Knox Classical School Information Meeting

February 4, 2024 Pastor Chris Oswald
Thesis Classical Christian education, delivered through a collaborative two-day model, provides the most effective framework for training children to think critically, love truth, and become committed disciples of Jesus Christ in a world where progressive educational methods have failed both academically and morally.
Series
Type
Topical
Tone
didacticpastoralevangelistic
Method
applicatorycanonical
What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

103 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #65
"Susan names audience's present moment as crossroads determining their future testimony. Testifies classical education was 'magic bullet' producing beautiful journey, blessing any path toward classical education whether through Knox or independently."
Doctrinal loci· 13 surfaced
Bibliology · 13 Ethics / Moral Theology · 11 Providence / Sovereignty · 9 Sanctification · 9 Anthropology · 7 Christology · 7 Ecclesiology · 6 Theology Proper · 5 Pastoral Theology · 4 Eschatology · 2 Hamartiology · 2 Doxology / Worship · 1 Spiritual Warfare · 1
Bible citations· 3
John 1:5 | 2 Corinthians 9:6 | Deuteronomy 6
Illustrations· 4
  1. personal story · unit #59 — Illustrates critical thinking competency through daughter's testimony that logic class 'rewired my brain' at age 14, noting students become skilled negotiators at home as result of training.
  2. personal story · unit #61 — Illustrates writing/synthesis competency through son Nicholas's scholarship competition requiring timed essay responses. Contrasts classical training in synthesis with Susan's own fact-memorization education. Nicholas's years of practice made timed writing effortless, yielding full-ride scholarship (15 of 1000 applicants).
  3. personal story · unit #63 — Illustrates speaking competency through daughter Grace's rehearsal dinner speech at age 18 that dramatically exceeded 28-year-old best man's performance. Attributes success to two years of weekly rhetoric practice (planned and extemporaneous speeches). Notes Susan's complete non-involvement as validation.
  4. personal story · unit #64 — Concludes Grace illustration with spontaneous endorsements from four families at wedding, validating classical education's visible effectiveness to outside observers.
Theological claims· 10
  1. Knox Classical School's mission is to empower parents through classical education to train children in humble, excellent, wonder-filled exploration of scripture and creation. unit #9
  2. Classical Christian education exists primarily to form students' souls to love good and hate evil with discernment, imparting a complete value system that takes every thought captive to Christ. unit #21
  3. Knox Classical School's primary goal is training students to love God comprehensively with heart, soul, mind, and strength, not merely conveying information. unit #22
  4. Current cultural collapse results directly from progressive education's century-long divorce of learning from absolute truth. unit #30
  5. Classical education's mission is training students to think, pursue transcendent ideals, understand redemptive history, and flourish in anticipation of world's restoration—not merely training obedient workers. unit #33
  6. Classical education trains young leaders equipped to serve effectively in a world experiencing moral and cultural meltdown. unit #58
  7. Knox Classical School's primary goal is discipling students to follow Christ through instruction and correction that forms affections matching God's loves and hates. unit #67
  8. Christ's preeminence as creator and sustainer established through resurrection provides the animating principle for all Knox curriculum within classical framework. unit #70
  9. Christ holds classical tradition together, making Christian and classical elements inseparable, with Scripture serving as supreme great book and interpretive plumb line for all learning. unit #71
  10. The collaborative two-day model fulfills Deuteronomy 6's parental teaching mandate better than five-day models by preserving parents' primary instructional role. unit #74
Quotations· 4
"the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it" — John 1:5 (unit #6)
"whoever sows sparingly would reap sparingly, but whoever sows generously will reap generously" — Scripture (paraphrased) (unit #8)
"we killed God" — Nietzsche (unit #27)
"taking logic rewired my brain" — Susan Gemity's youngest daughter (unit #59)
Read it

Full transcript

58,791 characters 103 units ~65 min reading time Listen instead →

0 · Katie Montoya introduces herself as second-generation homeschooler who benefited from collaborative classical education and desired the same for her own children

My name is Katie Montoya. I am a lifelong Christian. I'm a member here at Providence. I'm wife to my best friend and God's greatest gift to me, Mike. And I am a second-generation homeschooling mom of four boys, ages almost eight through almost one. My own homeschooling was really a mix between my parents' diligence and a tremendous collaborative program with devoted teachers in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I grew up. And through that program, I read the great books. I had really rigorous and robust writing training. And it was an education that prepared me well for college and that I truly loved. And I knew, even when I graduated from high school, that I wanted to give any future children of mine something similar.

1 · Traces Katie's college experience at Patrick Henry College where she encountered formal classical methodology and developed conviction that education is essential for maintaining free society and developing virtue

I went to college at a small classical Christian liberal arts school in northern Virginia called Patrick Henry College. And while I was there, two important things happened, the first being that I met Mike, the second being that I had a roommate who God would later use to persuade us to move to the Kansas City area. But secondary to those things, I got exposed to what I learned to understand as classical education for the first time, both through the core curriculum at Patrick Henry and then just through the really devoted professors who were careful to adhere to classical methodologies. I ultimately earned my degree there in government with an emphasis on political theory. And then I went on to law school at the University of Virginia. All the while, though, I had really gotten the impression during college that education is the indispensable ingredient to maintaining a free society and to developing virtue in the citizenry.

2 · Documents professional achievements (law review, federal clerkships, constitutional litigation) that Katie attributes to classical training, culminating in her recent decision to leave legal practice to launch Knox Classical School

So while I was in law school, I served on the law review. My first son was born, and I had some doors open to me that I really credit to the classical training that I had received, certainly in primary and secondary school, but especially at Patrick Henry because of my professors. After law school, I had the opportunity to clerk for two different federal appellate court judges, and then I went into private practice as an attorney in Washington, D.C., doing constitutional and appellate litigation for several years. I just left that position last month in order to begin focusing entirely on my sons and on this effort to help start Knox Classical School.

3 · Explains the practical dilemma that led Katie to discover collaborative classical education—the need to balance work, cost, and parental involvement—and testifies to its life-changing impact

But it may sound kind of funny to be transitioning to education when my background is as a lawyer. And so the reason of the story is kind of this. As soon as my oldest son was old enough for kindergarten, I knew that I wanted to be able to classically educate him, but we were kind of at a tricky crossroads. I was working full-time, and homeschooling was really not an option for my family. But at the same time, a private school, five-day education was kind of cost prohibitive for us. And I also knew I didn't want to forsake the really special time with my son, especially when he was super young. But by God's grace, we found a classical Christian collaborative program in Alexandria, Virginia, and were able to enroll our son for his kindergarten year. And that year truly changed our lives from an educational perspective. Mike and I knew that that was what we wanted for each of our sons.

4 · Narrates the gap in Kansas City that created both need and frustration—no collaborative option available—and describes the practical difficulties of solo homeschooling that collaborative model would address

And when the Lord moved us here to the Kansas City area, we looked for a similar program, but couldn't find anything within reasonable driving distance. And so I joked at the time that I was like, oh, I'll just start one one day, but then kind of tabled it to keep working and to plunge into full-time homeschooling. But as we continued with homeschooling, and maybe those of you who have had homeschooled or who have experienced homeschooling at all sympathize with this a bit, but when you're homeschooling and suddenly there's like babies who need taken care of or meals to cook or laundry to fold, it's hard to achieve the kind of rigor and excellence that you want to on a day-to-day basis. And I was really missing the collaborative support for that. And also my sons were really missing kind of the social side that a collaborative school provides to have some like-minded friends around consistently.

5 · Describes providential convergence of Katie's vision with Chris and Angela Oswald's long-held dream, resulting in rapid formation of founding team

And so I joked again that it was maybe just something we needed to do was start a school, but this time I joked in front of Angela Oswald, who's the wife of Chris, who's now one of our founding board members. And one thing led to another, and by June we were meeting together and decided that it really was a goal or it was a go to launch a school because it was something that Chris and Angela had dreamed about too for a long time. So along with another couple from our church, the Coens, and then another great team that started to come together, and I'll introduce them all later, God really pulled together a team, and it's been very, very clear to me that we are on the right path and that this is his will and this is what we're supposed to be doing.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Jan 16, 2024
The Christian life requires both receiving the finished work of Christ and actively multiplying what God has given us through effort and spiritual ambition, trusting that pursuing God's glory is always the path to our own ultimate joy.
Jan 28, 2024
Jesus Christ has abolished death, transforming it from the King of Terrors into a doorway to eternal life for all who trust in him.
Jan 29, 2024
Our struggle with the justice of hell reveals not a problem with God's character but our own lack of insight into divine holiness and human sinfulness — a deficit that requires epistemic humility rather than moral judgment of God.
February 4 · This sermon
Knox Classical School Information Meeting
Classical Christian education, delivered through a collaborative two-day model, provides the most effective framework for training children to think critically, love truth, and become committed disciples of Jesus Christ in a world where progressive educational methods have failed both academically and morally.
Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

  1. Katie laid out a stark contrast between two educational philosophies: one rooted in absolute truth and one divorced from it. What specific evidence did she present that showed the real-world consequences of progressive education's approach to truth?
    → In your own experience as a parent or student, where have you seen these consequences playing out in your community?
  2. The trivium—grammar, logic, and rhetoric—was the scaffolding of Western education for centuries. Walk us through what each stage is actually trying to accomplish in a student's mind and soul.
    → Why do you think this progression matters more than simply packing more information into a student's head?
  3. Deuteronomy 6 commands parents to teach their children diligently, talking about God's law when sitting at home and walking along the road. How does Knox's two-day collaborative model—where parents teach two days and the school teaches two days—actually honor this mandate in a way that five-day models do not?
    Deuteronomy 6
    → What would need to shift in your own weekly rhythms to be equipped for that parental teaching role?
  4. Katie said that classical Christian education exists primarily to form students' souls to love good and hate evil with discernment. That's not the same as making them smart or obedient. What's the difference, and why does that distinction matter for how we raise our children?
  5. The sermon made clear that Christ is the animating principle for all learning at Knox—Scripture is the supreme great book, the interpretive plumb line for everything else. How would your child's experience of reading literature, studying history, or learning science change if every subject was explicitly connected to Christ's redemptive work rather than treated as neutral information?
    John 1:5
    → What would need to be true about your own faith and understanding of Scripture for you to model that integrated vision at home?
  6. You're facing an educational crossroads now that will shape the testimony you give in twenty years about how you trained your children. What specific fear or hesitation do you carry about classical Christian education, and what would it take for you to move past that hesitation?
    → How might the gospel address that fear—not by removing the difficulty, but by giving you grounds to trust God through it?
Draft · pending review
Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

This week we examine the theological foundation for classical Christian education: Christ's preeminence in all things, the parent's irreplaceable role in discipleship, and the recovery of truth as the animating center of all learning.

Monday John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word—and the Word *is* the organizing center of all things. When Knox teaches literature, history, mathematics, or science, every subject finds its true north in Christ, the one through whom and for whom all things were created. This is not religion added to education; this is education finally admitting what has always been true.

Tuesday Deuteronomy 6:4-9

The mandate is clear: *you* shall teach these words to your children. Knox's collaborative model honors this by keeping parents in the driver's seat—teaching three days a week at home, reinforcing what the school opens up on Mondays and Wednesdays. We are not outsourcing discipleship; we are partnering to do what God has always asked parents to do.

Wednesday 2 Corinthians 9:6

The principle of sowing and reaping applies to education as much as to generosity. A child trained to love truth, to think carefully, to take every thought captive to Christ—that investment in the early years produces a harvest in the teenager and adult who can stand firm when culture crumbles. Knox exists to help families sow well.

Thursday Colossians 1:15-20

The great books, the trivium, the love of wisdom—these are not secular tools we baptize with Bible verses. They exist because Christ sustains them; they point to His glory. When a student encounters Plato or Shakespeare through a Christian lens, she is not learning *despite* her faith—she is learning what has always been true about the world Christ made and redeems.

Friday Proverbs 22:6

Classical Christian education forms the soul, not merely the mind. Knox's curriculum, centered on Scripture and the great conversation across centuries, trains your child to *love* what is true, beautiful, and good—and to recoil from what is false and destructive. This is the training that holds when the world pressures your teenager to abandon everything you taught him.

Draft · pending review
Pray together this week

Prayer for Wisdom in Training Our Children

Father, we marvel at your dominion over all creation and your sovereign care over every soul entrusted to our hands. You have made us image-bearers, called to cultivate and steward not merely land and resources, but the hearts and minds of the children you have given us. We confess with gratitude that you have not left us alone in this calling—you have given us your Word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, and you have preserved for us the riches of a classical Christian tradition that trains the whole person to think clearly, love truly, and follow Christ with conviction.

Yet we confess that we live in a moment when the world offers us education divorced from absolute truth, instruction emptied of virtue, and formation that leaves our children adrift in moral confusion. We have too often accepted educational frameworks that reduce learning to mere information transfer, that treat the mind as a machine to be filled rather than a soul to be shaped. Forgive us for the ways we have settled for less than the transformative discipleship our children desperately need. Give us courage to resist the cultural current and to choose, instead, the narrow path of education that takes every thought captive to Christ.

We thank you that in Christ all things hold together—that he is the Word through whom all creation was made, and that his resurrection power animates every subject we study, every book we read, every truth we pursue. We ask you to grant us wisdom as parents to engage fully in the calling before us, to set aside our own convenience for the sake of our children's souls, and to partner with teachers and schools that share our conviction that education exists to form disciples, not merely to produce workers. Help us to see the hours we invest in our children's training not as burden but as privilege—the most important work you have given us to do.

May our children grow to love you with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. May they learn to think as image-bearers, to pursue transcendent ideals, to understand your redemptive story as the interpretive key to all knowledge, and to flourish in the certain hope of your restoration of all things. And may we, as their primary teachers and disciples, demonstrate in our own lives the love of truth and the pursuit of Christ that we long to see kindled in them. To him be glory and dominion forever. Amen.

Draft · pending review
Sunday-evening family table

What Do You Love to Learn About?

For the parent

This prompt invites kids to notice what subjects or questions make them curious and alive—what they naturally want to understand more deeply. Listen for what captures their imagination, then help them see that this curiosity is a gift from God, part of how He made them to explore and understand His world.

If you could spend a whole day learning about one thing—anything you wanted—what would it be? Tell us what it is, and why you picked it.
works for ages 5+
Draft · pending review
Couples · three questions over coffee

Education and the Soul

  1. What did you hear about the purpose of education that shifted how you're thinking about your children's schooling—and what conviction did that stir in you?
  2. How are we currently discipling our children's *affections*—their loves and hates—and where might we need to be more intentional about what we're teaching them to treasure?
  3. What is one thing you could ask the other to pray for you about regarding your role as the primary teacher and spiritual guide in your home?
Draft · pending review
Memory verse this week

Deuteronomy 6:5-6

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

Why this verse: This verse is the theological foundation of Knox Classical School's entire mission—training students to love God comprehensively with heart, soul, mind, and strength—and it anchors the parental mandate that the two-day collaborative model is designed to preserve and fulfill.

Draft · pending review
Where this was preached

About the church

Providence Community Church
Lenexa, KS
Sundays · 10:00 AM
About us · What we believe
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# Providence Community Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [Fan It Into Flame (2024-01-16)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2024/01/fan-it-into-flame)
- [He Abolished Death (2024-01-28)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2024/01/he-abolished-death)
- [How to Think Through Our Objections to Hell (2024-01-29)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2024/01/how-to-think-through-our-objections-to-hell)
- [Knox Classical School Information Meeting (2024-02-04)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2024/02/knox-classical-school-information-meeting)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

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