And . . . He's Gone - Steve Pettit Resigns at BJU

Change.org has a petition to bring back Steve Pettit and remove board chairman John Lewis. There are 5700 signatures so far. I am posting this for informational purposes, not necessarily endorsing the petition.

www.change.org

Sign the Petition

Call for Resignation of Dr. John Lewis, Board Chairman
www.change.org www.change.org

Some of the comments:
https://www.change.org/p/call-for-r...n-and-dr-bob-jones-iii-chancellor/c/841586034
"I firmly believe that John Lewis has abused his power, and has not taken into account the irreparable damage that such abuse of power does to the students, faculty and staff, and the school as a whole. In short, if he continues in his present role, I firmly believe the school will be unable to sustain itself for long. Dr. Pettit brought the school back from a near-death experience while standing firm on the Word of God. I'd rather see a few skinny jeans here and there on campus than a bunch of outwardly conforming fake Christians headed to hell because their biggest show of faith was an adherence to a dress code from leadership that promotes a self-righteous attitude."

"John Lewis cares for students’ outward appearance and conformity. He leads with hostile anger and pride. Steve Pettit cares for students’ hearts and discipleship. He leads with compassion and humility. Lewis needs to go."

"I don't recall a single time when I felt that either Dr. Bob Jr. nor Dr. Bob III cared in the least about me as a person. . . . Dr. Bob Jr. seemed to care mostly about Shakespeare and the Art Gallery (which I appreciated because it was the quietest building on campus). And I never really knew what Dr. Bob III was passionate about. . . But it has been pretty clear to me that Steve Pettit has tried to do right, love God, and love students one-on-one--not just globally in the sense that 'Christians love everyone, of course.' It is my opinion that Lewis is likely a tool of Dr. Bob III, who at age 83 needs to LET IT GO and step away as well."

"Styles change… when my aunt went to BJU in the early ‘50’s, part of their wardrobe expectations were hats and gloves, which was the style at the time. I would rather my 2 kids attend BJU and further deepen their love of Jesus than whether or not girls wear shorts for sports, and pants to class. The men on the board who take issue have never tried to walk all the way across campus from our dorms (while the men have to walk out their door and across the lawn from their dorm)…with a long, pencil style skirt and pantyhose, very restrictive when trying to move!"

"During my time at Bob Jones (2007-2015) enrollment plummeted and there was tangible discouragement on campus. Steve Pettit has been instrumental in giving the university a new lease on life. It’s been encouraging to see draconian rules lifted, a culture of discipleship instilled, and a return to a historic fundamentalist identity."

"John Lewis and the men responsible for taking unauthorized pictures of women and what they were wearing is completely unacceptable and should be a one way ticket to Azkaban."

"Refusing to protect the female students from alumni prowlers is disgusting. If the issue of female clothing needs to be addressed, so does the issue of the lust of men, which was completely dismissed by the board."

"One of the many reasons I left in 2009 was I . . . as an adult in my mid forties . . . got to the point where I didn’t feel like I could breathe and enjoy life when I was out in public (had to wear a dress or skirt/top just to go to the grocery store). When I was there just a few weeks ago, I felt a positive sense of freedom. I owe that to our wonderful Lord and the work of Dr. Pettit and his team!!!"




 
Just out of curiosity, I wonder if the BJU board is composed entirely of men or whether they have at least a few women also represented.
 
Gringo said:
In the past, Bob Jones had the common larger culture to rely on: in the old days, even non christian ladies wore dresses. There was no such a thing as divorced pastors with big churches, successful christian singing stars with sexual affairs in their past, sex in some form on every television channel, porn stores that any child can access in their bedrooms, etc.

Today, Bob Jones has a different type of society and professing "christian" to contend with.

If their goal is to be financially in the black, to be solvent and to be successful as a regular school, perhaps they should change their name and go after a different market in the christian community, rather than the niche market they are known for.

On the other hand, if they really are concerned about providing "clean linen" for the "supper" table, then perhaps they ought not throw out the rag with the dishwater, and accept the fact that their school will never be the large one that it once was. They should remember what happened to Tennessee Temple when it turned on its base. They are no longer in existence.

If they really want to remain a fundamentalist school with "standards", providing a place for those with like minds to study and prepare for the ministry, perhaps they ought to consider selling the property (impossibility of maintaining such a place on such dwindling numbers) with the provision that the new owners not use the name Bob Jones University

And perhaps they should consider moving to a new, smaller place like the founder did when he moved the school from Cleveland, Tn.

I think it would be a shame for the school to just shut down completely when there are people that would want to attend such a school.
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I have a unique perspective on BJU as the only person in my family to not attend. My parents graduated from there, and my siblings did as well. My father would rather see the college closed than compromised, my mother supports the modern changes, my brother wants nothing to do with the school, and my sister would prefer it to become even more progressive.

As for me, I’d like to see the college stay open, but it can’t survive in today’s world by going back fifty years—to a time when society as a whole was more conservative, and there was no internet, no cable TV, women primarily were expected to be stay-home moms, and the United States was much less diverse. The university is barely scraping by as is, even with some modern evolution in rules and philosophy. Dropping accreditation and installing 1970s rules will completely destroy what little life it has remaining.

If the Board really wants to keep the school alive and also roll the clock back fifty years, then they should strongly consider selling the entire campus and opening a new, smaller campus that just focuses on a handful of majors related to ministry (theology, missions, pastoral studies, Christian teacher education, etc.).

Anyway, that’s my two cents. As I said, I feel like I have a unique perspective as someone who is a bit of both an insider and outsider. I was dead set against attending BJU because it was still operating in the 90s like it was when my parents attended. The racial dating ban was still in effect, it was still not accredited, and there were still a lot of silly rules in place. (I’m sure there was also a bit of teenage rebellion present in me as well.) Greenville is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. I’m sure their land and facilities must be worth a fortune. Sell the expensive campus and reopen a slimmed down version of itself focusing on ministerial college majors in which sports won’t be a topic, accreditation won’t be as significant, and the Board can have a college that operates in an old fashioned manner and it will probably attract ministerial students looking for that environment. Maybe consider reopening a small campus in a more rural setting like it had in its historical roots when it first opened in the panhandle of Florida or in Cleveland, Tennessee.
 
Huk said:
I have a unique perspective on BJU as the only person in my family to not attend. My parents graduated from there, and my siblings did as well. My father would rather see the college closed than compromised, my mother supports the modern changes, my brother wants nothing to do with the school, and my sister would prefer it to become even more progressive.

As for me, I’d like to see the college stay open, but it can’t survive in today’s world by going back fifty years—to a time when society as a whole was more conservative, and there was no internet, no cable TV, women primarily were expected to be stay-home moms, and the United States was much less diverse. The university is barely scraping by as is, even with some modern evolution in rules and philosophy. Dropping accreditation and installing 1970s rules will completely destroy what little life it has remaining.

If the Board really wants to keep the school alive and also roll the clock back fifty years, then they should strongly consider selling the entire campus and opening a new, smaller campus that just focuses on a handful of majors related to ministry (theology, missions, pastoral studies, Christian teacher education, etc.).

Anyway, that’s my two cents. As I said, I feel like I have a unique perspective as someone who is a bit of both an insider and outsider. I was dead set against attending BJU because it was still operating in the 90s like it was when my parents attended. The racial dating ban was still in effect, it was still not accredited, and there were still a lot of silly rules in place. (I’m sure there was also a bit of teenage rebellion present in me as well.) Greenville is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. I’m sure their land and facilities must be worth a fortune. Sell the expensive campus and reopen a slimmed down version of itself focusing on ministerial college majors in which sports won’t be a topic, accreditation won’t be as significant, and the Board can have a college that operates in an old fashioned manner and it will probably attract ministerial students looking for that environment. Maybe consider reopening a small campus in a more rural setting like it had in its historical roots when it first opened in the panhandle of Florida or in Cleveland, Tennessee.
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That's my two cents, also.
That's four cents!!!
 
Meet the new boss - same as the old boss.

245395557_284060133720302_6778176266016237952_n.jpg

Bob Jones III
 
One week after winning his dispute with Steve Pettit, BJU Board chairman John Lewis has now resigned. I wonder what that is all about?

"There was no reason given for Lewis’ resignation. . . . In the letter, Pettit accused Lewis of, among other things, attempting to delay the university from reporting a Title IX complaint after a trustee allegedly made public comments to faculty about whether female students’ clothing and female athletes’ uniforms 'accentuated their boobs and butts.' The complaint also alleged the trustee may have taken photographs of female students without their consent."

www.wspa.com

Bob Jones University board chair resigns

The chairman of the Bob Jones University Board of Trustees announced on Thursday he would be stepping down from the board.
www.wspa.com www.wspa.com
 
illinoisguy said:
One week after winning his dispute with Steve Pettit, BJU Board chairman John Lewis has now resigned. I wonder what that is all about?

"There was no reason given for Lewis’ resignation. . . . In the letter, Pettit accused Lewis of, among other things, attempting to delay the university from reporting a Title IX complaint after a trustee allegedly made public comments to faculty about whether female students’ clothing and female athletes’ uniforms 'accentuated their boobs and butts.' The complaint also alleged the trustee may have taken photographs of female students without their consent."

www.wspa.com

Bob Jones University board chair resigns

The chairman of the Bob Jones University Board of Trustees announced on Thursday he would be stepping down from the board.
www.wspa.com www.wspa.com
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What a circus….
 
According to this article, John Lewis, who has just resigned, was not the lone villain causing the ongoing circus of confusion at BJU - he was representing a majority of the board. So, Lewis' departure may not necessarily, in itself, result in a dramatic turnaround in the direction of the school and in favor of bringing Pettit back.

"In a move likely unprecedented in modern American higher education, academic leadership of Bob Jones University demanded the resignation of the school’s trustee chair April 3, leading to his sudden resignation three days later. . . .

"The faculty and staff demands initially drew a sharp retort from the six-member trustee Executive Committee — a group handpicked and led by Chairman Lewis. One of the actions taken at the spring meeting was to consolidate power within that small group. Members of the Executive Committee signing the reply letter were Lewis, Bernard, Sam Dawson, Mike Harding, Paul Matthews and Jerry Morgan. They insisted Chairman Lewis had not acted alone but had represented the desires of the Executive Committee and the board in all things."

baptistnews.com

Chairman of Bob Jones University trustees resigns after school’s executive leadership warns of ‘imminent jeopardy’ – Baptist News Global

The faculty and staff demands initially drew a sharp retort from the six-member trustee Executive Committee — a group handpicked and led by Chairman Lewis.
baptistnews.com baptistnews.com

The current fracas must be puzzling for current and prospective students trying to decide whether they want to be in attendance at BJU in September. Will the school still maintain its accreditation? Will there be a crackdown regarding dress codes? Will there be a return to the repressive "control freak" policies that BJU was known for in the past decades? At this point, it's too soon to say.
 
illinoisguy said:
So, Lewis' departure may not necessarily, in itself, result in a dramatic turnaround in the direction of the school and in favor of bringing Pettit back.
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And if Pettit is a smart man, as we can reasonably expect a university president to be, he'll follow up the invitation to return with a polite letter in which he reminds them that he is not a political pawn, and then issues a cordial invitation to lay a wet, sloppy kiss in the area of his left buttock.
 
Here's the latest word on the BJU controversy and John Lewis' departure: "It was unclear how Lewis’ departure would impact Pettit’s decision to resign. . . . As MinistryWatch reported in November and February, Lewis has led the resistance to Pettit, who is accused of being insufficiently fundamentalist because of the style of worship music played at student chapel services, performances in the fine arts program, Pettit’s participation in a bluegrass music band, and uniforms for female athletes. Lewis allegedly resorted to illegal means to keep power, including stealing documents from Pettit’s office, replacing pro-Pettit board members with opponents, and replacing BJU attorney Miles Coleman with a more compliant attorney who confers with Lewis and his supporters."

ministrywatch.com

Chairman of Board At Bob Jones Resigns – MinistryWatch

ministrywatch.com

The issue of the female athletic uniforms at BJU keeps coming up, over and over again. According to this poster on Sharper Iron, there is really no basis for all the outrage and righteous indignation: "I have no problem with the dress of the Women's Basketball team [at BJU]. I looked at outfits and players from PCC, Maranatha and other schools and I can discern no difference in what is being worn or shown on the court."
 
illinoisguy said:
As MinistryWatch reported in November and February, Lewis has led the resistance to Pettit, who is accused of being insufficiently fundamentalist because of the style of worship music played at student chapel services, performances in the fine arts program, Pettit’s participation in a bluegrass music band, and uniforms for female athletes. Lewis allegedly resorted to illegal means to keep power, including stealing documents from Pettit’s office, replacing pro-Pettit board members with opponents, and replacing BJU attorney Miles Coleman with a more compliant attorney who confers with Lewis and his supporters."
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If these allegations are accurate, it is clear who has lost sight of genuine fundamentalism.

I realize that preaches to the choir so, strike up the contemporary blue grass band and come praise the Lord with me!
 
Discussion on Sharper Iron website with regard to the allegations against recently resigned BJU board member John Lewis:

"I can't articulate if these actually happened or not, I am way too far removed. But here is what has been documented and shared with the board. Some of these would not be sins per se, but because people feel they are illegal and doing something illegal would be a sin, they may be classifying these. Again, I am not going to argue for or against these, just put out what has been documented and shared:
  • Stealing of personal papers from Steve Pettit. These were shared by BJU's legal counsel that what was done was illegal in the state of SC. BJU's legal counsel was fired immediately after that meeting by the board.
  • Taking photos of girls, some underaged to highlight ways that these girls are accentuating themselves wrongly through dress. These were done without the individual's consent (thus the Title IX investigation)
  • Accusations of Dr. Lewis getting very heated, angry and bullying school administrators. Accused BJU faculty for being insubordinate.
  • One of the board members reached out to the Universities parliamentarian to get clarification of the process, Dr. Lewis became very angry with the board member and said that they would be removed from the board. The long standing board member was removed from the board.
  • Working outside of his bounds. For example, the chairman writing a note to the Title IX coordinator to suspend all activities related to the investigation. Which is against school policies and government policies.
"Like I said, whether these are 100% true, partially true or all false, I don't know. The first 4 were reported by board members. The last one by Dr. Pettit."

Discussion of the second allegation - picture taking of female students who were not "dressed right:"

"Most of what David mentioned is disturbing, although I don't think it is illegal to take pictures of people in public. I'm not sure how that becomes a Title IX allegation, but again, I don't know all the details of this case."

Response: "In terms of the allegations, the Title IX complaint will need to be investigated as per the school's policies. There are allegations that numerous photos were taken of students, some potentially underaged, put into a slide show and discussions were made specifically around whether their 'breasts' and their 'butts' were inappropriately being accentuated by their outfit in the given picture. Some board members were very uncomfortable. In the past at other institutions, this has been a valid allegation for a Title IX investigation. In fact the Title IX coordinators job is to ensure that the complaint falls within the purview of Title IX, which that appears to be the case at BJU."

Response: "I agree that a Title IX allegation needs to be investigated. I'm not against that at all. It needs to be done. What I don't understand is the basis for the allegation. It is perfectly OK to take picture of people, young and old, who are out in public."

Response: "Agreed that 'the eye cannot trespass' and that that which appears in public does not prevent a 'candid shot,' but the context of the slide show was that the pictures were taken by Trustees (or for them at least) for the purpose of showing how their 'boobs' and 'butts' were being accentuated. Translated; using some pretty coarse language (if accounts be trusted), the Trustees singled out a number of students for humiliation, and if those clothes were typical, more or less most of the women at BJU were just told they didn't belong there, and that they were immodest/immoral, without a chance to defend themselves. That's a really obvious Title IX violation. It's not that the pictures were taken, it's how they were used."

Response: "To say they 'singled out a number of students for humiliation' seems to be putting the worst possible spin on an event that none of us were a part of and not what the slide show was about. It wasn't about humiliating students but to show what was going on at the university dress-wise. I don't even know how any of the people involved would have know about the slide show. People have their pictures taken on campus all the time. I'm not even sure who would have submitted the Title IX accusation, or what the accusation actually is. I work for a major university here in the South. I've gone through Title IX training. I'm not saying I'm some sort of expert, but it certainly isn't obvious to me."

[I wonder if current and prospective female BJU students will feel comfortable about attending a school where the trustees are surreptitiously snapping and circulating photos of them in alleged "inappropriate dress." Whether or not this is a violation of Title IX, I don't know].


 
This commentary was just posted today - the author says that Pettit is being criticized by the hard-liners for policies that were always practiced at BJU from its beginnings under Dr. Bob Sr., such as emphasis on culture (opera, Shakespeare, etc), and openness to SBC students.

matzko.substack.com

(Not) Bob Jones University

Drama at the World's Most Unusual University
matzko.substack.com matzko.substack.com

"The school’s multi-decade decline can be traced back to its appearance before the US Supreme Court with Bob Jones University v. United States (1983), when the school decided to stake the flag of religious liberty on its right to racially discriminate. It was one of the most dunderheaded choices in the history of Christian higher education. BJU was now a non-accredited, non-tax exempt university with a national reputation for sacralized racism. It’s no wonder that student enrollment steadily dropped through the 1980s, 90s, and 00s.

"Were it not for the rise of the Christian homeschooling movement, Bob Jones University might have closed down then. But by selling to homeschoolers looking for conservative curricula, the BJU Press turned into a cash cow—producing textbooks, video tapes, and, later, in-home satellite courses—and bailed out the otherwise tuition-dependent university. That remains true today, although the for-profit functions have been divvied off into a separate entity that continues to cross-subsidize campus operations.

"But by the late 00s, the school was beginning to reach the outer limits of its experiment with whether becoming a press with a vestigial university attached was a sustainable proposition. Student enrollment had gone from decline to rout. The university’s mishandling of sexual abuse allegations made national headlines, a fundamentalist canary in a pre-Me Too coal mine. The last Jones was eased out as the university board jonesed for a fresh face.

"It found it in Steve Pettit. In one sense, Pettit was reminiscent of the first Bob Jones: both itinerant evangelists who crossed denominational lines to hold week-long revival meetings replete with musical accompaniment—from Homer Rodeheaver’s trombone to Pettit’s mandolin. Jones had always been a prodigious fundraiser; and in short order, Pettit proved to be apt in that regard himself, shoring up university finances while pulling on his informal network of churches to bolster student enrollment. But the university’s finances are still such that, as a former board member noted, even a sustained, 10% decline in student enrollment could be enough to bankrupt the university."
 
Geesh...Let it go, man! Does anyone care if Pettit is gone, or would want to come back if asked? This school seems to be going under and needs to find a way to recoup its losses in the # of students attending, in finances, and in service to the Lord, which has seemed to be slipping in these past several years.
 
No, Sir. The University announced an "interim administrative team" to lead the school until the Board of Trustees names a president. The team is composed of Gary Weier, Alan Benson, and Bruce McAllister--a fundamentalist triumvirate, you might say.
 
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