My Message to the Faculty Today

Good Morning everyone.

Let’s make our beginning this morning

In the name of the Father,

And of the Son,

And of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Someone once asked me what the biggest difference between elementary and high school is and I shared the immediacy. The high school years go by so fast. Those freshmen that “sauntered” in here four years ago are now thinking about where they will be attending school next year. Along the way they learned to drive – or at least took driving lessons – I’ve been hit twice in the lot this year J, they have learned life lessons, they have discovered things about themselves they did not know before. They have won and they have lost, they have laughed and cried, celebrated and mourned.

One of the great joys you and I get to experience in working here is we get to be a part of the process. God lets us be a part of their lives – their memories. A privilege and an honor for us – may we never take it for granted.

To a part of the purpose of helping students internalize the Gospel message of salvation in Christ Jesus is an important responsibility. We need to keep growing in our walk with the Lord to help them grow in their walk.

One of my favorite leadership guys is Pastor John Maxwell. He has written many books over the years. One of the most significant to me was “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”. The first Law was called the “Law of the Lid”. In a nutshell, Maxwell said that people within an organization can never grow higher than the leadership level of the leader. If the leader is a 5, the organization cannot grow past a 4. If the leader can grow to an 8 then the organization can grow to. His challenge was to help leaders see they need to keep growing. Raise your lid and those around can continue to grow.

In a retreat that was held recently with BoD and the Executive Admin team there was poignant moment when the purpose of the school was being reaffirmed. It was stated that if we ever compromise our purpose we should shut our doors, there is no reason for our existence.

My point is this – as we lead in this place towards our purpose – to help kids keep growing – we need to be growing as well. God’s Word is a place where we can never learn all there is to know – there is always new learnings awaiting us.

One of my new learnings happened recently. It is the transformation of Joshua into being the leader of the children of Israel.

· Deuteronomy 31:6 – Moses to the people

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

· Deuteronomy 31:7 – Moses to Joshua
Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.

· Deuteronomy 31:23 – God to Joshua
The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you."

· Joshua 1:6 – God to Joshua
"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.

· Joshua 1:9 – God to Joshua
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

· Joshua 1:18 – God to Joshua
Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"

It took many messages to Joshua, from Moses first and then from God directly, but at some point, after several victories, he owned those words. He then shared them with the people.

· Joshua 10:25 – Joshua to the people
Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight."

This story was told and retold from generation to generation and the words were shared with others centuries later.

· 1 Chronicles 22:13 – David to Solomon
Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

· 1 Chronicles 28:20 – David to Solomon
David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.

· 2 Chronicles 32:7 – Hezekiah to people
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.

There is so much hidden in God’s Word awaiting for us to learn and grow and help others grow.

I heard a speaker recently share that as we are growing, we should be sure to surround ourselves with people we want to emulate in our walk. He also shared that we should make our growth a priority – clear time in your day for that purpose – don’t leave it to happenstance.

Good advise.

Find your way into His Word. Our students are depending on us to grow so that they too can grow.

PRINCIPAL LESLIE SMITH’S CHAPEL ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY

Friday, March 12, 2010
There are lots of things that I hope you will always remember from
your time here at Orange Lutheran High School, but I especially hope
that you will always know how much the faculty, staff and I truly
love and care for you. As I mentioned earlier today, serving at
Orange Lutheran is so much more than a just a job for the paycheck;
we are here because we want the very best for you.

As a result, we never stop thinking of ways to make your experience
at Orange Lutheran the best it can be, and we take very seriously
your safety here on campus and even away from school. If we ever
learn of any potential threat to your safety, please be assured that
we will stop at nothing to keep you safe.

Most of you have probably already heard some rumors circulating
around campus this week, so in the spirit of honesty and trust,
please allow me to set the record straight. Early Tuesday morning at
about 12:30 a.m., a message from one of our formers students was sent
through Facebook to about 20 of our students; it is true that the
language in the message is alarming and threatening. One of our
students brought this message to the attention of a teacher during
the first class of the day, and that teacher immediately contacted
school administration.

Following our standard course of action, we immediately contacted the
Orange Police Department. We continue to work with the Police
Department, health care professionals, and the family of the former
student, and we continue to be advised by them and other trained
professionals that there is no credible threat to the safety of the
school at this time. I want you to know that I feel just as safe
being here at school and allowing my own two daughters to be here on
campus as I did last week and the week before that. Please know that
I will always do my very best to not allow any one of you to ever be
put in harm’s way.

Just so you know, safety has always been a huge priority for me. Let
me share with you a few of the measures we have already implemented
the past few years that you probably haven’t even noticed:

Administrative presence in the morning and after school – while we
like to say, “Good Morning” to you everyday, we are there to watch
who is coming on campus and observe behaviors.
Director of Campus Safety and Events – we have just created a new
administrative position with staff support geared specifically at
focusing on campus and event safety.
Increased security on campus and at events – we have added more
staff during the day and at all school events.
Evening security company – we hired a security company to monitor
the campus throughout the evening hours from the time school campus
safety staff leaves in the evening at 9:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. when
school staff arrives on campus.
Security company on campus during construction – during
construction on Santiago Blvd. during the fall, we contracted with
our security company to provide security around the clock.

Security cameras – we have added enhanced security cameras
throughout campus not as an attempt to try and catch students doing
something wrong but to ensure campus safety.
Keeping doors shut and locked – while it is often inconvenient to
walk around the campus to the unlocked open doors near the Success
Center and Athletic hallways, we want to minimize the number of
entrances to our school campus so we can monitor who is entering and
exiting our campus. You can help by not propping open the doors and
making sure they close behind you.

We have increased the number of emergency drills so we are prepared
in the event of an emergency.
We continue to work with law enforcement to identify ways to be more
proactive in maintaining a safe campus environment. We have a strong
relationship with the Orange Police Department, and they continue to
be very responsive to our school. We are grateful for our partnership
with them.
Uniforms – we considered school uniforms last year as a means of
identifying “strangers” who might come on campus not dressed in
uniform but recognized your (students’) input that uniforms could
actually provide an easy way to blend with the student body and
therefore create complacency.
Lanyards – we continue to consider the possibility of requiring
students to wear their identification cards on a lanyard so they are
visible at all times making it easier to identify those people who
are “supposed” to be on campus.
Discussion of a campus entry and exit gate – we continue to
consider the possibility of enclosing our campus with security gates
at the entrance and exit of our campus.

“Rachel’s Challenge” (Columbine) Assembly in April – the
Student Leadership Team has already scheduled the Rachel’s
Challenge Assembly based on the Columbine tragedy for Thursday, April
22, 2010 to raise awareness of campus safety, kindness, and
forgiveness.

There are a number of lessons we can learn from this incident:

Safety is everyone’s responsibility – we all have to be aware of
who is on our campus and at our events and be proactive in responding
to something that “just doesn’t look right.”
Informing an adult is absolutely appropriate when you are concerned
about the safety and well being of yourself and/or others. THANK YOU
to the students who reported this concern; this is not an act of
“snitching” but rather courage in doing the right thing – you
never know when you could be saving someone’s life!
Threats are never appropriate and are an unacceptable response. It
is essential that you don’t make a threat; besides school and
family consequences, threats can be punishable by the law. Because we
report any and all threats to the police department irrespective of
whether or not we think the threat may or may not be viable, you
should know that you could be prosecuted by the law for such actions.
If you have a situation going on and you need help, please don’t
make threats, but rather go talk to someone you can trust so you can
get help and work it out in a healthy appropriate manner.
It’s important that we all remember the significance and
importance of simply being kind. In this instance as well as many
others, this person’s message albeit inappropriate and
unacceptable, was a response to unkind words and actions by others.
Inappropriate things said and done to him elicited an inappropriate
response from him. Again, while there is no excuse for making a
threat, we can all be part of the solution by simply being kind and
compassionate to others.
Rumors are unkind, hurtful, and unnecessary. You can help by not
spreading rumors, and if you want to know something that is going on
here at school, please ask us. I try to be as visible and accessible
as possible for you. While we will always seek to protect privacy, we
will be honest with you especially as it relates to your well-being
and safety.
Finally, allow me to make a comment about Facebook. I have to admit,
that I don’t really get it. As someone who strives to maintain
privacy and stay out of the public eye as much as possible, I cannot
figure out why you would want to be that public with your life. More
importantly, however, I have to admit that I am often shocked and
disappointed when I hear of what many of you post on your Facebook. I
encourage you to be the same person on Facebook as you are with your
teachers, with your parents, and in the presence of God.

Thanks for your attention today and for your help in keeping our
school safe.

Chapel March 8, 2010

Good Morning

Before we pray and get into God’s Word I would like to recognize our Boys Basketball team for a great effort on Friday night. For those of you who went, what a great crowd you were. Wonderful support. It was really cool to see the entire side of the gym filed with Lancer fans. Our band was on. Our cheer support great.

As I told the boys on Thursday night – scoreboards don’t define champions. Champions are defined by their actions on and off the court.

I know for the player and the coach, really more than anyone else, not winning leaves a hole.

That is why it is great to know that both our boys and girls teams get a chance to play in the CIF State Tournament. This is a school first to have both teams in the playoffs. Their first games are…

Boys - Tuesday night here vs Alemany 7pm

Girls – Tuesday night @ Mount Miguel in San Diego 6pm

Congratulations to both teams and their coaches Howard and Nordstrom.

Now let’s focus in on God’s Word for a couple of minutes.

Let’s Pray…

Lord God, Heavenly Father

We gather around Your Word today remembering why you were born: to save Your people from their sins.

We celebrate the fact You loved us so much to send Jesus

Thank you for Your presence –

May the words of David praise you –

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be acceptable to You O Lord my Strength and my Redeemer. Amen

----------------------------

It is good to speak with you again. In my new role as Executive Director I don’t do it as much, and I miss it.

Some of you may not even know who I am – or what an Executive Director does. Just know this, I have a passion for young people and I want your experience at OLu to be unsurpassed.

I want you to know Jesus is in this place. It is my desire that you will trust Him with all your heart, and all your mind, with all your soul, and you will love each other!

This week, if you did not know is National Lutheran Schools Week. Nationally there are nearly 2500 Lutheran schools w/271K students

– almost 100 high schools w/ 19k students

– OLu is the biggest LHS in the country

The theme for this year is: "Securing Each Child’s Future – For a Life of Service" and it is based on 1 Corinthians 12:5 – Many gifts – One Lord

I like how this verse is presented in “The Message”…

God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:

wise counsel

clear understanding

simple trust

healing the sick

miraculous acts

proclamation

distinguishing between spirits

tongues

interpretation of tongues.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.

Why is it that we often don’t like our gifts, but want someone else’s? Or why do we discount some types of gifts as if they are not good enough?

According to the scripture reading each gift comes from God that helps us show who God is – we all get to participate in revealing Him to the world. Our using the gifts He has given us is service. Our service communicates a thankfulness to our great God!

I have been working in Lutheran schools for 30 years now and the last 13 have been here at OLU, in high school. The thing I enjoy so much about being here is seeing how God has gifted our students and watching them use those talents to His glory. I love seeing the artwork around the school and hearing students discover what their friends can do. Or finding out someone is a great dancer or in an activity outside of school that

The thing I hear so often from people is how talented our students are.

And I think it is fun when a student finds something that they are good at they never new before. I think that is what high school is about. It is a chance to discover and try something new that may take you out of your comfort zone.

I realize that not everyone in here has done that, but I do want to encourage you. We learn more about ourselves trying and maybe not having it work out, than not trying at all.

Over the years we have had students come to OLu thinking they would do one thing and then find out they really enjoyed something else. One of our best wrestlers in school history started out getting cut by boys basketball. His folks said do something and he found wrestling. I have seen athletes fall in love with the Nechita Center stage. I have seen students discover they could write. I have seen students think they weren’t science people and find a love for chemistry. Exposing people to wood shop has created people who are making things they nevr thought possible before.

Each month, at our student of the month recognitions, we see students who are finding they have gifts in areas they may never have thought they were good at.

Last weekend I was traveling in NM and missed the Sacred Concert. My wife and son went and came home talking about all great performances.

To close today I have asked two of our freshman students (Angie and Marissa) to share the piece they played at the concert. This is an original song that Angie wrote. Marissa has heard it and added her violin part as well. Another great example of how OLu students use the gifts God has given them.

As you listen to the song – think about the meaning of the word Hallelujah – which is really two words –

Hallelu means - a joyous praise, to boast in God, or to act madly or foolishly

Jah is short for Yahweh – The Lord

Hallelujah then means joyously Praise the Lord

-Song (Hallelujah)

Thank you both for sharing your gifts today. Great job.

Closing Prayer…

Lord,

I thank you for all the students you have gathered here over the years.

Orange Lutheran is not an ending but a beginning – a spring board into the world where we get to be a part of Your plan to let the world know who You are.

Use us each and every day Lord to get Your message out.

Broaden our platform and our influence.

Thank you for the ministry that is going on in Lutheran schools around the world.

Be with those here today who are hurting and need to feel Your presence in a special way.

Lord we love You.

In Jesus name. Amen

May God bless each of you in all you do for Him every day.

Seniors – you are dismissed!