Steve Pettit: Alumni Town Hall

• G.R.A.C.E. report
• Accreditation: Preparing submission to S.A.C.S.
• On Jobs for medicine, law and MBA grads. 80% of medicine grads get into medical school. Details re other majors
• Enrollment: Specific plans to increase. A challenging environment because of cost and competition. #1 recruiter is the President. Expected Fall enrollment = 2850
• Recruiting of African Americans. Some stats: 30% of students from South Carolina. 17% of student from 10 churches. Minority scholarships available.
• Student mindset: A divide between students and mature Christian leaders. Young people today different than decades ago. Reason: adulthood postponed / adolescence extended. A graduate degree like a college degree in a previous generation. Technology has changed things for young adults. Authority based upon credibility and relationship (care)
• Roles of the Jones family: the 3rd = ambassador of school / Stephen = on medical leave until end of the year.
• Music: Supports the school’s music policy. Considers himself “a centrist”
• Fundamentalism: Reminder that Fundamentalism is broader than BJU
• ​Campus Safety. Details
• KJV position: Feels he understands the position thoroughly. The use or the non-use of the KJV should be a non-issue. BJU not a local church. Has used KJV in 800+ revival meetings. NASB available in bookstore
• Tax exempt status: Will this be revisited? Answer: studying.
• Alumni with negative views: 30,000 alumni. 12,000 “dues paying” alumni = 40%. Need to be better to connect with others.
• Communication: One critic: Only hear from school when $$ needed. BJU needs money. But will do better job at communication
• Changes at Northland: Response: Served there for 30 years. “A little place of heaven on earth”. Uncomfortable with some changes. Left 3 years ago. No longer there .. here. Two different worlds.
• Churches: Why restrictions on churches where students and staff can attend? Details: An environment that is both educational and cultural. Two weeks ago met with 50+ local church pastors. Important that BJU be like-minded with churches that students attend. 85% of students come from IFB churches. Pettit family will join local church
• Sports: intercollegiate and intramural. Favors intercollegiate. New sports available: disc golf and golf. Baseball? Possible
• Rules: No difference between “obeying the rules” and right heart.
• Dress codes: Changes over last few years. Mirrors facts that changes in local churches. Appropriate dress for appropriate activities. Modesty important.
• Short and long term goals / 5 year and 10 year: He serves at the good pleasure of the board. Responsible to keep school on the mission. “We’ve always done it this way” is not a good response. Stephen Jones had a long range plan. Will finish those goals. His burden is the spiritual life of the student body
• On quality of the chapel speakers: Need to look at both exegete of Scripture AND exegete of Christian living. No virtue in bad preaching. Theme for Fall: Walking in the Spirit from Galatians. Wants BJU to be greatest discipleship school on the planet. Will continue to have faculty speak.
• Closing: requests prayer for revival.

My observations: Very impressive. Worth viewing / listening

That is attractive.

Disappointing to hear one of his arguments for sticking with the KJV was they don’t know which translation to change to. Well, fundamental churches in Greenville have figured it out, and you have a seminary full of men with all the requisite knowledge and skill to figure it out.

BJU deals with more churches than those in Greenville. So, he needs to look at a bigger picture.

[SamKnisely]

Disappointing to hear one of his arguments for sticking with the KJV was they don’t know which translation to change to. Well, fundamental churches in Greenville have figured it out, and you have a seminary full of men with all the requisite knowledge and skill to figure it out.

[SamKnisely]

Disappointing to hear one of his arguments for sticking with the KJV was they don’t know which translation to change to. Well, fundamental churches in Greenville have figured it out, and you have a seminary full of men with all the requisite knowledge and skill to figure it out.

Which translation have the fundamental churches in Greenville switched to?

My understanding of his response on this issue was not that they don’t know which currently available translation is best (an issue his seminary men should be able to address, as you say), but instead that there’s no translation that their constituency is going to be satisfied with to the same extent that they’re satisfied with the KJV. If the overwhelming majority of their constituency is satisfied with the KJV, why switch to a different translation that only a smaller majority (or perhaps only a plurality) is going to be satisfied with?

There is no consensus among fundamentalist Baptist churches as to which version to switch to. Of those churches that have switched, none of them is particularly antagonistic to the KJV. Probably most have not switched, or at least the biggest group among the “BJU orbit” haven’t. So what would a switch for BJU gain? (Other than more pain from attacks on all fronts.)

It’s really not a battle worth fighting for them, in my opinion.

Do they really have to have any “official” Bible version at all? As a recent BJU graduate, I don’t have any major issues with their current policy. I think it would be nice if they allowed preachers and professors to make their own decisions as to which version to use in the pulpit or class room, but they don’t make a big deal out of the KJV and students can use whatever version they want. I guess I don’t see why the school needs to declare a particular one to be “the official Bible version of Bob Jones University”.

I watched the video yesterday and like Jim, I was impressed. Already you can see he’s jumped in with both feet. You get the feeling he cares about the details when he mentioned multiple stats about various items and calling prospective students personally.

BJU has a justified reputation with its attitude towards its students to shoot first and ask questions later. In the past would “disciple” students out the door too easily so I appreciated hearing his passion that BJU be the known for its discipleship.

When I read Jim’s synopsis above about Pettit’s response to the question about Northland I thought he would’ve been firmer in his response. After watching the video I have a better understanding. Seemed to me he was being honest while trying to be diplomatic. I don’t think he would be as much with a close friend.

Because Pettit has spent years traveling around the country visiting churches and being outside of the BJU bubble I feel he brings a fresh perspective in a way the Jones’ could never do and I feel that will be good for BJU. I think we will continue to see BJU continue move towards a kinder, gentler, humbler version, something well past due.

[SimonV]

Do they really have to have any “official” Bible version at all? As a recent BJU graduate, I don’t have any major issues with their current policy. I think it would be nice if they allowed preachers and professors to make their own decisions as to which version to use in the pulpit or class room, but they don’t make a big deal out of the KJV and students can use whatever version they want. I guess I don’t see why the school needs to declare a particular one to be “the official Bible version of Bob Jones University”.

“the official Bible version of Bob Jones University”.

Can you see it now, BJU signing with ASV as the official Bible version. Before every chapel service there would be the message, “This chapel service is brought to you by the American Standard Version , the official Bible version of Bob Jones University.” On the BJU website instead of stating merely “chapel” in the daily schedule it would say “American Standard Version Chapel.”

;-)!

On second thought … .

Brief comments on BJU and KJV:

• ​Why would a new President want to wade into the swamp of changing that policy? He’s got bigger fish to fry (See note below)
• My own view is that the KJV is the defacto approved version of a width swath (a very wide swath) of fundamentalism
• And even in non-KJV churches (eg 4th Baptist), when a guest speaker comes, no one is offended if he preaches from the KJV.

Please view the 1954 B/W film “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and consider the hazards!

As a BJU grad, I have been refreshed listening to SP. His answers reflected a godly, Christ like spirit. I am glad that the Lord has led this man to be President of BJ. He seemed open, transparent, honest, competent, informed, humble, passionate, and vulnerable. I hope that his transparency will be a characteristic of his ministry at BJU for many years to come.

why borrow trouble.

[Jim]

Brief comments on BJU and KJV:

• ​Why would a new President want to wade into the swamp of changing that policy? He’s got bigger fish to fry (See note below)
• My own view is that the KJV is the defacto approved version of a width swath (a very wide swath) of fundamentalism
• And even in non-KJV churches (eg 4th Baptist), when a guest speaker comes, no one is offended if he preaches from the KJV.

Please view the 1954 B/W film “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and consider the hazards!

SNIP

Over half of Americans who read the Bible read from the KJV- http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2014/march/most-popular-and-…

This is interesting (from evangelicalbible.com’s FB page): “These represent Google searches for different translations in the US from 2004 to present.”

I wouldn’t read too much into what version is being searched on. I’ve been reading and studying the ESV for almost ten years now, but there are a lot of Bible verses in my head that are memorized from the KJV, so I can’t find them in the different translations. I google them, get the KJV reference, and then add in the verse into my manuscript (or outline, or whatever) from the ESV.

…but still, that does show that the KJV has long been established, and that even those who tend toward the use of other versions still find it familiar. I don’t think it’s going to hurt anything if they keep using it for the moment, or even for the foreseeable future. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t use the KJV as the text at his church.