Word out of my Asbury friend and current Beeson Pastor, Robbie Phillips, is that due to the collapse of endowments the Beeson Program is being put on hiatus. The current students, like Robbie, will be covered through the end of May, then they will be responsible for the rest of their costs in pursuing their Doctor of Ministry degrees at Asbury.
I feel for the people who have to make the calls to incoming students, students who have already received their books for their first classes. These new students are being told there is no place for them.
The economic collapse threatens all religious schools that rely on endowments. These are trying times for people who manage money at these institutions.
I think the church is about to recover prophetic preaching. Greed and corruption at the top of the system have gone unchecked. But that's too easy a target (even though they are a legitimate target). The greed and corruption aren't limited to CEOs and politicians. We have our own greed at our end of the system that is just as bad, but not as noticeable. We live beyond our means. We don't save. We buy stuff we don't need. If Christians (like me) would live simply, we wouldn't be in this shape.
I hear calls for justice, but in the Old Testament the words righteousness and justice are words that often come in pairs. Any system devoid of righteousness loses it's ability to mete justice. Any person who rises up to point the finger of justice is undercut by his lack of character, his extramarital affairs, his tax-dodging past, his acceptance of bribes. Nothing shuts us up faster than our own past.
My friend Robbie reminded me of this skit on Saturday Night Live. It's as good as any sermon I could preach on the topic:
Farewell, Beeson Program. Thanks for all you did for me and my family. I hope you return someday.
4 comments:
Frank Davis' prayer last Sunday contained the sentence that went something like this: "We fail to see that the faults of the world are the same faults we have in ourselves." You'll have to get the exact quote from him. I should have written it down. I see the "anger of the week" directed towards AIG, the government, or corporate executives as an attempt to place our guilt onto someone else. ljc
That is sad. I am not a Beeson pastor but my position at Milligan was not renewed for next year. They offered me adjunct pay for doing 75% of my job but it is about 20% of what I was making and won't pay the bills. So I am looking for work as well.
Dang, Ted, I didn't know this. I'm sorry. That's terrible. I'll be praying for you. Seriously.
So sorry to hear about this - it is amazing how many lives and livelihoods have been disrupted by this financial crisis.
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