How long have you been a minister and a principal?

I&8217;ve been in the ministry since 1982, and I&8217;ve been a principal since 2004.

Do you believe being a minister interacts with being a principal?

Absolutely, it&8217;s all about communication. Both organizations take strong communication. My students come to me for advice they normally wouldn&8217;t go to their parents with. They are at a peculiar age, where they aren&8217;t consider children anymore, but aren&8217;t adults either. I think that is when they are most impressionable, and they know they can come to me for guidance if they need it.

How do you balance being a minister and principal everyday?

I try to incorporate aspects from each into the other. In both aspects, I lead these organizations. My students inspire my sermons because I see what&8217;s happening in the real world. On Sunday, everyone puts on their finest and goes to church to hear the word of God, but that&8217;s not the real world like it is here. My students inspire my ministry and my congregation inspires my administrative duties.

What role do you see churches taking in politics?

I think churches are going to have to get involved with schools. I don&8217;t really see anyway around. We want our students to be well-rounded individuals. That is going to have to have the church involved in the home and the school. It&8217;s just a natural step for the advancement of society.

Do you believe that government support of public schools is on the rise or decline?

The government started the No Child Left Behind Program, and I think that is a good thing for them to do. However, at the same time the main problem and criticism I have towards the governments involvement is that they set up these programs, then they don&8217;t tell us how to utilize them. They don&8217;t tell us how to use the funding. I think the support is on the rise, but I don&8217;t think it&8217;s happening fast enough.

Do you believe there will ever be an end to the separation of church and state?

I don&8217;t believe that there will be an end to that. I would like to see the end the of it, but I don&8217;t think that will ever happen. I do, however, believe that God wouldn&8217;t have created the system then would forbid his people to be part of it. I see a collaboration on the verge, but not the complete end. I would like to see more spiritual, religious Christian people in the affairs of state instead of secular minded people. It&8217;s like taking prayer out of school. I remember when it was a part of morning routine when I was in school. However, now we do the moment of silence. Now, don&8217;t get me wrong, we don&8217;t want to force religion down anyone&8217;s throat, but I feel that the option should be up to the students of a school, not the government. When I do right, and do it well, having church involved with this school comes out right and mixes the right way.