Do you really want to send your kid to that "Christian" university?
From the Dashboard >
Baylor University, the historically Baptist school in Waco, Texas, has announced that it is returning the large, lucrative grant it had received from a pro-LGBT charity. The Baugh foundation had given the money in hopes that Baylor would use it to fund efforts to make the Church more inclusive for those identifying themselves by their sexually immoral choices. The university president made the announcement in a statement to the school community:
It seems like a win for Christian convictions. Unfortunately, things aren’t always what they seem.
Let me preface everything I’m about to write with a couple important acknowledgements. First, I loved my college experience at Indiana Wesleyan University. I had incredible professors, grew much stronger in my faith, and made many lasting friendships, both personal and professional.
Second, I know that some professions require a college degree. While my chosen field of education has various on-ramps that allow a person to transition into a classroom from the corporate/business world without a teaching degree, there are some career paths that demand college, graduate, and even post-graduate licensure.
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All that stipulated, there are few things that concern me more as a parent than the thought of my children attending a traditional 4-year college like my wife and I did.
I know saying that – particularly given my job as a high school teacher – probably seems crazy to some of you. But with each passing day, academia is exposed to be a greater scam than anyone ever thought possible: vastly overinflated tuition costs for incredibly devalued degrees in terms of earning power, devastating debt accumulation, and shocking accounts of the ideological plantation that supposed “free thought” is enslaved upon.
I’m not going to spend my limited words here detailing the train wreck of large public universities – the place where idiotic phrases like “gender assigned at birth” originated, or where “gender ideology” incubated. I won’t even waste time mocking the insanity of an entire credited course being offered at Temple University aimed at studying rapper Kendrick Lamar “and his culture.”
The truth is that one of the most common, seemingly logical responses to all those things anyway is for a person to counter, “Well, that’s why you choose a small, private Christian school instead.” And please know, I’m not pointing fingers at the person who says that. When I first started teaching, that was my recommendation too: “if you can afford it, do it.” After all, my undergrad experience at such a school was invaluable to me.
I don’t make that recommendation anymore. Not after battling my own private Christian alma mater – and doing it publicly – as its administration took it sliding disastrously away from biblical fidelity and towards the spirit of the age on matters of sexuality. Thankfully, after several years of deep forays into all things woke, there have been some indications that, against all odds, a new administration there has begun to right the ship.
Still, there’s an underlying principle that is impossible to deny.
If I was Satan, where would I target? Would it be state universities where the few Christians who attend know exactly what to expect? Where Christians serious about their faith know that they will be encountering and “learning” from professors who either hold Christianity in contempt or utterly disregard and ignore it?
Or would I slither my way into places where the many Christian young people who attend do so with their guards down? Where they assume that anything they hear from their “godly professors” must be true and solid – it is a Christian school after all. Would I go and sneak just a little bit of worldly, new-age nonsense into the otherwise generic Christian framework and trust that the students are not going to notice the difference – and certainly not going to test everything they hear against the authority of the Word?
What would be more effective in my long-term goal of undermining the work of Christ’s Church in the West: Attacking Christian kids with atheist professors at state universities? Or poisoning the well at the numerous institutions training up the next generation of Christian leaders, pastors, teachers, and professionals?
Obviously, there are many good and godly professors at Christian institutions. But the track record of Christian schools in America continues to worsen. Whether it’s the once great Wheaton College, Texas Christian, Baylor, Taylor, or a host of “Christ-centered” schools desperate for the applause of “sophisticated men,” the trajectory is now tragically familiar: institutions founded on the lordship of Christ slowly trading timeless truth for cultural relevance, exchanging conviction for acceptance, and diluting the gospel in pursuit of academic prestige and public approval.
So, what’s the answer? First, let’s remember that Baylor only returned the grant because faithful Christians raised their objections publicly. And even though Baylor may be too far gone, many of the others aren’t. They might still be salvageable, and they are worth it. But, of course, vocal engagement in helping hold these schools accountable is MUCH different than throwing your children to wolves in sheep clothing.
Are there alternatives? Yes, of course. There are still many excellent Christian universities – but finding them is much more than just looking at their websites online. Second, never underestimate the value of community colleges – many offer better classroom environments, closer relationships with (many times) bi-vocational instructors (meaning, professors who actually do the things they are teaching about), and more hands-on experience opportunities. Third, many occupations and careers no longer require 4-year traditional degrees, but offer internship training opportunities and co-op programs that let young people get their feet wet and one of them in the door.
Is it sad that the administrators and caretakers of these once great Christian schools have allowed their institutions to become what they now are? Absolutely. But I’m reassured that God takes care of His own, always makes a way, and assures us repeatedly that faithfulness to Him always pays off.