1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Florida Christian University

Discussion in 'Baptist Colleges & Seminaries' started by poodle78, Jan 9, 2005.

  1. poodle78

    poodle78 Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2004
    Messages:
    78
    Likes Received:
    0
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Does anyone have any knowledge of or experience with Florida Christian University in Orlando, FL?

    Thanks.
     
  2. poodle78

    poodle78 Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2004
    Messages:
    78
    Likes Received:
    0
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I just read on the AHBE page that FCU is an affiliate with AHBE. They make it clear that this is not accreditation and the FCU page does not mention it at all, nor do they claim any bogus accreditation. They only mention their legal status with FCPC and CIE.

    In anyone's opinion, is such an affiliation better than none at all, and have such affiliations lead to full accreditation in the past?
     
  3. paidagogos

    paidagogos Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2003
    Messages:
    2,279
    Likes Received:
    0
    What are the websites for FCU and AHBE?
     
  4. poodle78

    poodle78 Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2004
    Messages:
    78
    Likes Received:
    0
    Faith:
    Baptist
  5. Broadus

    Broadus Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2004
    Messages:
    716
    Likes Received:
    0
    Almost all of their instructors have their terminal degrees from FCU, and I don't think any have a doctorate from an accredited institution ( http://www.floridachristianuniversity.edu/courses_instructors.htm ). Both are negative signs. I'd continue looking elsewhere.

    BTW, have you considered the South African institutions to which UZThD has referred in other threads? I think they are better options than almost anything I've seen in the States for doctoral distance education. And you can't beat the price---I paid more tuition at SBTS for one semester than their entire degrees cost.

    Bill
     
  6. poodle78

    poodle78 Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2004
    Messages:
    78
    Likes Received:
    0
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I have looked at SATS and Zululand, but I did not see any offerings in my field. Pretoria only offers the Bachelor's degree and the Master's in Music Therapy. UNISA offers a doctorate in Musicology, however, I doubt I could be admitted into that program. As I have posted before on other fora, I am hampered by an unaccredited master's degree that was given a good review in an early version of Bear's Guide. Clayton University, in St. Louis, MO, was at that time (1987) recognized by the USDoE to the point where I could get a GSL to attend. It wasn't cheap, even by today's SA standards. To make matters worse...it has since closed its doors. Inasmuch as I would like a degree from a seminary or Christian school, I am not quite sure how another secular master's degree would benefit me, even if it is accredited, and I am reluctant to spend the money again on such a degree program.

    I found out today from the Master's Divinity School people that there are not enough music courses in the Scholar's Choice library to form a concentration. That leaves me with very few choices. Here they are, in no particular order:

    1. Florida Christian University
    www.floridachristianuniversity.edu

    2. Evangelical Theological Seminary
    www.evangelicaltheologicalseminary.edu

    3. Dayspring University and Seminary
    www.dayspring-university.edu

    4. Northwestern Theological Seminary
    www.northwesternseminary.com

    FCU and Dayspring are my top two choices right now, and in case of a tie FCU holds the tie-breaker by being affiliated with AHBE.

    Two schools, Conservative Theological Seminary and Logos Theological Seminary, have told me they will be offering music programs in the near future. There may be other schools/programs that I am not aware of.
    [​IMG]
     
  7. poodle78

    poodle78 Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2004
    Messages:
    78
    Likes Received:
    0
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I forgot to list another school offering music degrees via distance.

    Miami Christian University
    www.mcu.edu

    I am not giving this program much consideration and am only listing it for information. :rolleyes:
     
  8. Broadus

    Broadus Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2004
    Messages:
    716
    Likes Received:
    0
    I don't mean to be always the bearer of negative opinion, but my concern is that you add to an uaccredited master's the effort, time, and money for a doctorate which, down the road, fails to accomplish what you are really after. Will pastors and churches see a doctorate in music from the institutions you've listed as legitimate and creditable? I don't know, but the question must be considered. I may be wrong about the choices which you've put forth, but that is my only concern.

    You are certainly putting a lot of time and research in determining your best route, and I applaud you for that. I hope you the best.

    Bill
     
  9. poodle78

    poodle78 Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2004
    Messages:
    78
    Likes Received:
    0
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Bill,
    I don't consider any honest and concerned opinion to be 'negative.' As I read over your post, I couldn't help but think back over the last few years. As I would send out a resume' listing my Master's from Clayton, I would typically get the same question: "have you ever thought about going to seminary?" Well, that started me looking for a distance program, and I found Covington. The program may have not been enough, but I did work quite dilligently on it. Now, I realize that I should have looked a bit further. However, if I do go back for another master's degree, where would it be from? I know that Northern Iowa offers a distance Master of Music Ed degree, CSU-DH offers a Master of Humanities with a concentration in music, and UNISA offers a master's degree in musicology. Now how would that degree fly in Joanna? :D But what do I then say when the "have you ever thought about going to seminary" questions start up again? I realize that music is not something typically taught or learned through distance education, but that is how I will attempt it, if I decide to attempt it at all. [​IMG]
     
  10. Broadus

    Broadus Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2004
    Messages:
    716
    Likes Received:
    0
    Have you thought about doing work which focuses upon worship? I have a friend who graduated from SBTS with an MDiv in Worship and he is presently an associate pastor/minister of music in a First Baptist Church in northern Georgia. He has a good size adult choir, orchestra, senior adult choir, and, I believe, a children's choir.

    With your music degree from Furman (if I remember correctly) and your experience, another "music" degree, per se, may not really be necessary. Adding a master's which focuses upon worship would be attractive to many churches, IMO. For instance, it looks as though Liberty has a distance education MA in Religion which focuses upon worship: http://www.liberty.edu/DistanceLearning/worship_leader_schools.htm . Evidently, one can also pursue an MDiv majoring in worship at Liberty.

    I suspect this would fly in Joanna, as well as a lot of other places!

    Bill
     
  11. paidagogos

    paidagogos Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2003
    Messages:
    2,279
    Likes Received:
    0
    What are the websites for FCU and AHBE?

    The website for FCU is:
    www.floridachristianuniversity.edu

    for the Association for Higher Biblical Education:
    http://abhe.gospelcom.net

    The page listing affiliates:
    http://abhe.gospelcom.net/affiliates.htm
    </font>[/QUOTE]Thanks. I checked out FCU’s Christian counseling program. They don’t have the foggiest notion of what Christian counseling is. They are mixing Larry Crabb and Jay Adams with every conceivable harebrained pop psychology under the sun. IMHO, they don’t even understand what they are teaching. I think their course descriptions were written from blurbs off the dust jackets of their texts.

    Furthermore, I found that their founder, a guy named Shindoll, got his doctorate from his own school. Since Cotton Mather, it has taken a doctor to make a doctor. Seems that Shindoll made himself a doctor by fiat.
     
  12. paidagogos

    paidagogos Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2003
    Messages:
    2,279
    Likes Received:
    0
    Bill,
    I don't consider any honest and concerned opinion to be 'negative.' As I read over your post, I couldn't help but think back over the last few years. As I would send out a resume' listing my Master's from Clayton, I would typically get the same question: "have you ever thought about going to seminary?" Well, that started me looking for a distance program, and I found Covington. The program may have not been enough, but I did work quite dilligently on it. Now, I realize that I should have looked a bit further. However, if I do go back for another master's degree, where would it be from? I know that Northern Iowa offers a distance Master of Music Ed degree, CSU-DH offers a Master of Humanities with a concentration in music, and UNISA offers a master's degree in musicology. Now how would that degree fly in Joanna? :D But what do I then say when the "have you ever thought about going to seminary" questions start up again? I realize that music is not something typically taught or learned through distance education, but that is how I will attempt it, if I decide to attempt it at all. [​IMG]
    </font>[/QUOTE]My advice is to do your own thing. If it is good enough, then people will recognize quality, innovation, and creativity. Don't worry about a piece of paper anyway--it's only vanity in many cases. Most of all, don't be attracted to the sheepskin so much that you buy a bogus rag. Such is a detriment to your quality and character.
     
  13. paidagogos

    paidagogos Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2003
    Messages:
    2,279
    Likes Received:
    0
     
  14. paidagogos

    paidagogos Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2003
    Messages:
    2,279
    Likes Received:
    0
    What are the websites for FCU and AHBE?

    The website for FCU is:
    www.floridachristianuniversity.edu

    for the Association for Higher Biblical Education:
    http://abhe.gospelcom.net

    The page listing affiliates:
    http://abhe.gospelcom.net/affiliates.htm
    </font>[/QUOTE]The FCU website has a picture of a rather large modern building. I would be greatly surprised if this is all FCU. My hunch is that FCU rents an office suite in this building but most folks would assume from the picture that this whole building is FCU. I could be mistaken. Does anyone know?
     
  15. Broadus

    Broadus Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2004
    Messages:
    716
    Likes Received:
    0
     
Loading...