Last week, John Piper spoke on the biblical foundations for Bethlehem College and Seminary under the title "The Earth Is the Lord's: The Supremacy of Christ in Christian Learning."

This message may be helpful not only to those interested in this particular school but also, more generally, to those involved in education at any level.

Piper sums up the goals of Bethlehem College and Seminary like this:

We aim to enable and to motivate the student to

  • observe his subject matter accurately and thoroughly;
  • understand clearly what he has observed;
  • evaluate fairly what he has understood by deciding what is true and valuable;
  • feel intensely according to the value of what he has evaluated;
  • apply wisely and helpfully in life what he understands and feels; and
  • express in speech, writing, and deeds what he has seen, understood, felt and applied in such a way that its accuracy, clarity, truth, value, and helpfulness can be known and enjoyed by others.

David Mathis (@davidcmathis) is an elder at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Twin Cities, and works as executive pastoral assistant to John Piper. He and his wife Megan have twin sons (Carson and Coleman) and live in Minneapolis. David is co-editor (with John Piper) of Thinking, Loving, Doing, most recently, and Finish the Mission, forthcoming. Yep, he plays rec softball and went yard in his last game.