Steve Pettit’s Resignation, "The Issues Nearly Everyone Would be Familiar With."

We are considering a series of articles addressing the Resignation of Steve Pettit from BJU. See also, "We Deserve our Troubles, But He Deserves NONE..."

Yesterday evening Dr. Mark Minnick brought a message in which he addresses the current controversy at BJU.  The message title, "Unity Around the Lord's Table." His text was,

"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread," (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).

At the outset I want to note that Dr. Minnick's message covers a wide swath of issues revolving around Dr. Pettit’s resignation. He wants all persons to understand, "it is Christlike to [where we can] acknowledge the good." That, "the people who are involved in these issues that brought about the break are themselves good people. We also know very good people can have very pronounced differences." I encourage readers to listen to his message in its entirety. There is something there for all persons no matter where their loyalty is or how they feel about the controversy.

That said early on (9:30 mark) he discusses information and leadership.

"We might know some of the issues, but probably none of us know all of the issues. And even the ones we may be aware of certainly none of us would know all the details of those issues because we're not part of that inner circle of leadership... The fact that you don't have all the details leaves you really insecure about how to respond.... It really needs to be said at the outset it isn't going to be possible for all of us, perhaps none of us to have all of that information."

He discusses the necessity of privacy and confidentiality for leadership. "Much of what leadership talks about deals with has to be confidential to that leadership."1

At the 20:25 minute mark he begins "to speak very personally" about Steve Pettit. He noted that he was "fully supportive" of Steve Pettit and "the very best choice...would have been my choice" as BJU president. He went on to say,

"...but he [Pettit] knows we have had increasing differences.... The last time we talked, about two years ago, I had to tell him that nearly any time I go anywhere...if they have children coming into college years that I know where the conversation is going to go.... They're going to want to know whether they should still send their children to Bob Jones University."

Dr. Minnick went on to say,

"The issues there I think nearly everyone would be familiar with...tend to fall in the area of the Christians relationship to the bad part of the culture that the Bible calls, 'the world,' and the way that that viewpoint of the relationship displays itself in various matters [at BJU]. And the other big category would be affiliations."

Dr. Minnick continued, 

"I shared with him [Pettit], in all honesty, 'you need to know, I need to say, what I feel I have to tell people now.' I've never told people not to go to Bob Jones University. In most cases I usually end up saying, 'I hope that you're able to do that and if you can I want to encourage you.' But I had to tell Dr. Pettit that, 'parents are going to have to be far more vigilant, they're not going to receive the same kind of reinforcement if they've come from conservative homes, the same kind of reinforcement in many, many of the situations'."

The controversial issues with Steve Pettit’s presidency are widely recognized. The controversial changes Steve Pettit engineered and/or encouraged are common knowledge.  Most had been published on the BJU website, Facebook and Twitter pages. They have been out in the open for any objective observer to recognize. Steve Pettit moved the college closer to, "the bad part of the culture that the Bible calls, 'the world'," and disconcerting "affiliations." Of those things there is no doubt.

Before moving on to discussing the board (27:35) Dr. Minnick acknowledges some of the good things Dr. Pettit set out to do, "holding the line...to really help us on some important issues of the day."

Again, I encourage readers to carve out some time to listen to Dr. Minnick's message in its entirety. At 40:10 he lays out seven take away scriptural counsels. You will come away with a deeper appreciation for what God is doing. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right, (Genesis 18:25)?

Closing with Dr. Minnick's final remarks, 

"One thing we do know and can be assured of and that is we can really leave it with the Lord in prayer. We don't have to fight our way through a whole series of courts to finally come to the supreme Judge.... We have access to the supreme court immediately.... We're all concerned that the school be preserved.... If God opens a door no man can shut it. On the other hand, if God closes a door nobody can open it."

Yours faithfully,

LM

Continue to- Steve Pettit Breaks with the "Conservative" Base

Footnotes:
1) Certain groups received, from unscrupulous actors, confidential documents and communications, which they published. Those things represent one side of a story. Sensitive, incomplete information can be misunderstood, misinterpreted and misused for political purposes.

Related Reading:

No One Wins Unless the Cause Wins

When a Ministry is Being Maligned: A Right Response to Rancor in the Ranks

“Conservative” Evangelicalism: Threading a Frame Work for Discussion, Part 3

Dear Guests of IDOTG:

If you have not had an opportunity to read the previous submissions I encourage you to do so by returning to Part 1 and then Part 2 to get the full details from this helpful discussion. I want extend my appreciation to Pastor Will Dudding for our discussion at the RAM blog and then the comment he submitted here under Threading a Frame Work, Part 2. And now more of the thread commentary with Brother Will. Be sure to continue through the editor’s notes that follow.

Brother Will:

I’ll wind down our discussion with sermon excerpts from Dr. Mark Minnick who the RAM blog article had to do with. I’ll draw your attention to Rom. 16:17-20.

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

In 1997, at the Mid-America Conference on Preaching, Dr. Minnick preached a two part series on that passage. His sermon title was, The Scriptural Response to Teachers of Doctrinal Error. Dr. Minnick said:

“What is this paragraph [Rom. 16:17-20] talking about? If you would look at verse 17 you will see that it is a paragraph dealing with people who are teaching contrary doctrine. . . . These are people who are teaching as truth doctrine that actually is alongside orthodoxy. They are teaching what is a contradiction to, what is the opposite of, what is antithetical to, the doctrines that are taught in the Scripture.... But when some man is the prime instigator, promoter, and advocate of an unbiblical position, we must expose that man as we denounce the sin he is promoting.”

Charismatic theology, disgraceful speech and ecumenical compromise are “unbiblical, contrary” doctrine and/or practices. They are, “antithetical to the doctrines that are taught in Scripture.” Do we agree on that point? Piper, Mahaney, Mohler, Duncan, Driscoll, et. al., have been admonished, refuse to respond to correction and are unrepentant. If we agree, then as Minnick also said,

“If you take those terms [v. 17] and you ponder them for just a moment, what becomes apparent is this: our response in the first place is mandated. We have no subjective decision to make. The decision has already been made and the mandate is objective; it is in print! It has been in print for centuries! I exhort you, ‘mark’ them and ‘avoid’ them. . . . The response that we are given is a mandated response.

We are obligated to obey what is here!”

Will, I appreciate we’ve had this brief exchange. Most in our circles, who have an affinity for the conservative evangelical camp, bristle at any suggestion that we must admonish, withdraw, mark and possibly avoid them.

In the near future I am going to post additional articles at my blog on the theme we’ve discussed. I’d enjoy discussing this more thoroughly, with you, Don Johnson and any others who are willing to do so.


LM

Editor’s Note:

Please continue to closing commentary drawn from this series. It will include an admonition to my IFB brethren who rush to embrace and/or endorse conservative evangelicalism- its star personalities, fellowships, conferences and coalitions.

I would also encourage my readers to visit Don Johnson’s blog to read his alternative approach to this discussion. You can peruse the comment thread where Will, Don and I shared our thoughts with one another. See The Vision Thing at an Ox Goad, eh?

Again my appreciation to Pastor Will Dudding who has been open and responsive to the legitimate concerns raised in regard to the doctrine and/or practices of conservative evangelicalism and, furthermore, what the Scriptural implications are. With so many in Fundamental circles becoming reluctant to make a personal application of the biblical mandates toward the conservative evangelicals, when they are clearly called for, Pastor Dudding’s willingness to give serious consideration to these things is encouraging. I am hopeful more will reconsider what their responsibility is to the Scriptures as they seek to strengthen their ties with conservative evangelicalism’s star personalities and their fellowships.