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An Open Letter to Presidents of Assembly of God Colleges and Universities

27 February 2008
Greetings in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, As the former “money man” for one of our esteemed and beloved Assemblies of God schools, I observed an alarming pattern with most of our schools. Specifically, you presidents and your boards of administration were all too willing to borrow money to advance the physical appearance and facilities at your respective schools. This concerned me then and still does now for several reasons.

First, borrowing is unscriptural. Romans 13:8 says, “Owe no man anything.” The reason this is so important was foreshadowed in Proverbs 22:7, “The borrower is servant to the lender.” Deuteronomy 28 is divided into two halves: the first half tells how God will bless the Israelites if they obey Him and the second half tells how God will curse them if they disobey. Deuteronomy 28:12 says that a sign of God’s blessing—due to obedience to His commands--is to be a lender and not a borrower, “The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.” In the second half of Chapter 28, in verse 44, God lists one of the many curses for disobedience, “He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.” How much clearer do these verses need to be for us to operate our A/G schools His way?

Second, Proverbs 22:7 rings true since an A/G school in debt results in the BOA being servant to the student. I noticed in my own former school that enormous compromises were made towards the godless culture of today because we “didn’t want to offend one of our bill payers.” Tattoos, skin stretchings, piercings, immodest clothing: all these things became acceptable because the school owed money and had to have numbers to pay our debts. I saw the student handbook at Evangel change before my eyes as my sons attended the school there. Things once taboo (due to Scriptural influences) were now listed as okay in the student handbook. Why? Because Evangel had to have student numbers to pay their debts for all the wonderful new buildings on campus. All the rest of you presidents shouldn’t get up on your high horse in condemnation of the Springfield A/G schools. A certain school in Florida was proud owner of the highest debt of all our schools. Over $30 million owed to the bank for their brand new buildings! And our A/G leadership just glowed at the wonderful campus. Not one concern passed their lips about the compromising situation in which this campus president had placed his former Bible college.

Third, Proverbs 22:7 rings true again since debt results in school being servant to accreditation institutions. Basically, in order to attract parents (who are the greatest influence on where their children attend college), our presidents have borrowed money to pass accreditation tests for facility conditions, borrowed money for better classroom equipment and infrastructure, borrowed money for better campus safety and security measures and borrowed money for better sports facilities and equipment. All these things play into an accreditation rating. Studies say that parents value an accredited school over one that is not. What if the accrediting agency requires that your science professors teach the Theory of Evolution? What if the accrediting agency says that your Bible professors must teach a value-neutral world religions class? What if accreditation requires that your philosophy professors teach Marx and Machiavelli and Plato and Aristotle as having ideas equal to those of Jesus Christ? What if accreditation requires that our schools hire professors with high credentials (e.g., PhDs) rather than godly credentials (e.g., believing that the entire Bible is infallible, inspired and our authoritative rule for everything [history, science, faith and conduct—not just faith and conduct]). The accredited, secular school from which I graduated required all of those things. If this is the case, then you A/G college presidents are raising up generations of unbelieving, agnostic (formerly Pentecostal and Bible-believing) graduates. Seems to me that you are no longer providing an Assemblies of God, Christian education. If that be true, then why do we even bother to have an A/G college or university?

Fourth, in practicality, when an A/G school borrows money, it shows that the BOA trusts in the bank rather than God. Just like the little boy who thinks he should be allowed to drive a car when he is four years old; but, his father knows better. The dad knows the four year old needs to wait. Physical children don’t like to wait for things they want. Apparently, neither do God’s children. The Bible is replete with commands to wait on God. The New Testament version of Pentecost itself was waited upon as commanded by Jesus! The Bible tells of the marvelous miracles God was able to perform when His children did wait. In our old A/G hymns and preaching, we always talked about the importance of waiting on God. We must not care about obeying that command anymore either. We don’t need any miracles, we have our bank! How do you expect your students to believe in a supernatural God when you demonstrate every day that you do not?

In summary dear presidents of A/G schools, your willingness to borrow money (in violation of God’s commands) results in you and your schools being a big, fat lie. Our schools were all started and are still advertised as a great way for an A/G kid to get a Pentecostal, Christian education. With all the compromises you have made to pay your debts, your school is nothing of the sort. Your science professors cast doubt (at best!) on the Book of Genesis. And how can we say we believe in the supernatural God of Pentecost when we don’t even believe He was supernatural enough to create the Universe in six literal days OR that He was supernatural enough to know how to properly inspire and protect the wording in His own Book? Your philosophy professors cast doubt on the claims of Jesus Christ. You’re not offering a Christian education any longer. You are offering a godless college education with a Christian label. Result: Non-believing professors and even worse, class after class of non-believing students. How are we going to win the world for Jesus Christ when they see that we don’t even believe our own Book?

And where have you been Dr. George Wood and the BOA of A/G headquarters? Where have you been Executive Presbyters like Dan Betzer? Where has your leadership been in this area? I’ll tell you where: glaringly absent! When I was the “CFO” for one of the Springfield schools, you were famous at all the Springfield A/G schools for donating not one red cent to any of them. Pardon me—there was an exception. You constantly propped up the Scripturally and financially deficient Seminary. Oh yes, and then there was the million dollar loan or grant to CBC. Was that to endow the school or improve infrastructure? No, it was to balance the books because you had looked the other way when CBC’s financial management wasn’t at its best. With your exceptionally rich coffers, you could have donated millions each year to each school and help them stay out of debt. You could have provided hundreds of scholarships to deserving students. Did you? No! Many say you were too busy loaning money to make money for your precious A/G Financial giant. Filthy lucre all of it.

A/G college presidents: Repent and return to your roots in Pentecostal revival and the Bible as the foundation for all education. As II Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” And I think it was Noah Webster who agreed with God’s Word by saying, “Education without the Bible is useless.”

Dr. Wood and the Executive Presbytery: put your money where your mouth is! Start endowing our Springfield A/G institutions of higher education (the regional schools are supposed to have multiple district support; let them do the same thing!). Put an end to the compromises that have converted nearly all of them to secular schools. Dayton Kingswriter: are you still the higher education coordinator for the A/G? Get your bosses to endorse a mandatory interview question for all presidents, board members, professors and staff at A/G colleges and universities: “Do you believe that the Bible is God’s infallible, inerrant, inspired Word from Genesis One to Revelations 22?” If they answer yes, then they have passed the first step towards being hired or retained. If they answer “No,” then they’re history. Further, their conduct on campus regarding this question must be the primary issue for retention or termination of employment at an A/G school. In other words, even if they answered “yes” initially; but, are found later to be teaching, speaking or living contrary to this belief, then they will be fired immediately.

Let God Be True and Every Man a Liar,

Brother Mike

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