PODCAST | Challenges in Christian Education (feat. Dr. David Tilley)

Resources:

https://www.vanderbloemen.com/schools

Transcript:

Christa Neidig:
Welcome to the Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast, I'm your host, Christa Neidig, senior marketing coordinator here at Vanderbloemen. In today's podcast, our founder and CEO, William Vanderbloemen, talks with Dr. David Tilley about the current challenges Christian education is facing. Dr. Tilley has spent 52 years serving in education from K-12 to higher ed. In this conversation, he shares some specific cultural fundraising and mission challenges that Christian education is facing today. We hope you enjoy this conversation.

William Vanderbloemen:
Well, hey, everybody, I am so thrilled to get to introduce you to another new friend. I think I've told you before, if you've listened for any amount of time, my youngest kid asked me, "So, are you like Jimmy Fallon for the church?" I'm like, "I don't know quite what that means, but I do get to introduce a lot of friends," because there are a lot of great people out there that other people don't know, and David Tilley is with us today. David, I don't even know how to describe David's resume. I'm going to let him tell a little bit of his journey in a bit. But I just don't know anybody that has more experience and is more highly thought of in the Christian education space than Dr. David Tilley. He's here today to talk to us about how leadership has changed since we've had a pandemic together, and all kinds of other things. But David, first of all, thank you so much for joining us today, it's a pleasure to have you.

David Tilley :
My pleasure, William, thanks for that very kind introduction. It's really a joy to be a part of this podcast. I look forward to sharing my experience with you over the last 52 years.

William Vanderbloemen:
Yeah, we're recording this as David's wrapping up his last week of 52 years of work. I think the only thing, and we were talking about this before we started the show, the only place David's really been a pretty repeat failure is retiring, he hasn't done a good job of it. But walk us a little bit through your story and what you've done, so people who don't know you would have some context?

David Tilley :
Sure, glad to, I'll abbreviate it. If you have any other questions, let me know. I spent the first 10 years in public education, so I was a teacher, public school principal, director of personnel. I live in the Atlanta area, so I was in the Cobb County School District working. This was in the seventies, in the early seventies, and so I left there and went to Mount Paran Christian School when it was in its infancy. I helped start the school in '76, so I got my first entree into Christian education in '76. I was actually a school administrator, but I was chairman of the board when it opened, because I was still in public ed. Soon after I became the head of school, and worked there for four years as head of school, I then went to Lee University in Tennessee as the vice president for student development.

David Tilley :
That's in Cleveland, Tennessee, a Christian college. I left there after 14 years and went to Houghton College in New York, in Western New York, and was the vice president for student development there. Then got the call to come back to Mount Paran, so after 16 years, I got the call both I think from the board chair and more importantly from God to say, "This is your calling." So, I moved back to Atlanta and was the head of school back at Mount Paran in a new location in the Atlanta area. I was there 14 years, and then I moved from there to Gordon College, where I was the director of graduate leadership program, a new program that I, along with several other folks at the college and several other heads of school, started to develop leaders in this K-12 space, Christian space.

David Tilley :
That has been my passion, my love and my desire. So, I did that for three years, and then I retired at Mount Paran, retired at Gordon. Then I get a call from Mount Pisgah, Christian school in North Atlanta as well, and asking me to do an interim head of school gig for this year. So, I have been there since July, and graduation is this coming Saturday, and so I will wrap up that career. So, I've been in all spaces of education, public pre-K through a 12, and then collegiate, I've taught in graduate school. So, I've had a fairly broad sense of education, predominantly in a Christ-centered space, whether it's higher ed or K-12, so that's kind of my abbreviated resume.

William Vanderbloemen:
It's an amazing resume, and thank you for such good service. We started out our firm 14 years ago with the idea that we would like to find a way to help churches find their pastor. Then invariably, we'd help a church find a pastor, and the church would say, "You know we have a school? Would you help us?" So, we sort of went off, did this, but then it was, I don't know, maybe four years ago that we God really impressed on me that, William, you want to help the church, you really need to help the schools, because that's part of my church. I started to realize how much more time you guys have in a secondary Christian education space to form somebody, than a church really ever does. It's pretty amazing, and since then, Dr. Tilley's given us a lot of good advice, and been a bit of a strategic partner.

David Tilley :
Thank you.

William Vanderbloemen:
I'm learning all kinds of challenges. I was talking to a director of enrollment recently and I was trying to learn his job, and this was at a higher education setting. He said, "William, you have no idea what it's like to have a career where your success or failure pretty much rises and falls on what mood a 17 year old is in on the day they decide where to go to school."

David Tilley :
That's true.

William Vanderbloemen:
So, I'm learning all kinds of new things, and really I selfishly wanted you on the podcast so I could learn. What would you say, David, the biggest pressure points are for heads of Christian schools right now? Maybe they're the same as before the pandemic or maybe the pandemic shifted or changed them, but where are you feeling like, "That's the pain point for these folks," and what have you learned about how to solve that pain point?

David Tilley :
Yeah, first of all, let me comment on how I first came to know Vanderbloemen, and that's when you hired our pastor, when you went the church, at Johnson [inaudible 00:07:18] Baptist Church, so that was the first introduction. I had so many applauds of your work there that I followed your work, and that brings us to this moment. Challenges, from the COVID and on, I think it's interesting, listening to your Easter podcast that you did, the message. You talked about how some churches are feeling the crunch, because they're not growing, they're losing some in attendance, they're wondering what's happening. Now, what's interesting, COVID has done the opposite for K-12 Christian schools. Higher education has suffered I think a lot as a result of it, but while there were a lot of dilemmas in terms of adapting to that new normal, in terms of masking, and all the requirements of state, federal regulations, which created all kind of havoc, the fact that students were being deprived of some good quality education in many sectors, K-12 education actually grew.

David Tilley :
So, most K-12 schools, it's not across the board, but I think the majority of K-12 schools I know of actually saw real growth as a result of COVID, and the lack of appropriate response by many of our governments. But in addition to that, and I think this leads us to a challenge, to your question, is not only COVID but the cultural challenges that [inaudible 00:08:46] is facing, have forced parents to rethink their priorities here. In other words, there are a lot of families who say, "I was a public school kid, I did okay for myself." But public education is not the public education that their parents experienced, they're now realizing that with a very brief stint in that. So, they see both the responses of government and the cultural issues plaguing them, and so I really believe that COVID and cultural issues brought a lot of families to K-12 Christian education.

David Tilley :
I believe God will maintain them there, because they see the benefit of that. So, I would say one of the biggest challenges without any question, we're hoping COVID is behind us. I mean, it isn't, but I hope the biggest part of that is behind us. So, let's move past that, and still talk about the cultural issues. There's no question that the cultural issues are playing in the greatest bit of havoc in our schools, and in our families, in our cultures, and in our churches, I think. In trying to grapple with the LGBTQ question, in terms of how do you deal effectively with the race question? There are a lot of legitimate questions being asked, and the schools are now having to reformat [inaudible 00:10:07] with those questions. So, I think challenge number one, one of the biggest challenges is that culture one. So [inaudible 00:10:16] can go there if you like, I can go on to others?

William Vanderbloemen:
No, well, let's park there for just a second. You know a lot of schools, as you think about schools that are addressing the cultural challenges effectively, what are they doing? What can we learn from people who are getting that right?

David Tilley :
First of all, they go back and refocus on mission, missional alignment, and say, "How does our mission impact our..." For many years, our mission too often was kind of just a nice statement that we could quote often, but now it has so much implication for how we do school. So, there's a real reaffirmation of the mission statement, some schools are... I think the main thing is they're having to address it, they're having to develop policies. They're having to rethink, what's the biblical perspective on gay lesbian issues, on transgender, on all the other issues? What's the real biblical perspective on race, on marriage, on gender identity? All of those questions for many years have kind of been, I think, a little more passively reviewed by K-12 schools.

David Tilley :
The schools that are succeeding in this realm are saying, "Okay, what does the Bible say? How does it inform us, and how does that impact policy, our approach, our care and love for these students and families? So, I think in that respect, those who attack it early, in terms of attacking it by saying, "Here's how we feel scripture speaks into this," are the ones who will succeed in this world. A lot of them are still kind of the ostrich and the head in the sand kind of thing. It's going to go away, it's not going to go away, it is here. How are they going to deal with admissions issues? Back to your admission person, and another kind of dilemmas that we'll face? How does it impact Bible instruction, discipleship training, discipline, school discipline? So, there's been a whole new layer on top of our already crowded agendas and challenges that has presented for us.

William Vanderbloemen:
Well, it seems to me that having just completed a number of searches, it seems to me that the most effective approach to the cultural issues is to just decide what your approach is going to be.

David Tilley :
That's right.

William Vanderbloemen:
So, the [inaudible 00:12:50] have some very good clients that, to me, there's not a right or wrong on how to approach it, you just need to decide what's right for your mission. For some of those it's, hey, if you want your kid to come to a place that's like it used to be, ignore the issues, that's who we are, and that's what we're doing. That may not be where I go, but at least there's clarity. There're other schools that are like, "Hey, this is going to be hard, but we're going to wrestle with these issues, and keep our core theological convictions." That's a different path, but there's clarity around which way are we going to go? Maybe I'm oversimplifying things, but would you agree with that?

David Tilley :
I do, I think clarity is the point, grappling with the question and saying, "Here's who we are, here's how the Bible speaks into who we are, here's our calling, here's our mission, and here's how we address it in culture," and we stay with that. We're not afraid of culture, we're not afraid of government, we're not afraid of those issues, that will impact us that we'll come against some of those positions, potentially. So long as there's clarity, and there's a recommitment to that mission, and biblical authenticity, then those are the schools that will survive this.

William Vanderbloemen:
That's good, so cultural issues, take me to the next challenge?

David Tilley :
Yeah, the next challenge is really I think sustainability, the mission is clearly poignant in this world, and we're gaining an enrollment for the most part. But the costs of Christian education is escalating astronomically, and many fear that we're out pricing the market. That if we're not now, we soon will be, and not only the market, but that those who can afford it, but the real challenge of how do you attract a diverse minority, lower income families into a Christ-centered K-12 education? Because no one wants to be the schools for the elite Christian, I mean, we want to be the schools for the Christian community, and that means lower socioeconomic, diverse, so that our schools reflect our communities. But as the tuition goes up, and fees go up, and costs go up, it makes it more difficult for really good Christian families to find a place in our schools. So, it's raising more funds, it's financial aid, just creative ways to raise money for financial assistance for families who need that, who ought to be a part of our community. So, I think that would be my second biggest challenge that I would say.

William Vanderbloemen:
Our kids are at an Episcopal high school, and the headmaster does a lovely job at the beginning of the year for his fundraising pitch saying, "Hey, here's thing, we're so glad you're here, what you're paying covers about 90% of our operating expense, because we do grants to people that can't afford to be here and scholarships." So, we're 10% in the hole right out of the gate, and the pillars, foundation, every school has a name for that annual giver club, kind of the marker for getting into that is upping things by 10%. As a donor, that's just super clear to me. Okay, I'll make you whole, I'll give the extra 10%. I'm able to do that, and grateful to, but I would think that kind of fundraising that is surrounded by mission is going to become a more important characteristic for head of school candidates than maybe ever before, is that an overstatement?

David Tilley :
Not at all, as I see, when I worked with succession planning, and with the boards that are grappling with the next head of school, trying to identify who they are. Head searches more and more, over the last 15 years, there's been an emphasis on development. There has to be, ability to raise money, ability to articulate, like your head has done, the value of this education, and the fact... That's very typical to say, that 10% of our funds are not covered by tuition.

David Tilley :
That's a pretty standard operating procedure, so it's got to come from somewhere, and unlike colleges where it comes from successful alums, usually in K-12, it comes from parents. The same people who are paying the already escalating bills on tuition, we're asking them to pay an additional 10%. What you see you, that approach, ans also, a lot of schools are moving toward the annual fund kind of thing, where they're designating out of that annual fund, or even in some capital campaigns, some allocated money toward financial assistance. So, that used to be kind of, okay, we'll budget 1% or a pretty easy thing to do. But now, they're having to be more creative in the way they identify that additional 10% that you're talking about.

William Vanderbloemen:
That's just good.

David Tilley :
That's a key point, absolutely. I hear that 10% all the time, and I would echo that amount. Pisgah, Mount Paran, wherever I am, that's pretty fair, very few of them are a hundred percent tuition driven. It doesn't operate that way.

William Vanderbloemen:
Sure, well, if you are a chair of the board of a school and you're having to look for a new headmaster, because there's a mountain of succession coming in the next few years, what do you think are the qualities that are particular to our season now, given some of these new challenges, that you might look for that you weren't looking for say 5, 10, 15 years ago?

David Tilley :
Yeah, well, some of them I would have to still put at the top of the list that would've been 15 or 10. But let me just mention those quickly, someone who is absolutely fully unapologetically Christ-centered and committed to mission. That's that's 0.1, so I can't go any further than to articulate that one point. Because all else is insignificant if that is not in the mix, first of all. So, there's no mission drift, because that is one of the challenges I see as kind of a mission drift [inaudible 00:19:30], and a leader, the head of school determines how far the mission drift, if it's occurring, will occur. So, bringing it back in alignment biblically is kind of the major focus, so I can't go anywhere without saying that.

David Tilley :
But I do think, secondly, is the development part of it, I don't remember when I was going to Mount Paran 14, now 18 years ago, being asked the question of development. It was all about academics, it was about relational skills, leadership style. But now, one of the very first questions that we ask is your ability in fundraising, what's your success in fundraising, both annual fund and a capital campaign? Because that's just the corner of the realm right now, it's got to be somebody... Because you have to buy the mission, you have to believe in the mission in order to fundraise for it, so that's the first criteria for a good fundraiser is somebody who buys it. So, I think also in terms of looking at other characteristics, I know that people always pull up resumes and they'll say, "This is a great resume, he's been in this many years as a head, and so on. The GPA, they went to X schools, and all that."

David Tilley :
That's okay, but an intelligent quotient is not the primary qualification for a good head. Now, I'm not going to deny the value of that, obviously, but it's emotional quotient. It's somebody who has that ability, both empathy, social skills, relational skills, all of those aspects of emotional intelligence that I look for not only in heads of school, but in faculty, and in other leaders that I surround myself with. That's really come to the forefront in the last few years, because if you can find somebody with a high IQ, and a lot of good things on the resume, but has a low EQ, he or she's not going to be a good head of school.

David Tilley :
So, those are the characteristics, but it also has to be somebody who has a passion for all aspects of K-12 life. If you have somebody narrowly focused on academics, which is an important aspect, we are a school, but it can't just be narrowly focused on academics, which in fact, 15, 20 years ago was the criteria, was the primary criteria. It's got to have an interest, athletics, arts, cultural issues, biblical foundation, formation, leadership style, relational skills, EQ, all of that has to play together to identify that... That's why I think it's harder now to peg the right head, identify the right head that fits the right community than it was before, because in my respect, it's a much more precise art that you're engaged in.

William Vanderbloemen:
It is more art.

David Tilley :
It is.

William Vanderbloemen:
It's more art than science.

David Tilley :
No doubt.

William Vanderbloemen:
I tell people all the time I know there are couples that are married that first met on eHarmony, but it's a very low percentage, it doesn't work. That's a proposition where you've got two people that are really trying to find a relationship. Well, take an entire organization, which probably has hundreds or thousands of people in it, then you've got all the parents, and the relatives and then grandparents [inaudible 00:23:13]. They're trying to find someone that maybe isn't trying to find... There's no software, it's just not going to happen, so there's a lot of art to it. You've really outlined some important things that I think will be helpful to those that are listening today. I am so thankful for your friendship and wisdom.

David Tilley :
Same, thank you so much for yours. I've often said, if I write a book, which I plan to do, it will not be on this topic, because it is such an art form. So, I'll go off and write a novel, it's so difficult to kind of formulate that in narrative, in a lot of ways.

William Vanderbloemen:
Well, you've been a real success in a long run, and we're all going to hope that the third time's a charm with retirement, and [inaudible 00:24:03] you can enjoy.

David Tilley :
Thanks a lot, William.

William Vanderbloemen:
Thank you Dr. Tilley, we're to have you. Thanks for joining us, and I look forward to introducing you to another in the near future, take care.

Christa Neidig:
Thanks for listening to the Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast. At Vanderbloemen and our sister company, Christian Teams, we help Christian organizations build their best teams through hiring, succession, compensation, and diversity consulting services. Visit our website, Vanderbloemen.com and Christianteams.com to learn more, and subscribe to our Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast wherever you listen to podcast, to keep up with our newest episode. Thanks for listening.