Where have all the Bible College Graduates Gone? Chapter Three

Back to School: Danger, Danger Will Robinson!

In COPL 1987 (Conference on Pentecostal Leadership) Dr. Carl Verge the then Academic Dean of EPBC presented a paper in one of the group sessions on the findings of his Ph.D. dissertation. Entitled, “Comparison of the Beliefs and Practices of 2 Groups of PAOC Ministers,” the dissertation compared PAOC pastors who graduated from Bible College with a diploma and those who went on to achieve a Master’s degree from another credited institution. Apparently, the findings of the study were met with not a little consternation by many of the clergy and lay leaders in the audience.[1] Perhaps not surprisingly, Dr. Verge’s work demonstrated that those who went on to pursue further education in the end tended to be a bit more open and less dogmatic on a wide range of issues.

Truth be told Pentecostals in Canada have had a long love/hate relationship with formal theological/pastoral education.[2] What mattered to early Pentecostals was the “call” and the “anointing” neither of which align themselves easily with grades and assignments the mainstays of college outcomes.[3] As such in its infancy, academic merits did not factor greatly in selecting faculty for EPBC. As late as 1978, the year of my graduation, of the ten faculty members, five had a B.A., two had a M.A/Ed and one had a Ph.D. That of course changed when EPBC was accredited to grant degrees. Their right to grant degrees was at least partially conditioned on upgrading the degree status of its faculty. As such in 1989 eleven years later, of the 21-faculty listed in the yearbook, fourteen either had a Master’s degree or were listed as candidates, and 5 had an earned doctorate or were listed as candidates.

But to return to the anxiety in 1987 created by the presentation of Carl Verge in COPL the degree status of the faculty was not the only thing changing at EPBC. The notion that the role of the Bible College was primarily to equip potential clergy to “speak the same things with no dissensions … join together in love with the same mind and same judgement upon great matters; teaching the same doctrines; contending earnestly for the same theological position,”[4] was transitioning to encourage students to learn, live and think Christianly. Previously independent thinking was not a high priority, neither was opening enrolment to students who had no desire to go into full-time vocational Christian ministry.

This tension has dogged Pentecostal teaching institutions since their inception and was no more evident than with EPBC. In the year 1999-2000 while I was still on staff as a teaching faculty member, I was not immune to the talk that swirled around the college and led to major changes and the emergence of Master’s College and Seminary. In the form of phone calls, list- serves, conversations with executive members of the Board, faculty were told among other things “the college is not Pentecostal enough, it is too socially minded, it is is out of touch with the pastorate, there are too many students and not enough positions for them post-graduation, (the opposite is true today) it needs to be less academic and more practical, the education is not spiritual enough, too many graduates want to teach and not pastor,” and I could go on.[5] But I leave the final word on this painful chapter with the late Alvin Shindel, my former Old Testament professor, “even men who criticize and have repudiated education practice are only too willing to snatch at the prizes which they (the Colleges confer.”[6]

What follows are several voices of graduates who upon graduation either went on to further study in the field of theology/biblical studies or in another academic direction entirely. The reasons are varied. For many women, they quickly discovered opportunities in their field of study were limited, and if they were not married this compounded the situation. In other cases, individuals quickly discerned pastoral ministry was not a fit and they needed to pursue further education in another field. Some pursued higher education because indeed they wanted to teach in biblical/theological education. For others a divorce ended any ability to continue in pastoral ministry. For some they had no desire to go into vocational ministry and college was a spiritual prep school and finally for some like myself pastoral ministry left me with more questions than I could handle so I went back to university.

Here are some of their stories. Note, comments are redacted.

Professional in a helping profession.

…Today, I couldn't say that I could really look at the Bible and say it is 100%? accurate. Did everything that happened in the gospels happen? I don't think so. But at the same time, you know, I do have a faith in God…I believe I'm a spiritual person. And I'm working on it. I'm working my way back. It has been like five years in the process, but I feel more authentic. I think it started (when I was pastoring) that the questions started coming, and it took pretty near 10 years to get to the point where I really turned and made some decisions.

…in Bible college, I would have thought … my faith is solid. Looking back on it, I had some good teaching. And I think I just endorsed what I'd always been told. I don't think I really questioned a lot. … I don't think I was really allowed … If I was going to be a pastor, … I had to line up in a certain way. … it was clear to me when I went for my credential interview that they expected me to believe “X”, … and that was fine by me at the time.

…But now I've seen a lot. I have tried to square this with the very certain belief that I had. You face suffering, and you face evil, and in some sense or another you try to square it with a belief that's very certain. And it doesn't jive. And I think I really struggled with that for a long time. (Where I work) I would leave multiple times asking where's God in that? How does that make sense? Why would that child have to suffer?

…So, I've let go of a very fundamental interpretation of the Bible. I've allowed a figurative allegorical interpretation in a lot of things…I think if Jesus knew how he was being portrayed he probably be mortified. I think I'm not so sure he intended to portray himself as God. I think that Jesus was a teacher and he wanted to point to God. And he intended to bring a change in the Jewish community - that was it. But I don’t necessarily think he was God. And I don't necessarily think that anything happened, per se past the cross. And I've come to terms with that a little bit. But at the same time, I can't help but hold on to a personal God, in some sense or another. I still can't let go of that? … I still believe in a personal God. Is he intimately involved in the day to day affairs, in interactions, in issues of our life? I don't know. I hope so.

…It's been a while since I've been in the church. And I miss the community. But I feel like a fox in the henhouse every time I go. Because, if I go there and say what I really think I'm going to be viewed as the heretic, when really, I just want to ask questions…I'm having a hard time finding a place where I can go and genuinely say, here I am. And this is what I think. And I'm genuinely not trying to lead anybody astray. I've got no intention of messing up anybody's faith.

Professor in a Christian college

I think back on the teachers, and they all brought this interesting perspective … I think the best thing you can teach anybody is to teach them to think, and wrestle with the question.

One of the big ones that we're headed to and we have to deal with in the next decade is a lot of big personality driven mega churches. And what are they going to do with that? How are they going to transition? What we've seen happen is they have no idea of who or how they're going to do that. And then it sort of falls apart. So, I have yet to see someone do it.

Professor in the field of Religion

… we argue that the concepts of objectivity have really given us a false sense of security. It’s a postmodernist critique, that objectivity is just hard to attain, especially in human affairs. So, when it comes to world peace and ethics, and just getting along with people, what do we do? I argue that an experience of transcendence is the only way to destroy the ego. A complete religious experience that leaves one humbled, fragile and perhaps even near death is the only way to develop an ethics or a political system for how to run the world. It doesn't matter which religion … as long as it's facilitating this, the shattering of my ego and the opposite of Trump, basically, the opposite of the evangelical support of the Trump empire.

Educator and Administrator

…My Bible college years were great. …there was a richness to it from both an educational point of view and also from a spiritual point of view… In 1996, I became a superintendent in a public educational system. I think that was when my eyes were open more. Up until that point, I considered myself open minded. But in retrospect, I think I was still fairly narrow minded. I thought Pentecostals were right. We had the truth. And everyone else didn't have the same enlightenment.

…One of my assistant superintendents, was a Roman Catholic, another was Anglican, and another was United Church. For four years we worked extremely closely together and formed very strong relationships. So, prior to that, I just thought Catholics were wrong. And the other people just didn't have the link. And the more I reflected through the interactions with these individuals and others, my eyes were opened to the larger church, the church universal outside. And it was probably one of the best things that happened to me and pulled me out of that exclusive Pentecostal circle. It enriched my understanding exponentially.

Professor in a Canadian University

…As a teenager I was told by my pastor I shouldn't go to university because I may lose my faith. My response to him at that point as a 17- or 18-year-old was, if I lose my faith. I didn't have anything worth keeping. But it was discouraging. My dad's always been open to critical thinking. But you know, many the environments I was growing up in, you were taught to not think critically, just accept, and if you had critical thoughts you weren't being faithful,

…Eastern was the first time when I was on my own. I was excited to be far away and I found a group of individuals that embraced critical thinking.

…I remain in touch with these folks. They were people that I could engage with in a shared kind of common history. And so Eastern was instrumental in many ways for me. It put me on a path where I knew I could have relationships that weren't dependent on me being “Godly” in the end and nevertheless could have that common community.

…Seven years later I didn't consider myself a traditional believer, I was a Universalist. I was all sorts of things. I had this very distinct moment where I was sitting in my backyard and thinking, “Oh, I don't believe in salvation.” It's not a concept that's important to me anymore.

… I have redefined the role of faith in my life ... I recognize faith. I understand why people need faith. But I don't have faith in the sense that I put an emphasis or value on certain elements that are not concrete or tangible. Principles, ethical values are a theory but they're not real. They're something we've constructed, they are temporal. That's maybe where I put faith.

…I don't care if God is real, it doesn't make any difference in my day-to-day life, I'm indifferent to it. Because it doesn't have any value or influence in how I live my life. I’m well aware those that argue we wouldn't have morality without religion or faith. And I tell them all the time, morality is a natural evolution of the human species. So, I get to the same conclusions. Maybe I just take a different path.

…The language of faith isn't part of my narrative anymore. It's not a necessary heuristic need to get where I need to go. I can get where I need to go and protect the vulnerable using other frameworks like justice, and equity.

…I love the idea of framing. It's been a big part of my academic career, talking about how we frame problems ... I'm probably being sloppy in my language around faith, because it isn't something that I think about a lot anymore. So, when I say I lost my faith or dropped my faith or left it behind I mean I no longer must use the language of faith, to explain my positions anymore. Faith is no longer the framing.

Administrator in a Christian setting

…I tend to think ministry now is much simpler than I did before. Because it's just about people. And if you care for people, and love God the rest follows. I think there's a reason those are the two great commandments and I know that sounds really cliche, but the older I get, the more so many things just don't matter. Such as the legalistic restrictions that were part of my background. I've always told my kids, the bottom line is, you're going to make choices, you're going to do things whether you're going to like them or not like them. But what is your relationship with Jesus, that's all that matters. The rest is lovely, but it's mostly window dressing. And it's either going to push you away or pull you towards Christ. So much stuff is just foolishness. I don’t have a lot of empathy or interest or even tolerance anymore for church politics.

…I just can't stand narrow mindedness and navel gazing and churches are worse than most institutions for it. I didn't have a great deal of tolerance for it in my life. And I think that was one of the things people liked about me, but I think I was more diplomatic about it back then. And now I feel like I just want to stand up and sometimes say you're an idiot.

Social worker

…The big change in my life happened five and a half years ago when was my son was born and I became a father. For me it has illuminated my understanding of God's love. Until I became a father I did not know what it was like to hold and give love.

…Before my son’s birth I was wrestling with my faith. But with his birth, I increased my understanding of my relationship with God and his love. I want to set that example for him. I'm reading him Bible stories every morning, and every evening. I've never read so much Bible in my life as I do now as a father. Now it's a Children's Bible. It's all paraphrase. But we spend part of the day memorizing Scripture. So, I'm picking up extra verses and on several levels it has enhanced my own walk.

Bible College Professor

…Master's was probably when I thought I knew the most about theology.

…When I started teaching, I felt people wanted the black or white. Now, I tell them I might like this argument more, but we will explore the options. I think people are a little bit more open to diversity of view, though they may have their own perspective and preference. That's kind of what I'm noticing more.

…I really appreciated the professors who were thoughtful and engaging. And that's what kept me coming to Peterborough as a guy born and raised in Toronto. There were moments where I did read non-Christian literature, the Bhagavad Gita, the Quran and different stuff like that. I really had to reckon this with my christian faith. Is Christianity just for white people? Is it genuinely something that I could hold onto as well? So, I had to go through a lot of time in prayer. And I feel God really revealed himself in a powerful way, which kind of strengthened my faith, to be honest.

…several years later while pastoring I think I was going through moments of maintenance ministry, and it was kind of getting a little bit drudgery. So, I went on a 40 day fast, and that was my moment to really ask God, “Okay, God, this has got to be real, I don't want to be in ministry if it's just a nine to five job there has to be something real behind what I'm doing here.” And that was a significant moment of growth for me. God was humbling me and developing the character that I needed for where I am today.

Retired Pastor and now Spiritual Counsellor

…Eschatology as a as a complete package means diddly squat to me. I don't care. I may preach, the imminent soon return of Jesus, as much as anybody, but I don't differentiate between rapture and Parousia. I just say Jesus is coming soon. So eschatology is a 100% non-issue to me. Lately what is important to me is spiritual formation, direction and prayer. However, what I find really amazing is if you want a course on spiritual warfare, you can go to Tyndale and get one. But you can't get one at Masters.

…Right now I am designing a course on prayer. The practice of prayer, spirituality, deliverance, have all become very focused in my life.

…Spiritual Direction has become a hotbed for Pentecostalism. Because spiritual direction has a very strong component of mysticism. Recently I hauled a bunch of pastors into a Roman Catholic Church. I do an annual soul carry event there. I had them all do the Stations of the Cross. And they were all going like “whatever.” But halfway through it they're all battling and bawling in the Catholic Church.

Final Word: Danger, Danger Will Robinson

My sub title for this blog is a dated pop culture reference to my childhood and the TV series “Lost in Space.” Will Robinson was an enigmatic curious teenager who was forever being warned by B-9 the Robinson Robot of incoming danger. In my own journey of post-graduate studies spread out over 16 years between pastoral positions, I was warned on more than one occasion by what I can only assume were well-meaning individuals that I would eventually be lost in space or at least lose my faith. Fortunately my inherent rebellious streak set out to prove them wrong. And here I am today.

While some have reported diminished or no faith in these stories, I suspect it would be more accurate to say they are experiencing a differentiating faith that no longer reflects the typical self-interest brand of faith that many of us encountered in our childhood. I would even argue "no faith" is a kind of faith that for some in their journey is a more authentic faith representing their present circumstances.

And then there is the Bible College. Interesting I think in all the post graduation stories I encountered in this research, of which I have included a sampling, almost everyone has ended up in a helping profession of one kind or another. And they have all been grateful for their time spent at the college.

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[1] While I did not attend that session, It was referenced to me a few years later while speaking with the General Superintendent James McKnight regarding my own PH.D. work at the time on the question of “Authority in Pentecostalism.” I should add revival meetings with James McKnight in St. John’s Nfld in the early 70s were instrumental in my applying for Bible College in 1975. But on this occasion in 1991, McKnight expressed reluctance and kindly attempted to dissuade me from pursuing my thesis given the negative feedback he received from Dr. Verge’s work a few years earlier. Sadly our respective works only reflected opinions that already existed. [2] Ironically two years later EPBC became fully “accredited with ABHE (The Association for Biblical Higher Education, formerly The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges) in awarding a 4 year BTH program. [3] In my own Ph.D. dissertation (1995) I asked clergy, “Is a Pastor's scholastic achievement and experience substantively less important than his/her spiritual call? In all, 27% Strongly Agreed, 44% Agreed, 5% were Undecided, 15 % Disagreed and 9 % Strongly Disagreed. [4] In his time, J.E. Purdie (The first "Principle" in a PAOC Biblerepresented a generally held conservative approach to theological education that there exists a formal constative base of knowledge to learn. The idea that the college was an institution to encourage its students to think, learn and live Christianly was really not yet on the horizon. Pentecostal Testimony (October 15, 1948). [5] As faculty a failed attempt was made to rebuff many of these simplistic observations, but even though most of the faculty had pastoral experience along with their advanced education, the moment they left their pastoral position they were considered “out of touch” by those who were in power. [6] Alvin Shindel, “the Role of Bible Colleges in our Pentecostal Fellowship.” Pentecostal Testimony (July 1964).