My History with The Lord (Bible College)

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I had a good start to my relationship with Jesus.  I was in a very non-traditional congregation that was relationship-based.  I was in a small bible study and was mentored almost daily.  We had deep discussions about the Bible and life and Jesus.  We prayed.  I had a true sense of purpose. I was forgiven.  I had some tangible, immediate changes in my behavior, emotions, and thinking.  I had peace.  I didn’t doubt. I was awake and alert.

Then I got it in my head that I wanted to go to Bible College.  I thought that Bible College would just be an extension of what I had experienced at home…not so much.

Sam tried to warn me, but I was still naive.  I thought the only reason someone would go to a Bible College was to go deeper with the Lord and to unlock the potential of “the Word” in their lives.  That just wasn’t the case…

Again, I admit, I’ve not been super hung-up on lots of detailed theology.  I always thought that there are a lot of details that are open to interpretation.  I recognize that way of thinking is a slippery slope and even dangerous.  2^nd Timothy 2:15 talks about, “correctly handling the Truth” and the Bereans, “were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” in Acts 17:11.  I also know wrong or false theology will send you down a destructive path (2^nd Peter 2:1-3, But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.)

At the same time, I’m haunted by the words of Jesus to the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Teachers of the Law, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)  You can diligently search the scriptures and miss Jesus.  I got a little caught up in some of the study about Jesus but not know Jesus at Bible College.

I would not have made it through my first year of Bible College without Tony Beaverson.  He is, to this day, one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met.  He had a big “afro” and round wire rimmed glasses.  He had a 12-string guitar and a giant van.  He was the 1981 version of the post-hippie-pre-grunge-mid-emo-folk-music dude.  He somehow could manage to be anti-establishment while maintaining a good working rapport with “The Man.”  Unfortunately (for me) he graduated after my first year and went back to the North Pole where he worked in Santa’s workshop or something like that.

After he left, I just started pissing-off some of the establishment people.  I just didn’t have that skill to listen and quietly disagree without being crusty.  So my second semester of my sophomore year I decided to play fully by the “rules.” I got a haircut, put on a suit, grabbed a mic and toured on an outreach team promoting the school.  I looked at embracing some of their core teachings: Baptism by immersion as the point of salvation, a secession of God’s direct voice or communication to man when the Bible was collected, a phasing out of the miraculous, a fear (hostility) towards those who believed in the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” and “Spoke in Tongues.”

I met some great people at Bible College and I had some great teachers.  My “Techniques of Teaching” class with Dan Shantz clarified my desire to be a teacher. But it was the pervasive and somewhat unspoken but implied, “It’s all about what you know, not who you know” that messed with my heart.

I couldn’t fully embrace that core group of positions, yet I felt guilty for doubting them.  I started not liking the Bible very much when it had been so essential to my heart two years earlier.  I knew I wasn’t going to be a preacher, so I decided to leave the Bible College and go to the nearby University.  I felt like I was defeated.  It ended being one of my better decisions.