During the Term 1 break, the Board and members of CST’s Executive got together for a Strategic Planning Day.
During this day, we looked at the needs of each of our schools from a capital works or infrastructure perspective, identifying what additional capital works each school needed in order to bring it up to a “fit for purpose” standard.
We also considered what direction would be best for the organisation to take over the next five to ten years, looking at both growth and consolidation strategies.
During this day, I was reminded of the verse in Psalm 127 that says:
“Unless the Lord builds the house, the labourers labour in vain.”
CST has been faithfully building this “house” - our schools and our organisation - for the past 60 years and I believe that we haven’t laboured in vain, because the Lord has been in this from Day one. From the very start, God has been the one (and continues to be the one) building our “house”.
But it did get me thinking how easy it would be to start trying to build this on our own. I think this risk is more evident when we’re in a season of plenty rather than a season of lack. When we’re going through hard times, we are compelled to look to God for strength, courage and wisdom and for His provision. But when things are going well, we can all too easily start trying to do what we’re doing in our own strength and rely less on God because we’re no longer compelled to look to Him for strength, courage and provision. When things are going well, we can fool ourselves into thinking that we’re the ones “building” and we’re the ones responsible when we start achieving positive results.
In our case, we can very easily begin to view the schools as our schools, rather than acknowledging that they have, and always will, belong totally to God. When we start trying to build something on our own, something that God is not a part of, we labour in vain. Unless the Lord builds the house (whatever it is we’re involved with or trying to build) the labourers (us) will labour in vain. This can happen in any area of our lives; whether it’s building a church, building our family, building a business or building a school. It’s so important to always make sure that God is at the very centre of everything we are doing and that He is the one doing the building, not us.
So, as we start another term, let us remember, acknowledge and proclaim that God is the Master Architect and the Master Builder of our “house – CST - and in humility, thank and praise Him that He chooses to use us as His instruments!
David Gillman — CEO Christian Schools Tasmania