CCA Head of School Message – October 2026

Dear CCA Family, 

As we approach the start of the college basketball season, I am reminded of one of my favorite sports stories. 

In 1997, the University of Arizona men’s basketball team made one of the most memorable runs in NCAA Tournament history. The fourth-seeded Wildcats defeated three No. 1 seeds – Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky – on their way to winning the national championship. 

Basketball fans remember names like Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, Jason Terry, and Michael Dickerson. Few, however, remember a 5’11” freshman walk-on named Josh Pastner. 

Pastner rarely played. In fact, most of his time on the court came at the end of games long after the outcomes had already been decided. But behind the scenes, Pastner became an important part of what made that championship team successful. 

Early in their freshman year, Pastner and Bibby committed to taking 300 shots every night. As other teammates began joining them, Pastner eventually stopped taking shots himself. Instead, he rebounded for his teammates so they could maximize their repetitions. He encouraged them, pushed them, and maintained an unwavering belief that their team could win the national championship. 

Pastner did not have the biggest role on the court, and he did not have the most talent. He was not even on the court during the national championship run. Yet his coaches and teammates recognized that his contribution to the team’s success had been invaluable. The following year, the walk-on who rarely left the bench was awarded a full scholarship, and, following graduation, he joined Arizona’s coaching staff. 

I have shared this story before, including with our school community, because it illustrates a principle I deeply believe and one that I hope becomes embedded in the culture of CCA: 

Everyone has influence, and everyone has a choice about how they use it. 

That principle is worth repeating because our students make that choice every day. They make it in classrooms and hallways, at lunch tables and practices, on stages and athletic fields, and through the words and images they share online. Every interaction carries the opportunity to influence someone else. 

We sometimes think leadership belongs to the person with the title, the position, or the microphone, and students can fall into the same trap. They may believe leadership belongs to the team captain, student body president, starting quarterback, or lead in the school play. 

But leadership is ultimately about influence, not title or position. 

Every one of our students influences the people around them every day. The question is not whether they have influence, but rather what they will choose to do with it. 

For followers of Jesus, however, there is another important question: 

What should guide the way we use that influence? 

Jesus gives us a remarkably clear answer. When asked about the greatest commandment, He answered that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and then added, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–39). 

Love God. Love others. 

Those simple words provide an extraordinary framework for how Christians should use their influence. 

If we truly love God, that love should shape the way we speak, the choices we make, and the way we treat the people around us. If we truly love others, we will use our influence to encourage rather than tear down, include rather than exclude, forgive rather than hold grudges, serve rather than seek recognition, and help others become better rather than simply seeking attention for ourselves. 

That is the kind of leadership we want to cultivate at Christ’s Church Academy. 

We certainly want our students to grow academically and to develop their gifts through athletics and the arts. We want them to become confident, capable young men and women who are prepared for whatever God calls them to do next. 

But our hopes for them extend much further. 

We want our students to love God deeply and to become reflections of Jesus to the people they encounter. We want them to recognize that the classroom, lunch table, athletic field, stage, hallway, and conversation with a friend are all places where they have an opportunity to influence someone else. 

Sometimes that influence will be highly visible. Often, it will look much more like Josh Pastner quietly rebounding basketballs late at night so someone else can improve. 

As parents and educators, we have an opportunity to help our children understand that they do not need to wait until someday to become leaders. They do not need a title or position. They are influencing others right now, and we can encourage them to ask a simple question: 

How can I use my influence today to love God, love others, and make the people around me better? 

Imagine the kind of school community we continue to build when hundreds of students make that choice every day. 

Thank you for your partnership as we work together to educate, disciple, and develop young people who not only understand what they believe, but who live out their faith in the way they treat and influence others. 

Grace and peace, 

John Stubblefield 
Head of School