Endorsements
"Earlier in my ministry, over the course of about ten years, I myself explored Classical Lutheran education hoping to be able to be a part of such a school and to provide such an education to my own children. Though my pursuits never progressed beyond the research and feasibility stages, I continue to have a high regard for Classical Lutheran education. I am delighted that, through the grassroots efforts of numerous very able and dedicated pastors, educators, and lay people in the Wichita area, LCMS Lutherans of the greater Wichita area may soon have the option of a Classical Lutheran education for their children. And given other discussions that are underway around the state, building on trails that have been blazed in previous years, I could foresee and welcome the day when the LCMS Kansas District might have several Classical Lutheran schools among its many fine parochial schools."
–Rev. Peter K. Lange, First Vice President of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
"My prayer is that God will use Concordia Academy to equip the royal priesthood of Christ. Be mindful of these words from Dr. Martin Luther, "For if we wish to have excellent and able persons both for civil and Church leadership, we must spare no diligence, time, or cost in teaching and education our children, so that they may serve God and the world" (Large Catechism, 4th Commandment, [172])"
–Rev. Justin Panzer, President, LCMS Kansas District
"I have been blessed to observe Concordia Academy students in action in their inaugural year of operations. Their commitment to learning and community reflects the dedication of the Christ-centered instructors. The excellence of the classical Lutheran curriculum offers families a premier choice for secondary education in the greater Wichita area."
–James Bradshaw, Assistant to the LCMS Kansas District President for Education
"I am encouraged to see the proposal for Concordia Academy. At a time when the educational philosophies and practices of the government are diverging with those of the church, there is a need for the youth of our church to be taught according to the sound pedagogical principles of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Concordia Academy, with its emphasis on solid Evangelical catechesis and classical educational methods rooted in the historic traditions of the Lutheran church, will prepare Christian minds to face the challenges that an increasingly hostile world presents to the church. Such a school will be attractive not only to Lutheran families but also to families of other confessions who share a commitment to our position on Scripture and appreciate Lutheran educational distinctiveness. Establishing a Lutheran school is never easy. Undoubtedly, there will be many hurdles to overcome before this school is established. However, with the patient support of the church, I believe that Concordia Academy can not only meet its projected goals but it will also provide a template and a resource pool for others who are contemplating similar ventures."
– Rev. Dr. Thomas Korcok, Associate Professor of Theology, Concordia University – Chicago
"I look forward to seeing Concordia Academy grow and flourish in Wichita. Since the time of the Reformation, Lutherans have upheld classical education because its emphasis on virtue, self-discipline, and knowledge accords with a Christian understanding of humanity and humanity’s role within the world. Both Philip Melanchthon and Martin Luther understood that the rigors of the traditional liberal arts are a natural and necessary arena in which to prepare for our various vocations. Classical Christian education both recognizes human fallenness, and it supports human dignity. It cares for students, not just statistics. It champions good content and good habits, not simply ways to get ahead. In pursuing its mission as a classical Lutheran school, Concordia Academy offers a historically informed vision of education that fully integrates the Christian view of humanity into its academic content and instructional methods."
—Dr. Gabriel Haley, Associate Professor of English, Concordia University, Nebraska
"During the Reformation, Lutherans were the pioneers of classical Christian education. For centuries, Lutheran schools were characterized by a combination of classical education plus catechesis. Today classical Christian education is being rediscovered. Not only is it proving effective in transmitting the Christian intellectual tradition, but the new classical schools have become academic powerhouses. In a time when the public is searching for an “education reform” that can remedy the problems that have become evident today, classical education is turning out students who can read, write, think, do math, do science, know history, and master practical skills. Most classical schools and homeschools cover Kindergarten through 8th grade. One problem in the classical education movement is the lack of classical secondary schools. Students classically-trained on the elementary level often lose some of the progress they have made when they go to an ordinary high school. Conversely, classical secondary schools can build on and complete the developmental sequence, as the grammar stage (elementary school) builds to the logic stage (middle school) and bears fruit in the rhetoric stage (high school). A classical middle and high school [note: only a high school is now planned] would offer students who have gone through the grammar level (thus having a base of knowledge and language ability) a curriculum for the logic level (built around discussion, dialectic, and analysis) and the rhetoric level (built around effective writing, speaking, and creative application). The prospect of a classical middle and high school in Wichita would be good news for the existing classical school and homeschoolers in the area."
– Dr. Gene Edward Veith, Board Member, Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education
"Education can be an asset or it can be an obstacle for Lutheran parents striving to raise children as believers. In American society, the dominant educational system—both public and private—has become an obstacle to developing creative, knowledgeable, analytical thinkers who can serve their neighbors as well as articulate and defend their Christian faith. A different and historical education is needed to support and develop Christian families. Classical Lutheran education is such an approach. Classical by itself is not enough; Lutheran by itself is not enough. Together Classical Lutheran education addresses the development of temporal vocational needs and eternal spiritual formation. Such a school to serve children and their parents is dreamed for in Wichita, Kansas."
– Dr. Jacquelyn Veith, Board Member and Executive Director of Educational Certification for Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education
"A Lutheran Liberal Arts Education puts into practice, for children and their parents, St. Paul's words found in Colossians: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition and to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” Of course, attentiveness to the whole passage – and St. Paul's logic within the passage – becomes foundational for a Christian Liberal Arts Education. The Lutheran Liberal Arts school in Wichita empowers students to think through, by neither dismissing nor accepting any of them wholesale, the philosophies that shape Western civilization and to hold philosophical arguments and theories up to the standards of Law and Gospel. Additionally, Christ commands us to love God with all of our “heart, soul, and mind.” American Christianity tends toward the “heart” and “soul,” but neglects the “mind.” A Lutheran Liberal Arts Education teaches children to love God with their mind. Thanks be to God for our minds. And thanks be to God for the minds of children, full of awe and wonder! "
– Dr. Jacob L. Goodson, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Southwestern College
"The proposed Concordia Academy will be an asset not only for Lutherans but for all Christians who seek to live, sacramentally and liturgically, the life in Christ. It will meet an important need for our adolescents: namely a classical education focusing on the liberal arts, set within a framework of regular prayer, which promotes the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist as the means to God’s redeeming and life-giving grace. Concordia Academy understands that the sacramental approach to creation and the liturgical experience of the Christian Faith are fundamental expressions of God’s beauty that are not only useful but necessary to a student’s holistic pursuit of truth and virtue and for this reason must be seen as an essential component in his education."
– Father Benedict Armitage, Hierodeacon and Former Headmaster of Christ the Savior Academy
"Nothing is more important than offering more educational options to Wichita families. So much the better with the Christian, classical vision of Concordia Academy. Fighting the education policy battles in Topeka makes clear to me that we need more freedom in education itself. Our broken politics and culture demand a return to the foundations of beauty, wisdom, and virtue that are best-found in an orthodox, Christian setting that pulls from the best of the human experience. Concordia will offer this to Wichita's entire Christian community and make it easier for others around the state to pursue the same. "
– James Franko, Vice President and Policy Director of Kansas Policy Institute and Secretary/Treasurer of Success for Kansas Students
"A comprehensive Christian education based on the premier works of Western civilization is a necessity for any well-matured and accomplished person. This type of education is the primary means to promote truth in the modern world and for future generations. The Concordia Academy will provide this form and degree of education to the youth of the Wichita area. I completely support and applaud this type of academy and educational approach."
– Dr. Lionel Alford, Jr., Experimental Test Pilot, Flight Test Engineer, Safety/Research/Design Engineer, Author
"In my humble opinion any church, of any denomination, that does not have a school attached to it for the sake of its children and a significant means to care for its elderly is a failed church. It lacks the regular and consistent means of creating a meaningful Christian community in this world. So accordingly, I strongly support the idea of Concordia Academy. Within this means, the fallenness of the human being as found in the mind, heart, and soul of a person can be put on a path to sanctification and finding the right personal relationship with the Creator of his being. This is the chief end of man. This is what the Liberal Arts are all about: the freeing of man’s fallen nature to be in eternal, personal communion with the Creator of his being. This is a study and a discipline that all men seek but few find because the responsibility of parents for the education of their children has been turned over to the State and the State seeks uniformity not personal freedom. The education of man’s fallen nature does not take place with common curriculum, tests, and degrees. It takes place with a good, caring guide nurturing and disciplining the mind and heart of the student to seek the eternal Truth, Beauty, and Holiness of the Creator, His Nature, THE GREAT I AM. It takes place by developing a good habit early. Developing the individual to be able to have the confidence to find his own way toward these eternal things requires the basic tools of the Liberal Arts—grammar, logic and rhetoric, the trivium—exercised on the activities of man and nature in the world around him. As this seeking takes place, ideas and beliefs such as "Gifts of the Spirit" and the Great Virtues and their opposites the "Seven Deadly Sins"—the truly human things—begin to shape themselves in the student’s mind so he can choose through his developing reasoning and observation what he thinks will serve him as true in his life and shape his character. This early habit becomes a life-long practice for the student. But it must become a habit early if it is to yield its best fruit. The concept of a Concordia Academy, a school within a church body, and the means, the Liberal Arts, provide a proven and time-tested way that a child can grow into a human being whose being can reach the full capacity for living a good life instead of reaching the capacity for making a good living. The efforts of Pastor Boyle and those who share his vision need to be encouraged and supported if the Christian community wants to be the “city on a hill”. This is most certainly true."
–Randy Love, Northfield School of the Liberal Arts