Several years ago, we changed our tagline to say: “HSLDA—Making homeschooling
possible.”
And for that season it made sense. It encompassed all the many programs HSLDA had
taken on over the years. But we live in different times today, and I submit that what the
Lord is calling HSLDA to do today is found
in our name—Home School Legal Defense
Association.
There have been many good programs that
HSLDA has undertaken and done well, and
they have helped many homeschooling families. But the need for HSLDA to continue to do
them has diminished considerably as other
leaders have filled those gaps.
For example, you may have heard that
earlier this year we discontinued our one-on-one educational consulting program. Mission
focus sometimes requires difficult decisions,
and that was one.
How I think about advocacy
One of my life verses is 1 John 2:1 (ESV): “My
little children, I am writing these things to you
so that you may not sin. But if anyone does
sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous.”
If it hadn’t been for this verse, I may not
have gone to law school. Debbie and I already
had three kids when I felt the Lord calling me
to attend Regent University School of Law. But
Debbie was not so convinced.
Through amazing circumstances that I
won’t describe here, we were able to attend
a fall preview weekend where the dean gave
a presentation designed
especially for skeptical
spouses. His text was
1 John 2:1: “We who
have sinned have an
advocate.”
Debbie emerged
from that session,
and when her eye
caught mine, she
teared up a bit and gave
me a big thumbs up. Then
she gave me one of those
amazing Debbie hugs and
said, “I get it.”
I quit my job as a parole
and probation officer in
Oregon, and we loaded
up our truck. We moved
our three kids, dog, and a
cat to Virginia Beach.
The word “advocate”
means “one who pleads a case on
someone else’s behalf.” That’s why I felt
the Lord was calling me to go to law school
at an older age than most. Instead of a
red Corvette, my midlife crisis was law
school, where I felt called to learn how
to plead the case for homeschooling and
homeschoolers.
Returning to our roots
To reflect our renewed mission focus on
legal defense, our team at HSLDA will be
changing our tagline from “making homeschooling possible,” to something more like “advocates for homeschooling.” Because that’s
who we are and that is what we do.
We are advocates.
That is our reason for being.
That is our mission.
And with the Lord’s blessing and
guidance, that is our calling.
And this refocus will not just be skin
deep, changing our tagline. We’ve already
begun focusing more on writing about
homeschool freedom, rather than about
making it possible.
As one example of our commitment to this
calling, we recently hired a new attorney,
Samuel Johnson. Homeschooled as a child, he
and his wife, Annette, are just beginning their
homeschooling journey.
Where homeschool advocacy is concerned,
we put our money where our mouth is. Because that is our calling. And by bringing on Samuel,
our lawyers will be freed up to think, write,
and speak more about homeschool freedom—
and have more time to gear up for these
challenging times ahead.
As I said in the third issue of the Court
Report last year, homeschooling has grown
from being a successful social movement
to becoming an enduring institution—one
that can help shape our culture and form
the character of our children, our families,
and our communities.
Our commitment to you is that HSLDA
will endeavor to play our role with zeal
and excellence and with renewed focus.
And know this: As HSLDA aligns its programs
to our sharper mission focus, our guiding
principle will always be to respond as
best we can to what the Lord is calling
HSLDA to do.
