What does the world need now? Discernment! It is far more than just gaining wisdom and doing the right thing. It is the key to living the abundant life Christ promises in a world that buries us each day in disparaging headlines and worrisome news…

There is a sizable migration underway of new families seeking to educate their children classically. Admissions lines are long in most classical Christian schools. Why is this happening now? What does it say about the broader culture? Needless to say, you are at the right place at the right time.

Classical Christian Education is a new experience for many people, and whether you are new or have been around a classical school for years, there are many questions about why we do what we do. And since few parents or teachers today grew up in CCE schools, combined with the fact that there are more families than ever joining our schools, you are likely not alone if you have a question. My guest, Dr. Tim Dernlan, is back to share answers to 10 questions from the 100 he has identified and written about in his new book, “A Guide to Understanding Classical Christian Education: 100 Common Questions.”

On this episode of BCL, It’s time to check in again with Brooke Hempell, senior VP at the Barna Group. As a research firm, Barna is tracking the latest trends and changes with Gen Z, the generational name for young people between 6-22 years old – essentially anyone from Kindergarten to college. While in some ways the world is growing smaller as people share mindsets from universal media and technology – generational differences are quite real, and we need to pay attention to them. Questions of identity, belonging, and purpose are big questions all people have wrestled with through time. Of course, the answer to these questions are answered ultimately in Christ, so we need to engage people where they are on this journey. How do we as parents, educators and influencers best support, guide and encourage this generation? Stay tuned….

What is going on in the world today? Just when we think we have seen it or heard it all, we are hit with another crazy curveball. A quick glance at the news often leaves us to say, “can you believe this?” Leaving our fears inflamed, yet we are called as Christ-followers to be faithful, confident, and to model well to our children and students how to live boldly, without fear or anxiety. Easier said than done. It seems much easier to just “freak out.” Marriage and family counselor Keith McCurdy, a BaseCamp Live regular, is back to offer some wise and calming words, some fascinating new statistics, and some practical strategies for navigating whatever life throws at us.

Imagine being the captain of a billion-dollar US Navy ship with some 400 young sailors under your command. Lots of habits to form, discipline to instill, and curiosity and courage to awaken…talk about raising the next generation. My guest, Ralph Janikowsky, today shares many engaging stories of how to effectively shape character and form Biblical ethics on board his ship. Many of these same principles used in the Navy, he now follows in leading a K-12 classical Christian school. Whether you are commanding a warship at sea, a classroom at school, or a family at home, you won’t want to miss Ralph’s stories and insight.

Seven hundred years ago, Dante wrote what has been called the most significant single poem ever written. He lived in a world not unlike our own. Fraught with both difficulty of brutal politics, climate changes, crop failure, famine, and disease and filled with beauty, wisdom, hope, and a sacred path forward. Dr. Doug Henry, head of Baylor University’s Honors College, is part of a team from key Christian Universities who have partnered together to bring Dante’s works alive in a unique project called 100 Days of Dante. What can Dante communicate to us in this day and age? Does he still have anything to say to us or offer us? Is his message relevant or valuable to us? Can it still challenge us? Absolutely yes, and it is just what we need for ourselves, our families, and our schools today!

In this episode, Davies was back on the road at the summer ACCS conference with friend and thought leader Dr. Steve Turley. We explore how so much of what we are experiencing in modern culture is directly correlated to influences from K-12 education. Want to understand a culture, reverse engineer back to education and one will find a lot of the answers. But the reverse effect is also true – create the right education and change the culture.

Davies Owens discusses with Katharine Savage what she calls a “third way” forward for effectively leading a school, a family, and most definitely in raising up the next generation.

If there is nothing new under the sun, then it makes sense to look to those who have gone before us for the answers to living boldly and confidently in a world that continues to unravel around us with so many young and old struggling to make wise choices. Dr. Louis Markos, a scholar at Houston Baptist University, brings to the wisdom of the ancient Greek and Roman teachers in an engaging way for us today. These thought leaders from centuries ago have a lot to say about living well and flourishing as we lead and guide the next generation to love God and love neighbors.