An acquaintance who graduated at Southern Seminary, (MDiv '79, D.Min.82) told me this: he remembered the day that he realized he'd been defrauded by his seminary. He was preparing a series of advent sermons, and while studying Is 7:14, he discovered that all his commentaries, recommended by his professors, referred that verse to a pagan myth rather than a prophecy of Jesus. He suddenly began to check other passages and doctrines, and realized in a flash that his faith had been undermined and that he had been cheated. He threw out his entire library and started over, educating himself in the Bible.
I told this story to make the point that the seminaries and the Bible colleges ARE the battlefields. The NBC went bad before the SBC because in the late 1800s, their seminaries became infected by German modernism, while the SBC seminaries snuffed out any flashes of liberalism. After Mullins' influence, (he was conservative himself, but not dogmatic) the SBC seminaries began a gradual descent, culminating in the 70s and 80s.
I believe a history of this period, when written, will show several things:
1. Not all the seminaries went all the way down.
2. The doctrinal standards at the seminaries were so situated that they could be used to fix the seminaries.
3. The power of the president of the convention to eventually replace regents created a window of opportunity for the resurgence.
4. The rot in the seminaries had less than a catastrophic effect on the convention because so many congegations were small and pastored by non-seminary grads who remained conservative.
5. The power and influence of megachurches with their own schools, pastored by men who were conservative in theology was a key.
6. Alternative sources of education like Luther Rice, Bible Colleges like Mid-Continent College and Bryan College, and independent seminaries like Liberty and Mid-America had a huge impact.
7. Though it may never be quantified, the effect of the Scofield Reference Bible and its prevalence among some smaller SBC congregations helped in key areas.
I told this story to make the point that the seminaries and the Bible colleges ARE the battlefields. The NBC went bad before the SBC because in the late 1800s, their seminaries became infected by German modernism, while the SBC seminaries snuffed out any flashes of liberalism. After Mullins' influence, (he was conservative himself, but not dogmatic) the SBC seminaries began a gradual descent, culminating in the 70s and 80s.
I believe a history of this period, when written, will show several things:
1. Not all the seminaries went all the way down.
2. The doctrinal standards at the seminaries were so situated that they could be used to fix the seminaries.
3. The power of the president of the convention to eventually replace regents created a window of opportunity for the resurgence.
4. The rot in the seminaries had less than a catastrophic effect on the convention because so many congegations were small and pastored by non-seminary grads who remained conservative.
5. The power and influence of megachurches with their own schools, pastored by men who were conservative in theology was a key.
6. Alternative sources of education like Luther Rice, Bible Colleges like Mid-Continent College and Bryan College, and independent seminaries like Liberty and Mid-America had a huge impact.
7. Though it may never be quantified, the effect of the Scofield Reference Bible and its prevalence among some smaller SBC congregations helped in key areas.