Should NIU separate from BJU?
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Bob Jones University and Bob Jones, III practice separation. Recently they separated from Matt Olson. They withdrew their invitation to him to speak at their graduation services. Presumably, this was because NIU had invited a staff member from John MacArthur’s church to preach at Northland. This, of course, was a terrible sin and required that BJU separate from NIU and Matt Olson. No one should dialogue with anyone at John MacArthur’s church!
Using their theology of separation, when are fundamentalist leaders going to separate from BJU?
Bob Jones, III has endorsed a book by Caleb Thompson, an unrepentant, convicted child abuser. Bob Jones, III, when questioned about this endorsement, reaffirmed it. On another thread, I posted the following with regard to the abuse that is occurring at the alleged “reform” homes supported by BJU:
Oh, so you agree that these homes are horrible places. Great!
Which one of you has contacted BJU and asked them to remove Ron Williams from their radio lineup? Which one of you is practicing separation and calling out BJU for their unbiblical association with Ron Williams and Caleb Thompson, the convicted child abuser?
The trauma inflicted on these children follows them to this day. Anyone who can read can see that the trauma inflicted by BJU on students has had the same effect. It is a difference of degree, not kind.
Birds of a feather flock together. So until BJU separates from the child abusers who run these homes, they are just as guilty for refusing to separate from disobedient brethren. In fact, fundamentalists should separate from BJU for failing to separate from Williams and Thompson. I am waiting for Bob Jones, III to retract his endorsement of Caleb Thompson’s book and terminate the radio program by Ron Williams.
It appears that WMUU has removed Ron Williams from its lineup. Now the question remains. Which fundamentalist leader is going to publicly separate from Bob Jones University and Bob Jones, III for his public endorsement of Caleb Thompson’s book? Bob Jones, III is standing by his endorsement. Why is no one separating over the issue of Bob Jones, III ongoing sin of affirming an unrepentant, convicted child abuser?
http://www.scribd.com/doc/53665206/Bob-Jones-III-Endorsement-Amazon
http://bjuhurts.wordpress.com/
http://www.3rdcoa.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/htmlopinion.asp?OpinionId…
If it is right for BJU to withdraw the invitation to Matt Olson (NIU) to preach at BJU, is it not also right for fundamentalists to separate from BJU for its failure to separate from Caleb Thompson? Which association is more perverse? Inviting Rick Holland to speak in chapel and Bruce Ware to teach a doctoral level course at NIU, or Bob Jones, III’s endorsement of Caleb Thompson’s book?
Using their theology of separation, when are fundamentalist leaders going to separate from BJU?
Bob Jones, III has endorsed a book by Caleb Thompson, an unrepentant, convicted child abuser. Bob Jones, III, when questioned about this endorsement, reaffirmed it. On another thread, I posted the following with regard to the abuse that is occurring at the alleged “reform” homes supported by BJU:
Oh, so you agree that these homes are horrible places. Great!
Which one of you has contacted BJU and asked them to remove Ron Williams from their radio lineup? Which one of you is practicing separation and calling out BJU for their unbiblical association with Ron Williams and Caleb Thompson, the convicted child abuser?
The trauma inflicted on these children follows them to this day. Anyone who can read can see that the trauma inflicted by BJU on students has had the same effect. It is a difference of degree, not kind.
Birds of a feather flock together. So until BJU separates from the child abusers who run these homes, they are just as guilty for refusing to separate from disobedient brethren. In fact, fundamentalists should separate from BJU for failing to separate from Williams and Thompson. I am waiting for Bob Jones, III to retract his endorsement of Caleb Thompson’s book and terminate the radio program by Ron Williams.
It appears that WMUU has removed Ron Williams from its lineup. Now the question remains. Which fundamentalist leader is going to publicly separate from Bob Jones University and Bob Jones, III for his public endorsement of Caleb Thompson’s book? Bob Jones, III is standing by his endorsement. Why is no one separating over the issue of Bob Jones, III ongoing sin of affirming an unrepentant, convicted child abuser?
http://www.scribd.com/doc/53665206/Bob-Jones-III-Endorsement-Amazon
http://bjuhurts.wordpress.com/
http://www.3rdcoa.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/htmlopinion.asp?OpinionId…
If it is right for BJU to withdraw the invitation to Matt Olson (NIU) to preach at BJU, is it not also right for fundamentalists to separate from BJU for its failure to separate from Caleb Thompson? Which association is more perverse? Inviting Rick Holland to speak in chapel and Bruce Ware to teach a doctoral level course at NIU, or Bob Jones, III’s endorsement of Caleb Thompson’s book?
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Lester Roloff is still heard on WMUU. When is his radio preaching going to be removed?
See why below:
Cathy Harris
Roloff’s home in TX was closed, I think in 1985, (Roloff died in a plane crash in1984) but just moved to Missouri where laws were “friendlier”. Note: Williams used to speak of getting his start in TX (back in the 80’s) I am not sure he admits to this now.
Here is an article about the Rolloff legacy.
By Matthew Franck
Post-Dispatch
November 17, 2002
A half-smiling portrait of a deceased radio preacher steals the attention of all who enter the small lobby of Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy.
It’s the visage of Lester Roloff, who is seen by several Missouri reform schools as a hero in the battle to bring wayward teens to Jesus, while fending off the demons of government control.
Mountain Park’s Web site proudly says that the school’s founder was personally trained by the minister. Elsewhere in Missouri, Agape Boarding School and Thanks to Calvary say they are not Roloff schools, but their leaders praise the pastor’s work and display photos of him. Agape has named one of its dorms in Roloff’s honor.
Roloff, who died in a plane crash in 1982, is perhaps best known for his “Family Altar” radio ministry, which was once broadcast from Corpus Christi, Texas, to more than 140 stations.
As his radio ministry grew, the fundamentalist Baptist preacher began reaching out to drug-addicted men and rebellious teens. By the late 1960s, he was taking in dozens of wayward girls, most of whom were pregnant.
His philosophy was to immerse the girls in a monastic lifestyle of Bible teachings. He kept the teens in check with the rod of corporal punishment. It was a pattern for dealing with defiant teens that appealed to parents from across the country and is still followed today.
But Roloff left another legacy.
In state after state, and in decade after decade, teen reform homes inspired by Roloff have been investigated for abuse, raided by child protective service officials, and ultimately forced to close for failing to comply with state laws.
When a home was closed, ministers would simply pack up and move where laws were friendlier. And for the exiled, Missouri has proved to be a safe harbor.
The founders of Mountain Park moved to Missouri from Mississippi in 1987, after a judge ordered teens removed from the school. And in 1996, Agape Boarding School moved here after regulatory hassles in Washington state.
But Missouri’s first encounter with Roloff homes dates back even further, when two of the original reform schools founded by Roloff were booted out of Texas.
By the time the Rebekah Home for Girls and Anchor Home for Girls came to Missouri in 1985, the reform schools had been the subject of 12 years of court battles.
The schools, which Roloff opened in Corpus Christi in 1967, caught the attention of investigators in 1973, when visiting parents reported seeing a girl whipped at the school. According to news reports, 16 girls at the school told investigators they had been whipped, paddled, handcuffed and in some cases confined to “cells.”
Court battles followed, and at one point, Roloff was jailed for refusing to follow court-ordered reforms. Supporters rallied behind Roloff for years, but ultimately Texas forced the reform schools out.
Here, the Roloff ministry found favorable laws and a convenient location outside Kansas City. Boys and girls occupied unused space at Richards-Gebaur Airport and nearby Calvary Baptist College.
Over the next 18 months, police and prosecutors began hearing allegations of abuse from teens who had run away from the school. According to news reports in the Kansas City Times, a 16-year-old turned up at a hospital with a broken wrist, claiming he had been beaten when he tried to escape.
Another boy had half a testicle removed after a classmate kneed him in the groin and the school refused to offer medical care. The victim’s mother did not press charges.
Police told the Times of escapees who described isolation cells and beatings with a wooden paddle. One boy told of having to lick his own excrement as a penalty for soiling his pants.
Two days after the stories appeared in 1987, the Missouri homes moved the kids to a Louisiana reform school with ties to Roloff.
But even after all the allegations of abuse, Missouri remained friendly to Roloff homes.
Within months of the departure of the Kansas City homes, the founders of Mountain Park picked the state as their base camp.
Supporters of the Roloff homes say the ministry has been unfairly criticized over the years.
David Gibbs III is an attorney with the Christian Law Association, which has defended Roloff homes in court for decades. He said the media tend to fixate on a few unfortunate incidents.
Still, across the nation, states have closed the door on Roloff’s teen ministry.
In 1983, allegations of abuse at Ruth’s Home of Compassion in Rome, Ga., ultimately led the state to close the school for failing to obtain a license.
And for decades, Louisiana locked horns with the New Bethany Home for Girls.
Though the school was not officially a Roloff home, Roloff was at one point listed as a board member of the school, according to news reports.
The state removed students at least twice, and an administrator at a sister school in South Carolina served one year of probation after investigators in 1984 found a teenager lying on the floor in a narrow padlocked cell.
More recently, in Texas, then-Gov. George W. Bush pushed through laws in 1997 that allowed the Roloff homes to reopen there. But claims of abuse resurfaced at the homes.
In 1999, two boys claimed they were made to run over thorns and dig in a filthy pit throughout the night. The incident resulted in a criminal misdemeanor conviction for a school employee for unlawful restraint. It also served as a sort of last straw for the Texas Legislature.
Last year, Texas once again did what Missouri has not - closed the door to Roloff’s ministry by requiring all faith-based residential programs to obtain a license or shut down.
Roloff schools
Active teen reform homes with connections to Lester Roloff:
Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy
Patterson, Mo.
Agape Boarding School
Stockton, Mo.
Thanks to Calvary Boarding Academy
Devil’s Elbow, Mo.
Palm Lane Academy
Arcadia, Fla.
* Sister school of Mountain Park
Bethel Academy for Boys/ Girls
Lucedale, Miss.
* Founder has said he worked for Roloff’s ministry.
Victory Christian Academy
Jay, Fla.
* School founder denied connections to Roloff, but former students say he worked at a Roloff school. He hung up the phone when questioned.
See why below:
Cathy Harris
Roloff’s home in TX was closed, I think in 1985, (Roloff died in a plane crash in1984) but just moved to Missouri where laws were “friendlier”. Note: Williams used to speak of getting his start in TX (back in the 80’s) I am not sure he admits to this now.
Here is an article about the Rolloff legacy.
By Matthew Franck
Post-Dispatch
November 17, 2002
A half-smiling portrait of a deceased radio preacher steals the attention of all who enter the small lobby of Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy.
It’s the visage of Lester Roloff, who is seen by several Missouri reform schools as a hero in the battle to bring wayward teens to Jesus, while fending off the demons of government control.
Mountain Park’s Web site proudly says that the school’s founder was personally trained by the minister. Elsewhere in Missouri, Agape Boarding School and Thanks to Calvary say they are not Roloff schools, but their leaders praise the pastor’s work and display photos of him. Agape has named one of its dorms in Roloff’s honor.
Roloff, who died in a plane crash in 1982, is perhaps best known for his “Family Altar” radio ministry, which was once broadcast from Corpus Christi, Texas, to more than 140 stations.
As his radio ministry grew, the fundamentalist Baptist preacher began reaching out to drug-addicted men and rebellious teens. By the late 1960s, he was taking in dozens of wayward girls, most of whom were pregnant.
His philosophy was to immerse the girls in a monastic lifestyle of Bible teachings. He kept the teens in check with the rod of corporal punishment. It was a pattern for dealing with defiant teens that appealed to parents from across the country and is still followed today.
But Roloff left another legacy.
In state after state, and in decade after decade, teen reform homes inspired by Roloff have been investigated for abuse, raided by child protective service officials, and ultimately forced to close for failing to comply with state laws.
When a home was closed, ministers would simply pack up and move where laws were friendlier. And for the exiled, Missouri has proved to be a safe harbor.
The founders of Mountain Park moved to Missouri from Mississippi in 1987, after a judge ordered teens removed from the school. And in 1996, Agape Boarding School moved here after regulatory hassles in Washington state.
But Missouri’s first encounter with Roloff homes dates back even further, when two of the original reform schools founded by Roloff were booted out of Texas.
By the time the Rebekah Home for Girls and Anchor Home for Girls came to Missouri in 1985, the reform schools had been the subject of 12 years of court battles.
The schools, which Roloff opened in Corpus Christi in 1967, caught the attention of investigators in 1973, when visiting parents reported seeing a girl whipped at the school. According to news reports, 16 girls at the school told investigators they had been whipped, paddled, handcuffed and in some cases confined to “cells.”
Court battles followed, and at one point, Roloff was jailed for refusing to follow court-ordered reforms. Supporters rallied behind Roloff for years, but ultimately Texas forced the reform schools out.
Here, the Roloff ministry found favorable laws and a convenient location outside Kansas City. Boys and girls occupied unused space at Richards-Gebaur Airport and nearby Calvary Baptist College.
Over the next 18 months, police and prosecutors began hearing allegations of abuse from teens who had run away from the school. According to news reports in the Kansas City Times, a 16-year-old turned up at a hospital with a broken wrist, claiming he had been beaten when he tried to escape.
Another boy had half a testicle removed after a classmate kneed him in the groin and the school refused to offer medical care. The victim’s mother did not press charges.
Police told the Times of escapees who described isolation cells and beatings with a wooden paddle. One boy told of having to lick his own excrement as a penalty for soiling his pants.
Two days after the stories appeared in 1987, the Missouri homes moved the kids to a Louisiana reform school with ties to Roloff.
But even after all the allegations of abuse, Missouri remained friendly to Roloff homes.
Within months of the departure of the Kansas City homes, the founders of Mountain Park picked the state as their base camp.
Supporters of the Roloff homes say the ministry has been unfairly criticized over the years.
David Gibbs III is an attorney with the Christian Law Association, which has defended Roloff homes in court for decades. He said the media tend to fixate on a few unfortunate incidents.
Still, across the nation, states have closed the door on Roloff’s teen ministry.
In 1983, allegations of abuse at Ruth’s Home of Compassion in Rome, Ga., ultimately led the state to close the school for failing to obtain a license.
And for decades, Louisiana locked horns with the New Bethany Home for Girls.
Though the school was not officially a Roloff home, Roloff was at one point listed as a board member of the school, according to news reports.
The state removed students at least twice, and an administrator at a sister school in South Carolina served one year of probation after investigators in 1984 found a teenager lying on the floor in a narrow padlocked cell.
More recently, in Texas, then-Gov. George W. Bush pushed through laws in 1997 that allowed the Roloff homes to reopen there. But claims of abuse resurfaced at the homes.
In 1999, two boys claimed they were made to run over thorns and dig in a filthy pit throughout the night. The incident resulted in a criminal misdemeanor conviction for a school employee for unlawful restraint. It also served as a sort of last straw for the Texas Legislature.
Last year, Texas once again did what Missouri has not - closed the door to Roloff’s ministry by requiring all faith-based residential programs to obtain a license or shut down.
Roloff schools
Active teen reform homes with connections to Lester Roloff:
Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy
Patterson, Mo.
Agape Boarding School
Stockton, Mo.
Thanks to Calvary Boarding Academy
Devil’s Elbow, Mo.
Palm Lane Academy
Arcadia, Fla.
* Sister school of Mountain Park
Bethel Academy for Boys/ Girls
Lucedale, Miss.
* Founder has said he worked for Roloff’s ministry.
Victory Christian Academy
Jay, Fla.
* School founder denied connections to Roloff, but former students say he worked at a Roloff school. He hung up the phone when questioned.
(Quote: ” Bob Jones University and Bob Jones, III practice separation. Recently they separated from Matt Olson. They withdrew their invitation to him to speak at their graduation services. Presumably, this was because NIU had invited a staff member from John MacArthur’s church to preach at Northland. This, of course, was a terrible sin and required that BJU separate from NIU and Matt Olson. No one should dialogue with anyone at John MacArthur’s church!
Using their theology of separation, when are fundamentalist leaders going to separate from BJU?” (end).
If we sense that one has the Spirit of God within them (Rom 8.9-16) this is the stamp of approval of the holiest being in heaven. I decline to have a higher standard of acceptance than Almighty God’s. Is this not pushing God off the Judge’s bench and seeking to write our own rules? BJU, Let God be God!
“In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity” -attributed to St. Augustine.
Using their theology of separation, when are fundamentalist leaders going to separate from BJU?” (end).
If we sense that one has the Spirit of God within them (Rom 8.9-16) this is the stamp of approval of the holiest being in heaven. I decline to have a higher standard of acceptance than Almighty God’s. Is this not pushing God off the Judge’s bench and seeking to write our own rules? BJU, Let God be God!
“In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity” -attributed to St. Augustine.
Discussion