Louisiana Baptist University and Theological Seminary

[Baptist Renegade]

Just wondering if anyone here has any affiliation with this institution. I am currently in their MATS Program with a concentration in Systematic Theology.

Any other students? Alumni? Faculty?

Is this place a cult? Any juicy scandals or salacious rumors or gossip you would like to share or instigate?

Louisiana Baptist University

 

[AverageJoe]

I once considered them, but things didn't fall into place for me to be a student. Don't really know much about them except that my pastor at that time gave them as one of his recommendations.

 

[illinoisguy]

I don't have any inside information about Louisiana Baptist University - good, bad or ugly.

Here is an article about LBU founder Jimmy Tharpe. He appears to have been prominent in Baptist Bible Fellowship circles, as well as having a Landmark Baptist background, which in my opinion is a good thing: "In regard to the New Testament church, Tharpe taught that Jesus 'did not organize a big, universal, mystical body. He organized a local church with a group of baptized believers who covenanted together in an assembly to carry out His commands. It is a privilege to be a part of it. Great blessings are in store for those who keep the doors of the church open. People who put Christ first, who will dare to be different, who will suffer for his cause, are the ones who believe that His church is great.'"

Jimmy G. Tharpe - Conservapedia

www.conservapedia.com

The Wikipedia article has miminal information:

Louisiana Baptist University - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Baptist Renegade]

I don't have any inside information about Louisiana Baptist University - good, bad or ugly.

Here is an article about LBU founder Jimmy Tharpe. He appears to have been prominent in Baptist Bible Fellowship circles, as well as having a Landmark Baptist background, which in my opinion is a good thing: "In regard to the New Testament church, Tharpe taught that Jesus 'did not organize a big, universal, mystical body. He organized a local church with a group of baptized believers who covenanted together in an assembly to carry out His commands. It is a privilege to be a part of it. Great blessings are in store for those who keep the doors of the church open. People who put Christ first, who will dare to be different, who will suffer for his cause, are the ones who believe that His church is great.'"

Jimmy G. Tharpe - Conservapedia

www.conservapedia.com

The Wikipedia article has miminal information:

Louisiana Baptist University - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

They are a BBFI School although they train Southern Baptists as well. The Academic Dean of the Seminary is a Southern Baptist Pastor in the Shreveport area from what I know. One of the first conversations I had with him was "Y'all don't push that Baptist Perpetuity nonsense do you?" He laughed and then told me that they give a wide berth and are not dogmatic one way or the other on the subject. Ecclesiology comes up next semester so I guess we will see!

My personal position on the matter is that the LORD Jesus Christ built ONE CHURCH which is a universal body of believers that meets and organizes LOCALLY and will ultimately stand before our Lord and be presented as ONE BODY. Every believer should affiliate and make themselves accountable to a LOCAL Congregation where you make yourself known and become a participant in their ministries. Being a good Baptist, I believe in the autonomy of the Local Church but I believe a certain level of accountability between congregations is a good thing. Ecclesiastical oversight does not extend beyond the Local Church.

I can only speak of the online learning experience but it seems the bulk of the theological courses are "Independent Study" meaning you read the prescribed text and then write anywhere from three to six papers on whatever topic they assign (Decrees of God, Views of Imputation, Atonement Theories, and so forth). You get to decide which direction you are going to take and are free to come to your own conclusion so long as it is biblical, well-defended, and presented in a scholarly manner. They are not Calvinistic and I chose it for this reason because I already lean towards this direction and didn't want to be indoctrinated by those who will simply agree with me. They are not anti-Calvinistic though but they do keep me on my toes and cause me to ensure my position is well thought out and presented. Many of the papers I have submitted are overtly Calvinistic (Decrees of God for example) and I am maintaining an A average and often receive commendations from my non-Calvinistic professors! This semester I have to write a paper on the extent of the atonement so I guess they really like trying to "Poke the Bear!"

Big pluses for this institution is their flexibility plus their affordability. Another advantage is the ability to think for yourself and arrive at your own conclusions on a matter. No indoctrination or groupthink going on here!

The biggest drawback is that they are not as "Structured" as other institutions. There are no lectures or learning objectives so you are pretty much on your own aside from an email or phone call to your professor (who seem to be quite responsive). I still have my "Language" courses to do so I couldn't see NOT having significantly more structure and learning objectives to follow. My pastor is anxious to assist when I get to this point so I'm sure I will have a good support network but I'll provide feedback when the time comes.