#BJU Staff Member

[wutbju]

Carolyn Butts Forbes (82), Greenville, SC, went to be with the Lord on February 7, 2024. She was born in Wilson, NC on February 16, 1941. She was a 1959 graduate of Ralph L. Fike High School and attended Atlantic Christian (Barton) College in Wilson, NC and Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. Her career was comprised of administration in higher education for several universities, retiring as the Executive Assistant to the CFO of Bob Jones University in 2012.

She demonstrated her faith in a life of service to others and was a loyal friend to so many. She was the friend who would drive you to appointments, help you run errands, hand write you a card, call to chat or just visit you, if you needed company. In her retirement years, she became an active member of Senior Action �� joyfully participating in exercise classes and the A Stich in Time crocheting group, where she created hats and blankets for preemies. She was especially thankful for Heritage Bible Church, their ministry and her Shepherding Group.

She is survived by a daughter, Catherine Forbes (Pitsch Karrer) of Chatham Center, New York; a son, Col (ret) Christopher Forbes (Amy) of Columbus, GA; a daughter, Liz Forbes York of Greer, SC; and four grandchildren Tori Ruff (Nathan), Jessica Theodorski, Jack Forbes and Charles Forbes. The family member that brought the biggest smile to her face was the dog, Sunday. She was preceded in death by her parents, Frank L. and Mamye C. Butts of Wilson, NC.

A memorial service will be held at Heritage Bible Church 2005 Old Spartanburg Rd, Greer, SC on Saturday, February 10, 2024 at 2:00 pm. Visitation will follow the service.

[aliceviceroy]

Rachael Denhollander’s college-aged abuser began grooming her when she was 7. Each week, as Denhollander left Sunday school at Westwood Baptist Church in Kalamazoo, Mich., he was there to walk her to her parents’ Bible-study classroom on the other side of the building. He brought Denhollander gifts and asked her parents for her clothing size so he could buy her dresses. He was always a little too eager with a hug. The Denhollanders led one of the church’s ministries out of their home, which meant the man would visit their house regularly, often encouraging Rachael to sit on his lap, they recalled.

The man’s behavior caught the attention of a fellow congregant, who informed Sandy Burdick, a licensed counselor who led the church’s sexual-abuse support group. Burdick says she warned Denhollander’s parents that the man was showing classic signs of grooming behavior. They were worried, but they also feared misreading the situation and falsely accusing an innocent student, according to Camille Moxon, Denhollander’s mom. So they turned to their closest friends, their Bible-study group, for support.

The overwhelming response was: You’re overreacting. One family even told them that their kids could no longer play together, because they didn’t want to be accused next, Moxon says. Hearing this, Denhollander’s parents decided that, unless the college student committed an aggressive, sexual act, there was nothing they could do.

No one knew that, months earlier, he already had.

One night, while sitting in the family’s living room, surrounded by people, the college student masturbated while Denhollander sat on his lap, she recalls. It wasn’t until two years later that she was able to articulate to her parents what had happened. By that point, the student had left the church. Moxon was furious that her church community hadn’t listened. But she never told anyone what had happened to Rachael. “We had already tried once and weren’t believed,” Moxon says. “What was the point?”

Today, Denhollander can see how her church, which has since shut down, failed to protect her. But as a child, all she knew from her parents was that her abuse had made their church mad and that she wasn’t able to play with some of her friends. She blamed herself — and resolved that, if anyone else ever abused her, she wouldn’t mention it.

And so when Larry Nassar used his prestige as a doctor for the USA Gymnastics program to sexually assault Denhollander, she held to her vow. She wouldn’t put her family through something like that again. Her church had made it clear: No one believes victims.

Across the United States, evangelical churches are failing to protect victims of sexual abuse among their members. As the #MeToo movement has swept into communities of faith, several high-profile leaders have fallen: Paige Patterson, the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, was forced into early retirement this month after reports that he’d told a rape victim to forgive her assailant rather than call the police. Illinois megachurch pastor Bill Hybels similarly retired early after several women said he’d dispensed lewd comments, unwanted kisses and invitations to hotel rooms.

So many Christian churches in the United States do so much good — nourishing the soul, comforting the sick, providing services, counseling congregants, teaching Jesus’s example, and even working to fight sexual abuse and harassment. But like in any community of faith, there is also sin — often silenced, ignored and denied — and it is much more common than many want to believe. It has often led to failures by evangelicals to report sexual abuse, respond appropriately to victims and change the institutional cultures that enabled the abuse in the first place.

Without a centralized theological body, evangelical policies and cultures vary radically, and while some church leaders have worked to prevent abuse and harassment, many have not. The causes are manifold: authoritarian leadership, twisted theology, institutional protection, obliviousness about the problem and, perhaps most shocking, a diminishment of the trauma sexual abuse creates — especially surprising in a church culture that believes strongly in the sanctity of sex. “Sexual abuse is the most underreported thing — both in and outside the church — that exists,” says Boz Tchividjian, a grandson of Billy Graham and a former Florida assistant state attorney.

As a prosecutor, Tchividjian saw dozens of sexual abuse victims harmed by a church’s response to them. (In one case, a pastor did not report a sexual offender in his church because the man had repented. The offender was arrested only after he had abused five more children.) In 2004, Tchividjian founded the nonprofit organization Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), which trains Christian institutions in how to prevent sexual abuse and performs independent investigations when churches face an abuse crisis. Tchividjian says sexual abuse in evangelicalism rivals the Catholic Church scandal of the early 2000s.

Diagnosing the scope of the problem isn’t easy, because there’s no hard data. The most commonly referenced study shows how difficult it is to find accurate statistics. In that 2007 report, the three largest insurers of churches and Christian nonprofits said they received about 260 claims of sexual abuse against a minor each year. Those figures, though, exclude groups covered by other insurers, victims older than 18, people whose cases weren’t disclosed to insurance companies and the many who, like Denhollander, never came forward. In other words, the research doesn’t include what is certainly the vast majority of sexual abuse. The sex advice columnist and LGBT rights advocate Dan Savage, tired of what he called the hypocrisy of conservatives who believe that gays molest children, compiled his own list that documents more than 100 instances of youth pastors around the country who, between 2008 and 2016, were accused of, arrested for or convicted of sexually abusing minors in a religious setting.

The problem in collecting data stems, in part, from the loose or nonexistent hierarchy in evangelicalism. Catholic Church abusers benefited from an institutional cover-up, but that same bureaucracy enabled reporters to document a systemic scandal. In contrast, most evangelical groups prize the autonomy of local congregations, with major institutions like the Southern Baptist Convention having no authority to enforce a standard operating procedure among member churches. This means researchers attempting to study this issue have to comb through publicly available documents.

That’s what Wade Mullen, the director of the M.Div. program at Capital Seminary & Graduate School, did as a part of his PhD dissertation. He collected reports of evangelical pastors or ministers charged with a crime in order to understand how evangelical organizations respond to crisis. Over 2016 and 2017, Mullen found 192 instances of a leader from an influential church or evangelical institution being publicly charged with sexual crimes involving a minor, including rape, molestation, battery and child pornography. (This data did not include sexual crimes against an adult or crimes committed by someone other than a leader.)

His findings help explain a 2014 GRACE report on Bob Jones University, one of the most visible evangelical colleges in the country. The study showed that 56 percent of the 381 respondents who reported having knowledge of the school’s handling of abuse (a group that included current and former students, as well as employees) believed that BJU conveyed a “blaming and disparaging” attitude toward victims. Of the 166 people who said they had been victims of sexual abuse before or during their time at BJU, half said school officials had actively discouraged them from going to the police. According to one anonymous respondent, after he finally told the police about years of sexual abuse by his grandfather, a BJU official admonished him that “[you] tore your family apart, and that’s your fault,” and “you love yourself more than you love God.” BJU officials declined to comment for this article.

After he finally told the police about years of sexual abuse by his grandfather, a BJU official admonished him that ‘[you] tore your family apart, and that’s your fault,’ and ‘you love yourself more than you love God.’

That same year, 18 volunteers, staff members and interns at the Institute in Basic Life Principles (including many underage girls) accused its founder, Bill Gothard, of sexual harassment, molestation and assault. Gothard had enormous sway over a small but tight-knit collection of evangelical home-schooling families around the country. One of those families was the Duggars, stars of a TLC reality television show. Josh Duggar, the eldest of 19 kids and former executive director of the conservative Family Research Council’s political action group FRC Action, lost his job after reports that he molested four of his siblings and a babysitter as a teenager. For years Duggar’s abuse stayed hidden as his parents and an Arkansas state trooper — now in prison himself on charges of child pornography — declined to disclose the crimes. (The suit against Gothard was dropped. Duggar’s actions are now outside the statute of limitations. Neither responded to requests for comment.)

Sovereign Grace Churches (SGC), an influential chain of congregations, many located on the East Coast, allegedly failed to report sexual abuse claims during the ’80s and ’90s to the authorities and caused secondary trauma to victims through pastoral counseling, according to an extensive investigation by Washingtonian magazine. In one instance, an SGC pastor allegedly told a wife whose husband sexually abused their daughter to remain with him. When she asked how she could possibly stay married to a man attracted to children, she was told that her husband “was not attracted to his 11-year-old daughter but rather to the ‘woman’ she ‘was becoming.’ ” Two years into the husband’s prison sentence, SGC pastor Gary Ricucci wrote in support of his parole using church letterhead, and the church welcomed him back to the community after his release.

The wife no longer attends. Asked to comment on these episodes, SGC Executive Director Mark Prater emailed a statement: “We encourage all of our churches to immediately report any allegations or suspicions of abuse to criminal and civil authorities, regardless of state law or the passage of time.” He cited a program implemented in 2014, the “MinistrySafe child safety system,” that teaches member churches how to deal with reports of abuse. Ricucci — who, like other local pastors, does not answer to SGC officials — did not respond to requests for comment.

The evangelical defense of God-fearing offenders extends to the political realm. Franklin Graham, CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said President Trump’s “grab them by the p—y” comments and other crude language didn’t matter because “all of us are sinners.” During Roy Moore’s recent Senate campaign, a poll conducted by JMC Analytics of likely Alabama voters found that 39 percent of evangelicals were more likely to vote for Moore after multiple accusations that he’d initiated sexual contact with teenagers when he was in his 30s. “It comes down to a question [of] who is more credible in the eyes of the voters — the candidate or the accuser,” Jerry Falwell Jr., president of the evangelical Liberty University, said at the time. “… And I believe [Moore] is telling the truth.”

Jerry Falwell, left, president of Liberty University, said he believed Senate candidate Roy Moore instead of the women who accused him last fall of sexual misconduct. Moore, right, lost a special election for Senate in Alabama late last year after several women said he had made sexual advances toward them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. (Falwell: Alex Wong/Getty Images; Moore: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

It was the same message 7-year-old Denhollander heard: Stay silent, because the church won’t believe you.

Why are so many evangelicals (who also devote resources to fighting sex trafficking or funding shelters for battered women) so dismissive of the women in their own pews? Roger Canaff, a former New York state prosecutor who specialized in child sexual abuse, tells me that many worshipers he encountered felt persecuted by the secular culture around them — and disinclined to reach out to their persecutors for help in solving problems. This is the same dynamic that drove a cover-up culture among ultra-Orthodox communities in New York, where rabbis insisted on dealing with child abusers internally, according to several analysts.

But among evangelicals, there is an added eschatological component: According to a 2010 survey by the Pew Research Center, 41 percent of Americans believe that the end times will occur before 2050. In some evangelical teachings, a severe moral decay among unbelievers precedes the rapture of the faithful. Because of this, many evangelicals see the outside world as both a place in need of God’s love and a corrupt, fallen place at odds with the church. (“New Secularism is an attempt to undermine and destroy Christianity,” warned a headline in Christian Today a few years ago.)

This attitude could explain the 2017 case of an assistant pastor at Agape Bible Church in Thornton, Colo., who was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting an adolescent girl. The police investigation revealed that church leaders and the girl’s father agreed not to contact the police because the “biblical counseling” received within the church was sufficient to handle the case. According to an officer who interviewed the father, “His interest was in protecting the church and its reputation more than protecting his daughter.”

Partly, church leaders tend to circle the wagons out of arrogance. “I’ve worked with churches across the theological spectrum, from fundamentalist to progressive,” Tchividjian says. “They say: ‘I’m the man God’s placed in charge. I have the Bible. I know how to handle this.’ ”

But another, less visible problem is the overall attitude toward sex. Sexual sin is talked about constantly, and extramarital sex is considered a heinous moral lapse. (A student at Patterson’s seminary who told him she’d been date-raped was disciplined for being in the man’s room) It stands to reason that churches don’t want to air an epidemic of wickedness among their flocks.

When congregants believe that their church is the greatest good, they lack the framework to accept that something as awful as sexual abuse could occur within its walls; it is, in the words of Diane Langberg, a psychologist with 35 years of experience working with clergy members and trauma survivors, a “disruption.” In moments of crisis, Christians are forced to reconcile a cognitive dissonance: How can the church — often called “the hope of the world” in evangelical circles — also be an incubator for such evil? “Christians must decide whether to give into the impulse to minimize the disruption of the abuse, or let themselves see a serious problem in their community and deal with it,” Langberg says. “It’s when they find out if they truly believe what they say they believe.”

As an adult, Rachael Denhollander once again found herself at the center of one of these disruptions. The church she attended, Immanuel Baptist in Louisville, was actively supporting former SGC president C.J. Mahaney’s return to ministry. Mahaney had been asked to step down from his role in 2011 because of “various expressions of pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment and hypocrisy.” In 2012, a class-action lawsuit held that eight SGC pastors, including Mahaney, had covered up sexual abuse in the church. Mahaney and the SGC claimed vindication when a judge dismissed the lawsuit for eclipsing the statute of limitations. In 2016, Immanuel Baptist Church repeatedly invited Mahaney to preach at its weekend services.

Denhollander says she told her church’s leaders this was inappropriate, as Mahaney had never acknowledged a failure to properly handle allegations of sexual abuse under his leadership. But the church ignored her, and when Denhollander went public with accusations against Larry Nassar in the Indianapolis Star, a pastor accused her of projecting her story onto Mahaney’s. When she persisted, he told her she should consider finding a new church. (Maheney did not respond to requests for comment.)

“It is isolating and heartbreaking to sit in a church service where sexual abuse is being minimized,” Denhollander says. “The damage done [by abuse] is so deep and so devastating, and a survivor so desperately needs refuge and security. The question an abuse survivor is asking is ‘Am I safe?’ and ‘Do I matter?’ And when those in authority mishandle this conversation, it sends a message of no to both questions.”

At an untold number of Christian churches and institutions, the silence on sexual abuse is deafening. Statistically, evangelical pastors rarely mention the issue from the pulpit. According to research from the evangelical publishing company LifeWay, 64 percent of pastors said they talk about sexual violence once a year, or even less than that. Pastors drastically underestimate the number of victims in their congregations; a majority of them guessed in the survey that 10 percent or less might be victims. But in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 1 in 4 women (women make up approximately 55 percent of evangelicals) and 1 in 9 men have been sexually abused. There is no evidence suggesting those numbers are lower inside the church.

Those who do publicly preach on sexual abuse are often stunned by the response. Kathy Christopher, a pastor to women at Christian Assembly Church in Los Angeles, first spoke on the topic while sharing the story of her own abuse. Immediately, fellow survivors opened up about their experiences, Christopher says. “Sadly, my story was not an unusual story. It was heartbreaking to see how many people needed to talk about this trauma in their past.”

When a judge sentenced Nassar for molesting hundreds of young girls, Denhollander was there; she spoke at length in the courtroom, reminding Nassar that the Christian concept of forgiveness comes from “repentance, which requires facing and acknowledging the truth about what you have done in all of its utter depravity and horror, without mitigation, without excuse, without acting as if good deeds can erase” it.

It was a word of warning for a community that, writ large, has been complicit in minimizing or enabling rape, molestation and emotional abuse within its walls. Denhollander also said that one of the prices she paid for calling out Nassar was losing her church, referring to her experience at Immanuel Baptist.

When the pastors there saw Denhollander’s statement, they began to understand the damage they had done. In a statement released by email this week, the board said the church had sinned in its treatment of the Denhollanders and had sought their forgiveness. (Denhollander says she accepts the apology.) Officials also said that SGC pastors will no longer be speaking at their church while accusations against them remain unanswered. “In the last few months God has increased our sensitivity to the concerns of the abused,” the statement reads. “He has called us to look at our own shortcomings as pastors. He has allowed us to seek and receive forgiveness from those we have failed.”

Immanuel Baptist Church faced a choice, the same one before many American churches today: Face the sin in their midst and make the church a place that follows the biblical command to care for the powerless and victimized — or avoid the disruption and churn out another generation of silenced victims who learn, like Denhollander did, that the church isn’t safe.

[wutbju]

Okay. The week he said this, purportedly, 10% of the staff were laid off in the middle of the semester.

There's been chatter coming out of BJU since that the faculty are going to get their pink slips before Thanksgiving, but I have not heard any details yet.

The faculty are catching the idea that 1/3 of them are going to be laid off!

One third!

As of August 2024, there were 267 faculty members listed on the BJU website. So 26-27 layoffs would be 10%. But nearly 90 would be third!

Surely not! Surely this is just fear talking among the faculty, right?

Let's use a different set of numbers.

In the Fall 2022/Spring 2023 school year, BJU reported to the Department of Education that they had 213 faculty members and 499 staff members.

I have the numbers going back to Fall 2008, if you all would like to see that. That's not a biggie.

Since Fall 2017/Spring 2018, BJU has had an average of 479 staff members. If they did lay off 10% in September, they now have 431.

Since Fall 2017/Spring 2018, BJU has had an average of 203 faculty members.

If they lay off 10% of faculty, then they would have 183 faculty left. If they lay off 33%, they would only have 142!

The thing is this: the bloat is clearly in the staff side -- not the faculty side! For every single faculty member, there are 2.36 staff members.

If you cut the faculty, you're not going to have a school left!

[wutbju]

In a rushed midweek meeting on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, BJU fired 69 staff members, claiming that they are cutting 10-11% staff due to a $4-5million shortage in the budget.

The BJU Baseball team was also cut.

They claim they are "liquidating assets" to stay out of debt.

They stated in this meeting that they are down 125 students from last year and down 600 since 2020.

The Faculty cuts will come in October.

The above is what was stated in the meeting.

Now to my commentary.

Friends, WutBJU has been talking about clues toward closure since BJU's 990s have been public. The assets they liquidated are simply money borrowed from the Press as they've always done. They've been scholarshipping at the rate of 71%. Go look at their public records! You can do it as well as I.

Don't donate to BJU! That's like performing CPR on a person in hospice. It's cruel what they are doing to the employees. They knew this was coming, and yet they started the school year, got all the F/S kids enrolled and invested in their new classrooms, and then pulled out the rug.

BJU will always choose its own interest over employees. Always.

It's coming.

[wutbju]

Bob Jones Academy was formed in 1927 because Bob Jones, Jr. had just graduated from middle school, and Bob Sr. worried he would embarrass him.

But let’s go with BJU’s story.

Born simultaneously in 1927 with Bob Jones University, Bob Jones Academy also is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year. This fully standardized secondary school offers grades 7 through 12; annually enrolls more than 400 students from every section of the nation and several foreign countries, making it one of the larger private Christian high schools in America.

Since the first graduating class of five, more than 2,000 young people have completed work at the Academy. Each year a large percentage of the Academy graduates enter Bob Jones University; this past year over 70 per cent enrolled in the university. Many of the others entered fields of study not available at BJU such as engineering, medicine, law, nursing, etc.

For some reason, BJU refuses to ever acknowledge Eunice Hutto Morecraft’s legal name. Bob Jones, Sr. married her and her husband, and Fannie Mae sang “O Promise Me” at the ceremony.

The late Eunice Hutto was the first principal. In 1937 Mrs. Paul Brown became the principal of the Academy and served in this capacity for 28 years. She became a member of the staff while still a student in Bob Jones College during the early days of the school in Florida.

Morecraft died suddenly in 1947 in St. Louis when she was visiting there for medical care.

The death certificate gives more explanation:

Her son was eight months old.

After teaching in the science department and serving as assistant to the dean of women. Mrs. Brown assumed the responsibility of the administration of the Academy. It was through her leadership that the Academy was able to maintain the cultural, academic, and spiritual emphasis needed to meet the needs of the ever-increasing student body. Because of ill health, she was forced to retire in May of 1964. She died September 12, 1964.

Upon Mrs. Brown's retirement, Gene Fisher, a member of the Academy history faculty, was named principal. Under his leadership the Academy has continued its task of training young people to live in the problem world of today.

The Academy has a college preparatory curriculum designed to fully qualify a student to enter college. Every student is required to take Bible each semester he is enrolled. Seven levels of Bible are offered, and the students may take the course in which they are best qualified.

Aside from the books and studies, students have many opportunities to participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities with youngsters of their own age and interests.

They conduct their own literary societies, the Inter-Society Council, student-body activities, intramural athletic programs, and debate organizations. Other organizations offer the students opportunities to gain a broader knowledge of the activities in which professional people are involved.

Expenses for the Academy are the same as those for the university. Music, speech, and art are available without additional cost above regular academic fees.

[wutbju]

Bob Jones University has clearly eliminated the regular grounds crew and opted for the hall leaders and the Acting Chief Student Development Officer to do the work.

Back in the day, they'd have a work scholarship student do this.

Then they had staff members. Remember Miss Rose doing this work, folks?

Then they farmed all the grounds keeping out to an alum's landscaping service.

And now? Now the highest paid students on campus -- whatever they are calling hall leaders now -- and an administrator are doing the work.

And alumni -- a "GRATEFUL BJU grad" -- are trying to say that alumni should "pitch in" and do this.

No. Poor financial planning on BJU's part does not constitute an emergency on everybody else's part.

What is going on, BJU?

[wutbju]

On March 1, 2023, in response to the "Urgent Open Letter," Brian Fuller pretends he is a victim of the BJU "network." He stated in the +++Positive+++ group:

Some of this same tribe of zealots on the BOT shunned, separated and blacklisted me and my family in May, 2010, because we dared to take the side of the victim and to criticize how a famous FBI pastor and BJU Board Member treated her. Dr. Bob III stood against us. FBFI ousted us. Fundamentalist "friends" treated us like we had a disease. But, an evangelist friend stood beside us and continued to love and encourage us. His name is Steve Pettit. This terror group is now seeking to do the same thing to Dr. Pettit that they do to everyone who questions their autocratic Pharisaical declarations. They despise the culture of grace and genuine discipleship that is developing and thriving at BJU. They are on a mission for the return of a culture of fear, surveillance and control. positive bju grads & friends, and BJU Faculty-Staff, let's respond to this call to action, stand-up, and let our voices be heard.

No.

You did not take the side of the victim. In no way, shape, or form, did you take the side of the victim. At all. Ever.

And none of us heard you criticize Chuck Phelps. At all.

Brian, there's video of what you did. You were NOT standing with Tina Anderson.

ABC News quoted you saying:

The church's current leader, Pastor Brian Fuller, said that the Concord Police dropped the ball 13 years ago. "Let's go to the police station, where thirteen years ago, somebody unconscionably took the reports, and put 'em away in a filing cabinet, let them gain dust," Fuller said.

That's not standing with the victim, Brian. That's shifting the blame away from the NETWORK of fundamentalist pastors.

[wutbju]

Here's the whole thing for the record:

  Hi, I'm Josh Crockett, the president at Bob Jones University, and I'm thankful for each of you as alumni and friends of the university.

We're also thankful the Lord has brought us 2734 total students that we have this fall, and each of those students has a story. And so I would encourage you that as alumni and friends to pray for those students pray that God will will take that story and draw them even closer to him and use them for his church.

The spirit on campus has been incredible -- just the energy, the enthusiasm of this freshman class. They have a ceremony at the beginning of the year where they have to affirm a charge, and when they said, "I will," they, they nearly yelled and blew out the little hair I have left off as I was standing up, as I was up on the platform and all of the administrators said, "that's the loudest we've ever had!" just because they were so excited about what the Lord is doing here and to be here at Bob Jones University.

We had an amazing evangelistic service with evangelist Brent Sivinsty, son of Jerry Sivinsty. One night particularly, he got very vulnerable and transparent and shared his heart with the students. And I heard of of guys who had their Bibles open -- we're encouraging them to bring paper Bibles and journals that we've given them to Chapel and to services and the the faculty members said -- there are teardrops just splashing on his journal as the Holy Spirit was working in his heart through those messages.

We've had amazing Chapel Services, and so our 648 new undergrad, grad, and online students are adjusting well, and they're in the full swing of this new semester.

Today I want to share some difficult, for those of us who are part of the University family, heartbreaking news. It feels almost like a funeral whenever we lose some of our team here at BJU. And so we just wanted you to know that we had to make some very difficult but necessary decisions at the start of the week to right size our workforce by about 10%.

Maybe you say, "Well, how did we get here?" And there are multiple factors.

One of the factors is the ratio of faculty-staff to students. If you look at some of our sister schools, you'll see 16 to 1, 15 to 1. At BJU, you are at 12 to 1. And again, we, we love having as big of a team as possible to serve our students. And yet we we have to remain financially sustainable. And the way we've done that is by leaning more and more on BJU Press. Without the Press royalties, our income would have plummeted the last eight years.

Like many schools, we've had lower enrollment since COVID. Some of this is what they call, the academic cliff. 18 years ago during the Great Recession, there were more, there were fewer families having children. So there are just fewer seniors graduating from high school. Part of it is the instability of the the presidential transition over the last couple of years that has been a part of that.

And then the FAFSA debacle last year certainly has hurt the number of students. They say as many as a million fewer students will go to college in America this year as opposed to last year.

We've also heavily discounted our tuition because we want to make Bob Jones' education affordable to as many people as possible. But, of course, that hurts our, our income line.

And so while our income has been decreasing, our expenses have been increasing. Salaries have gone up by 31% since 2019 because we want to to pay our faculty-staff a livable wage, especially with inflation. Healthcare costs have skyrocketed. The number of support services for our students has increased. Again since COVID, there's so many more, just spiritual and emotional battles they're facing. And then we've added new intercollegiate sports.

You say, "So, so how have we been able to do that -- increasing all of that while the the income has been decreasing?" And a lot of that has been BJU Press. Over the past five years, BJU Press has contributed $100 million gross -- $75 million net -- to BJU to help us balance our budget.

Now, if you're a pessimist and you see the glass is half empty, you could say, "oh, how did we? You know, we we received $100 million, and we're still having to layoff some of our beloved faculty-staff!" But the other way to look at that is, if we're able to right size our workforce, as we are doing, now we can start using those 10s of millions of dollars a year coming from BJU Press to start building an endowment for the future, to to create the sustainability that we need with whatever economic headwinds come our way.

Also that allows us to start investing more in our infrastructure. If instead of having to use those dollars just for operations, just to keep our nose above water, now we're able to use that money to invest again in making our campus sustainable.

So the good news is in God's providence 50 years ago. BJU started BJU Press and invested a lot. And now that investment is coming back to serve us even the past couple of years, basically helping with almost a third of our operating expenses.

Most colleges do not have this amazing resource, so as difficult and necessary as these cuts are to balance the budget without those Press dollars, if we can have a balanced budget, that's going to be millions of dollars to help sustain us into our next 100 years if the Lord tarries.

A second piece of good news is that BJU Press continues to have record sales, year over year.

A third piece of good news: BJA is having record enrollment, and we're hoping like many states, including my own of Indiana, that South Carolina is going to get a voucher system. And so the almost $7,000,000 that BJU pays for our faculty-staff to have tuition benefit for their students could be reduced significantly if we get vouchers in South Carolina, again helping our bottom line.

Also that drop off in students -- 18 year olds -- is not as significant for Christian families as it is for secular families, so that is going to be a blessing for us with enrollment.

Fifth Factor: Greenville is one of the fastest growing cities in the US. We have an amazing downtown, just minutes from our campus. It's very attractive to students and families. Our Main Street is one of the most, 10 most popular in the country, and we have a great working relationship with the Mayor. I've, I've met with him this summer, and we've been able to be texting back and forth on ideas for how the City of Greenville can serve BJU.

A sixth blessing is that we have 10s of thousands of amazing alumni like you all over the country and around the world who are praying for us, who are supporting us, who, I believe as you see stability and strength moving forward, will continue to recommend and send students to BJU.

A seventh blessing is that we are debt free. And whenever you face a financial difficulty being debt free is an amazing place to be.

Eight, we have several valuable assets. Some of those are income producing that are continuing to help us.

A ninth piece of good news is that our leadership is committed to maintaining a solid cash position. This is why we are making these very tough decisions, these hard cuts, but necessary cuts because we want to be in a great position.

And then tenth, we have donors who give very generously to BJU, many who have put us in their estate wills. Some, like a graduate who I met with in the Dominican Republic this summer, who said I want to set up a scholarship to send as many students as possible from the Dominican Republic to BJU. And I appreciate his commitment to do that.

So as difficult as this right sizing is, our desire is now to pivot to growth. And I'm looking forward to telling you more about that growth plan at Homecoming and laying that out. But the desire is for you to know that when I think about the direction of BJU that BJU's been going a great direction and we don't want to go backwards. We want to continue going in that direction. We have struggled financially to keep our our financial spending under control. And so by right sizing what we want to do is now have both our direction and our stewardship going the right direction so that we can all be in this together, as we row together the same direction unified in our alumni, our faculty, our board, our administration, our staff together for the mission of BJU.

I'm looking forward to what God will do, not just this year, but in the next 100 years of Bob Jones University.   

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Carl Clifton Sjoberg, BJU Class of 1960.

Carl Clifton Sjoberg, age 89, left earth to rejoin family, friends and fishing buddies and be received into his Lord and Savior’s loving arms on October 18, 2024.

Carl was a loving husband to Sonja (Anderson) Sjoberg of Caribou and a caring father to Craig Sjoberg (Leni) of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Kevin Sjoberg (Sue) of Presque Isle, and Karen Reynolds (Jay) of Fort Fairfield. He leaves behind his grandchildren: Jeremiah, Sarah, Emily, Jacob, Faith, Grace, Nathaniel and Annika and great-grandchildren, Grace and Cayden, along with many special nieces and nephews.

Carl was predeceased by his parents, Fritz and Elvira, brothers, Vincent, Wallace, Clemens, Everett and Ernest, sister, Ebba Jepson and granddaughter, Andrea Dawn.

Carl’s greatest joys were his faith, his family and his friends--close behind were fishing and baseball. After receiving a teaching degree from Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., he taught school for 25 years at Mars Hill and Fort Fairfield. He continued working at Cary Medical Center and Caribou Gardens after his teaching career.

Carl was a member of the First Baptist Church of Woodland after many years of service and membership at the United Baptist Church of Caribou. He enjoyed singing in church choirs and quartets, and was a longtime member of the Caribou Choral Society. During his days on the Fort Fairfield Road, he took much pride in his hobby farm of growing potatoes, vegetables and raising farm animals.

He was known as a storyteller. Carl was in his glory when he could tell tales of pulling a trout out of Square Lake or salmon from Long Lake. Likewise, a smile and story would emerge sharing about his time working for the Atlanta Braves, during spring training. Chauffeuring baseball greats like Hank Aaron around the ballpark was a dream job for this County boy. Carl was an avid reader and enjoyed woodworking and outdoor activities. He loved to visit folks, and his laughter and warmth would always accompany him.

The family would like to thank the Cary Medical Center emergency room and Intensive Care Unit staffs for the outstanding care provided during Carl’s hospital stay.

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Glenn Hallman Shupe, BJU Class of 1963.

Glen Hallman Shupe, 87, passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 29, 2024 at The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing Barnwell Facility, Valatie, New York. He was born March 3, 1936, son of the late Byron and Edna Shupe. Glen was the devoted husband to Alta Ferne Shupe. They were married 53 years.

Glen graduated from Newark High School, New York in 1955 and he attended several class reunions. He grew up in the Palmyra area and helped his father on his small farm. Glen received a certificate from the Institute of Christian Service at Bob Jones University, South Carolina in 1963. He received his BA and was ordained at Midwestern Baptist College, Pontiac, Michigan in 1966. He Pastored at Dennison Corners Community Church, Mohawk, New York for two years, two years in Whitesboro, New York at Harts Hill Baptist Church, and one year as Interm Pastor at Bethany Baptist Church now known as Victory Baptist Church. In addition to being a pastor, Glen filled several roles at different churches such as Sunday School Teacher, Deacon, Song Leader, Nursing Home Speaker at Silver Haven Nursing home where he was appreciated for his inspirational services, and Extension Worker. Glen assisted three Ministers in starting churches in the area.

Glen worked Laundry and Maintenance for 27 years at Baptist Health Nursing and Rehabilitation, in Scotia, New York where he was known as ""Zoombroom"", "" The Madmoper"", and ""The Swiftsweeper"". He also worked at General Motors, Michigan, Rochester Products, Sylvan Tech, Marion, New York, Remington Arms, Mohawk, New York, Albany Billiard Ball, Friendly's, Rotterdam, New York, and as a Security Guard.

Glen was a proud member of the Victory Baptist Church and the Scotia Senior Center.

Glen enjoyed spending time with his entire family, gardening, jogging, and riding his bicycle. He was an avid Boston Celtics, San Fransico Giants, and the New York Giants fan and enjoyed watching sports.

In addition to his wife, Glen is survived by his sons, Grant Shupe of North Creek, New York and M. Garret Shupe of Scotia, New York; sisters, Elaine (Henry) Bosje of Rochester, New York and Genevieve Ellis of Independence, Kentucky; brothers, Richard (Barbara) Shupe of Durham, North Carolina and John (Audrey) Shupe of Cary, North Carolina; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

In addition to his parents, Glen was predeceased in 1988, by his son, Gregory Glen Shupe.

The family would like to thank the staff at The Grand Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and the staff at Ellis Hospital for their care and services. We appreciate the support and prayers of Victory Baptist Church.

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Gay Beth Fields, BJU Class of 1967.

Gay Beth Bowgren Fields, the oldest of three daughters, was born to Clifton and Jewel Bowgren on May 13, 1943 in Geneva, Illinois. Gay grew up attending Wasco Baptist Church and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal savior at the age of 12. Gay graduated from Saint Charles High School in the spring of 1961 and in the fall she enrolled as a student at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. After two years she transferred to Emmaus Bible School in Oak Park, Illinois where she was a student for several years. There she met Alex Fields and on June 26, 1965 they were married at Geneva Baptist Church in Geneva, Illinois.

In the fall they returned to Bob Jones University where Gay enrolled as a home economics education major and Alex as a music education major. In 1967 Gay graduated and started working at Greenville General Hospital as a dietitian's assistant. She worked there until giving birth to her first son in the spring of 1970. That fall, Alex and Gay started serving the Lord as faculty and staff members of Bob Jones University. Gay became the food supervisor of the newly formed Bob Jones Elementary School where she served faithfully for 42 years until retiring in 2012.

For the past 59 years Alex and Gay have been very active at Overbrook Gospel Chapel where they raised their family of four boys, Alexander, Andrew, Aaron and Alan. Aaron is married to Kimberly Ferlauto and they have a son, Adrian. Alan is married to Kate Suarez and they have a son, Jameson. Gay has one surviving sister, Joy Nelson of Geneva, Illinois. Gay was a loving, caring and faithful wife, mother and grandmother and she will be greatly missed, however, we sorrow not as others who have no hope because the Bible teaches that those who have placed their faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ are begotten again unto a living hope by His resurrection from the dead. Since He lives we shall live also, for to be absent from the body is to be eternally present with the Lord. This is our hope and comfort.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 from 12:15 p.m. until 1:15 p.m. at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Downtown. The funeral will follow at 1:30 p.m. in the Chapel. Burial will be in Mountain View Memorial Park, Travelers Rest. Family and friends who are unable to attend the service can view the Live Stream by clicking on the ""Watch Event"" button located on the main obituary page.

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Cathy Lenn Cambell, BJU Class of 1968.

Cathy Rominger Campbell, 75, Elizabethton, Tenn., passed away at her home surrounded by her loving family, on Monday, September 9, 2024.

She was born May 27, 1949 in Elizabethton, Tenn., and lived most of her life in Elizabethton. She graduated from Elizabethton High School, Class of 1967, and attended Bob Jones University, Greenville, S.C. She was preceded in death by her parents, Helen and John Rominger of Elizabethton.

She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Bob Campbell; her children, Marti Poole and husband Scotty, Mikkie Perry and husband Allen, and Robert Campbell and wife Kristi; her brother, Tony Rominger and wife June; grandchildren, Alex Odom, Tucker, Cameron and Sean Campbell and Matthew Poole; nephew, Rhett Rominger; a special sister-in-law, Mary Katherine Danner; and many special aunts, uncles and cousins. Cathy loved the Lord Jesus Christ and was a charter member of East River Park Christian Church. She was an outstanding Christian, loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend to others, especially in their time of need, always generous with her time, support and wise advice. She was loved fiercely by her family and considered to be one of the finest humans on the planet. Cathy loved life and loved to travel! She had been all over the world, checking out the castles in Germany, Austria, and traveling to Australia to beautiful adventures in Fiji and Hawaii.

Some of her greatest times in life were when she helped her husband with their dairy barn. She had a blast working with the cows and was so meticulous with their care. She named all 100 of them. They loved her too as they perked up when she was around. She was considered to be a hard worker and never quitting until the job was done. Cathy retired from the Carter County District Attorney’s Office after a wonderful career as the Victims Witness Coordinator. She was so kind and compassionate dealing with the people she came in contact with. She helped to start the Victims Christmas Tree in downtown Elizabethton.

Cathy was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for her approximately 30 years as President of Farm Bureau of Tennessee beginning in 1988. She was recognized for going above and beyond in her volunteer spirit to Tennessee Farm Bureau.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at noon Saturday, September 14, at East River Park Christian Church with Jason Payne and Estel Williams, ministers, officiating. Music will be by Chrystie Kyte. The family will receive friends at the church from 10 a.m. until noon, prior to the service. Friends may call on the family at the home of Bob Campbell. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to East River Park Christian Church, 1207 Broad Street, Elizabethton, TN 37643, or a charity of your choice. The family would like to express a special thank you to the staff of Amedisys Hospice for the excellent care she received. Condolences may be left for the family at www.memorialfcelizabethton.com

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David Paul Gibble, BJU Class of 1977.

David Paul Gibble, 70, of Greenville, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Thursday, May 09, 2024.

Born in Lebanon County, PA, he was a son of the late Richard and Lydia Bross Gibble. He was a retired log cabin builder, completed his Bachelors’ degree in Cinematography, completed his Master’s degree, was on staff at BJU for 18 years, and was a member of Cornerstone Baptist Church.

David’s early years were at Tulpehocken School District in Pennsylvania, where he was told by an elementary teacher that he was a daydreamer. His personality was that of a risk-taker. He enjoyed pranks that sometimes got him in trouble, had a lot of fun digging in the mud on the farm, enjoyed floating the metal square sandbox on the pond searching for snapping turtles, and enjoyed blowing up things, like tomatoes from the garden. He worked many different jobs, including on the farm with his dad, construction, remodeling, and salvaging materials from old buildings. In High School he was involved in Library Club, Debates, Stage Crew, Junior and Senior Plays, Chorus and a vocal ensemble, helped with fire drills, Staff/Reporter for the School Newspaper, library assistant, selected to represent the school in a county wide science fair and graduated in 1971. He went to Grace College in Indiana for 2 years and then transferred to Bob Jones University. He worked with Ken Anderson Films assisting in the production of Apache Fire. He also worked on staff at Unusual Films on the production of Sheffey, Beyond the Night, and The Printing.

He is survived by his wife of 4 years: Donna Gibian Gibble; daughters: Lydia Skinner(Nick), Elena Gibble; son: Nick Gibble; step-son: Scott Clark(Cassie); grandchildren: Corban Skinner, Isaiah Skinner, Jeremiah Skinner, Esther Skinner, Kennedy Clark; brothers: Dale Gibble, Steve Gibble(Julie); and sister: Melody Graeff(Ted).

Along with his parents he was predeceased by his first wife: April Wavle Gibble.

The family will receive friends Saturday, June 8, 2024, from 9:30am until 11:00am at Cornerstone Baptist Church.

Memorial services will be Saturday, June 8, 2024, at 11:00am at Cornerstone Baptist Church.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Cornerstone Baptist Church-Building Fund 8508 Pelham Rd. Greenville, SC 29615 or The Wilds Christian Camp 3201 Rutherford Rd. Taylors, SC 29687.

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Freda Mae Cooper Brenneman, Former BJU Staff member from 1966.

Freda Mae Cooper Brenneman, 85, loving wife of the late Jarvis Brenneman, died December 17, 2016.

Born March 19, 1931 in Portersville, PA, Freda was the daughter of the late Dean W. and Lena Stickle Cooper.

Freda retired from Bob Jones University in 1996 after 31 years of faithful service in Accounts Payable.

Freda is survived by her children, Sandy (Les) Wagner of Kansas City, KS; Flo (Cal) Mair of Brevard, NC; Sam (Laura) Brenneman of Travelers Rest, SC and Patty (Tim) Good of Taylors, SC; 11 grandchildren; 31 great grandchildren; and two sisters, Thelma English and Lois Croup of Portersville, PA.

The funeral and burial will be Thursday, December 22 at Portersville Bible Church, Portersville, PA. (156 E Portersville Rd, Portersville, PA 16051).

Memorials may be made to The Wilds, 3201 Rutherford Road, Taylors, SC 29687.

The family would like to express a special thank you to CARIS Hospice for the love and compassion shown to their mother.

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Linda Williams Rogier, BJU Class of 1985, Former Faculty/Staff.

Linda Williams Rogier, of Greenville, South Carolina, aged 84, went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Monday, April 15, 2024.

Linda was born in Dorothy, West Virginia, on September 13, 1939, to Robert and Dassie Williams. She graduated from Morris Harvey College (now College of Charleston) in 1961 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and from Bob Jones University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Pedagogy. She married the love of her life, George Rogier, on June 17, 1961. After residing in Atlanta, Georgia for five years, they settled in Greenville in 1966. Linda dedicated thirty-eight years to Bob Jones University, teaching elementary school piano and leading the children's piano program at Bob Jones Elementary School. She also mentored interns in the Bob Jones University Piano Pedagogy major. She retired from Bob Jones University in 2004. Linda was an active member of Morningside Baptist Church for over forty years. One of her greatest enjoyments was playing the piano for church services.

Linda is survived by her husband of nearly sixty-three years, George; her daughter, Michelle Shuman (Keith) of Greenville; her sons, Larry (Janet) of Romulus, Michigan, and Robert (Micah) of Morrisville, North Carolina. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Laran, Elyse, and Brysen Rogier of Romulus, Michigan. Additionally, she leaves behind her nieces, Sherry White of Huntington, West Virginia, and Beth Wiebe of Hooker, Oklahoma; along with her brothers-in-law, Michael Rogier of Cross Lanes, West Virginia, and Patrick Rogier of Rand, West Virginia. Linda is also survived by cherished nieces and nephews from her husband's side; and a host of cousins.

Linda was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Lois White of Huntington, West Virginia; and her brother-in-law, Doug Rogier of Greenville, South Carolina.

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Stephanie Jean Marsh, BJU Class of 2009.

Stephanie Jean Marsh, 37 of Madison, Alabama, entered the arms of her Savior on Saturday, May 25th, 2024. Stephanie was born on March 6th, 1987, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to John and Gloria Wakefield. She graduated from Gospel Light Christian School in 2005 and graduated from Bob Jones University in 2009. She married the love of her life, Andy, on August 8th, 2009.

Stephanie is survived by her husband Andrew “Andy” Marsh; children Ethan and Eva Marsh; parents John and Gloria Wakefield; sister Jessica Wakefield; parents-in-law Ron and Edith Marsh; sisters-in-law Anne Atkinson (Obby) and Amy Marsh; niece and nephews Emma, Garris, and Jefferson Atkinson; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Funeral services for Stephanie will be conducted on Friday, May 31st, 2024, at 2:00pm at Calvary Baptist Church, Huntsville, Alabama, with Pastor Jeremiah Cochran and Dr. Greg McLaughlin officiating. Visitation will be Friday from 12:00-1:45pm at the church. Burial will be at Calvary Gardens at Calvary Baptist Church.

The family would like to thank the staff and members of Calvary Baptist Church, who have demonstrated the love of Christ in so many ways.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Stephanie’s memory to Calvary Baptist Academy or the Calvary Baptist Church Playground fund, in care of Calvary Baptist Church, 126 Douglass Road, NW, Huntsville, AL 35806.