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Southern Seminary facing budget shortfall

Discussion in 'News & Current Events' started by Crabtownboy, Dec 17, 2008.

  1. Crabtownboy

    Crabtownboy Well-Known Member
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    http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3716&Itemid=53

    More and more agencies in trouble. Sad news ... all over the world. The seminary here in Prague is also facing financial shortfalls.
     
  2. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    Our interim is a professor at Southern, no wonder he is cutting costs for his family.
     
  3. rbell

    rbell Active Member

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    Forgive me for flashes of the obvious...I'm probably the last one to think of stuff like this:

    I went to SBTS years ago (didn't finish there...I was hit by an uninsured motorist, and was broke, & couldn't afford to be there. I left, got on my feet, and ended up finishing at Southwestern since they had an accelerated MDiv that let me take 18 less hours).

    Anyhoo...from all the colleges/higher ed institutions I ever went to...they all send me letters asking for $$. And I realized: most colleges have alums that go on to be filthy rich, and they are able to endow some nice stuff.

    Seminaries, in training ministers, are training primarily middle class to lower-middle class alums. Folks like me are making it just fine, but we don't have disposable incomes in the thousands to just give away. If I were to send them a donation, it would be two figures (maybe three on a good month, or if I did without). I'm sure that kind of statistic adds up significantly.

    Like I said...I'm probably the only one that hasn't thought about that.
     
  4. Martin

    Martin Active Member

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    ==Southern Seminary is not alone. I know the UNC system is cutting back as are the North Carolina Community Colleges (my employer). The college I teach at has reverted around 4-5% of its 08-09 budget to the State of North Carolina. There are no more trips, no endless copying, no new fancy equipment for our "smart" classrooms, and all open positions are frozen. They are saying that such cuts are temporary and that things should be better in 09-10. The good thing for me is that I am already on the schedule for 09-10. However if things don't get better soon I would not be surprised to see some faculty layoffs and "retirements".


    As for SBTS, I am not surprised. SWBTS made a simular announcement. However I am concerned that Mohler said construction on a "14,000 square-foot Welcome Pavilion under construction at the front entrance to the seminary's campus" will continue. If they are having to lay people off all construction should stop. Continuing to build a fancy "welcome pavilioni" while having to strip people of their jobs is tacky. I think many of these seminaries waste good money building fancy buildings. There is nothing wrong with having a nice campus but some of these construction projects are not necessary.
     
    #4 Martin, Dec 17, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 17, 2008
  5. billwald

    billwald New Member

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    Half the people in college should not be there

    Several years ago happenstance put me next to the president of a well respected Baptist seminary at the lunch table. He told me that half his students were not qualified to be pastors.

    This applies to most colleges. The sad state of education in the US is such that most kids need 2 years of college to get a high school education. Yes, there are exceptions but I suspect that half the exceptions go to private schools or are home schooled.

    Further, years ago when the "The Bell Curve" was published, it noted that fundamentalist Christians are under represented in Corporate board rooms and the Episcopal Church is over represented.
     
  6. Timsings

    Timsings Member
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    If this work is "continuing", then that means that it has already been contracted. It likely cannot be stopped without the seminary having to pay off the entire contract. Because of this, those funds cannot used to save any jobs. They are already committed.

    Tim Reynolds
     
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