Category: Education

Evaluating My Relationship Portfolio

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Education, Ministry

–April of 2003

Evaluating My Relationship Portfolio

People who work closely with the stock market have been carefully evaluating their investments over the last few years.  They want a balanced portfolio that will yield both short-term and long-terms gains.    I have been evaluating my investments as well.  Not those in the stock market, but those I make in peoples lives. I want to make sure I’m investing in those relationships that matter most.  (For those who are following, this is my third New Year’s Resolution.)

Life makes tremendous demands on our time and energy.  If we aren’t extremely careful, we will invest a significant amount of time in things that mean the least to us and have the smallest impact for long-term good.  At age 46, I’m realizing how quickly time is slipping away and how few years I have left to invest the talents God has given me. That forces me to be more discriminating in how I invest my time and in whom I invest it.

First of all I want to invest my time and energy in those people who want the investment I can make in them.  People who are passionate about improvement, have a teachable spirit, and have allowed me to develop the kind of relationship with them that makes it possible for me to be a blessing.  To those that are older, I want to be a source of consolation in loneliness, strength in weakness and encouragement in the dark moments of life.   To those that are younger, I want to be what Paul was to Timothy and Barnabas was to John Mark.  To those that are my peers, I want to be a “friend that sticketh closer than a brother”.

I also want to invest in my larger family.  I want to be a good son, son-in-law, brother and uncle. I want to make a serious contribution to the well being of each member of my family.  It’s so easy to take them for granted or just make them a part of holidays and funerals.  I want to give a listening ear, a word of encouragement, a warm embrace and any other means of support available to me to give.  This will take time, but it is time I want to give!

A large part of the stewardship of my time will be given to my sons.  I’m their father, and I refuse to neglect that role.  They will have my time, my heart, my prayers, my counsel, my support, and my ear.  I will proof term papers, talk sports, or sit on the edge of the bed and talk half the night if it builds bridges and makes them better.  I’ll teach, preach and nag (if necessary) until certain values and traits are theirs.  I’ll see to it that they educate their minds, discipline their bodies, value hard work, love their country, respect their elders, act with manners, and treat their mother like a queen (or face the consequences).  This will require and has required a huge amount of time, but I’m going to give it to them.  They’re mine, they deserve my best, and I will not let them down.

A special portion of my time will go to my wife.   Ruth and I have shared so much life in the past 24 years of marriage.  We’ve experienced an abundance of love and happiness.  Together we’ve poured an unbelievable amount of time into the lives of our children and plan to continue doing so until God calls us home.   Together we have pastored, promoted, and presided over various aspects of God’s work.  We have shared sorrow, stress, and misunderstandings.  We haven’t always agreed, but we’ve always been committed to loving and going on.  Ruth has allowed me to invest a huge amount of time in others without complaint.  Yet, I want to invest more of myself in her– more quality time.  I want to invest in our marriage, so we are planning to attend a marriage seminar.  I want her life to be filled with more bright spots, so I’m going to invest in more special moments.  I want a greater degree of “soul connection,” so I’m going to invest in more time to listen and pray with her. Our relationship matters and I want my commitment to it to reflect its importance.

Sooner than I realize, I will answer to God for my stewardship.  When I report on my investment in people, I want to hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Staying True for a Century

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Education

–Winter of 2000

Staying True for a Century

In 1899 General William Booth of the Salvation Army made the following prediction about the Twentieth Century: “I’m of the opinion that the dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”

I don’t believe anyone who has kept abreast of mainstream Protestantism in America would argue with the accuracy of General Booth’s prophecy.  The truth is that many Protestant denominations have drifted much further into apostasy than even General Booth predicted.

But it is also true that there are churches, organizations, institutions and individuals who have held true to vital Christianity and the fundamentals of the faith.  It would be a profitable study to trace the road to apostasy and ruin that so many have taken.  However, I believe it to be an even more profitable study to trace the steps of those who have remained true over the years.

God’s Bible School and College is celebrating 100 years of service to the holiness movement this year.  For 100 years this school has remained true to its original mission, purpose and doctrinal statement.  That is, indeed, a great accomplishment!  The question I’ve asked myself so many times is how and why did this institution stay the course for 100 years?  As I’ve given it some thought, I believe there are five basic reasons why GBS has remained true to its God-given assignment over this last century.

God has retained ownership

When Martin Wells Knapp purchased the original property, he had the deed made out to “God the Father.”  The early camp advertisements listed the workers as “God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.”  Some of the earliest school brochures listed the superintendent of the school as “God the Father.”  The earliest mission statement read, “This is a home for God’s children where they may come and find His will and then equip for His service.”  This language was not the mere spiritual prattle of a group of religious fools touting their piety.  They meant every word of it!  From the earliest days to this very day, there has been on this campus a keen sense of God’s ownership of this institution.

I well remember early in my presidency how God taught me a lesson that that was His school.  I found out from the business office on Wednesday that the following Monday we would have to have around $88,000 by 5:00 p.m.  The daily cash sheet showed that we had around $2,000 in the bank.  We were in the heart of the summer slump, and I had no idea what to do.  When the men left my office, I walked out from behind my desk, got down on my knees before God with the intention of praying and fasting through the noon hour.  No sooner had my knee touched the rug than God spoke, saying, “Stand still and see My salvation.  Get up from here, go home, wash your face and lighten your countenance.  I’m going to meet this need and show you this is My school.”  God did exactly that.  Before Monday at 5:00 p.m. every penny of that money was in our hands.  I couldn’t tell you the times that I’ve received a note from a faithful constituent telling me that God spoke to them about giving a particular amount to the school and it would be just exactly what we needed to meet a need.

There are events in our history that were not God-ordained or God-honored.  The foolishness of men brought the school down to the very brink of closure.  As a matter of fact, the courts had already appointed an officer to liquidate the assets and close the doors.  But God had other plans and He gave saintly Sister Peabody the promise of Joshua 1:3 while in prayer.  She left her room and started walking the campus, reclaiming it for God.  The rest is history.  During those dark days God kept doing His work on campus, turning out students like Jewel Stetler, Grover Blankenship, Arthur Travis, Earl Weddle, Wingrove Taylor, Paul Lucas and Arnie Sypolt, along with some of the largest classes in the school’s history.

Those who have been involved in the life of this institution over the past 100 years would agree that there has been an unusual sense of God’s ownership and presence on this campus.

GBS has been able to maintain a balance between an emphasis upon spiritual life and academic excellence

There is probably no other school comparable in size that has turned out more preachers and missionaries who are clearly marked by an emphasis upon prayer, faith and the leadership of the Holy Spirit than GBS.  In interview after interview, GBS students will tell you about miraculous answers to prayer while here on this campus and in the years that followed through their ministry.  They will talk to you about an emphasis upon faith that they learned here as a student.  They will share stories of the leadership of the Holy Spirit that brought them here, that kept them here and sent them forth.  They reflect upon their student days as a time when they were instructed as well as mentored in what a real vital prayer life should be, how to discern the voice of the Spirit and how to have faith for the smallest necessities of life.  Our students are interested in homiletics, but they are also challenged and shown what it means to wrap their heart around a text of Scripture and let it burn until the congregation knows their heart is on fire.  They are trained to take certain tools and exegete a particular passage, but they also must know what it means to get into the Word of God until they meet the Living Word.  They know the value of training their voice so as to sing in an acceptable manner, but they also know the value of preparing their heart until when they sing, they do so with the anointing of the Lord.

GBS has always had a staff and faculty that saw the advancement of God’s cause more important than their own material gain

In the early days of the school, no one received a salary.  And since the days that salaries began, no one has ever been remunerated their real worth.  Faculty and staff who have gathered here on this Hilltop have had one unifying conviction, namely, God called them here and God would provide for their needs.  When I look back over 100 years and see all the thousands of students that have been trained by such a sacrificial faculty, I recall the words of Winston Churchill when he said, “Never in the course of history has so much been owed by so many to so few.”  Those words are so true when you think of the faculty and staff who have labored here for so little.  They gave themselves to something that was bigger than their own personal needs and God has used their commitment to keep this institution on course.  Probably there is no greater reason for the continuation of this school than its godly faculty and staff.

GBS has been able to preserve its core identity

The leadership of this institution has had the ability to understand who we are and why we exist.  The school has been able to change without changing.  GBS is a Bible college in the holiness tradition and has been for 100 years.  Many things have changed on this Hilltop—facilities, programs and methods of operation—but our core identity and values are the same as they were 100 years ago.

I believe there are three reasons we’ve been able to maintain our core identity: The first is, at the heart of every degree is a solid Bible core.  That has not changed and will not change.  Second, GBS has always been strong in its emphasis on solid Wesleyan theology, particularly from a systematic approach.  A systematic theology class here is not a class that tosses out a number of ideas about God and allows students to choose the theory they prefer.  Nor is it a class to guide them into what they want to think about God.  It is a class on what they should think about God.  It has been the philosophy of the theology teachers here over the years, particularly Dr. Wilcox, that there is a body of truth that needed to be imparted to young preachers and theologians, and it was the job of the teacher to impart that body of truth.  Some have called it mastering the minimum.  Consequently, GBS graduates have left here with an outstanding grasp of what Wesleyan theology is all about.  Some have ridiculed that approach and said GBS just turned out cookie-cutter preachers who didn’t know how to think for themselves.  To the contrary, I accept that ridicule as a compliment.  GBS has consistently turned out more holiness preachers than any other school, hands down.  Another interesting fact that has been the result of this emphasis is that GBS has had an unbelievably low attrition rate into denominations of other theological persuasions.  GBS has sent pastors into all sorts of denominations within the Methodist and Wesleyan tradition, but hardly any have filtered into non-Wesleyan denominations.  When a student left GBS, they left an adherent of holiness doctrine.  The final reason is that GBS has always had a faculty and staff that role modeled and mentored the students in holiness ethics, values and lifestyle issues.

GBS has been able to remain focused because it has consistently promoted personal evangelism as the very heart of the Christian life

No one has ever remained a student at this school for four years without being confronted with the claims and the cause of personal evangelism.  The unique location of GBS in Cincinnati and at the heart of the holiness movement has kept it at the forefront of outreach in many areas.  Those students in the early days well remember the street meetings, the home visitation teams, marching down the street with placards and meeting in Cincinnati Gardens for mass evangelistic campaigns.  They remember loading up a large truck and going out for personal work, the old Salvation Boat, Thanksgiving dinners, and the G.I.’s of the Cross.  More recent students remember the inner city missions, the traveling quartets and gospel teams, street meetings, Good News Clubs, personal witnessing teams, jail ministry teams and home Bible studies.  President Standley is probably the one most responsible for breathing a passion for personal evangelism into the very fabric of GBS.  That passion lives on!  If you visited our campus this week you would still witness students going out in any of a half dozen ministries, sharing the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

I don’t have the prophetic ability or the clear eye of a General Booth to tell you what the Twenty-First Century holds.  But I do know this, by the grace of God, I want to stay focused on what really matters so that when the Twenty-Second Century rolls around, whoever is writing on the President’s Page can look back and say that GBS is still true to the faith after 200 years.

The Great Omission

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Education, Theology

–April of 1999

The Great Omission

For the last half of this century, the churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian.  Contemporary American churches, in particular, do not require following Christ in His example, spirit, and teachings as conditions for membership in the local body.  Discipleship has clearly become optional.

This is not the New Testament way.  The word “disciple” occurs 269 times in the New Testament.  The New Testament itself is a book about disciples, by disciples, and for disciples of Jesus Christ.  The kind of life we see lived out in the earliest glimpses of the church is that special life that has all of the markings of a dedicated follower of Jesus.  All of the assurances and promises afforded to mankind through the gospel message presupposes such a life and makes no sense apart from it.

The first command that Jesus left for the early church was to use the power of the Holy Spirit within and the authority of His Name to make disciples.  Having made these disciples, they were to “baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”  This was Christ’s plan for the growth of the church.  Today, however, we have jettisoned the disciplines of discipleship and rushed wobbly-legged believers into membership.  Many of these “converts” aren’t even converted.  Thus we have filled the church with people who haven’t a clue as to what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and live out the life that He requires.

What it meant to be a disciple back then on the dusty roads of rural Palestine is essentially the same in today’s world of advanced theology.  It still means to follow Jesus in an attitude of study, obedience and imitation.  Disciples always seek above all else to be like Him.  They are so intent on becoming Christlike that they prioritize their life around His Word and the affairs of His kingdom.  They love their enemies, bless those who curse them, and in general seek to live out Christ to the world around them.

Dietrich Bonheoffer wrote the book, The Cost of Discipleship.  It was a powerful essay against cheap grace.  In it he writes, “One cannot be a disciple of Christ without forfeiting things normally sought in human life, and that the one who pays little in this world’s coinage to bear His name has reason to wonder where he or she stands with God.”

Fortunately, not every church has abandoned our Lord’s commission.  The narrow road to Heaven is still trod by a faithful band of men and women wearing a cross-shaped yoke, who know the joy of being His disciples and following in His steps.

Clear Beliefs

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Culture, Education, Theology

–September of 1998

Clear Beliefs

One political analyst characterized former President George Bush as “a good man who just couldn’t decide what he believed.” This inability to articulate strongly a set of beliefs enabled the media to paint him as a “wimp” and ultimately took him down to political defeat. It is too bad that the church didn’t learn a valuable lesson from this former president. No one wants to listen to the windy babble of a man who isn’t sure what he believes, while on the other hand people are strongly attracted to the man who can state his opinions and beliefs in clear logical terms. Unfortunately the church is often plagued by leaders who pride themselves on their ability “to almost say something.” Too many leaders seek to cultivate an ambassadorial style of communication that never ruffles anyone’s feathers. Traditionally, the holiness preacher was a man who stood for and stood against some things. You didn’t see him “bellying up” to the bar of consensus and compromise to drink his fill. Convictions were not set aside for the sake of convenience. There were places he refused to go and things he refused to do. He was known and admired for his stand on the issues. Nowadays, however, it has become almost in vogue to consent to a host of general rules and biblical principles with our mouth, only to ignore them with our lives. This duplicity is not only accepted but defended as a way to operate and keep peace.

In fairness to the pulpit, it must also be said that this is a serious problem in the home as well. Parents seem to lack the courage and commitment to communicate forcefully, yet lovingly, to their own children a belief system that will not be compromised under any circumstance.

I’m not suggesting that holiness people need simply to adopt “tough” agendas so as to appear spiritual. That direction is as deceitful as it is deadly. I am saying, however, that if we truly have a belief system grounded in the Word of God it will affect the way we live and lead. Biblical principles form convictions in our lives, and those convictions will become the moral fiber of what we are. What we are and what we believe will ultimately guide and gauge all of our actions. If it doesn’t, then something is critically wrong with our Christian experience. I believe we will have to take stands on issues where the Bible draws a line. The Bible gives us moral laws, standards for ethical behavior, as well as numerous directing principles to guide our daily lives. We cannot give intellectual assent to them and move on with our lives. True holiness demands that we allow the Word of God to impact the totality of our living.

When a culture or civilization goes as far astray as ours, it becomes easy to overlook some things as “not very significant” under the circumstances. However, those insignificant issues can be, and at times are, a first line of defense and, once lost, give way to an onslaught of all other sorts of evil. Attorney David Gibbs observed that… “any church body or denomination always makes changes in lifestyle issues prior to making changes in its theological tenets.” In other words, if we change the way we live, we will necessarily change what we believe. This is a treacherous path to trod. Instead of allowing the ancient faith to stand in judgment on us, we turn and judge the ancient faith. I believe we need to take a firm stand on the desecration of the Lord’s Day, on sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, and abortion, on social sins like using drugs, drinking alcohol, smoking and gambling. We need to warn against immodesty and worldly attire. We need to sound the alarm against the immoral values that are being piped into our homes through the arts and entertainment world. We need to speak up and courageously proclaim that Christians don’t lie, cheat, steal and defraud their neighbor. This is not a time to soft-soap our words. It is not a quiet day in Zion we need, but rather it is an earthquake followed by a thunderstorm from men who will boldly and courageously proclaim “thus saith the Lord.”

I mean to imply that everybody is capitulating. Some time ago Presbyterian leader Dr. D. James Kennedy, thundered to his large congregation, “Some of you are going to leave here and violate the Lord’s Day by eating out in a restaurant.” Jim Cymbala of Brooklyn Tabernacle fame, advises live-in couples to separate and stay that way until they get married if they really want to follow the Lord and be genuine Christians. If these men will be courageous, shouldn’t we as holiness people be clearly voicing and insisting upon a high standard of moral and biblical behavior for our people?

My heart was refreshed when I heard the story of a young man who is enrolling in our college this fall. He was the manager of a large merchandising store in the Southeast. His position commanded a large five digit salary. However, after his conversion he refused to work on Sunday and accepted the consequences of being fired from the position. I also recently learned of an elderly lady in a distant state who lived most of her declining years in near poverty conditions. After her death they found a stack of checks from the state which were to help subsidize her income and make her living more comfortable. However, those checks had not been cashed because that money came from the state lottery, and she felt that the state lottery was wrong. Here is a woman who would rather live in poverty than spend one dime of money that came from the lottery.

How can we, in good conscience, call men and women to revival when we refuse to insist upon reform in both the pulpit and the pew? I believe the biblical portrait for revival always includes and demands both repentance and reform prior to any outpouring of God’s Spirit.

What a man believes is important. You will ultimately live out what you truly believe. As men and women of God within the holiness tradition, we need to start living out what we say we believe.

The Bible College Movement Facing The Future

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Education

–April of 1997

The Bible College Movement Facing The Future

 

In this interview, the Rev. Leonard Sankey and GBS President Michael Avery discuss the philosophy and vision of the Bible college movement and of God’s Bible School and College specifically.  Mr. Sankey, veteran holiness leader, conference speaker and pastor, is also chairman of the GBS Board of Trustees.

 

President Avery, what brought about the birth of the Bible college movement, and how does GBS fit into that historical event?

 The Bible college movement was a child born of necessity in the late 19th century.  The atheistic views of Darwin and the influx of higher criticism and liberal theology had brought about devastating results in the divinity schools and departments of religion in our major colleges and universities.  The mainline denominations were of no help in rectifying this course, as most had also pursued a very secularistic path and had heartily embraced a social gospel that emphasized a better cultural environment rather than focusing on the salvation of the soul.  It was in this environment that men like D.L. Moody and A.B. Simpson sounded the alarm and called for the establishment of Bible-training institutes to raise up a generation of young men and young women who believed in the ultimate authority of the Word of God and who would give their lives to advance God’s cause both at home and around the world.

GBS was a part of this movement.  Now the eighth oldest Bible college in America, it was the thirteenth of its kind to be formed.  Knapp founded the school for basically the same reasons that Moody and Simpson founded theirs.  He was concerned about the apostasy in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the lack of emphasis on the doctrine of entire sanctification, and the general apathy towards the evangelization of the lost, both at home and around the world.

It has been said by some that the Bible college movement came into existence at the beginning of the 20th century and will go out at the beginning of the 21st.  How do you respond to that statement?

 The Bible college movement has had a steady growth since its first school was started in 1882.  It has survived longer than its critics thought possible and endured for more decades than many of its early premillenialist leaders hoped would have been necessary.  Today, 115 years later, there are over 400 Bible colleges in America, each endeavoring to do its part in shaping the cultural landscape with the principles and convictions of God’s Word.  So you can see that sheer numbers tell us that they’re not going to pass away quickly.  Moreover, I’m convinced that the Bible college has more reason now than ever to remain active.  The movement was born in an evangelistic passion to save the world and usher in the Kingdom of God.  Today that must still be one of the forces that propels this movement.  However, there are many other significant reasons for the existence of the Bible college.  Let me give you at least three of those.

First, the church needs the Bible college to articulate and model a discipleship – what it really means to have “the mind of Christ.”  Research by George Barna and Associates reveal that 62 percent of “born again” Christians have concluded that “there is no such thing as absolute truth.”  The Bible college, then, must exalt the authority of an inerrant Scripture.  It must lead the way in declaring that the Bible is God’s standard for absolute truth, and it is the norm for daily Christian living.

Second, the church needs the Bible college to stimulate the church out of stagnancy, lethargy, and complacency.  It must assist the church in addressing old issues with new strategies and new issues with imagination commitment to Biblical ways of thinking and acting.

Third, the Bible college offers us the most logical place to re-flame a generation of young people who will be willing to commit themselves to a life of full-time Christian service.  At the Bible college, they will come to the understanding that seeking the lost and sharing the message of full salvation is the greatest vocation to which a person can give himself.

What do you see as one of the greatest problems in recruiting new students for the Bible college, President Avery?

 It would be difficult to single out one specific hindrance, but let me share with you some of the hindrances all Bible colleges are facing as we recruit prospective students.

The first is very painful, but I believe very pertinent to the problem the Bible colleges are facing.  It was summed up by Howard Hendricks, President of Taylor University, when he said, “Today’s parents’ desire for their children’s upward mobility serves as one of the greatest hindrances to young people committing themselves to full-time Christian ministry.”  Growing out of this hindrance is the mindset in today’s church world that the best and brightest of our young minds ought to be doctors, lawyers, and accountants; and that those who can’t rank in these professions should perhaps consider Bible college.  Brother Sankey, I want the next generation of Christian leaders to be more than mediocre!  We need them to be the very best, and that will require the very best of our youth.  God has always demanded and still demands the best of the flock, the best of the fruit, and the best of our gifts.  We must give Him the very best of our youth!

Another hindrance is the anti-intellectualism that is still alive in the church.  There are those who feel that the Bible college shouldn’t stress scholarship and academic excellence – that mastering original languages and theology is not important and somehow detracts from real spirituality.  But scholarship and spirituality are friends, not foes.  Erasmus, the paramount scholar of the Renaissance, was often asked, “How does scholarship enhance your faith?”  To this he replied, “How does ignorance improve yours?”  I’m not saying that it takes an intellectual giant to be an effective minister, nor am I saying that only the brightest should be allowed to work in God’s Kingdom.  I am saying that we do our churches, our mission fields, and our Christian schools great harm when we offer them young men and women who cannot “rightly divide the Word of truth,” nor give each man “a reason for the hope” that is within them.

What is one of your fears for the Bible college movement as it faces a new millennium?

 My greatest fear is that Bible colleges will do anything to keep their enrollment up.  I predict all sorts of schemes and marketing strategies to attract students.  So many students now are remaining at home and going to local community colleges that the Bible college has made the community college its chief competitor.  Bible colleges are trying to adjust their programs to be more compatible with the community college by offering a variety of two-year degrees that would lure potential students.  The danger here is the message we are communicating to these kids.  We are saying, “Come to our Bible college; we are just another version of the community college.”  Brother Sankey, that is not true!  We are not another version of the community college.  We are a Bible college!  To try to lure a student, who has no compassion for, and is not compatible with, the mission and intent of our school, is simply to fill our schools with students who have no interest in our main purpose.

Don’t misunderstand me.  I want every student that I can get, whether he/she has a specific call to Christian ministry or not.  I want to expose that student to the influence of godly teachers and of faithful preaching in chapel services.  It may be that God will use that time to change that student’s life and call him into His service.  Furthermore, we will also offer a variety of two-year degrees tailor-made for that student.  However, at the core of those degrees will be the Bible.  We are a Bible college.  If we ever say anything different, we are straying from our original mission statement and purpose.  God’s Bible School was born for the purpose of training young men and young women for full-time Christian ministry and for the purpose of training those who did not feel a call into full-time Christian ministry but who wanted a Bible training so they could be effective laypeople in their local church and effective witnesses in their future vocation and profession.  That is what we are committed to continue doing so as long as Jesus tarries.

President Avery, my last question focuses on the future.  What do you see as the greatest challenge to GBS and the Bible college movement as it faces the future?

 Here again, Brother Sankey, that is a multi-faceted question that deserves more than a simple answer.  But maybe I could answer it this way.  The greatest challenge we face in the coming days is reaching the student who needs what we have, offering that student nothing less than the best and finding the resources to pay for it.

Recent statistics from the College Board indicate that only 20 percent of students who are now in college are living on campus in a residence hall.  So the traditional way of the student coming to a Bible college campus is clearly changing.  We are now facing the challenge of taking classes and lectures to external sites for various student populations across the country.  This will involve the possibility of external lectures in various places where students of all ages will come together.  It may involve satellite classes or offering external classes by video.  We get requests on a weekly basis from holiness people scattered literally around the world who want to finish a degree or to get some extra help in a particular area where they are weak.  We are looking into this right now and hope to have something in place by this fall.

The other part of that challenge is to make sure that what we give them is the very best we can give.  I have determined that our mission as a Bible college requires nothing less than academic, professional and spiritual excellence.  Striving for excellence is both painful and expensive.  We disgrace the cause of the Christ by advocating anything less than the best.  However, excellence is expensive!  As Bruce Lockerbie said, “There is no such thing as affordable excellence or excellence-on-the-cheap.”  But the cost of excellence is nowhere near the cost of mediocrity and inferiority.  I’ve committed myself to this institution and to God to offer this present generation and the coming generation of students the very best in training that we can give them.  We must offer them the best campus atmosphere for spiritual growth and character development that we can possibly give them.  We will keep our chapel pulpit hot with the kind of preaching that will enlarge their soul, warm their hearts, and keep them on the stretch for God.  Our faculty must be the best-prepared that they can possibly be to equip our students with all of the tools that will be necessary to “rightly divide the Word of truth” and carry the gospel to our present culture.  God deserves our best; and in clear conscience I cannot give Him less!

Again, excellence isn’t cheap.  It is very costly.  However, just as we have set a standard for excellence in training, we have also set a standard for excellence in managing our financial resources.  We are committed to being the most efficient stewards of the funds entrusted to us.  I consider every donation to be “blood money” for which we are accountable to God.  If we commit to excellence in both areas, God’s people will supply the needs for GBS both today and tomorrow.