If you have ever been in my office, you would immediately understand my addiction. I am a collector of anything Coke.  I have over 500 different Coke collector bottles (still filled with Coca-Cola). I have many unique items, including clocks, trucks, cars, planes, trains, phones, lamps, signs, marbles, coins, golf balls, baseballs, footballs, a pool cue, radios, refrigerators, flashlight, staplers, plates, polar bears, music boxes, nutcracker, Funko Pops, a circa 1950 Coke machine and cooler and over 500 bottles in my collection. I affectionately call my office the Coke Museum of WV. Some have asked what all this "stuff" is worth. To most? Nothing. To me? Priceless. I am obsessed.

Coca-Cola has produced many themes throughout the years: "Drink Coca-Cola" (1886), "Delicious and Refreshing" (1904), "Thirst Knows No Season" (1922), "The Pause that Refreshes" (1929), "Things Go Better with Coke" (1963), "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" (1969),  "It's the Real Thing" (1971), "Open Happiness" (2010), "Share a Coke" (2011), "Together Tastes Better"  (2020), "Real Magic" (2021), and "Taste the Feeling" (2024). Many of these slogans were reflections of the social status of their respective time.

It's the Real Thing!

Of those slogans, "It's the Real Thing" was the most successful. In the early 1970s, many off-brand cola drinks were introduced, including Coca-Cola's "New Coke. " Coke's brand manager, Ira C. Herbert, heralded the new slogan as a new direction that "responds to research which shows that young people seek the real, the original … as an escape from phoniness."

Many fast-food restaurants have recently tried to capitalize on the vegetarian trend by creating meat alternatives. The McPlant (McDonald's), the Impossible Whopper (Burger King), the Veggie Stack (Wendy's), and the Cauliflower pizza (Pizza Hut) are all substitutes for the real thing. Regardless of the ingredients and seasoning, you cannot turn plants into beef. There is no substitute for the real thing.

In Christian education, we have too many substitutions for the real thing. The New Christianity has inundated our world with pseudo-religion. Pseudo-Christianity is a term used to describe people who claim to be Christian but have beliefs that differ from the Christian faith and are characterized by hypocrisy and self-righteousness. In biblical terms, they have a "form of godliness but deny the power" (2 Tim. 3:5). Unfortunately, many well-meaning Christians are duped through the subtlety of substitutions for the truth. To apply Mr. Herbert's conclusion to Christian families seeking the real thing to escape the world's substitutions.

Deuteronomy 6:7 gives the admonition for homes to consistently teach Biblical principles:

You shall teach them diligently to your children and talk of them when you sit in your house, walk by the way, lie down, and rise.

The primary cause for the phony culture that has infiltrated our Christian schools is the lack of Christian principles taught and practiced in the home.

Parents taking the responsibility to teach their children diligently is the real (Biblical) thing. The Bible never places the responsibility of teaching children on an outside entity. It is always levied on the home. This responsibility cannot be transferred. Enrollment in a Christian school does not replace the need for significant parent and community involvement. When parents seek to enroll their children in our Christian school, I always tell them that the Biblical mandate for raising children is on the parents, not the school. I say, "We are here to supplement your home, not a substitute for it."

How often have parents used the Christian school as a motivation or leverage to reform their child's behavior? I have witnessed parents threatening to send their children to "the Christian School" if their behavior is not improved. What message does that communicate about the Christian School? What happens when that experiment fails? Conflict between the home and the school is not the mission nor the vision of Christian education. The Christian School should be a partnership with the home, that is already instilling Biblical values, not the initial introduction of those values to the home. 

Genuine change only comes from the heart. How and what a person thinks about in their heart will determine their attitude and subsequent actions (Proverbs 23:7). The Christian school is not a reform school, but through Christ, it can be a transforming agent through the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:1-2).

Consumerism versus Partnership in Christian Education

My recent experiences, interviewing families interested in enrollment, has revealed that most parents desire to have their children attend a Christian school for a variety of reasons: smaller class sizes, better student-teacher ratios, safety, a wholesome social environment, higher academic rigor, selective enrollment, and the potential for positive peer groups, to name a few. When these reasons are primary, the consideration for Christian education is more of a choice for a private school education. When these are the deciding factors, parents consider themselves consumers or customers rather than partners. Paying tuition gives the customer unequivocal rights, demands, and access. Teachers are viewed as employees, not ministry partners, whose salary is paid by the consumer. The Administration is the "store managers" who ensure the customer's needs are heard and met promptly. "The customer is always right" emphasizes customer satisfaction and valuing their perspective, even if it's not always accurate, to ensure loyalty and repeat business. Every school has had the threat of families taking their business elsewhere. 

However, it is rare for a parent to express that their primary reason for enrolling in a Christian school is so that their children will have a Christ-centered, biblically integrated education. When this is true, parents and school staff exhibit a more loving, caring, trusting, and patient (long-suffering) attitude as partners in assisting to fulfill the parent's Biblical mandate. Teachers and administrators are viewed as brothers and sisters in Christ who are growing in their relationship with the Lord. All believers are ultimately responsible for their work ethic, use of talents, gifts, and opportunities as unto the Lord (Col. 3:23). This does not diminish the responsibility to promote and produce excellence. Accountability is necessary to promote and encourage growth. A poor testimony can do great harm to building God's kingdom.  "God is always right" emphasizes ministry and valuing His perspective, since it is always accurate, we humbly and respectfully submit in honor, preferring one another. True disciples are known for their patient, enduring love for each other (John 13:35). 

Who suffers when Christian schools partner with families not sharing the mission and vision statement? Everyone. Teachers and administrators struggle to enforce and maintain a positive school culture. Standards decline as the school slowly assimilates into the public school model to stabilize enrollment. Rather than being able to effect change from within the heart, through applying Biblical principles by the Spirit of God, behaviorism is initiated as the preferred control method.  With unbelieving students from unchurched homes, inappropriate behavior gradually becomes the norm rather than the exception. Families see their children's hearts turn toward a worldly focus. Eventually, the vicious cycle reaches the point of no return.

What do we do?

Do we become exclusive to Christians only? After all, Christian schools were founded to edify Christians. We must maintain a genuine Christian culture and communicate that a Christian school is not for everyone. We must clearly communicate who we are and what our mission is. We must emphasize that standards and expectations differ because they are founded on the Word of God and the desire to please Him. We must get back to presenting the real thing. If interested families do not feel they align with those goals and objectives, then they should seek other institutions to educate their children. 

Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Jesus died to attract mankind to Himself. All our marketing techniques pale in significance to making the Master manifest.  An old marketing adage once said, "What you win them with is what you win them to."   In Christian education, we have succumbed to providing substitutions for what genuine Christianity is all about. Our "show window" must accurately attract those who desire to allow Christ to live in them, which is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).

Our Christian schools must strategically find ways to reengage parents as the primary influence on their children's discipleship. Students have proven that "Parental involvement is associated with higher student achievement" [Jeynes]. Many parents struggle to know how to parent. Scheduling and offering Biblical parenting classes, seminars, and workshops are great ways to assist and equip parents to take their God-given role with their families.

Another method is consistently involving parents in their child's class. This can lead to discussions around biblical principles in the home. Children are more likely to continue what they have seen and learned from parents who model and show that learning a biblical worldview is a priority. Nothing replaces a parent who takes their faith seriously, publicly and privately.

The 1971 Coca-Cola advertisement said, "It's the real thing. What the world wants today is Coca-Cola." What the world needs today is genuine biblical Christian culture. With so much phoniness and pseudo-Christianity in the world today, there is no substitute for the real thing. 

Jeynes, W.H. (2005) A meta-analysis of he relation of parental achievement in urban elementary school students' academic achievement. Urban Education, 10(1), 82-110.