From the Head of School

This Christmas season, I encourage you to remember to keep the holy moment of our savior's birth at the heart of your celebrations. Let's keep extending the love and grace of Jesus to all we meet and to one another. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! Click above to watch this month's holiday message.

Dear MPCS Family,

Thanksgiving is upon us, and I want you all to know just how blessed I am to be a part of this community. I am blessed, as I have the absolute honor and privilege to be a part of the MPCS family and to play a role in leading this incredible institution. The team I have around me that enables me to do my job better is simply the best. The faculty we have are simply the best. The families we serve are simply the best. The students we teach and minister to are simply the best. Thank you all for the role you play in making Mount Paran a shining star in the world of education and here in greater Atlanta. We are simply blessed.

This week, I did one of the morning devotionals for the students and staff. In so doing, I was able to share from the message my pastor preached on Sunday regarding living in a community that is kingdom minded (2 Corinthians 5:16-21), yet present in the world around us. In the sermon, he shared three main points.

1. We should view one another differently – as Christ would view us, not as we would choose to view one another or as the world might view others.
2. We should seek to be reconciled to one another as we are to Christ, forgiving one another and seeking forgiveness when necessary. I am always humbled to know Christ has forgiven my past, present, and future sins.
3. We must live in a missional manner among others. We are called to be Distinctively Present in the world, engaged as Christ followers with our neighbors, loving others unconditionally, viewing one another through the lens of Jesus Christ, and knowing we were called to make a difference in this world, not to conform to it.

As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, please consider what these three biblical refrains call you to, as an individual and as a family. We live in a world that desperately needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ through our words, to see the good news of Jesus Christ in and through our actions, and to feel the good news of Jesus Christ as we minister to those around us spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends, let’s also reach out to our neighbors. Let’s welcome someone who may not have family in the area into our homes. Maybe some of us can serve the homeless at a local shelter or find other ways to minister to those less fortunate. Or maybe, some of us may need to call someone with whom we need to reconcile and make amends, as Christ has done with us. We are deeply loved and eternally forgiven.

To summarize, this Thanksgiving, and always, may we view others differently than the world around us might view them, seeing them as those who are created in the image of God. May we be reconciled to those around us. And, may we live out the mission as we thank the Lord God Jesus Christ for our many blessings.

Mount Paran, I am blessed to serve you every day. Thank you for all you do and for all that you mean to me today, on Thanksgiving day, and every day of the year. 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Tim

Dear MPCS Family,

One of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors, Michael Horton, is Putting Amazing Back into Grace. As I have read and reread this book, I am consistently blown away that the God of the entire universe loved me, a scoundrel, so much that he gave up his only son to become sin for me. To die for me. To forgive my sins. He did not have to do so. But, he chose to lavish me (and you!) in his love, mercy, and never-ending grace.

Last week in chapel, I had the opportunity to share with the lower and upper school students and faculty about becoming a community of grace. It is my desire that, as we grow in relationship with one another, we grow in our understanding of what it means to be a community marked by grace – undeserved, nonstop love, forgiveness, and service of one another.

When I consider the extraordinary grace of our Heavenly Father who sent his only son to become flesh and blood and live among us, I am constantly reminded of the fact that upon receiving such underserved favor that I now, being the recipient of this gift, must also become the giver of this same grace.

Luke 12:48 reminds us that to whom much is given, much is expected. My reminder to our students was that they, too, as recipients of the miraculous and undeserved grace of God are expected to share this grace with all those around them. No matter where. No matter when. No matter why. If grace is underserved favor or merit, then we grant it even when it is difficult to do so. We grant it even when we don’t want to. We grant it to those we may not even like. We forgive, love, and serve.

I have called on our students, and I am imploring our entire community today, to be grace to those around us – to demonstrate the unceasing love of Jesus to all those with whom we come in contact. Whether this be in the halls and classrooms of the school, on the court or in the stadium, on stage or in the robotics arena, or in the grocery store as we wear our MPCS swag, I call upon all of us to show the world why and how we are different.

God’s amazing grace is the differentiator. His grace is our common denominator. Grace is the answer.

So, as we gather for Friday night lights and cheer for our team (and not against the other team or referees), as we work together toward the education of our children, and as we communicate with one another, may we all remember the grace God has undeservedly bestowed upon us and do so likewise to one another. May this be the mark of our community, our Christian family, our school.

I love you Mount Paran. God loves you so much more. Let us be grace to the world around us, today and every day.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Tim

Welcome back to the start of another school year! I am more than excited to start a school year that feels as though we are almost back to running school in our normal fashion. While COVID is still around, we are learning to live with it and to do so in a responsible manner. Now that I have said that, my goal is to not mention COVID to you again this year.

Now, as we head into the 2022-2023 school year, we do so with great anticipation and expectation of a great year living, loving, and learning together in community. Over the course of the coming year, I plan to reach out to you more often via both videos and written correspondence. Not only do I do this so that you may get to know me and my heart for MPCS better, but also to spend time informing you of the different initiatives, celebrations, ideas, and plans we have for the year and for the future of the school.

Today, in laying that foundation, I want you to hear about my personal focus as the head of school. As I have told many people, a head of school has two main priorities amidst all of the day-to-day priorities that exist. Those two priorities are

1.      Ensuring the mission of the school is met and perpetuated

and

2.      Building and maintaining a strong school culture. In our case, that is our Christian culture.

To that end, allow me to make two more points.

• The first is a reminder of what our exact mission is. It states,

Providing academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment, Mount Paran Christian School unites with home and church to prepare servant-leaders to honor God, love others, and walk in Truth.

• The second simply has to do with my perspective on our institutional culture. At MPCS, we have a strong culture of family and of care for one another. It is and will be my ongoing goal to build upon that culture and to do so frequently, reminding you of the power of encouragement in building unity among your Christian brothers and sisters.

We have the opportunity to demonstrate Christ amongst our internal community, to the greater Atlanta area, and to the world around us. This is done by how we respond to one another through love, how we grant grace and forgiveness, and how we demonstrate Christ-like behavior both on and off campus.

My exhortation to every member of this beloved community is to serve one another by honoring God first, loving others completely, and walking in the truth of Jesus’ gospel every hour of every day.

I am excited to walk with you on this journey and to be a part of the great family of God that exists within this community at Mount Paran Christian School. It’s going to be a great year, and I look forward to sharing it with you.