Blog

I recently rewatched The Breakfast Club (which, yes, came out before I was born…by four days). The premise, of course, is that a group of seemingly different individuals spends the day in detention and learns they have more in common than originally believed. In one of the most iconic endings ever committed to celluloid, Michael Anthony Hall’s Brian narrates a letter to his principal. He tells him that “we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us…in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case…a princess, and a criminal…does that answer your question?”

My task this week is to tackle the part of our Statement of Faith that centers on the person of Jesus. As written, it states: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, led a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for our sins, rose again from the dead, ascended to the right hand of God, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. And yes…that sums Him up nicely, covers all the major events, and lays a foundation for understanding what makes Him so special and so crucial to what we do as a Church, what we do as a school, and what we do as humans on this planet.

What amazes me about Jesus is that He is all of these things to all people, and so much more. There’s no way to completely define Him, which is why the author of John uses the word “Word” or λογος (logos)...all other words fail to fully describe the majesty of our King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Some days I cling to Jesus’ miraculous power, believing He will intervene in an increasingly chaotic world. Other days I find peace in His resurrection as I mourn the loss of loved ones. Still others I revel in His decision to put on flesh and live on this earth through a birth in a manger to a teenage virgin mother, because life is hard and I find comfort knowing that He knows that firsthand. But sometimes I need something outside of our Statement of Faith…I need Jesus, friend of Judas. What in the world does that look like in action today?! I need Jesus, the scholar, rabbi, and educator because sometimes I finish teaching and think “let those who have ears, hear.”

My point in all of this is not to say our Statement of Faith is inadequate, but rather to say that this section of our Statement of Faith is tackling an insurmountable task: defining the person of Jesus in one short sentence is going to fall short, 100% of the time…which means we, as the community of believers at Logos Prep, need to pick up the slack. We need to read the text, talk to Him in prayer, seek Him in local church community, and know Him well enough that if someone asks us why we are the way we are, we can say, “Well…in the simplest of terms, the Son of God has changed me. But let me tell you who He is to me.”

Dr. Jason Henderson
Secondary Education Principal
Logos Preparatory Academy