The Golden Triangle of Identity, Community, and Purpose

The Golden Triangle of Identity, Community, and Purpose

And How to Grow in Them at Veritas

At the end of last year, I asked myself and others around me, “What are the areas of growth for Veritas?”  And the resulting consensus was: “Identity, Community, and Purpose.”  

I did some soul searching on exactly what the nature of the problem is, and how we can create a stronger sense of identity, community, and purpose.

After a period of prayer and meditation on the letter of Ephesians, it came more clear to me that these three things are inextricably interconnected.  Identity is about who we are, Community is about a sense of belonging, and Purpose is about the direction toward which we are moving.  You can’t have one without the other two.  All three are important.

Identity is first and foremost, who we are in Christ.  The #1 thing that will weigh down our soul is either guilt/shame, or self-reliance.  Students, no less than adults, can easily fall into the pit of despondency or pride.  And that’s all it takes to destroy a soul, academically and spiritually.  Students need to be relieved of that burden, at the foot of the cross.  Christ not only died for their sin, but Christ lived to give their life.  As the first Question of Heidelberg Catechism reminds us, students need to remember that our only comfort in life is that we belong to Christ.

But flourishing does not end with a sense of spiritual identity.  The goal of life is to experience the kind of community that God experiences within the Trinity: sacrificial love.  As impossible as that sounds, Christ made that fully possible (Eph 2:15-16).  We can put away our anger and bitterness and forgive each other and even feel that we need each other to experience the fullness of Christ.

But in case we might think that building the community is just being nice to each other and occasionally helping someone less fortunate, Christ is calling us toward a much higher purpose: “to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10).  C. S. Lewis' version of that is to “aim at heaven in all things we do on earth.”  Veritas’ version of that is to “raise up gospel culture shapers.”  It is radically living a Christ-centered life in every area of culture.  That is explained in detail in Ephesians.  That’s the purpose.  

And as we become more clear in that purpose, and we experience more of a Christ-centered community, we will also grow in our sense of identity in Christ.  So, how do we create a stronger sense of identity, community, and purpose?

Identity

• Personal Devotional–All Veritas students are learning how to grow in Christ, at the primary level through songs and Bible memory verses, and in the secondary through a training in reading and meditating on the Word of God.  

• Discipleship–All Veritas students from 5th and up have a weekly Discipleship Class by gender and age group, where their Discipler will guide them to know Christ, grow in Christ, and to become more like Christ, through the personal devotionals and topics that are relevant to them.     

• Worship–We are more intentional about our weekly Joint Worship as well as daily devotional that begins the day, for it to be a place where students meet God and grow in love, peace, and strength.    

Community

• Liturgical Practices–All students are learning to do things together in honor of God and one another, whether that is lining up or cleaning up at the primary level, or singing doxology or chanting a historical prayer at the beginning of a class at the secondary level.  

• House System–This year, we aim to grow in our identity and community as individual Houses in the House System.  Each house will define their values and strengths, all rooted in the Scriptures, so that they will learn both a sense of community within their houses, but also the need for the other Houses to experience the fullness of Christ.  

• Code of Conduct–We are emphasizing how to practice the love of Christ specifically through the Five Code of Conduct, which are Diligence, Kindness, Unity, Respect, and Honesty.  

Purpose  

• More Clear vision-aligned Objectives of each class/grade–Clear objectives are in place for each grade and each subject, for both academics and character & spiritual formation, that will help the students to become gospel-culture shapers.  

• Liturgical Practices–In some of the liturgical practices, typically a “class catechism,” teachers guide the students to be mindful of the Christ-centered purpose of each subject/class.  

• Emphasis on Wonder and Why in every class–Teachers often begin the class with a “Wonder-starter,” which is some kind of brief, often non-curricular, story or activity that reveals the “great works of the Lord” (Ps 111:2) that points to the Why behind what the students are learning.