Bob Jones University Enters a New Era

G.N. Barkman’s brief historical survey is an excellent summary of the transitions. Others have commented on division. Division often comes when agreement is required in areas where reasonable people can disagree. I believe part of that came from the IFB influence or takeover of the school. When I started at BJ in the 70s there was a much more inter-denominational flavor with BJ Jr. Under BJ III the separation stance became more shrill and was heard in the chapel pulpit where there was little exposition and much exposure of the compromisers. I was influenced by that, went beyond that, and became a militant, Fundamental Baptist separatist for way too long. IMO BJ took biblical separation beyond Scripture (I Cor. 4:6). With the decline of IFB and its influence there appears to be a return to a more biblical position. Happily!

From where I sit in Western Colorado your observations are right on! Thanks for an excellent overview!

Today I had lunch with one of our deacons. He and his wife are BJU graduates, and his wife’s parents are retired BJU staff who live in Greenville. He has two children who are BJU graduates, and a third is now a Sophomore at BJU. They are a strong BJ family. They are also one of the most conservative families in our church regarding music, dress, etc. I asked him what he thought of the changes at BJU? He was completely positive! That’s one more opinion in addition to mine, but in my circles, I would have a hard time finding anyone who is negative about the changes.

I’m beginning to realize that those objecting to the changes are a small minority. Other than the few in this discussion the only other objections I’ve seen are a couple of women in a BJU Facebook group and two fundamentalist publications that are practically unknown; The Projector, which has been critical of BJU long before the current changes, and Foundations magazine out of Dunn, NC. Oh yes, and David Cloud who pretty much objects to everything.

[Ron Bean]

I’m beginning to realize that those objecting to the changes are a small minority. Other than the few in this discussion the only other objections I’ve seen are a couple of women in a BJU Facebook group and two fundamentalist publications that are practically unknown; The Projector, which has been critical of BJU long before the current changes, and Foundations magazine out of Dunn, NC. Oh yes, and David Cloud who pretty much objects to everything.

If BJU is slacking off too much in the area of modesty, I’d find that an objectionable change. The others (in my view) have generally been positive. Personally, I don’t really like them putting so much money/effort into the whole “Bruins” intercollegiate program, while reducing in the fine arts. But that’s just me, and I don’t think it’s any kind of less-biblical trend.

It should be noted that fine arts programs are notoriously expensive and time consuming to maintain. Sports programs like the Bruins programs also serve as a way to attract talent, raise the profile of the school via advertising, and defray some costs as well via ticket and merchandise sales. One of the first signs that NIU was in trouble was when they let their music staff go in order to cut costs.

And speaking of NIU, Dave’s post from 9/12 at 2:22 sums up my opinion of what happened at NIU AND what is currently going on at BJ. I just hope BJU avoids Northland’s fate, and as long as we avoid the gossip campaigns that damaged the school, it likely will.

I loved BJU Fine Arts program, including having to endure attend operas. My wife and son graduated with undergrad and graduate degrees in the Fine Arts. I can understand why adjustments had to be made and BJU has been wise in implementing those changes. With the large reduction of CDS and Fine Arts in those schools, demand for Fine Arts majors has declined. 20-30 years ago BJU was THE center for drama, classical concerts, and opera in Greenville. Today there are lots of choices available for people in the area. While still producing concerts, Shakespeare (which I love), and opera at a lesser level, they have improved the variety of productions and venues. Drama is produced on a smaller but more frequent scale in venues like Performance Hall giving students more opportunities. There are also a lot of smaller musical performances in War Memorial Chapel and other venues. The larger scale, Artist Series type, productions now include musicals like Little Women and Titanic-the Musical. The performance of Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo was memorable. Again, it’s different, but better.

I pretty much figured that the reason came down to $. Sports can often pay for itself. Given their emphasis on survival, I understand why they made that change. I’m just not all that excited about it. On the other hand, over the last 5 years while my kids were there, I managed to successfully ignore any and all Bruins games/events, so on balance BJU having the Bruins didn’t affect me directly. I just hope they don’t have to keep reducing fine arts to the point where they can’t do the productions any more.

And Ron, yes I agree that the Jubilate was great. I wasn’t able to be on campus personally for that, but I did attend the performance at the Peace Center. Both my kids were in the various choirs up through chorale, and I very much enjoyed the programs they did. I don’t see any real loss in the quality of the current productions, but it’s clear that the number of the larger ones has been reduced. Hopefully, that trend will not continue.

I haven’t worked the numbers on fine arts, but I have done the calculations for sports, and most colleges don’t even come close to profitability, even with some fairly “generous” (dishonest) accounting practices. For example, facilities like stadia are typically built with general fund dollars and not charged to the athletics department—this is definitely the case at Michigan State and Colorado, where athletics were funded with “athletics fees” assessed on students.

I don’t even know that it’s that good for alumni donations. For example, only four of the top ten university endowments are from schools with a top notch athletic program, and all four of those (Stanford, Michigan, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame) are far better than average academically as well. Colleges do well with alumni donations by preparing young people for life and then relentlessly harassing them until they donate allowing them to give back to their alma mater, I’m afraid.

(there are purposes to athletics and fine arts, but generally they’re not found on an accountant’s spreadsheet these days)

I think intercollegiate sports have been good for the school. I have reconnected with a number of old BJU friends/alums and gotten to know quite a few of the new teachers/staff via the sports program. It’s not for everyone but it does help the school. Same with the fine arts program - I’m not a big fine arts guy but I have learned to appreciate them and having a good fine arts program helps the school. The administration visibly supports the fine arts, sports and other major programs and that has been a big plus. I saw Dr Bob III at a number of basketball games - good to see him getting into it so much.

I think the changes at BJU are good. Pretty much all of the BJU folks I know are fine with them. I do agree that if they have a rule it should be enforced fairly or deleted. I have been on campus quite a bit the last 5 years and just have not seen some of the things people have said earlier.

The new BJU is better but I appreciate the old BJU. I truly wish they had discarded the dating rule long before they did as that is my main “beef” with the old BJU. Man, we would have gotten way less self-created “bad press” if that had been done right.

I appreciate pretty much all of the comments on this thread - agreed with a lot and did not agree with some. As a number have said, there is more than one proper way to handle post HS education and I am glad there are options available. I pray that BJU remains a solid option for many Christian young people.

I attended MBBC 1977-1981. I was one of the older undergrads. I already had two years of community college and four years enlisted service in the US Coast Guard. And I most definitely did not grow up in a Gospel preaching church, the church I attended was a Neo-Orthodox at best Presbyterian. However, I did hear a clear presentation of the Gospel when I was nineteen during the summer between my first and second years at community college. That second year I attended a Baptist church in my neighborhood. The following June, I enlisted in the Coast Guard. Maranatha in my time period was seen as BJU North when it came to its disciplinary rules.

I saw MBBC and BJU as leadership schools much like the service academies. I think what happened is BJU, especially after its move to Greenville, took on some of the ethos of The Citadel. Tyler, with that thought, I posit a better comparison. Let’s compare a student at BJU or MBBC not with an MM3 but with a Cadet or Midshipman of the same class year. Cadets and Midshipmen have their uniform inspections and other various demeritable actions. I can see where BJU sought to instill “Southern” gentility on the students. But, a thought occurred to me. How many of the students literally just came off the farm? So, the school needed to teach them how to operate in an environment two steps up in class as it were.

I would add in the post WW2 era many of the students were vets who came in on the GI Bill. We were already used to a regimented lifestyle.

Up until a few years ago, BJU students weren’t permitted to attend a movie in a theater at any time while enrolled (on or off campus, during the school year, during breaks, while at home during the summer–not at any time). They were permitted to view movies in private homes, on the condition that the movies be rated G.

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Currently, undergraduates must adhere to these standards:

“Students are not to watch television shows, movies or movie trailers on their cell phones or computers on campus. In homes students may view PG-rated movies and movie trailers and TV-PG television programming. Unrated movies frequently contain objectionable content that has not been cut to meet rating standards and are not appropriate. Students are not to attend a movie of any rating in a public theater during a semester in which they are enrolled or during the summer if they are working on campus and not living at home. This includes when away from campus overnight (except for Thanksgiving and spring breaks). In addition, students are to avoid displaying on campus any pictures or objects promoting movies rated above PG-13.”

http://www.bju.edu/life-faith/student-handbook.pdf

In other words, undergraduates are now permitted to view PG-rated TV shows and movies in private homes, and attendance at movie theaters is permitted while at home during the summer or on extended school-year breaks.

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Current graduate students must adhere simply to these standards:

“Graduate students are expected to follow movie policies set forth for the BJU community by attending movie theaters only during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring and summer breaks.”

http://www.bju.edu/life-faith/grad-student-handbook.pdf

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Moreover, whereas PG-rated films were once forbidden to students at any time, anywhere, now PG movies can be shown & viewed by students on the campus itself:

http://www.bjubruins.com/sports/2015/3/5/GEN_0305154737.aspx

This example was simply the Disney/Pixar animated film The Incredibles (rated PG), which was shown in Stratton Hall on a Friday evening in November 2015.

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It’s certainly a change…..

Are Stravinsky and Bolero still off limits?

I grew up in a generation of fundamentalism that taught me that Disney’s “Shaggy Dog” (1959) was wrong and when I asked why, I incurred various levels of wrath.

One of the questions that was often asked about the movie rule was why the same movies were “wrong” in one situation but permissible in another.

I know there are questionable elements in some kinds of entertainment. I’ve loved Shakespeare since high school and enjoyed the productions at BJU. I was also aware of the editing questionable elements from the plays for production, which I understood but found amusing.

These questions are targeted at people like Adam Blumer, Wally Morris, Andy Efting, and such.

Do you (or would you) regulate/limit the behavior of the membership of your church the same way you’re wishing that BJU would continue to? Why or why not? How is that (or would it be) enforced at the local church level?

When you or your children encounter believers who do not honor the same behavior standards you do, how do you typically respond?

Do you perceive that a climate like BJU is adopting will ostracize people who continue to maintain a personal standard of behavior that is different than the requirements of the school?
How much freedom should there be for people to live in compliance with NT living and experience the natural consequences of their actions vs. institutionally enforced penalties (i.e., being placed on academic discipline for lack of faithful church membership and failure to provoke others to love and good works—purposefully extreme example)?