Bob Jones University president Steve Pettit resigns

M. Osborne wrote:

Thanks, Rajesh, for posting. Since it was Dr. Minnick, I figured it was worth a listen. He is as careful and measured as I remember him.

You are welcome, Michael.



This is a very serious matter that we need to pray fervently about and trust God that He will give the best outcome in His time that glorifies Him the most.

Michael Osborne,

I agree. My main focus with my child is that he is daily in the Word of God, praying, seeking his guidance and trying to be more like Christ.

I do not care if the school allows an SBC church on the list. If my child wants to go to a SBC church or a church that is more attractional in worship style than I may be, than at 18-22 they need to work through that. I wonder what kind of parents need a school to dictate to their 21 year old fully functioning adult where to go to church.

Students are free to go to BJU and wear a full length dresses if they feel lead to do that. I don't find the dress at the school to be immodest. Some might. But to be honest, the students are all dressed way better than the world. And the second the student leaves campus or graduates they will be exposed to worse. My young adult needs to understand how to navigate that and put in place their personal standards. I don't feel like I need the school to dictate to a 21 year old fully functioning adult to dictate dress codes more restrictive than they are today.

I have no problem with my child being exposed to different theological beliefs amongst different students. It helps them sharpen their faith. I have no problem with the dress of the Women's Basketball team. I looked at outfits and players from PCC, Maranatha and other schools and I can discern no difference in what is being worn or shown on the court.

Some parents are looking for a school that enforces the same standards that laid out to their child, now to someone is a stand alone adult. My children have grown stronger through spiritually through the focus on discipleship, they have been sharpened through their discussions with other students who have other beliefs and they appreciate the better modesty shown at BJU than was shown by girls in their public High School.

It is all about perspective.

I know that there are parents out there that are asking people like Dr. Minnick whether they can send their child to BJU and whether BJU will reinforce what they have taught them. I have three adult children. My first comment, is why a parent needs to ask a pastor which is the right school to send their child to. Do the research and effort and determine if a certain school is the right school. Secondly, they aren't a child, they are an adult. You are not obligated to send them to college, but if you choose to pay for their college, then recognize they are not a 12 year old kid, but an adult. Recognize that your child will not a 100% clone of how you expected them to act after they leave home.

I'm still trying to find out whether or not the resignation letter was actually "leaked"?

If it was leaked, was that unethical conduct?

RajeshG,

From what I know, I don't believe that it was leaked. Since I don't have first hand knowledge, I won't say anything, but I don't think it was purposely leaked. But that is just my opinion at this point. We may never know the truth. With that said depending who shared it, it is doubtful it was unethical. For example, If Dr. Pettit wrote the letter, gave it to the board and afterwards shared it, I wouldn't understand how that would be unethical, because he wrote the document. He is free to do what he wants with the thoughts that he put on paper. There was no presumption of secrecy.

On the topic of leaks and confidentiality, it is difficult to understand why the executive committee met, as was cited in Dr. Pettit's letter, at the chancellor's residence. The chancellor is not a BOT member nor a member of the EC. Maybe at some point there was a request for the chancellor's assistance to help with helping to bring unity or such. Even in that case, it would seem that the EC meeting at the chancellor's residence w/o Dr. Pettit would not be in the service of bringing greater unity.

dgszweda wrote: I know that there are parents out there that are asking people like Dr. Minnick whether they can send their child to BJU and whether BJU will reinforce what they have taught them. I have three adult children. My first comment, is why a parent needs to ask a pastor which is the right school to send their child to. Do the research and effort and determine if a certain school is the right school.

I pretty much agree with all your post, except I would point out that asking others is part of doing research. When considering whether or not I was willing to pay for the college education of my children if they chose to go to BJU, I was initially conflicted, and did a lot of research, particularly since I don’t live in Greenville, and except peripherally, had not kept up with BJU. I would not, however, have asked about whether BJU would reinforce exactly what I had taught them.

From the time I graduated until probably the appearance of Dr. Bob III on Larry King Live, I was like many who de-emphasized the place I got my undergraduate degree, and even though I found the whole “interracial dating” thing at BJU stupid while I was there, I grew even more to oppose the thinking behind rules like that as I grew as an adult and a Christian. Even that TV appearance was more of a dodge than a genuine repentance (although an actual apology did come later) but it did indicate that maybe some necessary changes in thinking were occurring.

By the time my kids were old enough to think about college, I noticed that the university had changed in a number of ways (mostly for the better in my thinking), so I asked friends, faculty, former faculty, pretty much anyone I could who knew the university better than I did, whether or not they would recommend BJU and why or why not. I think someone like Mark Minnick, who is both thoughtful and measured, and very closely connected and in-tune with what is happening there, would be an excellent person to ask. If he had been someone I knew well, or my own pastor, I certainly would have done so.

That’s not abdicating my responsibility for research — it’s enhancing the quality of it.

Chairman of the Board at BJU Dr. John Lewis is stepping down

https://www.wyff4.com/article/chairman-of-the-board-at-bju-dr-john-lewi…

Also here https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159835422572411&set=gm.259731732…

Guessing that Pettit will change mind?

Thoughts?

I'd like to think that Pettit will stay and continue in his duties, but I don't know what happens now.

It's very discouraging to see allegations of BJ3 undermining the Pettit and some of these other things that Lewis is alleged to have done. I hope that, with him out of the way now, these things can be brought to light, properly addressed, and that confidence in BJU can be regained.

Dave White wrote: Thu, 04/06/23 8:26 pm

Guessing that Pettit will change mind?

Guessing that Pettit will change mind?

Thoughts?

Since Pettit resigned, I wouldn't think it'd be appropriate for him to rescind it on his own until the board requests that he rescind it.

The Executive Committee has consolidated their authority into their small group and remains the same minus Lewis. They still are refusing to deal with the issues addressed in Pettit's letter.

Ron Bean wrote: They still are refusing to deal with the issues addressed in Pettit's letter.

How do you know this? I've seen a letter from the EC to the BJU Faculty and Administration saying that they have responded to Pettit's allegations and spent quite a bit of time discussing it with him. It seems to me they have been dealing with it, not publicly for sure, and maybe not to your satisfaction, but they certainly haven't ignored it. I'm afraid that this sort of rhetoric does more to inflame the situation that to bring peace to it.

On the other hand, you are probably correct that not much has changed, other than that the two people who seemed to be most at odds with each other have both removed themselves from the situation.

The leader of the (alleged) attempted coup is resigning, yes, but the others are still there, and nobody's come clean on what really happened. If I were Dr. Pettit, I wouldn't go back in there until people directly address (and probably apologize for) the transgressions in his letter.

(per Andy's comment, the allegations are public, they affect all students and faculty at BJU. Therefore they ought to be addressed publicly, not "well, we talked about this and we're OK". )

And if I had a child considering BJU, I'd tell them to go to Cedarville, at least until there is a clear message in this regard. Like it or not, the conservative/cultural fundamentalist side of the argument has a long history of bare knuckle tactics to support their goals, and I'd never encourage a young person to go into such a situation.

Bert Perry wrote: And if I had a child considering BJU, I'd tell them to go to Cedarville, at least until there is a clear message in this regard. Like it or not, the conservative/cultural fundamentalist side of the argument has a long history of bare knuckle tactics to support their goals, and I'd never encourage a young person to go into such a situation.

Bert, this will not do. Don't you know that convergence is more corrupting and more dangerous to the spiritual health of young adults than the ungodly and allegedly unlawful behavior of cultural fundamentalists faithful biblical Christians?

New post out about how academic leaders at BJU got Dr. Lewis to resign by noting an imminent issue with accreditation. Now yes, their testimony does not absolutely prove everything beyond a reasonable doubt, but I've got a hunch that they're at least close enough to say "we tend to believe Dr. Pettit's claims about how the board of trustees is working, and our accreditation agency will not take this lightly."

Again, this kind of scenario is exactly why accreditors require certain structures and procedures to be in place in college administration and boards of trustees.