-3.png "Joshua Brittingham | FCS Staff")
"It is a joy to ask hard questions and seek the truth. I then love to share such learning with my students." - Joshua Brittingham
What post-secondary schools did you attend? Degrees held?
I attended Alfred State College, SUNY Geneseo, and Roberts Wesleyan University. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in History (SUNY Geneseo) and a Master’s Degree in Education (Roberts Wesleyan).
Have you taught or been involved in schools somewhere else prior to FCS? If so, where, and how long?
I taught for 6 years at Wellsville Central School District in Wellsville, NY. I taught for 4 years at a start-up classical school called Legacy Academy in Georgetown, DE.
What are your hobbies or things you enjoy outside of the school?
First and foremost, I enjoy spending time with my wife, Liliana, and my two daughters, Eleanor and Juniper. I also enjoy podcasts, reading, music, and outdoor activities like running, camping, and hiking.
What or who inspired you to work in education?
I think I would point to my dad’s love for learning and his commitment to study. As a pastor, he labored in study for preaching but also for teaching. He takes his charge as a teacher just as seriously as his role as a preacher. I would say my own love of learning also inspired me to teach. It is a joy to ask hard questions and seek the truth. I then love to share such learning with my students.
What's your favorite book you've read?
My favorite book is The Mortification of Sin by John Owen. This book had an immense impact on my growth in Christ.
How many books do you have stacked on your bedside table or in your "To Read" pile?
I think I have four or five on my “to read” pile. I have the problem of starting too many books at a time.
What do you find most compelling or distinct about Christian classical education?
I find most compelling the idea of recovery. We are recovering something that has been lost. In CCE, there is a sense of tradition and a historical rootedness. This is wonderful to me. It gets us out of our little time period (and place!) bubble. It is humbling. It says that we modern people don’t know everything (by virtue of being a modern, tech-saturated person), and that we need the work of those who have gone before.
Furthermore, we have a responsibility to pass on the great tradition bequeathed to us. While I speak of education, it is similar to Christ’s church. We stand on the shoulders of those saints who have gone before us. We are entrusted with a Gospel to pass on to those who will come after we are gone.
What do you love about the idea of teaching at Faith Christian School or what do you anticipate appreciating most about Faith Christian School?
I am excited about the opportunity to learn from the faculty and staff at Faith Christian School. My desire is to grow as a classical Christian educator. I have been impressed in my conversations with folks from the school. I anticipate appreciating the growth that will come from teaching at FCS.
If you have a "life verse" or a verse that is ministering to you right now, what might it be?
I have recently been studying Galatians with a man from my church. In Galatians, Paul presents a clear defense of justification by faith alone. One verse that sticks out is Galatians 5:4, where Paul says that those who seek to be justified by works of the law are “severed from Christ” and have “fallen away from grace.” It seems that we often speak of falling away primarily in connection with a particular sin, whether an actual sin or a tradition of men. In contrast, Paul’s strong words of condemnation are for those who revert back to self-effort and law-keeping to make themselves acceptable before God. While we are all probably not tempted to be “Judaizers” like those troubling the Galatians, we still must combat drift toward error in our lives and our churches when it comes to the Gospel. We must preach the gospel of justification by faith alone to ourselves daily. We must trust in Christ alone and His all-sufficient merit.
If you have a personal life’s mission statement, what is it?
I think John the Baptist laid out a good personal life mission when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). May my life “increase” Christ and may I “decrease.”
