At a six and a half hour meeting on Thursday, February 5th, the board of Bethlehem College & Seminary adopted a policy on sex and gender identity after extensive discussion over multiple meetings. Institutions and individuals tethered to the Bible inescapably encounter cultural headwinds, and it serves all stakeholders (and is in fact loving toward the very culture that takes our standards as an offense) for the leadership to clearly articulate its biblical values and standards. Special thanks to Sam Storms. The policy is available upon request.
The board invested a season of prayerful thanksgiving to God for generous gifts to the school at the end of 2014, and asked God to provide the funds still needed ($716,000) to meet anticipated expenses for the remainder of the fiscal year, to replenish depleted reserves, and to provide scholarship and capital building support. Special thanks to Rick Segal and Jason Abell.
We reviewed the recent 2015 Conference for Pastors which Bethlehem College & Seminary is acquiring from Desiring God. While 1,600 attended in person, an additional 35,000 attended via live-streaming, and many more will benefit from free downloads online. Special thanks to David Clifford.
The question of what it means to be church-based received three hours of debate, and after interrupting the discussion for prayer, God gave us an apparent breakthrough to a new policy affecting faculty. Special thanks to John Piper.
We established a governance committee charter under the leadership of Steve Christiansen.
The board noted books being published by Bethlehem College & Seminary faculty, missions opportunities being pursued by staff and students, progress in pursuit of institutional accreditation, and more. I thank God for the caliber of men God has drawn to the Bethlehem College & Seminary Board, the faculty, and the student body.
Sam Crabtree
Chairman of the Board
Bethlehem College & Seminary
Prayer Requests …
- Ask God to provide the funds still needed ($716,000) to meet anticipated expenses for the remainder of the fiscal year.
- Prayer of praise: Thank God with us as He gave clarity and unity to the Board as we adopted new policies on sex & gender identity and what it means to be a church-based Institution.
