Accountable for Failure and Won’t Own up to It

In our previous article BJU's Soteriology, “Turn from Their Sins” for Salvation we discussed the shift in BJU’s stance toward the Lordship Salvation (LS) interpretation of the gospel.  We asked if BJU still rejects LS, as it had for many decades, they should revise the Position Statement as it currently appears. As of this writing they have not.

Following is an extended comment posted under my article The Closure of Calvary Baptist Seminary: Predictable and Repeatable (August 20, 2013).1  That comment appears under, They are Accountable for Failure and Won’t Own Up to It.2 See if you don’t find parallels to what is happening at BJU presently.

I saw the transformation of Calvary seminary firsthand and this article [The Closure of Calvary Baptist Seminary: Predictable and Repeatable] is spot on. Unfortunately the leadership you [Lou] mention seemed to be more interested in being validated by some of the mainstream evangelicals than sticking with the principles they were trained under and passing them on to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

I was there when Sam Harbin was taking a class with Haddon Robinson3 and he was star struck like he had just met Elvis. A culture began to spread that we all needed to go to Westminster or another “accredited” seminary to learn what the “experts” were doing. I remember thinking “If I wanted that why would I be here?” Regardless, the desire to get the validation of the brightest and the best of the mainstream thinkers seemed to begin to drive the decisions of the seminary and even the church.

My opinion is that these men fell prey to the desire to be somebody and became very much focused on their own motivations and what they wanted out of life. Unfortunately they’ve gotten the outcome of what happens when you do things that way. It’s obvious they are upset about the failure and they have tried to put the best face forward on the closure by calling it a success or celebration. The reality is that they are accountable for the failure of the seminary and just won’t own up to it.

"Chief" Jordan

Instead they in effect blame God by saying that He has other plans. They also say that Dr. E. R. Jordan would have been on board, but there is no way Chief would have ever agreed to bring on a Calvinist professor, and this desperate move right before closing for good just shows how off the focus has been and the disregard for what Calvary has always been.

There was even a letter that was sent to Alumni when that decision was made stating that Calvary “had always leaned more towards Calvinism” and that this wasn’t a bad thing. Regardless of your views on the subject this was an outright lie and misrepresentation of the historic position of the seminary, insulting the alumni and the memory of Chief.

In the end I believe a lot of these men, especially [Sam] Harbin and [Charles] McLain, whether they realized it or not, saw the seminary as serving them instead of the other way around. They remade it in their image and the outcome was a small group of relatives and yes men organized in a mutual admiration society. No one will pay good money to be trained under that system- where insiders get preferred treatment and outsiders get shunned or made to feel inferior. This is a tragedy and a direct result of losing focus on what the seminary was supposed to be.

Chief, with all of his eccentricities, loved people and was passionate about training young men for the ministry and about leading people to Christ. Unfortunately the men who followed him thought they were smarter and could do it better, but clearly they were wrong.

Originally appeared June 15, 2014
Read the additional commentary posted by the author.  He says, “I’m only offering my comments here as a warning to other men in ministry so they can hopefully stay the course without making the same mistakes that were made by these men.”

Site Publisher’s Admonition

BJU president Dr. Steve Pettit, Sam Horn and the board would do well to heed that warning. They are making many of the same mistakes made by the men at Calvary, Northland, Clearwater, TTU and Pillsbury. BJU has been put on a new course that, if history is our teacher, will in all likelihood lead to its eventual demise. Steve Pettit and the board will be accountable for that failure.

In our next article- We will be reviewing some of the “same mistakes,” which have taken BJU far off course.

Footnotes:

1) The Closure of Calvary Baptist Seminary: Predictable and Repeatable

2) They are Accountable for Failure and Won’t own Up to It

3) Haddon Robinson

Piedmont/TTU: A Predictable Pattern of Mergers With Only One Survivor

Tragic, isn’t it? It has not been a delight to report on a pattern of the predictable demise of once fine, not perfect, schools. That’s right, “demise.”  One survives and the other goes away.

“…but the merger effectively means that come May 1, Tennessee Temple University will no longer exist.” (The End of Tennessee Temple in Chattanooga, Times Free Press, March 3, 2015).

Last time we considered Tennessee Temple’s demise, being folded into Piedmont International University.1 Look at the schools that already have or may be near to folding.  Is there common denominator?  There are, in my opinion, two factors, to be considered.  First, and foremost, was these schools becoming in practice like, and aligning with the non-separatism of so-called “conservative” evangelicalism.

Second, while possibly less of a negative impact than the former, these schools also drifted into allowing for and tolerating two major doctrinal errors.  Those errors are: 1) Reformed Theology, which includes Calvinism and Covenant theology. 2) Lordship Salvation (LS), which is a works based, man-centered message that corrupts the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Cor. 11:3) and frustrates grace (Gal. 2:21).2 That said, some of our schools have been or lean toward Calvinism and enjoyed relative health.

Schools that get dislodged from their biblical separatist roots, and veer away from their constituencies cannot survive. Pillsbury, Northland, Central Seminary and TTU learned this the hard way. On the theological grid, I think many of our separatists are regrettably willing to endure Calvinism and even LS more so than they are willing to endure a false eschatology and hermeneutic (“the church is Israel” – “Historic Premill,” etc.).

Consider the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC), formerly known as NANC, and their link to Jay Adams. That marriage paved the way for Reformed Theology to make deep inroads into our own ranks.


I would, furthermore, offer and repeat a serious caution: When it comes to the star personalities of the so-called “conservative” evangelicalism, including cooperative ministry, Drs. Kevin Bauder and Dave Doran are willing to tolerate, allow for, ignore and excuse all sorts of aberrant theology (including Reformed, Covenant theology) ecumenical compromises, cultural relativism and worldliness.  Those men (Bauder, Doran, et., al.) through casting aside authentic biblical separatism, paved the way for Covenant Theology to make deep inroads into our circles, and essentially ruin nearly an entire generation of young preachers.  Dr. Ernest Pickering wrote,

“Some leaders operate on the principle that they will use speakers who are well-known even though they may be shaky in their convictions in some areas-because they have special abilities that are helpful and thus can be a blessing to their congregations. The wisdom, however, of following this course of action is very doubtful…. But a man is more than his pulpit message. He brings to the pulpit a lifetime of associations, actions and perhaps writings. He comes as a total person. Is he in his total ministry the type of person you would want the young people at the separatist college to emulate? If he is a compromiser, his example would be harmful, and the college president would be at fault for setting him up as such. The separatist cause is not advanced by featuring non-separatists.”3 (Biblical Separation: The Struggle for a Pure Church, Implementing Separatist Convictions, Whom to Invite to Your Platform, p. 229.)

Predictions:
Where we stand today gone are Pillsbury Baptist Bible College, Northland Baptist Bible College (NIU), Calvary Baptist Seminary and Tennessee Temple.  As for my personal opinion of other schools traditionally in our circles: I suspect Central Seminary will soon join the others in closing. How Bob Jones University fares will in part depend upon how new president Steve Pettit aligns with some of the drifting churches in Greenville, i.e. Heritage Bible, Hampton Park, etc.

Maranatha Baptist University, I believe, and am hopeful will be with us well into the future.  Ambassador Baptist College is debt free, and I believe is being lead well by Ron Comfort’s successor, Alton Beal. The Baptist College of Ministry & Theological Seminary is on sure footing for a long term future.  It seems to me that Pensacola Christian, West Coast and Crown College will around for many years to come.

In all of these closures I wondered where does Piedmont fit it.  TTU is not the first to be absorbed by Piedmont.  Previous to TTU Piedmont absorbed Spurgeon Baptist Bible College of FL., and Atlantic Bible College, VA.  Piedmont also got libraries from other sources. While Piedmont claims to keep the schools alive they have simply digested them.  These were not, “unlike most mergers,” “[un]like a marriage,” because only one entity (Piedmont) has, thus far, survived and the other(s) have gone away.


LM

Related Reading:
Discussion…the Closing of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College

“Although Pillsbury struggled for a number of years to recover itself [from its slide into evangelical compromise], it never really dealt with, in any real tangible way, its ruined reputation. Although this was repeatedly brought before them by many people, they never really did what was necessary to regain the trust of the Gatekeepers who send students.” (11/06/2008)

Northland…Culmination of a Modern Day Tragedy

“For the many fine former NBBC faculty, staff and graduates this is indeed a tragic and closing chapter for their alma mater.  Northland once was unique and unwavering in its fidelity to the whole counsel of God.  Under Matt Olson’s tenure as president the school was steadily lead into compromise and ultimately ruined for the cause of Christ.” (10/15/2014)

Closure of Calvary Baptist Seminary: Predictable & Repeatable

“Calvary joins Pillsbury in its demise. I…believe we will see the closure of NIU and Central Baptist Seminary (MN). For drifting far from their original markers as fundamental Baptist separatist schools NIU and Central will not survive. NIU and Central will not survive having become non-separatist, evangelical schools. They will not survive having alienated their base and alumni!” (8/20/2013)

CBS is Accountable for Failure & Won’t Own Up to It

“My opinion is that these men fell prey to the desire to be somebody and became very focused on their own motivations and what they wanted out of life. Unfortunately they’ve gotten the outcome of what happens when you do things that way. It’s obvious they are upset about the failure and they have tried to put the best face forward on the closure by calling it a success or celebration. The reality is that they are accountable for the failure of the seminary and just won’t own up to it.” (6/15/2014)


Footnotes:

1) What Do NIU, Pillsbury and (NOW) TTU Have in Common?

2) See, Summarizing Lordship Salvation From a Single Page of John MacArthur's books

3) For Dr. Pickering’s complete comment see, The Separatist Cause is Not Advanced by Featuring Non-Separatists

Calvary Baptist Seminary: “They are Accountable for Failure and Won’t Own Up to It”

I don’t ordinarily pull a comment from an article for posting on the main page, unless it is IMO highly noteworthy.  The following is one of those noteworthy comments.  It appears under my article, The Closure of Calvary Baptist Seminary: Predictable and Repeatable, which follows here.

I saw the transformation of Calvary seminary firsthand and this article [The Closure of Calvary Baptist Seminary: Predictable and Repeatable] is spot on. Unfortunately the leadership you mention seemed to be more interested in being validated by some of the mainstream evangelicals than sticking with the principles they were trained under and passing them on to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:2). 

I was there when Sam [Harbin] was taking a class with Haddon Robinson and he was star struck like he had just met Elvis. A culture began to spread that we all needed to go to Westminster or another “accredited” seminary to learn what the “experts” were doing. I remember thinking “If I wanted that why would I be here?” Regardless, the desire to get the validation of the brightest and the best of the mainstream thinkers seemed to begin to drive the decisions of the seminary and even the church. 

My opinion is that these men fell prey to the desire to be somebody and became very focused on their own motivations and what they wanted out of life. Unfortunately they’ve gotten the outcome of what happens when you do things that way. It’s obvious they are upset about the failure and they have tried to put the best face forward on the closure by calling it a success or celebration. 

The reality is that they are accountable for the failure of the seminary and just won’t own up to it.

Instead they in effect blame God by saying that He has other plans. They also say that Dr. E. R. Jordan would have been on board, but there is no way Chief would have ever agreed to bring on a Calvinist professor, and this desperate move right before closing for good shows just how off the focus has been and the disregard for what Calvary has always been. There was even a letter that was sent to Alumni when that decision was made stating that Calvary “had always leaned more towards Calvinism,” and that this wasn’t a bad thing. Regardless of your views on the subject this was an outright lie, and misrepresentation of the historic position of the seminary, insulting to the alumni and the memory of Chief. 

In the end I believe a lot of these men, especially Harbin and McLain, whether they realized it or not, saw the seminary as serving them instead of the other way around. They remade it in their image and the outcome was a small group of relatives and yes men organized in a mutual admiration society. No one will pay good money to be trained under that system- where insiders get preferred treatment and outsiders get shunned or made to feel inferior. This is a tragedy and a direct result of losing focus on what the seminary was supposed to be. 

Chief, with all of his eccentricities, loved people and was passionate about training young men for the ministry and about leading people to Christ. Unfortunately the men who followed him thought they were smarter, and could do it better, but clearly they were wrong.

The comment was posted here in the Closure of Calvary Seminary discussion thread.

Closure of Calvary Baptist Seminary: Predictable and Repeatable

In October 2012 I published, What Does Pillsbury, Tennessee Temple and Northland International University Have in Common?

“Tennessee Temple and its leadership pursued a path of ‘relevance.’ accommodated carnality, and today even secular media can’t help but notice that there is a parallel between the institution’s decline and its accommodation of the world at the sacrifice of Biblical, Christian distinctives. Let those pastors, churches and institutions who abandon their fundamental heritage, have disdain for those who have gone before, and pursue a path towards ‘Conservative Evangelicalism’ be forewarned…their end is tragically predictable.”

Last week, Calvary Baptist Seminary (CBS) in Lansdale, PA announced that it would be closing its doors at the conclusion of the current academic year.  At the pseudo-fundamentalist Sharper Iron (SI)* I have read how the members there lament the news of CBS closing.  What we read, however, is primarily what I see as a blame shift. They seem to think that not keeping up with the times in Internet offerings killed off the school. While having an aggressive Internet program for off-site learning may have been helpful, there is IMO a more reasonable explanation for the closing of CBS.

A reason for the closure of CBS that is not being discussed by the new wave of new evangelicals at SI is that CBS drifted far from its foundational roots.  Tim Jordan and Sam Harbin charted a course far from the school’s fundamental, Baptistic, separatist heritage.

In recent years Jordan/Harbin have opened the school to new evangelicals.  Drs. Mark Dever and Haddon Robinson most notably. For the Mark Dever event both Dr. Kevin Bauder and Dr. Dave Doran eagerly participated in the conference.

What Calvary Baptist Seminary once was under the leadership of Tim Jordan’s father, “Chief” Jordan, will be missed. What CBS became under Tim Jordan and Sam Harbin will not.

Finally, it is my belief that the closure of Calvary Baptist Seminary was predictable and will be repeated. Calvary joins Pillsbury Baptist Bible College and Tennessee Temple in their demise. I also believe we will see the closure of Northland International University (NIU) and Central Baptist Seminary (Minneapolis, MN). For drifting far from their original markers as fundamental Baptist separatist schools NIU and Central will not survive. NIU and Central will not survive having become non-separatist, evangelical schools. They will not survive having alienated their base and alumni! NIU and Central cannot compete for students with the star personalities of and/or high-profile schools in the so-called “conservative” evangelicalism.

Northland and Central will not survive having abandoned their fundamental heritage, disdain for those who have gone before, and pursuing a path toward “conservative” evangelicalism.

LM

Update: June 15, 2014
For an important continuation on the closure of Calvary Baptist Seminary please refer to, “They are Accountable for Failure and Won’t Own Up to It.”

Related Reading:

Dr. Ernest Pickering: The Separatist Cause is Not Advanced by Featuring Non-Separatists

Kevin Bauder & Dave Doran to Join Mark Dever at Lansdale: Is This a Fundamentalism Worth Saving?

The Convergence of Fundamentalism and Non-Separatist Evangelicalism

*Sharper Iron: In the Iron Skillet