Maranatha Makes Historic Announcement: Maranatha Baptist University

time for West Point-on-theRock-River to state the obvious.

I like the name change and I’m glad they kept the name “Baptist” in it.

Rumor has it other names were considered, but eventually rejected … . .

Maranatha Northland International University South (MNIUS)

THE Maranatha Baptist University (THE MBU)

University of Wisconsin at Maranatha (UWM)

Maranatha Baptist State (MBS)

Watertown State University (WSU)

Maranatha Fighting Fundamentalist Baptist Bible College (MFFBBC)

Maranatha A&M University (MA&M)

Maranatha Institute of Baptist Technology (MIBT)

Bob Jones University North (BJUN)

&

Harvard University of Baptists at Maranatha (HUBM)

Nice to see this poorly kept secret finally get announced!

Grand Rapids Baptist Bible College-CHANGE=Grand Rapids Baptist College-CHANGE=Cornerstone University.

Maranatha Baptist Bible College-CHANGE=Maranatha Baptist University-CHANGE=? Time will tell. Seems to follow the example of many.

I suppose it is no longer required that ALL students be a Bible major. NOT the Cedarholm philosphy so matter how much artificial flavoring is coated on it.

Mascot change? Do I hear politically correctness? You betcha ya.

I was and ALWAYS will be A CRUSADER!!!

I do not mind the name of University, but the Holy Scriptures which live and abide forever is something I am proud of. I detest removing the word

Bible from my place of graduation.

I know, we are supposed to smile and act as if all is okay. I was never politically correct when I was a student, and remain unchanged.

DO NOT tell me Maranatha is the same, it IS NOT.

Don’t like change of mascot either. Must be folowing the example from “Marquette Warriors” to “Marquette Golden Eagles”. Real boldness there I tell you.

[Bert Baker]

I suppose it is no longer required that ALL students be a Bible major. NOT the Cedarholm philosphy so matter how much artificial flavoring is coated on it.

Someone asked Dr. Oats on Facebook if the Bible core requirements would continue for all students, and this is what he said,

No change in the Bible requirement for any department. The Bible core was modified several years ago and set at 24 hours, but there has been no discussion of changing the core in all the runup to this announcement.

Your pessimism toward the changes at MBU aside, it would seem that your supposition concerning the Bible requirements is incorrect.

pvawter, I very much appreciate you sharing this with me. I am happy to be corrected on this.

Larry Oats is a good man, I am sure this will be okay. I will always desire “Bible” to be in the name.

My concerns however, are a DNA implanted inside me by MBBC. Us old schoolers understand this. We were trained to be skeptical.

Having said that, does not mean we cannot go forward.

Bert,

Not being an “old schooler” maybe I just don’t understand, but it seems that MBU has gone to pretty great lengths to be transparent regarding this change, informing their constituency far in advance of the official announcement, so I don’t see any basis for continued skepticism. The FAQ at the new website http://mbu.edu explains that keeping “Bible” in the name would simply be redundant.

I certainly don’t claim to speak for anyone else, but this school is kind of in my DNA, so to speak, and I continue to expect great things in the future, following this long-overdue change.

Paul

[mmartin]

Maranatha Institute of Baptist Technology (MIBT)

Harvard University of Baptists at Maranatha (HUBM)

I would love to have MIBT on my diplomas.

While I am not a Maranatha person I understand your point of view about dropping “Bible” out of the name. It appears to me though a tremendous amount of thought, prayer, & consultation with key stakeholders went into this decision. With the recent train wreck fiasco at Northland still fresh in everyone’s minds I would fully expect the leadership at Maranatha to be especially careful with their brand refreshing process.

Regarding the mascot, to me I don’t see it as a political correctness thing as compared to the name “Crusader” being old-fashioned, stale & rather blah.

Seriously, much ado about nothing though part of me is glad to see them drop the Crusaders as a mascot. Why would anyone want their mascot to be named after thugs? Good for them on that I guess.

And Roman Catholic ones at that.

[GregH]

Seriously, much ado about nothing though part of me is glad to see them drop the Crusaders as a mascot. Why would anyone want their mascot to be named after thugs? Good for them on that I guess.

So choosing the name “Crusaders” was Dr. Cedarholm’s way of being a thug?

A lot of Christian schools in our country dedicated to training young people for Christ are thuggish as well since many have the name “Crusaders” attached to them.

Oh yes, the name is old fashioned huh? What should be done with, ‘Wolverines, Fighting-Irish,Buckeyes, Badgers, Spartans, Bears, Packers, Colts, Lions, Tigers, Cubs, Yankees,Red Sox, Golden Gophers,Steelers, Eagles, Bulls, Heat,Pacers,Pioneers(woops),Giants,Hawkeyes,WildCats,Red Wings,Blackhawks,Bruins,Canadians,Maple Leafs etc.

Did you know all those names listed, except the (woops one), have been here longer than the Crusaders? Maybe two or three of the NBA teams as well. Oh well, forgive me

for getting a couple wrong, I am old fashioned. Just humor. Except for the comment about its founder. Oh yes, almost forgot, I have no dought thought and prayer went into this

decision. I wonder however, why they think leaving off the name “Bible” honors God more than keeping it. To me, this is serious, but I am old fashioned you know. Just serious.

Bert,

Greg didn’t impugn Dr. Cedarholm in any way. But the historical crusaders were, in the main, not really heroes. I think my alma mater has done the right thing in this regard. And done no damage to the memory of Dr. Cedarholm by it.

I am very pleased with the name change.

I certainly do not speak for the university in any capacity. As an alumnus (soon to be 3x over) and a Wisconsin pastor with several students presently enrolled, I’d like to make a couple comments about the mascot change.

• When I was a student, a good friend and fellow-student led an initiative to see the name of the mascot changed. His efforts and rationale were met with strong support from most of the faculty and staff. Point being, this is certainly not a new discussion around the campus.
• MBU has a substantial Global Encounters program, which sends students to minister in many foreign countries, some not even listed on the linked page above — countries that would not welcome “Crusaders.” The veracity and significance of the historical claims regarding the importance of the crusades aside, the proposed change seems like a clear-cut and fair-minded application of 1 Corinthians 9, i.e. “becoming all things to all men for the sake of winning some.”
• The mission of MBU is to develop leaders for ministry in the local church and to the world — all to the praise of His glory. Since the world has a large Islamic population (increasingly here and certainly abroad), and since a significant present mission strategy is to send men and women to use their vocations/degress in an unreached context, it makes little sense for the university to retain “crusader” for the sake of their graduates’ resumes alone. Further, from a Christian leadership perspecitve, I want to see young people trained, who are willing to sacrifice a liberty (i.e. referring to oneself as a “crusader”) for the sake of gospel ministry.

This alumnus couldn’t be more pleased with the changes. Maybe someone will read this and secure me one of those new t-shirts for Christmas? So long as it’s not one of those short or shrinky ones, I wear an XL :)