Proposed Offering for Seminaries

[go2church]

Did anyone catch the article about the president of New Orleans Baptist wanting a special offering for the seminaries?
Seminary Offering Story

There is some very "interesting" admissions by president Kelly.

 

[Bible-boy]

That's odd...

I went to the NOBTS website at http://www.nobts.edu/home.shtm and I can not seem to locate an "On-line Journal" entitled "Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry" at the website. Can someone provide a link to this New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary on-line journal? It would be nice to read Dr. Kelly's White-paper for ourselves rather than reading what the ABP, Baptist Standard, and the NC Biblical Distorter... I mean Biblical Recorder have to say about Dr. Kelly's paper.

For example, here is a link http://www.baptist2baptist.net/Papers/NOBTS_Response/nobts_response.html to an open letter that Dr. Kelly wrote in response to an article in the Texas Baptist Standard in which he was misrepresented and misquoted. It is always best to go to the primary source ya know.

[ May 22, 2003, 07:40 AM: Message edited by: BibleboyII ]

 

[Rev. G]

Read the article yesterday in the Baptist Standard. Perhaps if seminary presidents cut back on their salaries and first-class airfare, it would help alleviate the problem.

I'm against it.

 

[TomVols]

Can't imagine why we need the offering. The seminaries are prospering greatly now.

 

[Rev. G]

Apparently the fundamentalist / liberal split is causing financial difficulties.

http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=27

 

[Bible-boy]

I see that the Baptist Standard has a link to the full text of Dr. Kelly's proposal. However, when I attempted to down load it all I got was encrypted code. Can someone please provide the text so we all can read it?

I don't know why we would need a special offering. Here at SEBTS we are in the midst of a $50 Million finance campaign and doing fine. Registration is up and the Gospel is going around the world as a result of our focus on missions. Praise Jesus!

 

[go2church]

Perhaps things in seminary land are not going as well as everyone is being told...No, that couldn't be it the leaders of the SBC are ALWAYS truthful and forthright with any information about anything. If the leaders were deceptive in their practices of dealing with people, then what makes people think they won't be with the finances as well? The request for the offering is a signal hello wake up!

 

[Rev. G]

Go to the original story and click on the story.

Or do it here:

http://www.abpnews.com/abpnews/story.cfm?newsId=3593


Unfortunately, our leadership has not been forthright in all matters - this included. Not a good witness. We shouldn't be so careless that we follow our SBC leadership blindly, nor should we be thoughtless enough to think that theology has not been an issue during the last 25 years.

 

[Rev. G]

Here at SEBTS we are in the midst of a $50 Million finance campaign and doing fine.

We just finished a huge building program at SWBTS. Doesn't mean everything is "peachy" in "Zion" though.


Here is the story in part:

NEW ORLEANS (ABP) – The president of one of the Southern Baptist Convention's six seminaries has proposed creating an annual offering for the seminaries on the scale of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions.
This new offering should be named for W.A. Criswell, suggests Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

The seminaries need more money, he suggests, because SBC conservatives aren't doing as good a job of funding theological education as SBC moderates did in the past.

Kelley proposes the offering in a white paper titled "Roots of a Dilemma: SBC Entities and the Cooperative Program." It is published in New Orleans Seminary's online journal, "Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry." . . . .

The SBC's attempts to redirect more money to front-line missions through agency restructuring in 1997 helped but did not solve the problem, Kelley said. From a financial perspective, these changes "to some extent offset the inroads of inflation on CP income."

In this restructuring, the six seminaries were given an additional 1 percent of Cooperative Program income to share among themselves. This provided assistance, he said, but did not fund any new initiatives. Even with this change, five of the six seminaries could not make their payrolls based on Cooperative Program giving alone, Kelley said.

 

[SaggyWoman]

I don't try to get too involved in stuff like this. But I am not sure what the problem is.

We have the Lottie Moon and the Annie Armstrong and the state offerings for Missions. By all means, support them.

We have the mothers day and thanksgiving day offerings for the children's homes, and by all means, support them.

We have offerings for retirement centers. We have offerings for ...what else do we have offerings for???? I can't remember.

I don't necessarily have a problem with this, but not all, if any, colleges and seminaries have a special offering. It is education, not necessarily ministry with a heart.

 

[Dr. Bob]

Being an "independent" ifb'er my church has the option to support any college or seminary of its choice. Or none.

Also, the bible colleges often send groups out on tour and we take special offerings for the schools.

One of the biggest drawbacks of the "convention" mentality is that we send in $$ to national/state HQ and then THEY divide it up. So you might not think a college is doing the job (or a missionary or . . ).

By putting certain schools in the missionary budget we feel we have more control or input over the directions of those institutions.

 

[Major B]

[posted by Dr. Bob Griffin:]
[Being an "independent" ifb'er my church has the option to support any college or seminary of its choice. Or none.]

Being Baptist, we in the SBC have the same option! Our church sends some money to the co-op, but we also support various home and foreign missions, and educational establishments that are not related to the SBC.

 

[TomVols]

Having been in the know in educational leadership and in seminary life, I can tell you that the rantings from the left about their wish for financial catastophe at the seminaries are unfounded. Granted, every non-profit group in America has suffered in the post 9-11 economy. But one of the most telling stats of late is the fact that seminary tuition and fees have not risen hardly at all in the past few years. Giving is up now that the seminaries are in good hands. It's a shame people are taking pot shots at the late Dr. Criswell by mocking what is probably a sincere effort by Dr. Kelly to honor Pastor Criswell's ministerial and academic legacy.

 

[Major B]

Yeah they dug up Wycliffe's bones to persecute him!

 

[go2church]

Criswell deserves every potshot that he gets. As do the rest of us if we act foolish and hypocritical.

 

[KPBAP]

Here is THE article!!

web page

 

[Bible-boy]

Originally posted by KPBAP:
Here is THE article!!

web page

Thanks,

But that didn't work for me either. When I cliked on the link you provided and downloaded the material all I got was encoded computer nonsense.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Originally posted by BibleboyII:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by KPBAP:
Here is THE article!!

web page

Thanks,

But that didn't work for me either. When I cliked on the link you provided and downloaded the material all I got was encoded computer nonsense. </font>[/QUOTE]Apparently you need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader. (It's free and available from www.adobe.com)

 

[TomVols]

Originally posted by go2church:
Criswell deserves every potshot that he gets.

This is one of the poorest statements I've ever seen on Baptist Board. I am saddened, shocked, and dismayed at the lack of character this poster has displayed.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Originally posted by TomVols:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by go2church:
Criswell deserves every potshot that he gets.

This is one of the poorest statements I've ever seen on Baptist Board. I am saddened, shocked, and dismayed at the lack of character this poster has displayed. </font>[/QUOTE]In a lot of ways, I agree. But at the same time I am torn because of the potshots Criswell made throughout his life against those whom he opposed. Certainly we should avoid namecalling and meanness, but Criswell is reaping what he sowed in his lifetime. I'm afraid his legacy may tarnish a bit over the next few years.