close cleaning time. Remind them of #8 and #9 below if you must.     
9. Make some basic rules for keep things orderly. Perhaps they may not move furniture the rest of the day to make a fort. Perhaps “When you use something, you must put it back, or pay the Pater Pollution Tax,” or “There are three things that should never be left on the ground: ABCD! Art and Books and Clothes and Dishes!” This means that their art—musical instruments or coloring books or letters or crayons or blocks or puzzles—should never be left on the ground. If they are left on the ground, they will pay the Pater Pollution Tax. The same goes for books, clothes, or dishes.
10. Get in a rhythm of orderliness. In our home, we do not start another big thing, even lunch or going outside or a movie, until the thing we were just doing is put back in order. This provides incentive to the children to get to work so we can move to the next thing they want to do. This also allows us to keep things clean as we go throughout the day and not have it all an overwhelming wreck at once. You could make a simple rule like that, or you could make certain times of the day cleaning times. When 11PM hits, ring the bell. Have everyone sit down, and give directions. Do it again at 5PM. Do it again before bath time, which is before dinner. If you don’t like a bell, get a French horn, a harmonica, a pleasant sound, something other than the shrill whine of a mom or dad griping about how it’s time to clean up this crap hole.

 
(I’d like to end this essay as I’ve never ended an essay, with the word ‘crap hole.’ Copyright pending.) 

There are times in a family when chaos or crisis hits. These can be big times or small times. I can remember being at the grocery store once with my family, and there was a particularly concerning situation arise in the parking lot. I was loading the groceries, and suddenly we needed to switch to safe mode. I instructed everyone to get in the van and lock the doors. I would finish putting up the groceries, put up the basket, and come back to the car. Imagine if, in that moment, my children all decided they had other jobs to do, and they didn’t want to do what I was asking or needing them to do. Emery had a sudden and special burden for the carts that were left in the parking lot. Charlotte decided to grab a plastic toy, jump on top of the van and help defend the family. Benjamin chose to grab my cell phone, call a few friends and complain loudly about how I was handling the situation. In that moment, everyone had a job to do, and to try and do someone else’s job, or to try and do a job that wasn’t at all helpful for the moment, would have caused more chaos, more difficulty. It would have brought on a host of other problems. This is why both practically and philosophically, on any given day in our home, we will say to our children, "What's your job? Do your job, and then let's discuss others." 
       Each of us in this Covid-19 crisis has a job to do. Educators. Politicians. Mothers. Children. Engineers. Clergy. Artists. Journalists. Doctors. Nurses. Bankers. Sanitation workers. Chefs. Lawyers. And it’s not our job to try and do someone else’s job right now. My friend Ed Lang, in his own update to his school, recently said, “There is no situation so bad that you can’t make it worse.” This is precisely correct. There is no situation so bad that it couldn’t get worse, especially if we decided to do things in that situation that are not ours to do.  
       I suspect one of the things that will irritate and inflame the moment more than anything is the apparent need for people to do someone else’s job. Grandmothers become overnight journalists on social media. Engineers become political commentators and economists. Teachers become (worse) grumblers. Clergy try and become political reformers. Students become monks.  
       This is the kind of moment in our history when the house is in particular crisis mode, and while you may not like or agree with what the leaders of the house are doing, they are doing it, and they are the leaders, and so long as it is not obviously and clearly unethical, then each of us ought to do our jobs, we ought to do the work God has called us to do in order to maintain good health and order amidst a disorderly and unhealthy time. Do not begrudge the moment that you cannot do enough because you are not a healthcare worker. The moment does not call for everyone to be a healthcare worker. The moment calls for everyone to love their neighbor, in the way God has called you to love them. Melchizedek didn't become a soldier. For some, loving your neighbor will be going to your banking job and pushing out those small business loans. For others it will be sitting in front of a computer with a class full of third graders and reciting a poem.
       If you are a revolutionary and a critic by nature, calm your revolt and don’t look for little things to critique, even if you are right, and especially if they are not in your realm of work. Stay in your realm of work and do that well. Put your energy there.  
       If are a pacifist or tend to clam up in times like these, realize you are needed somewhere and by someone. What work has God given you to do outside of a crisis? Go there, and see how you can be of assistance during a crisis.
       Lincoln said that a house divided cannot stand. It is also true that a house disordered cannot stand. Don’t despise your father or mother during a time of crisis, even if you don’t really like how well they’re handling it. Do your job, and be ready to provide a clear and appropriate evaluation later, even if that includes evaluating by your wallet and vote.  
       I am an educator, so I offer this brief word of advice to each of us, and now I go off to read, write, answer emails, and teach online classes.