Concord Christian Academy (CCA) admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in administration of its education policies, admission policies and other school-administered programs. For Concord Christian Academy, the Bible (both the Old and New Testaments) is the foundation and final authority informing our understanding of the natures of both God and human beings. We affirm and teach that humanity is the distinct creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The Creator speaks of His creation as being "good" throughout the first chapter of Genesis, reaching a climax at the creation of man, in God's image, when He states that it is "very good." The gift of gender is part of the goodness of God's creation.
In Genesis 1 we find the description of a perfectly created paradise. Scripture uses the Hebrew word "tov," which means "healthy, it works, or good," which gives us insight as to how God viewed His creation. Creation through the first two chapters of Genesis appears to be functioning in proper accord with land producing vegetation, trees bearing fruit, the lights placed in the sky, animals of every kind moving on the earth, and mankind established as the ruler over God's creation. Its pure design was the potential of eternal peace and compatibility for mankind to work the land and enjoy the fruit of his labor. As Adam (the first man) named the animals, it became apparent that there was no biological mate for him to join in the command given to the birds and the fish, to be fruitful and multiply. Although, God had pronounced that the rest of creation was good, in Genesis 2:18 God declared that "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him." To address this situation, the Creator fashioned a woman (Eve) to be the perfect complement to the first man (Adam). Scripture (Gen. 2:24) speaks of this first union as marriage. Man and woman come together and unite as husband and wife, becoming one flesh. God intends that this one flesh relationship of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime should reflect the union between Christ and His church. It also provides for the man and the woman, within marriage, the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to Biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God, as is her husband, and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and assist in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on Biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
God had given all creation everything necessary to thrive. Both provision and protection were provided to all living creatures. By inference, we conclude that God's original creation had an absence of anxiety, illness, imperfections in childbirth, genetic faults, misunderstanding one's purpose, or hatred toward another. God had created a paradise, free of worry or cares. This paradise could continue because God had given an umbrella of provision (providing for every need) and protection (a hedge from the stain of sin.)
As the Biblical account of God's creation unfolds, chapter three of Genesis records a dramatic change in the level of provision and protection that God affords to His creation. Through the temptation of Satan, the woman and man transgressed the command of God and fell from their original state of innocence. Through the rebellion in Eden, sin entered the world. Adam and Eve were estranged from God, and that separation is spiritual death. On its own, the final effect of this would have been living forever in our sinful bodies, eternally separated from God. Romans 5:12 tells us that as a result of man's actions came sin, and as a result of sin came death, but not just spiritual death. In 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul talks about the physical death of the first Adam and the physical death of Christ, the last Adam. Genesis 3 states that God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden so that they would not eat of the Tree of Life and live forever. Physical death, as well as spiritual death, resulted from their sin.
At the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden, God provided a sacrifice of animals whose skins provided clothing to the couple now aware of their nakedness. This first sacrifice provided a testament of hope for eternal life through Christ's ultimate sacrifice. Though the couple would not enjoy the same earthly paradise and would experience physical death, they would have the privilege of receiving eternal life, along with all who believe in the provision of Christ's payment for man's sin (John 3:16). It is only the grace of God through Jesus Christ that can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable him to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created human beings in His own image, and in that Christ died for mankind; therefore, every person possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
In the time since the Fall, God has reduced His provision and protection and as a result, the consequences of the sinful human nature and the sin-cursed creation have become increasingly evident. These consequences include a reduction in the duration of the human lifespan (e.g., compared to Methuselah), the appearance of many kinds of illnesses, including birth defects, addictions of various sorts, confusion related to gender identity and/or sexual orientation, depression, and psychoses, among others.
Holy Scripture explicitly describes the effect that sin has taken on mankind (Rom 1:18-32): "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. … Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."
Despite this dismal depiction, fallen humanity is not without hope. Holy Scripture also teaches that God himself has provided a remedy for this corruption - a means for restoration and reconciliation - through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. "He [Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Rom. 4:25).
So how do we respond from a Biblical standpoint?
As a Christian community and a Christian school, CCA seeks to affirm and submit to the authoritative teaching of Holy Scripture in all areas, and particularly where Scripture speaks to Christian morals and conduct. Consequently, we recognize as sinful those attitudes and behaviors described in Scripture as sinful and recognize as good those attitudes and behaviors attested in Scripture as good. In practice, we actively seek to discourage sinful attitudes and actions, while at the same time encouraging holy living.
CCA recognizes and affirms the intrinsic dignity and value of all human beings, irrespective of attributes such as age, race, physical abilities, or religious beliefs. However, CCA can neither affirm nor endorse sinful attitudes and actions of individuals without compromising our fundamental mission and purpose. This applies to all areas of human endeavor, including the complex area of human sexuality and sexual sin.
Similarly, CCA cannot accommodate any changing values or morals in popular culture that conflict with biblical teaching. Again, to do so would compromise our fundamental mission and purpose. This is particularly relevant today when the popular culture in North America is moving away from values informed by a historic Judeo-Christian worldview. Some relevant examples include, (1) a rejection of the Biblical notion of humans being either male or female, in favor of a notion which allows individuals to define their sexuality however they see fit, (2) a rejection of the Biblical notion that marriage is rightly understood as being between one man and one woman, in favor of alternative constructs, such as homosexual unions, and an openness to additional innovation, and (3) a rejection of the Biblical notions of chastity and fidelity, in favor of notions which encourage heterosexual and homosexual promiscuity, infidelity, and sexual experimentation - in our society nothing is seen as inherently wrong. These changing attitudes are inconsistent with genuine Christian beliefs, and therefore we reject them.
For these reasons, CCA has developed policies and guidelines, consistent with our understanding of the teaching of Holy Scripture, to provide a framework for operating the ministry, for making hiring decisions, and to set appropriate expectations for students, parents, and staff in a manner aligned with our beliefs.
How will this perspective inform hiring and enrollment at CCA?
CCA affirms the Biblical understanding of sexuality as a gift from God (Genesis 2:24). In concert with
Biblical teaching, CCA supports the principle and practice of purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage, which is the union of one man and one woman. In addition, CCA recognizes that the gift of gender is part of the goodness of God's creation. Personal lifestyle choices or practices inconsistent with these Biblical teachings are also inconsistent with the mission of CCA. CCA affirms the Biblical teaching that marriage is restricted to a privileged relationship between one man and one woman. CCA also affirms the Biblical teaching that all sexual conduct outside the sanctity of marriage is sin, a turning away from God's ideal.
Employees of CCA are expected to live a lifestyle consistent with Biblical principles articulated above. Students enrolled in Concord Christian Academy will be taught these principles of holy living, and will be expected to have their behavior according to these principles. In order to be faithful to our mission and calling, CCA believes that individuals who elect to continue in the fleshly behaviors of sexual immorality, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealously, selfish ambition, creating factions, drunkenness, etc. (Gal.5:19-20) should be distanced from enrollment or employment at Concord Christian Academy. CCA understands that while we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), the grace of God poured out through the blood of His Son calls us to repentance, forgiveness, and new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 7:10; 12:21; 2 Timothy 2:25; 2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, CCA will always strive to treat all individuals within our community with dignity and respect. However, we will not negotiate the veracity of Biblical absolutes on the altar of cultural compromise.
In Genesis 1 we find the description of a perfectly created paradise. Scripture uses the Hebrew word "tov," which means "healthy, it works, or good," which gives us insight as to how God viewed His creation. Creation through the first two chapters of Genesis appears to be functioning in proper accord with land producing vegetation, trees bearing fruit, the lights placed in the sky, animals of every kind moving on the earth, and mankind established as the ruler over God's creation. Its pure design was the potential of eternal peace and compatibility for mankind to work the land and enjoy the fruit of his labor. As Adam (the first man) named the animals, it became apparent that there was no biological mate for him to join in the command given to the birds and the fish, to be fruitful and multiply. Although, God had pronounced that the rest of creation was good, in Genesis 2:18 God declared that "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him." To address this situation, the Creator fashioned a woman (Eve) to be the perfect complement to the first man (Adam). Scripture (Gen. 2:24) speaks of this first union as marriage. Man and woman come together and unite as husband and wife, becoming one flesh. God intends that this one flesh relationship of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime should reflect the union between Christ and His church. It also provides for the man and the woman, within marriage, the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to Biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God, as is her husband, and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and assist in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on Biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
God had given all creation everything necessary to thrive. Both provision and protection were provided to all living creatures. By inference, we conclude that God's original creation had an absence of anxiety, illness, imperfections in childbirth, genetic faults, misunderstanding one's purpose, or hatred toward another. God had created a paradise, free of worry or cares. This paradise could continue because God had given an umbrella of provision (providing for every need) and protection (a hedge from the stain of sin.)
As the Biblical account of God's creation unfolds, chapter three of Genesis records a dramatic change in the level of provision and protection that God affords to His creation. Through the temptation of Satan, the woman and man transgressed the command of God and fell from their original state of innocence. Through the rebellion in Eden, sin entered the world. Adam and Eve were estranged from God, and that separation is spiritual death. On its own, the final effect of this would have been living forever in our sinful bodies, eternally separated from God. Romans 5:12 tells us that as a result of man's actions came sin, and as a result of sin came death, but not just spiritual death. In 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul talks about the physical death of the first Adam and the physical death of Christ, the last Adam. Genesis 3 states that God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden so that they would not eat of the Tree of Life and live forever. Physical death, as well as spiritual death, resulted from their sin.
At the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden, God provided a sacrifice of animals whose skins provided clothing to the couple now aware of their nakedness. This first sacrifice provided a testament of hope for eternal life through Christ's ultimate sacrifice. Though the couple would not enjoy the same earthly paradise and would experience physical death, they would have the privilege of receiving eternal life, along with all who believe in the provision of Christ's payment for man's sin (John 3:16). It is only the grace of God through Jesus Christ that can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable him to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created human beings in His own image, and in that Christ died for mankind; therefore, every person possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
In the time since the Fall, God has reduced His provision and protection and as a result, the consequences of the sinful human nature and the sin-cursed creation have become increasingly evident. These consequences include a reduction in the duration of the human lifespan (e.g., compared to Methuselah), the appearance of many kinds of illnesses, including birth defects, addictions of various sorts, confusion related to gender identity and/or sexual orientation, depression, and psychoses, among others.
Holy Scripture explicitly describes the effect that sin has taken on mankind (Rom 1:18-32): "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. … Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."
Despite this dismal depiction, fallen humanity is not without hope. Holy Scripture also teaches that God himself has provided a remedy for this corruption - a means for restoration and reconciliation - through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. "He [Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Rom. 4:25).
So how do we respond from a Biblical standpoint?
As a Christian community and a Christian school, CCA seeks to affirm and submit to the authoritative teaching of Holy Scripture in all areas, and particularly where Scripture speaks to Christian morals and conduct. Consequently, we recognize as sinful those attitudes and behaviors described in Scripture as sinful and recognize as good those attitudes and behaviors attested in Scripture as good. In practice, we actively seek to discourage sinful attitudes and actions, while at the same time encouraging holy living.
CCA recognizes and affirms the intrinsic dignity and value of all human beings, irrespective of attributes such as age, race, physical abilities, or religious beliefs. However, CCA can neither affirm nor endorse sinful attitudes and actions of individuals without compromising our fundamental mission and purpose. This applies to all areas of human endeavor, including the complex area of human sexuality and sexual sin.
Similarly, CCA cannot accommodate any changing values or morals in popular culture that conflict with biblical teaching. Again, to do so would compromise our fundamental mission and purpose. This is particularly relevant today when the popular culture in North America is moving away from values informed by a historic Judeo-Christian worldview. Some relevant examples include, (1) a rejection of the Biblical notion of humans being either male or female, in favor of a notion which allows individuals to define their sexuality however they see fit, (2) a rejection of the Biblical notion that marriage is rightly understood as being between one man and one woman, in favor of alternative constructs, such as homosexual unions, and an openness to additional innovation, and (3) a rejection of the Biblical notions of chastity and fidelity, in favor of notions which encourage heterosexual and homosexual promiscuity, infidelity, and sexual experimentation - in our society nothing is seen as inherently wrong. These changing attitudes are inconsistent with genuine Christian beliefs, and therefore we reject them.
For these reasons, CCA has developed policies and guidelines, consistent with our understanding of the teaching of Holy Scripture, to provide a framework for operating the ministry, for making hiring decisions, and to set appropriate expectations for students, parents, and staff in a manner aligned with our beliefs.
How will this perspective inform hiring and enrollment at CCA?
CCA affirms the Biblical understanding of sexuality as a gift from God (Genesis 2:24). In concert with
Biblical teaching, CCA supports the principle and practice of purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage, which is the union of one man and one woman. In addition, CCA recognizes that the gift of gender is part of the goodness of God's creation. Personal lifestyle choices or practices inconsistent with these Biblical teachings are also inconsistent with the mission of CCA. CCA affirms the Biblical teaching that marriage is restricted to a privileged relationship between one man and one woman. CCA also affirms the Biblical teaching that all sexual conduct outside the sanctity of marriage is sin, a turning away from God's ideal.
Employees of CCA are expected to live a lifestyle consistent with Biblical principles articulated above. Students enrolled in Concord Christian Academy will be taught these principles of holy living, and will be expected to have their behavior according to these principles. In order to be faithful to our mission and calling, CCA believes that individuals who elect to continue in the fleshly behaviors of sexual immorality, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealously, selfish ambition, creating factions, drunkenness, etc. (Gal.5:19-20) should be distanced from enrollment or employment at Concord Christian Academy. CCA understands that while we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), the grace of God poured out through the blood of His Son calls us to repentance, forgiveness, and new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 7:10; 12:21; 2 Timothy 2:25; 2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, CCA will always strive to treat all individuals within our community with dignity and respect. However, we will not negotiate the veracity of Biblical absolutes on the altar of cultural compromise.