Steve Pettit's Break with the "Conservative" Base
We have been discussing the Resignation of Steve Pettit from Bob Jones University (BJU). Previously we published, We Deserve Our Troubles, but He Deserves None... and The Issues Nearly Everyone Would be Familiar With.
Our purpose today is to discuss a March 2017 meeting coordinated by the late Dr. Tom Farrell. Dr. Farrell organized the meeting for a large number of conservative pastors to share concerns with Steve Pettit over the direction he was taking BJU.1
Tom Farrell
Leading up to the meeting Tom Farrell was traveling the country in his ministry of itinerant evangelism. He was being asked questions everywhere he went about Steve Pettit and BJU. Consequently, Dr. Farrell asked Steve Pettit, ...if I can get a group of concerned pastors together will you attend and hear their concerns? Dr. Pettit agreed and the meeting was set.
The meeting was held on March 24, 2017 at the Sheraton Charlotte Airport Hotel in Charlotte, NC. I have taken statements from men who attended the meeting. What follows is a compilation of their reflections followed by some closing remarks.
The conclusion of this meeting was the point of no return. Steve Pettit made it clear he determined to advance his agenda for the university at the expense of losing the conservative base, which is what happened.
In future articles we'll consider Steve Pettit's doctrinal shift for the university plus land mines and hurdles left in the wake of his tenure and departure.
LM
The meeting was held on March 24, 2017 at the Sheraton Charlotte Airport Hotel in Charlotte, NC. I have taken statements from men who attended the meeting. What follows is a compilation of their reflections followed by some closing remarks.
Unfortunately, I found that meeting to be nothing more than “smoke and mirrors.” Tom Farrell’s attempt to salvage the conservative base of the university was a failure. I am not sure why Pettit or Sam Horn bothered to come to the meeting, for it was apparent they had not come to seek reconciliation or acknowledge the drift of the university under Pettit’s tenure.Well ahead of that meeting Steve Pettit was warned (repeatedly) that his action or inactions were disenfranchising BJU from its base. A sincere attempt was made to warn and hopefully see Pettit reverse course.
There was a parting jab from Hantz Bernard, I believe he was vice president of the BJU board at the time, and he castigated the pastors at the meeting. Any hope of reconciling with the BJU base was sacrificed at that meeting.
I remember Pettit describing us as the "conservative, right wing of fundamentalism." In fact, we represented historic fundamentalism and it was BJU and not us that had moved.
Steve dismissed the importance of the meeting from the outset by recognizing the number of students represented by the pastors in the room as if to say, “you pastors are not sending that many students.” The better question would have been, “You pastors sent X number of students five years ago and only Y number now. What’s happening?”
I cannot recall any of the main talking points other than that Steve was constantly saying, “Millennials this and millennials that.”
I recall there were a few people concerned that Steve had Dr. Michael Barrett (former faculty and committed covenant theologian) speak at the first Bible Conference he hosted.2
The conclusion of this meeting was the point of no return. Steve Pettit made it clear he determined to advance his agenda for the university at the expense of losing the conservative base, which is what happened.
In future articles we'll consider Steve Pettit's doctrinal shift for the university plus land mines and hurdles left in the wake of his tenure and departure.
LM
See our next in the series, The Driving Force Behind the Departure
Site Publisher’s Addendum
The March 2017 meeting may have been recorded by a BJU staffer. If the recording is on file might it be made available (leaked) to the public?
Footnote
Site Publisher’s Addendum
The March 2017 meeting may have been recorded by a BJU staffer. If the recording is on file might it be made available (leaked) to the public?
Footnote
1) Approximately 80 pastors and concerned men attended.
2) That would be the first of many more Reformed, Covenant theologians appearing at Bible conferences and hired on faculty by Steve Pettit. In an upcoming article we'll have more to say about doctrinal concerns with BJU since the arrival of Steve Pettit.
Related Reading:
Cooperating with Franklin Graham was an act of sinful disobedience to the Word of God. It is an egregious example of ecumenical encroachment at BJU that was engineered and endorsed by Steve Pettit.
The lesson, of course, is simple: Be what God originally called you to be. Get your marching orders from the Bible, not the latest marketing company. And base your practices on Scripture, not the hottest youth culture trends. It’s simple. But, for some, it wasn’t so easy. And it proved to be the death knell of once venerable institutions.
