Changes at BBS Reflect Growing Ministry Trends

Out but may continue as adjuncts:

• Dr. Bill Arp, Professor of New Testament and Greek
• Dr. Gary Gromacki, Professor of Bible and Homiletics
• Dr. Alan Ingalls, Professor of Old Testament Languages and Literature
• Dr. David Mappes, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology & Bible Exposition

Continuing as full-time faculty:

• Dr. Lee Kliewer will continue to serve as Seminary Dean
• Dr. Wayne Slusser will continue to serve as Assistant Seminary Dean, Associate Professor of New Testament and Greek, and advisor for our MABA program
• Dr. Ken Pyne will continue to serve as Seminary Chaplain, Director of Internships, and Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Bible Exposition
• Dr. Ken Gardoski will continue to serve as Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of Doctoral Programs
• Dr. Mark McGinniss will continue to serve as Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew and Editor of the Journal of Ministry & Theology
• Dr. Ken Davis will continue to serve as Director of Project Jerusalem and Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry.

I’m a bit saddened to hear this. I was part of the “problem” though, because I did my M.Div. there on-line with a few trips to campus for modules. Rod Decker was a driving force at the seminary, and I’m thankful I got to take classes with him before he passed. The seminary lost its only active scholar (imho) when he passed.

Given the recent changes, I probably won’t consider going there in the future for my Th.M. or D.Min.

I think the switch to emphasize virtual education is a very good move. Is BBS doing this because the school is in jeopardy? That is, is this announcement really just a sign that the institution is going down? Maybe, maybe not. But, the Seminary has some very good programs, and it seems to me they can reduce overhead by having adjuncts and going to a more virtual format. I like BBS, and I hope this works out well for them.

Fundamentalist schools have been left in the dust by their evangelical counterparts, both on accreditation and learning options. Maranatha (i.e. the “best” seminary!) has destroyed everybody on both these fronts. There is no other fundamentalist institution which has regional accreditation and a completely virtual MA and MDiv option. I believe this is why they’re doing well.

Virtual education is location non-aligned: The host location may be miles - even half a world away:

Location non-aligned (or virtual location): This is one of the great appeals: A student does not need to:

• Move ($$ saved)
• Sell a house / leave an apartment lease [when I went to seminary, we sold a house in Pittsburgh and bought a house in Grand Rapids]
• Leave a job / find a job (a heard this fact from a business person: it takes 1 month per $ 10K of salary to find a job. Making $ 30K = 3 months to change jobs)
• Leave and change churches: This too is huge - can stay in home church where one presumably has been exercising ones gifts vs new location where one has to “prove” himself

Time non-aligned: (time asynchronous)

• Say the seminary class is 9:00 to 9:45 am Eastern time. Time aligned means that one must take that class at that time (in synch with the real lecture time) . In the Pacific time zone? That’s 6:00 am to 6:45 am. In India (where many time zones are 11.5 hours off US time zones) that’s at 8:30 pm to 9:15 pm
• Time non-aligned means a student can take the class anytime - at the student’s convenience

Time-aligned only is half a loaf. Not the pure virtual experience! Looks like MBU is the full virtual experience.

MBU is time non-aligned. But, it can work. I’ve taken Greek with an Egyptian student and people all over the US.

I did my doctorate through Southern in a hybrid (partially online but partially one week modules on campus). The on campus experiences were far and away the best and most beneficial part of the program (both my undergrad and masters degree were done residentially). I honestly just can’t imagine an all-online degree experience for me personally.

I’ve done my entire theological education virtually or online. I was on campus for one single module. That’s it. I don’t “need” to have direct interaction with other students or faculty. I’ve exchanged perhaps 10,000 emails with my Greek professor over the years, and read a lot. That works for me. For other people, it doesn’t work. People are different.

I”ve been preaching and teaching concurrent with my theological training, so perhaps that makes a difference. I’ve had to apply theology directly to the crucible of real ministry for years, and that means I don’t really have time to sit in a student coffee shop and chat about the extent of the atonement. I’ve had to make theology practical for real people, living real lives. I’ve just never felt I missed anything from not “living in community” with other students on campus.

But, I realize I’m strange. I’m not knocking other people who found that experience life-transforming. I just never missed it or needed it. I think Seminary students can do without it, if they’re concurrently serving in the local church in a meaningful way.

I understand what you are saying, Tyler, and can appreciate your perspective.

One thing I do want to say, though, is that in both Bible college and seminary we were required to be involved in local church ministry, so we were “applying theology directly to the crucible of ministry” as well. I was a part-time youth pastor for 5 of the 7 years of college and seminary (in addition to having a full-time secular job and going to school full-time and being married and having a child). Most seminaries are similar, so it’s not just theoretical knowledge that is being gained—it is “practical” and “real” at the same time.

Like I said, people are different. Not better. Not worse. Just different. Education is going to be virtual in the future. I predict on-campus attendance will continue to shrink. The lower cost and logistical advantages are simply too great. Go Maranatha … :)

From what I saw and heard when I was on campus last May, this announcement is a significant retrenchment on the scholarship taking place at BBS. The Journal of Ministry & Theology seems to be defunct (last published Fall 2015); its former editor (Gromacki) now an adjunct. Slusser came in to replace Decker, and he’s not even a close second in scholarship. Several faculty who published regularly have either left / retired or are near retirement. Now that the seminary has been “downgraded,” it will be hard to find quality replacements (imho).

What I fear is that BBS’s M.Div. program will be “dumbed down” into a Liberty-like on-line program.

I went to college and seminary at Tennessee Temple. While alumni heard rumors of low enrollment, enrollment numbers were never publicized, save there being a semester with a slight increase in enrollment and then a newsletter would boast an “X% increase in enrollment.” The tiniest step forward was triumphed over while the big steps back were spun into good news. Danny Lovett would announce the closing of a related ministry and then announce that it would help them do better what they did best: college education. I think the last president was honest with the alumni, but by then it was too late. So when BBS says their enrollment has stayed steady over the years, that had better be true or it will be abandoned by its supporters if the time soon comes when it would have to own up to being on the verge of closing its doors save a miracle.

Somewhat off topic, but it strikes me that if you read Jonathan’s comment carefully, you will see two ways we fundamentalists can self destruct. First, we can destroy trust by fudging the numbers—a former friend of mine commented that at his Hyles-esque church, the rule of thumb was to “round to the nearest goal.” Second, we can self-destruct by turning the long knives on each other when we see things are not going well. We can be, sad to say, like politicians in that regard. (sigh, and Lord spare me from taking part)

And of course I have no clue about Tennessee Temple, or whether BBS has followed their apparent/alleged lead in this. Just thought the obvious implication/ gut check of Jonathan’s ought to be noted.

Back to the topic, I wish BBS well as they seem to be transitioning to more of an online seminary. While I know and value the role of interpersonal interaction in things like this, it strikes me as well that until we get our feet under us again (after a sometimes self-inflicted implosion of our movement), we’re going to need to be clever about how we train new pastors. Plus, it opens up seminary level education to people who cannot just pick up stakes and move due to family and job realities.

So when BBS says their enrollment has stayed steady over the years, that had better be true or it will be abandoned by its supporters if the time soon comes when it would have to own up to being on the verge of closing its doors save a miracle.

And even in the case of NIU, some of those supporters were more than happy to see the doors close rather than the school abandon things like dress and musical standards. It’s all about priorities.

I look at it this way - Christian schools and churches have to evolve to fit the needs of the society around us, insofar as we can do so while remaining true to the Word and Faith. While it is sad that BBS has to sell one of their buildings and downsize their staff - and I feel awful for the staff affected - it’s better than having to shutter the whole institution because they were not willing to adapt.

And for whatever it’s worth, I agree with Dr. Long that an totally online seminary degree loses something over a in-person experience. That being said, if I was ever in a position to pursue an M.Div or another degree, I would almost certainly have to have a non-time limited class experience because of my life.

The primary benefit of residential colleges is face time with instructors and students. Take out that social and networking aspect of the residential bible college and I’m hard pressed to offer other compelling reasons to burden young people seeking to enter ministry with the costs of living on-campus.

In terms of academics, the online offerings of universities have jumped significantly in the last ten years, and the quality and interactive capabilities of lectures make the experience fairly enjoyable. This should be fine for many students, especially those who come from home-schooling backgrounds and are already used to pre-packaged instruction. Students would receive the credentials which churches are considering hiring as well as having saved some money by living and working at home.

I also recall a bible college administrator telling me that it would be nice if the fundamental schools could pool faculty resources to enhance the expertise available to students. I think this would be wise, and would be very easy to accomplish through on line offerings.