Christ the Solid Rock
Three-year-old Bethany’s sweet voice spontaneously
came drifting from the backseat of the Klickas’
vehicle. She was singing with amazing clarity the old
hymn The Solid Rock. With tears in their eyes and joy in their
hearts, Bethany’s parents, Chris and Tracy, rode in silence
listening to their precious toddler finish the first verse and
refrain with innocent abandon. That little impromptu concert
happened eighteen years ago, and twenty-one-year-old
Bethany (a wife now) and her six younger siblings (Megan,
Jesse, Susanna, Amy, Charity, and John) will immeasurably
miss their father but will remember and cherish the solid-rock
legacy he left them.
CHRIS’S LIFE
Chris Klicka, age forty-eight, went home to be with his
Savior and Lord in October 2009* after a fifteen-year battle
with multiple sclerosis. For over twenty-four years, Chris championed
homeschool rights around the globe. He was Senior
Counsel for the Home School Legal Defense Association and
was HSLDA’s first full-time attorney, full-time employee, and
first executive director. The then-budding legal advocacy group
hired Chris, a recent law school graduate, in 1985 when the fire
of homeschool legal battles was raging across the U.S.
The list of Chris’s accomplishments is long. While an
intern for the Rutherford Institute in 1984, his extensive
research of homeschool-related laws in all fifty states became
the leading authority summarizing those laws. He lobbied
Congress, testified before legislatures, argued in four supreme
courts, wrote important legislation establishing parents’
rights, and interacted with social service departments as an
advocate for parents against these agencies’ abuses. Because of
Chris’s passionate work, legislators exempted homeschoolers
from regulations in the No Child Left Behind Act (2001).
Chris’s life work for homeschoolers didn’t stop in the
courtroom or legislative hall. He fought for homeschoolers’
rights in colleges, universities, and in the military. He worked
on issues regarding educational grants, Social Security, and
veterans’ benefits and fought daytime curfew restrictions
affecting home-taught teens. Chris spoke to thousands of
families at hundreds of conferences, authored four books, and
was writing two others.
His passion and advocacy for families knew no geographical
boundaries. He directed HSLDA’s international effort defending
homeschoolers abroad. Chris knew that a parent’s right
to choose the best for his or her child is a universal God-given
right to parents everywhere. He traveled to Germany to fight
for German homeschoolers and served on a German homeschool
organization’s board. Chris served on HSLDA’s Canada
board and on the board of a legal defense and advocacy group
in South Africa. Overall, he traveled and worked with families
in more than fifteen countries.
The paths Chris cleared for those who follow have
resulted in renewed families whose children know their
parents’ love and sacrifice to raise and educate them.
That outcome will reverberate through the ages. HSLDA
Chairman Mike Farris spoke of Chris’s conviction:
"Chris’s accomplishments as a lawyer for homeschooling
are clear and of value that cannot be overstated. He was
one of the most important pioneers of our movement.
He believed that this truly is God’s way to teach children
to love God. He believed it deeply. His conviction was
infectious. He was a man of single-hearted devotion that
I have never, ever seen equaled. The passion that Chris
felt for the mission to which God called him never, ever,
ever, ever dimmed, even slightly."
CHRIS’S LOVE
Those who wish to learn more about Chris’s invaluable
contributions that paved the way for millions of
homeschoolers can easily access further information
from a Google search of "Chris Klicka," which produces
thousands of articles and information concerning his
life and advocacy in multiple arenas. Families around
the world can thank God for all Chris accomplished on
their behalf. However, while these important undertakings
were the tasks God called Chris to do on Earth,
they were not the core of his passion and example.
Chris loved his work, but his greatest love was
for his Lord and his family. He deeply desired to
share the joy of knowing Christ and raising children
who love the Lord. Of the numerous articles he
wrote for Homeschooling Today, many bore titles such
as "Communicating the Good News," "Sharing the
Gospel as a Family," and "A Husband’s Unconditional
Love." On a particular speaker’s bureau that listed
Chris’s speaking topics, more than half were about
family, the Lord, and joyful suffering rather than legal
or technical issues. Encouraging and pointing families
to Christ remained Chris’s greatest passion.
All who knew Chris saw his indomitable spirit
and felt his zeal. He loved people, and it didn’t matter
whether Chris knew you well or had just met you. It
didn’t matter if you were young or old. His infectious
smile put you at ease, and when he talked to you he was
genuinely interested in you and your interests. One
young man, a graduated homeschooler who knew of
Chris when he was a homeschool student, had occasion
to meet Chris again at a mutual friend’s house. The
young man and his wife came away saying they saw
Chris’s deep love for the Lord and for relationships.
HSLDA staff joked that the phone bills wouldn’t
be so high if it weren’t for Chris. Chris’s calls were
always more than all the other attorneys combined!
Bob Farewell, a longtime friend, said Chris was his
hero. "Chris’s attitude was always one of service. Chris’s
frequent question was, ‘What areas can I pray for you
about?’"
Tracy, Chris’s wife, noted that if he were here now
receiving abundant attention, he would respond by
pointing upward to his great Savior. He truly wanted
God to receive the glory for how He was using him.
When Chris traveled, he always carried a backpack
full of tracts and Gideon Bibles. He gave thousands to
all who would take them and listen to the gospel. His
bold witness extended to all whom Chris thought
might not know the Lord. Just a couple of weeks
before he went Home, while waiting for a move from
the hospital to home hospice care, he still engaged the
nursing staff with his favorite question: "If you were
to die today, do you know where you’d go?"
Despite his serious circumstances, Chris didn’t
lose the zany sense of humor that his friend Bob
Farewell loved so much. In September 2009 (as Bob
related), Chris called all his close male friends one
Friday to say goodbye and tell them he was going to
resign from HSLDA and go on disability. He could
no longer work. He was rather low and had a bad day
that day. Then, inexplicably, he had a good day on
Saturday. On Sunday, he called all his friends again
and said, "I changed my mind!"
Even in his weakened condition, Chris was determined
to make the September trip to the National
Homeschool Leadership Conference in Colorado,
where he ultimately collapsed. When asked what in
the world he was doing there, he replied, "I gotta be
with my friends. I had to come say goodbye."
CHRIS’S LEGACY
Suffering was a familiar companion to Chris. God
gave the Klickas a large cross to bear with Chris’s
crippling disease, and Chris submitted to it as evidence
of God’s sovereignty and Christ’s love for him.
As the MS progressed, Chris fought to stay active and
as strong as he could by swimming and biking. He
was the most determined person I (who knew Chris
for twenty-two years) have ever seen.
Chris wrote, "Times of suffering are the times
God draws closest while intensely molding us, shaping
us, and conforming us to the image of His Son. It
is an opportunity to see our priorities clearly and to
set them straight. We learn to concentrate on what
really matters: living holy lives, sharing the gospel,
advancing His kingdom, and training our children
to love God with all their heart, all their strength,
and all their mind. It is okay to suffer. I can say that
with my whole heart" ("Healing through Suffering,"
Homeschooling Today, September/October, 2005).
In many ways Chris exhibited strength few of
us will ever have, but he understood he was a weak
sinner in need of God’s strength and grace. He wanted
everyone to comprehend how great his God is.
Admirers and friends, as evidenced by the more than
300,000 visits to Chris’s CaringBridge site, will write
articles and tell heroic stories of how Chris helped
someone, how he fought to save homeschooling in a
state, and how he encouraged so many people as he
pulled himself up to a podium to deliver a message
of encouragement just one more time when he could
barely stand. Tracy is confident Chris would say, with
clear conviction and passion, "Just love Jesus and love
your family. That’s what matters." Chris understood
that God could take any ordinary human who loves
the Lord and use him in extraordinary ways. He
understood that life is not about homeschooling but
about loving and serving Jesus Christ.
Chris passed from this world to the next with
complete peace and assurance that his Savior waited
for him with open arms.
Most homeschoolers will never be "famous" or
have the far-reaching influence on others that Chris
experienced. But Chris knew that by loving Jesus
Christ and discipling our children, we each could
influence many generations. He leaves his family and
all of us that solid-rock legacy.
* Read Tracy Klicka’s thoughts shared at Chris’s memorial
service on October 31 and learn more of the Klicka
family’s journey during the last weeks of Chris’s life on
Earth at www.tracyklicka.com.
For information on how to obtain a video
copy of the memorial service, go to
www.homeschooltoday.com/Bonus/09JF or to
www.hslda.org/klicka. All proceeds from the video’s
sale will go to HSLDA’s Home School Foundation to
help homeschool families in need.
Some of Chris Klicka’s articles are reprinted at
www.homeschooltoday.com/Bonus/09JF or on the
HST website at www.homeschooltoday.com.