Faith Formation @ Cornerstone Christian School
THE MAIN THING: WHAT IS YOUR CENTRE?
This concept from the children’s movie The Rise of the Guardians has more significance than we might first acknowledge. Whatever lies at the heart of your vision of flourishing produces a gravitational force influencing all spheres of life.
At Cornerstone Christian School that centre is Jesus.
Every person, and every society, lives with or by some conception(s) of what human flourishing is: what constitutes a fulfilled life? What makes life really worth living? What would we most admire people for? We can’t help asking these and related questions in our lives . . .”
- Charles Taylor
“Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O God.” - St. Augustine
THE GOAL OF FAITH FORMATION:
Our vision for faith formation is that students will clearly know and courageously respond to the Holy Spirit’s leading in their life. The evidence of this is:
- A dynamic relationship of Jesus’ Lordship, being worked out in the life of the believer and sustained by God the Holy Spirit, with increasing measure of the fruit of the Spirit.
- Being informed and shaped by the scriptures.
- Lived out with humble discernment and service in a faith community.
Simply, that we look more like Jesus.
OUR CORE ANCHORS:
Unique to our inter-denominational context, being God-centred is going to take on a wide array of expressions. We anchor faith formation in these three core areas:
God, Three-in-One: We confess God is revealed in the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. When we say we are “God-Centred” we speak of God who is three-in-one, one-in-three. We believe that God the Father Almighty is the Creator of everything seen and unseen, who sent his divine Son, the man Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to Himself and is now present and active in the Church and the world through God the Holy Spirit.
The Authority of Scripture: We believe and submit to the Holy Scripture’s revelation of God in Jesus Christ and His vision of human flourishing for life reconciled to Himself. The scriptures are God-inspired and are instructive and infallible in all matters of life and faith. It reveals God’s nature, humanity’s origins, nature, and goal, the event of creation, the presence of evil and sin, the act of redemption, and the promise of restoration. From Genesis 1 to Revelation 21 the vision is that “God will dwell with his people” (Gen 1-3, Lev. 26:12, Rev. 21:3) and that we live in shalom (holistic peace) with God and creation.
The Community of Faith: We practice discernment in a community of faith and not as a primarily individualistic experience. As Cornerstone is not a church or linked to a denomination, we encourage students and families to work out their salvation at school together with a context of faith communities (family and church) that share Christian doctrine and practices. Holding to the priesthood of all believers, matters of doctrine and ethics are submitted to communal bodies (local churches/denominations, etc.) for discernment and societal practices. To be in relationship with Christ is to be in relationship with a global and local expression the Church which challenges an autonomous, individual-centred expression (aka me & Jesus faith).
OUR POSTURE: “LIFE IN THE MESS”
A COMMITMENT TO HOSPITALITY IN THE JOURNEY OF FAITH
If I were to ask: “In matters of life and faith, how much have we figured out to this point in life?” I would believe that in humility we would admit we still have at least a few questions.
I do not believe the pinnacle of spiritual formation by grade 12 is to eliminate questions, or even doubt, entirely. Afterall, David was a man after God’s own heart and his Psalms are pretty raw. Rather, the aim of spiritual formation is to inspire and nurture in students a resolve to seek first the kingdom of God. Faith is a journey. It doesn’t end at Grade 12 by any stretch of the imagination.
At Cornerstone, we are committed to practice empathy and hospitality with students as they experience seasons of life, questions, doubt, and wrestle with matters of faith and life. In an attempt to model the ministry of Jesus, to which we fall short to be sure, our aim is to enter into student’s lives and walk with them as we journey toward God together.
This may mean that students will hear opinions or witness life choices that do not align with their own at times. Part of the journey of faith formation is to exercise compassion without judgement and patience without expectation (the Good Samaritan is a good model here). It also means that students will be safe to ask and wrestle with real questions of life and faith in a community of hospitality where we are seeking God, his truth, and his vision of human flourishing together.
Journeying toward Christ together,
Adam Driscoll
Director of Spiritual Development