High School Principal

When Jesus was asked to identify the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses (c.f. Matthew 22, Mark 12), Jesus referenced a section of Deuteronomy, “Hear, O Israel: TheLord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” The next verses in the Torah continue, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, ESV). Moses’ emphatic instructions to the people of Israel coupled with Jesus’ choice of this passage as the greatest commandment emphasize the importance God places on a life and education intentionally centered on God and permeated thoroughly by His truth.

As a point of clarification and to avoid misunderstanding: education rightly viewed is not limited to formal schooling or traditional academic pursuits. While formal schooling is a component of the education many people receive, and it certainly is a significant component for Ben Lippen students, education is much broader than book-learning. A person’s education is the sum total of his or her upbringing, and each person’s upbringing lasts for at least the entirety of his or her earthly life under God the Father. No one ever arrives at the end of education; it is a lifelong journey for all. One might even say that life is education. Ben Lippen, then, is a piece of each Ben Lippen student’s education, not the whole. Many factors, influences, relationships, knowledge sources, and people in each student’s life combine to form each student’s education.

We are privileged at Ben Lippen School to be able to teach and learn in a formal school environment where the central importance of a thoroughly God-permeated faculty, staff, community and curriculum is recognized as preeminent. The faculty and staff of the high school anchor firmly to Ben Lippen’s time-honored mission statement – to glorify God by assisting the family and church in equipping students spiritually, academically, and socially under the Lordship of Jesus Christ – as they seek to elucidate the fingerprints of God from the complexities of their various academic disciplines, build growing relationships with students inside and outside the classroom, and ultimately aid each student in identifying and eventually realizing his or her unique God–given strengths and abilities. It is my prayer that God uses each student’s experience at Ben Lippen in the scope of that student’s larger education to draw the student toward a closer relationship with God.

May God’s name be praised as we collectively work at Ben Lippen School for His glory in the education of His children.

Max Russell
High School Principal

High School Mission

Within a culturally diverse learning community, Ben Lippen High School prepares young adults to be stewards of the gifts God has given them in preparation for the calling of God in their lives by training them as independent Christian scholars who seek God, love all people, demonstrate a zeal for learning, think analytically, and communicate effectively.