Press Release
The following press release is reprinted from Central Baptist Seminary. It appears here unedited.
Seminaries Consider Merger
Faith and Central Lay Plans to Join Institutions
The Boards of Directors of Faith Baptist Theological Seminary (Ankeny, Iowa) and Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Plymouth, Minnesota) announce their intention to explore the possibility of a merger of the two institutions. Faith and Central are two respected seminaries that share a common theological position and a commitment to train leaders for ministry within Baptist Fundamentalism.
The merger proposal calls for maintaining Central Seminary’s Master of Divinity program on its Minnesota campus at the historic Fourth Baptist Church. Matt Morrell, pastor of Fourth Baptist and chairman of Central Seminary’s board, believes that the merged institution will perpetuate the long-standing partnership between that church and the seminary in training and mentoring men for ministry. Central Seminary’s postgraduate programs will eventually be offered on the Ankeny campus.
The votes by the two Boards allow the administration of the seminaries to begin developing the curricula, structure, and finances necessary for the merger, as well as to secure approval from their accrediting agencies. If the merger occurs, the seminary will hold both regional and national accreditation.
The proposed merger will combine the strengths of two solid institutions, creating a multi-campus school with the ability to rise to a new level of national and international leadership. Both faculties feature professors who join academic excellence with strong pastoral experience. The marriage of these two faculties will produce one of the strongest teaching staffs in the history of Baptist Fundamentalism.
Dr. Kevin Bauder, president of Central Seminary, said, “The potential in this merger is amazing. Both schools have wonderful faculties. Both emphasize the centrality of the local church as the leading partner for ministry training. Both bring real strength to the relationship. We have a long way to go before a merger can be completed, but the prospect is energizing.”
Dr. James D. Maxwell III, Faith’s president, stated, “We believe it would be hard to find a better match between seminaries than that of Faith with Central. In theology, philosophy of ministry, and institutional convictions, the two seminaries are already one. Yet each institution would bring to a merger unique strengths that, when combined, I believe will form one great institution.”
I laughed when I first heard the term, but it has indeed proven to be true.
The fact that there are “sane fundamentalists” out there is the reason I am still in the fundamentalist fold today. Otherwise, I would probably not want to be associated with “the movement.”
Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
[Greg Linscott] Brian,Greg, going back to the PR the original term was “Baptist Fundamentalism,” not “Fundamental Baptist.” If it had been the later then your statement would be correct but it was the former term. In that case Baptist tells us, say what vein of Fundamentalism is being referred to. So my initial pondering still remains a ponder.
How is the statement you quoted inconsistent with the press release? I would observe that “Baptist” is the prominent term in the press release, and Fundamentalism a means of distinguishing that from conventions and such.
[Aaron Blumer] ]To condense your thoughts, Aaron, I believe that you are then to a certain extent, saying yes, there are those who are splitting hairs between Fundamentalism and Fundamentalist movement. I would argue that if the movement is dead then so is fundamentalism. But I don’t see anyone saying that nor do I believe it. Has the movement run aground? I would say yes and is therefore no longer “moving.” Throughout cyberspace I have seen many postings of those who have gotten out of the “ship” that is the fundamentalist movement and instead of working toward repairing the hull and pushing the “ship” back into the water they have just walked away. Was it dashed beyond repair? No, fundamentalism itself is sound, it is Biblical.[Brian Ernsberger] With the press release concerning the possible merger mentioning fundamentalism twice it caused me to do some thinking and has left me with a question. Did I miss a recantation by Dr. Bauder concerning the fundamentalist movement or are some now going to split hairs over the terms fundamentalism and fundamentalist movement?Folks have been making a distinction between “fundamentalist movement” and “idea of fundamentalism” for a while now. Personally, I don’t think it’s necessary to distance oneself from the movement in order to distance oneself from particular problems in it. I’d rather do the latter. It’s more precise.
But as a highly cohesive phenomenon with alot of forward momentum, “the movement” is pretty much dead. This is really the point of the statement you quoted from. In Bauder’s opinion, what we have now is so different from what once was, it is no longer accurate to call it “the fundamentalist movement.”
Oh well. It really was always the principles and practice that mattered most, anyway.
FWIW, they also have a course entitled “Biblical Fundamentalism.”
If there is a hair there to split, I would take it to mean that the emphasis is on being baptist (i.e., Biblical, dispensational) within a fundamentalist worldview. I never heard an “official” explanation, so I can only offer my guess.
Or maybe it is just a neat way of saying it :).
Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
Now, whether or not this move here might be part of something that could contribute to generating momentum to a new type of movement remains to be seen.
Greg Linscott
Marshall, MN
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
With the announcement of a Moody-Minnesota merger as well…Is that a mistype?
Greg Linscott
Marshall, MN
With the announcement of a Moody-Minnesota merger as well …Barry probably speaking of this: Moody-Michigan Theological Seminary merger
http://www.gospelherald.net/article/education/45943/moody-bible-institu…
[Barry L.] With the announcement of a Moody-Minnesota merger as well, the question is will these merged schools maintain seperate campuses in the long run. I know they state that they plan on keeping the locations, but I don’t see the economic rationale. More political reason than economic?There are advantages to a campus in the Twin Cities that a campus in metro Des Moines does not offer… and vice-versa. The kinds of students they can attract in their area, transportation to those coming from distances (airports, highways…) facilities, churches for both students and faculties to minister… I’m sure there are many more factors we could list. With Central and Faith, having attended both, I can say that both have strengths and weaknesses in the areas I listed. As a pastor living in Minnesota, taking weekend classes as I did in 2009 was much easier to do from a seminary just under 3 hours drive time away than it was to head south for 6+. I know that many of my classmates for those classes came from places north of the Cities, or even Wisconsin, where FBTS would not have been a viable option. When I was a student at Faith, there were similar considerations for those living in Iowa, as well as students who came in from surrounding states.
Greg Linscott
Marshall, MN
Thanks.
[Greg Linscott] Having attended both institutions, I can’t see how much better of a fit one could hope for, especially considering the current faculties and administration on both ends. I look forward to seeing how the story continues to unfold. I am particularly interested in seeing what impact (if any) this move might have on the relationships between the immediate local constituencies of each institution- the Minnesota Baptist Association, the Minnesota Association of Regular Baptist Churches, and the Iowa Association of Regular Baptist Churches.Greg,
My prayer is that this will vastly improve these relationships. When I served on the board of the MARBC, I was very surprised at not only the lack of cooperation, but the tension that exists between it and the MBA. I could elaborate…but suffice it to say there is some healing that really needs to occur. Let’s pray this will help!
Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel, Fort Wayne, IN
Discussion