HARMONY: How We Can Orchestrate a Symphony of Life at IRCS this Year

Music is not my gift. My musical abilities are so deficient that I would tell you I’m tone deaf, but I’m not sure I’d be right. Ironically, I love music. I once took a personality profile assessment that identified love of music as one of my strengths. Recently, I was mesmerized when I watched a well-known rock star play a sequence of his songs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It was a symphony of 107 instruments. The harmony among many different instrumentalists, their varying expertises, and their varying instruments was jaw-dropping. 

Harmony is a powerful thing. It is described as different notes played simultaneously to produce a purposeful and pleasing sound. 

Purposeful and pleasing. 

If that were the description of the 2025-2026 school year for Indian Rocks Christian School, that would be a symphonic year. 

Paul challenged the Philippian church to be in ‘full accord’ with each other. The Greek word is sympsychos. It means to ‘live with’ each other, and where we get our modern word, symphony. Paul tells the Philippians to live a symphony of life. 

Here are three ways we can abide by Paul’s admonition and have harmony in our community that is purposeful and pleasing. 

Let’s have ONE MIND

Much like corrective lenses on glasses calibrate sight back to 20/20, let’s use the lens of Scripture to calibrate harmony among our thoughts.

Let’s have ONE HEART

As I traveled this summer, I would see others in Philadelphia Eagles shirts and bellow, ‘GO BIRDS!’ They would always return the call, and in some instances, I had a great conversation with a perfect stranger. Why? Because we were unified in our love for the Eagles. Let our passion for Christ allow us to have one heart for Him this school year. 

Let’s put in ONE EFFORT

Paul, previous to chapter 2, encouraged the Philippians to ‘strive side by side’. It is incredible how unified our effort becomes and how our students benefit when we work to have one mind and one heart, and it leads to a unified effort that can yield God-like results. 

Pastor Aaron Filipone, our lead pastor, often reminds us to pray for God to do something at our church and school that transcends human talent and effort. I believe unifying our hearts, minds, and effort is how we get out of the way and let God conduct a symphony this school year. 

I hope you’ll join me!