Updated: Matt Olson rehired by Northland

[GregH]

Tyler, you are a bit quick to the draw. Unless you know something no one else seems to know, you are not qualified to be making the statements you make. Why not extend some grace instead of your uninformed opinions?

What, the Yosemite Sam pic wasn’t the dead giveaway?

The video is on youtube too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sHzqNXsdvCw

I’m thrilled with the change as I know Daniel Patz a bit. I believe he went to John Piper’s TBI institute (apprenticeship program that eventually became The Bethlehem College and Seminary) too. He is very meek and godly and will be a blessing for sure in that position. He’s a pastor in Forest Lake, and I was just at his church to hear a mutual friend about three months ago or so.

Encouraged by the humility of the college and excited to see how NIU continues to grow and move forward.

A weird sequence of events. (image below). Another event that should be considered is the Daniel Patz petition drive before the family meeting.

And this is added to:

• A stated position against CCM … while promoting CCM and rolling out “the band”
• A stated position against the sign gifts … while having a staff member who is in a church that believes in the sign gifts

[Mark_Smith]

What is the “box” that the percussionist is striking in the band?

This shows up in our worship now and then. These “crates” are a simple percussion instrument that has much less volume than a drum set. You don’t need clear plastic wall around it! A skilled player can get a nice variety of sound from one. It’s quite ideal for those who want a contemporary flavor but do not want to “rock out.”

The youtube clip cuts off Daniel Patz’s speech there’s about 10 more minutes. Here’s the link to the specific message:

http://new.livestream.com/northlandu/chapel/videos/18365051

Some reflections from Oz:-

While I am no fan of the changes at Northland, I am impressed by these things:-

-Olson’s humility in submitting to his earthly authorities and not taking any hurts or gripes to his blog site;

-The Board’s subsequent humility in seeking forgiveness in now they handled things (bearing in mind they said the issue was financial not philosophical);

-Surely this kind of public acknowledgement is rare these days.

Nonetheless I see Northland now as another evangelical college rather than one that is fundamentalist with a few adjustments. The changes relating to music and co-operation seem to be short-sighted rather than far-sighted, in my view.

Nonetheless I wish them well in their new sphere. I trust institutions like BJU and Maranatha will hold the course.

We have used a percussion box like that in our church. You can get nice sound out of it and yet not drown out the rest of the music.

[Jim]

Here’s the problem they need to resolve.

• The Patz Family is the $$$ behind Northland (I commend them for this!)
• You have the board
• And you have Patz family on the board (you would expect that)

As the Daniel Patz FB comment below demonstrates, you have a shadow board. Which makes the “official” board kind of powerless. With a shadow board like this, perhaps they should just rename the school Patz International University.

(There are 2 images below … not obvious because of white background. The first image is a snip from F/B announcing the Patz family meeting. The second is NOT a part of his F/B post)

Jim,

This is not true. The board was running NIU and the Patz influence was minimal. The current board wanted to know what the Patz family felt about the direction of NIU under Matt Olson and requested that the family meet. The family did meet and made their thoughts known.

The result of that meeting resulted in decisions that were announced in chapel today. Everything I have shared here is public knowledge and can be gleaned from the internet. I was not at the meeting and had no input.

Blessings.

We’ve used the cajon almost since the church was planted in 2010. You can see the drum and drummer on the left. I’d highly recommend it to mu friend Mike Harding.

Notice we have a harp too :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksHYtPog7Lk&list=UUV2bvwHdUe-XZe78aLPhK_w&index=1

Steve Davis

“I may or may not be indecisive.”*

* (Uncredited, though I know the quote comes from)

Some have mentioned in this conversation that the NIU situation is a leadership crisis and other have argued it isn’t.

NIU has …

A severely divided constituency.

An endowment that once was $10 million or greater is now significantly depleted leaving little or no buffer.

A board that didn’t hold the school leadership accountable about their over-spending years ago even as enrollment was dwindling.

Currently laying off more employees and more are sure to come. Even if you disagree this PR situation will not negatively affect enrollment there still is a clear need for NIU to further reduce spending.

A lack of consistent, clear communication about the direction of the school.

The perception that it is just a matter of time before NIU closes.

The perception by the alumni and friends of NIU that are not in agreement with the recent changes that they are not truly being heard. The same people that allowed NIU to build its program and facilities. Doesn’t it still need those people Or has it washed its hands clean of them?

A board in a rush to fire, whoops, re-hire the president that oversaw all of the above.

How is this Not a case for a crisis of leadership? Why isn’t anybody saying this?

If this was a CEO of a corporation in the non-ministry (real) world, that person and the CFO would’ve been fired - for real - a long time ago.

This is surprising and refreshing to me. Rare is the institution ANYWHERE that will admit a mistake and quickly try to make it right. It may be unprecedented in IFB circles, but I’d struggle to find comparable decisions like this in the private or public sector. Rather than identify this as a leadership problem, I see this as great leadership. Humility, courage, & submission to authority. I’ve only seen that type of leadership once and it was a USN CDMR. I would have followed that guy over the wall every time. Good luck to NIU.

What was that old saying of BJ Sr? Do Right Till The Stars Fall?

I would rather that NIU went down in flames sticking to what they believe to be right than to compromise their beliefs to ‘save’ their connections to the alienated constituency that, frankly, probably wasn’t going to support them with the changes they had already decided to make anyway.

Dave Jaspers posted to Matt Olson
19 minutes ago via mobile
God bless you, Matt, as you humbly lead NIU for God’s glory and according to His purpose. May your best days (and NIU’s, too) be ahead of you. May this be the break out that you have been praying for!

https://www.facebook.com/matthewrolson1/posts/269988959804587

Much of his thread has been frustrating to read by this long time reader only second time poster at SI. A circus? A soap opera? We ought to pause as JoelC suggested. Let’s humbly watch and see how God will work this for His glory.