Lausanne World Pulse – Themed Articles – Character Cultivation in Education and the Family

By John (Skip) Garmo
April 2009

Character is crucial in any culture. If you pick up a newspaper on almost any day in almost any city of almost any nation, you can discern character issues in almost every headline and article on page one. Stories of triumph trumpet the courageous feats of heroes or the diligent tenacity of athletes. Stories of failure feature greedy corruption among officials or the heartless abuse of children. When good character is demonstrated—or violated—it gets people’s attention. Character is also crucial among Christians.

Character is the essence of Christlikeness, to which we are called in Ephesians 4:1 and elsewhere throughout the scriptures. In contrast to non-Christians, a true follower of Jesus Christ has greater motivation to cultivate character, higher standards of expectation, and matchless enablement on which to rely: the Holy Spirit.

The significance of character in one’s life is not a recent discovery. Five hundred years before Christ was born, an Ephesian philosopher named Heraclitus wrote, “A man’s character is his fate.” A thousand years before Heraclitus, God set character-rich lifestyle standards when he issued the Ten Commandments to Moses.

To prepare children and youth for responsible adult life only by helping them acquire knowledge and develop skills is not enough.

But knowing about character is not enough. Too often, our minds bow to our hearts. For example, while acknowledging the value of good character, country after country is plagued with deep-rooted corruption. For example, where is your country in the World Bank’s “Index for Control of Corruption”? You can find out by going to the web page and following the worksheet tabs on the bottom of the screen. Corruption destroys lives. It especially oppresses those who are least able to defend themselves.

Christians and Character Challenges
Christians will generally not engage in open corruption; however, they have character challenges, too. One concern is offensive outreach. In India, for example, evangelism often provokes antagonism because it is perceived to be presented in a manner which is confrontational and disrespectful. An Indian colleague described the issue for me by paraphrasing a regional proverb this way: “How can they smell a rose when we give them a bloody nose?”

Another concern for Christians is the discipleship gap. For example, North American church leaders are disquieted that there is often not a significant difference between the behavior and attitudes of Christians and non-Christians. In North America and around the world, the teaching in many churches often overlooks intentional and systematic training in Christlike character.

Dr. John (Skip) Garmo is president of Mission To Children and founder of its subsidiary, Character Solutions International. He is also adjunct professor at Biola University and Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary and an international trainer for Pointman Leadership Institute.