brianb said:
I don't deny that these things happened to them however why don't think give the year(s) they attended? To say that this is how students are treated today is just assumption at best and libelous at worst.
The college is only about 18 years old. Saying such abuse was soooo last century is a bit ridiculous. The same top 3 execs have run the joint the entire time. If they have morphed into kinder, more gracious leaders then they should apologize for past bad behavior.
brianb said:
Every one I know personally including those who disagree with some things such as teachings at West Coast all give the school positive marks at least in how they were treated. I know my pastor would not tolerate any of his children (the last of whom graduated from there a couple of years ago) being treated like that and although they obeyed the rules they didn't share every personal conviction that Chappell had.
I know many unrelated people who have attended. Some are obviously treated better than others. The children of a pastor who will rec the school to others is a "preferred customer" and will more than likely get preferential treatment. It also stands to reason that when teens get guilted and manipulated into going to Bible college they are probably not going to be the best rule followers. This does not excuse the bad behavior by the admin described by the former students.
brianb said:
Not every one who spends 4 years of their life there becomes a fundie-bot or a Chappell-bot.
This is certainly true based on all the people who have decided to leave the IFBx completely after getting out of WCBC. Their stories never make it in the glossy marketing material the college sends out.
brianb said:
If his school was training students from other churches to be like that dean in the video the pastors of at least some of the churches would not want to send any more students there. Many IFB pastors see West Coast Baptist College as a last hope for their young people especially those going into ministry.
You can't be serious....If they think WCBC is the last hope for their young people their faith is completely misplaced. Jesus is our hope, not some overpriced unaccredited kawledge. smh
brianb said:
If WCBC is no different than any other IFB college such as HAC where the pastor/chancellor wants to change the way you think in such a way that you think the IFB church you came from is wrong in some way so that you decide to leave it or never go back that would be a loss for them. It's also a loss for WCBC if IFB churches who won't recommend any other college won't recommend that college to any one in their churches. If someone is called to serve as a missionary and there are no options in IFB circles where they can be trained the only alternative to them is to leave the church they were in and go somewhere else (most likely an SBC college or a university like Liberty). Chappell can't afford to be so divisive that he separates from the last remaining IFB churches who are friendly with him whether they agree with everything he does or not. One thing about Chappell and this is true of maybe a few other IFB pastors is that he doesn't divide over minor differences between churches though he is not likely to allow those differences in his church - an example of this is music - there are IFB churches that are more contemporary than his church like in the music they play but he still associates with them. When you say he micro-manages people's lives especially his staff I won't deny this - you obviously know more about this than I do so I'll take your word for it - however I hope that he would learn from other pastors of large churches how to treat or manage people in his own church. This is a problem with churches today and I don't think it's just in IFB circles. Many pastors don't know how to pastor a mega-church properly - some have adopted a business model and that's a mistake - it's not Biblical. I'm not a fan of mega-churches but they seem to be somewhat of a necessity these days - many will not go to a church unless it has certain ministries or amenities and they often find these in a mega-church - they want good music and good doctrine that they find in small churches but they want more than that.
They separate with churches over music, Bible preference, dress standards, etc. I remember one young college girl sharing how she came from a place where girls wore pants. At WCBC she learned why she should be wearing skirts instead. He makes graduates promise to return their "degree" if they ever disagree with WCBC over things, including KJVO.
I certainly believe he wants to change the rest of IFB to be more like him. And his church is a good example of a church run like a business. I have heard staff members are expected to bring in enough new people to justify their salary. Yeah, it is a business.
brianb said:
That guy who was mistreated by the Dean of Students should not have assumed that this is acceptable behavior for a Dean. Just because he was hired to have authority over students it doesn't mean he has the right to do anything he wants with them. He should or better yet he and a friend should have gone to Paul Chappell personally - if Paul Chappell claims to follow the Bible literally he should have no problem with this. Also those who go to Paul Chappell should be doing it in the right spirit and be ready to show from the Bible if necessary that how they were treated was wrong.
Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Sorry, but that would not have been well received.
I think he should have reported the Dean to the police.
brianb said:
I've been in an IFB church for over 20 years and I've never been treated that way by any one including the pastors. Though personally I wouldn't endorse WCBC especially as a college to go to and live at I would not tell people who know the rules and want to go not to go there - anyone who goes to any college should know beforehand how they will be treated if they break any of the rules or are falsely accused of doing such.
If they are the last hope for the IFB why wouldn't you recommend them?
The glossy marketing materials do not include the long list of rules. Will WCBC disclose all the policies and rules before the student makes the sizable investment of coming to the high desert that is Lancaster?
brianb said:
If they think they are going to get in trouble possibly because they got in trouble in the public school they went to - some are public school grads who for some reason decided to go to an unaccredited Bible college - of course being in an IFB church helps. If you don't want anyone to go to an IFB college you need to convince them to change from an IFB church to something different - if their church treats them well no matter how they behave - the only other way to get them to change would be in the matter of doctrine like convincing someone to become a Calvinist.
I do not follow your reasoning here. Please restate.