The Gospel Coalition: Can God Save a Fundamentalist School?

[Jim]

Merge with The Master’s College and Seminary. Become the Northern campus.

Why?

• Basically represents the position of Northland (and this is not a criticism)
• The Master’s College and Seminary is solid and has strong enrollment
• Share administration, faculty, etc …

But what’s the upside for them, Jim?

I was told they dipped below 400 this year.

I appreciate NUI’s willingness to evaluate their practices and change where necessary. It takes courage to follow where God is leading them and I applaud their humility to follow in obedience despite the fallout they may face.

Having said that, I can’t escape the reality that the TGC article perpetuates the unhelpful rhetoric that I see in my generation. Soooooo many GEN X &Y who were raised in fundamentalism shift toward conservative evangelicalism without really working through their baggage. They see another movement and run to it with all the enthusiasm with which their fathers refuse to move past established fundamentalist mores. And both feel more spiritual than the other. It worries me that my generation thinks we are maturing when often we may be simply exchanging one set of issues for another.

My suggestion for Northland is to relocate. Move closer to a major city—closest is Milwaukee. This will create more ministry opportunities and students will have more recreational options—what’s there to do in Dunbar? The Milwaukee-Chicago metropolitan area could use a conservative Christian undergraduate school. The only one in the area would be Moody. Or….maybe partner or MERGE with Moody! MBI is theologically conservative, they have a balanced approach to music (they have a sacred music major!), and have good ties with other conservative evangelical institutions. Moody Bible Institute of Milwaukee! I could see this happening!

NIU, hire me for president! =)

[handerson]

Soooooo many GEN X &Y who were raised in fundamentalism shift toward conservative evangelicalism without really working through their baggage.

handerson,

You may be right, but the flip side is also true—Many of us gen x and y’ers have worked through the issues, considered all things theological and practical, and decided to move on.. At least give some of us the benefit of the doubt..

iK

[Greg Linscott]

[Jim]

Merge with The Master’s College and Seminary. Become the Northern campus.

Why?

• Basically represents the position of Northland (and this is not a criticism)
• The Master’s College and Seminary is solid and has strong enrollment
• Share administration, faculty, etc …

But what’s the upside for them, Jim?

• For Northland … survival
• For Masters …. expand scope of ministry

I get the appeal for Northland. I don’t see the upside for Masters, though. With some of these suggestions, it sometimes seems that “we” in fundamentalism have this idea of Evangelicals with limitless resources who can ride in to save the day. But given the nature of the finances, the remote location, and disgruntled constituency, I don’t see the upside that there would have been when MacArthur & co. took over the GARBC-approved Los Angeles Baptist College in the mid-1980s (GARBC constituency more open to MacArthur influence, ideal geographical location). Same with iK’s suggestion- if Moody really wanted to start an extension campus in Milwaukee, what would be the upside of taking the assets of an isolated campus in Northern Wisconsin to do so- why not just bypass Northland and do it themselves?

What made Northland appealing for many was its positioning (doctrinal, practical) in an IFB context. It made some of the other things less imposing (isolated campus, comparative lack of access to off campus work and housing). Someone might be able to pull it off up there (I mean, they make the NFL work in Green Bay), but it’s not going to be a quick and easy fix, and just because someone has the perceived capabilities to keep Northland on life support doesn’t mean that they will be easily convinced that it’s worth the effort and expenditure of their resources. Conservative Evangelicals may seem to have more people, but they have been affected by downward economy, loss of young people, and other things that “we” have, too. Realistically, what’s going to happen to Master’s and GCC in a few years when MacArthur’s age catches up with him?

This crosses over into topics on other threads, but I will observe that I am observing that perception of untapped money and resources (and lack of money and resources here in “Fundamentalaria”) is driving some to hop fences as much as anything. Danger, Will Robinson.

Honestly, I don’t really expect NIU to survive. Yesterday, I saw that Lou Martuneac said that NIU should receive no “benefit of the doubt anymore”. I’ve seen similar statements in different places by others that make it clear they will not support NIU at all any more in any way because of the changes they’ve made over the last few years.

Mike Harding, Dr. Aniol, and others in the ‘cultural’ / ‘traditional’ IFB seem to have elevated traditional music to to the point where separation is necessary over it, so I don’t think they’ll be interested in helping Northland without changing the school to suit their goals and views. If attendance at traditional IFB bastions like BJU is down, which it appears to be, then I doubt highly that Pastors will send their church families towards a college that is largely perceived as having ‘left’ Fundamentalism when there are schools that are still solidly ‘Fundamental’ (whatever that means) to support. I don’t think that any conservative evangelicals are seriously interested in helping the school because they’d rather steer their students to TMC, TMS, SBTS or other schools that they know better. So I really don’t see any ‘hope’ for the school, but I’ve been wrong before.

That being said, God is great and mighty. Maybe He will intervene and make a way where I don’t see it. I hope He does, because NIU closing it’s doors would be a tragedy - not just for ‘Fundamentalists’ or ‘Conservative Evangelicals’, but for the Body of Christ. And that, I think, is something we can all agree on.

g

Edited to correct “Durning” to “Harding.”

Moody won’t gain any programs from NIU until the academic programs are aligned with regional accreditation - which is likely why Moody doesn’t already have their own Phd program.

[iKuyper] Greg, For the same reasons Moody and Michigan seminary merged a few years ago http://www.moodyministries.net/crp_PressReleaseDetail.aspx?id=44750 Of course it would benefit Northland more and I dont think MBI would mind that.. One thing MBI would gain is a DMin program..

I knew that they had done that, iK. And in that case, they gained a usable campus setting, at least. But if they take your suggestion (moving to Milwaukee), they have to oversee the sale of a campus- a long, painful process I watched here in Minnesota with Pillsbury, and that finding a buyer in isolated Dunbar would be just as difficult for if not more so, I suspect. It would make more sense just to grow their own program if that was what they really wanted to do (especially with the accreditation issue someone just mentioned).

It seems doubtful to me that anyone would want to buy their present campus in such an isolated spot. After all, if PBBC can’t sell it’s buildings, what would NIU do?

I had the same thought about what Jim said about merging with Master’s Seminary.

How about Liberty Baptist Bible College?

Instant accreditation as a school of Liberty University.

Focus remains solely on ministry and missions. They could still have their own sports teams, etc.

Or we could let the Green family do for NIU what they did for ORU.

Whatever NIU does, the president needs to be a mover and shaker in the wider body of Christ - someone the current students can embrace.

If NIU continues on its current course, (and it seems by today’s chapel message by Bob Bixby http://new.livestream.com/northlandu/chapel that they are being encouraged to do so). the critics have their opinions pre-set.

If NIU survives, they will say it’s because they have compromised and sold out.

If NIU fails, it will be because they have “failed to please God”.

To repeat an illustration, we’re in a leaky boat and no one wants to admit the reality. Why are our fundamentalist churches generally stagnant and failing to hold the attention of the younger generation? Why are our fundamentalist schools shrinking? Why is the Christian Day School movement shrinking?

If we don’t have any answers, we can always get out our sermons on the last days and being the remnant.