A plea to the Asbury community: Don't cooperate with Bible Belt Blogger
Posted November 18, 2006
This note was posted today on two Asbury seminary on-line forums accessible to thousands of students, alumni, faculty and employees:
ATS Family and anyone who is reading postings on these two First Class icons, It has come to my attention by a member of the Administration that our internal ATS family communications on these two icons are systematically being sent to a reporter with the Lexington Herald Leader (LHL.)
While I want to believe that the motives of this individual or organization are well intended and I confess the possibility that the person responsible might not directly be an ATS family member, I want to humbly request the following be considered:
1) Elephants in the room will finally be noticed. If not seen, we will eventually run into them as we walk around the room. [ I lived in East Africa 14 years. Elephants will make themselves known! ] It's not a local news organization that helps our ATS family get honest, truthful and real with each other. Only the Holy Spirit can do this. If anything, the LHL inclusion might push us apart and continue us on destructive paths we need to jump off of.
2) The results of passing this on to a very public web blog seems to hurt ATS and the mission to which God has called us, not help. There are some things Christians need to be screaming from the roof tops - like over 6,000 people dying every day in Africa alone of AIDS and AIDS complications.
3) I know there is concern that the carpet at ATS has a lot of dirt under it and concern that more is being put there. I question whether the light of the LHL is the light we need to see if the carpet bulge is dirt or a wrinkle of the rubber anti-slip mat.. One of my beliefs is that God will bring into the light of holiness what has been done in darkness. It might not be on our time table or in our way, but God's way and timing - which is infinitely better. Besides, when God shines his light, he comes with a shop vac to clean it up and remove it forever.
4) There might be others who would like to share more openly in a internal forum in the ATS family. This action does not lend itself to creating more openness that we so need and desire.
Think about it brothers and sisters. I am not saying let us squash information or fail to allow people a flatbed pickup truck from which to speak. I am simply requesting that whoever is using the cut and paste method to forward internal communications to the Herald blogger think about the benefits. I just don't see how this action profits ATS, ATS's mission and our ATS family in this leadership crisis, especially Dr Greenway, who I would willing take a bullet for.
Archived Comments
Sounds to me that this post is a sign that this blog has done something beneficial. H. L. Mencken, with whom I do not always agree (truly I don't), once defined the word "conscience" in a memorable way: "the inner voice which warns us that someone may be looking." Well, folks ARE looking at ATS, and if the trustees there have acted in a manner consistent more with secular politics than with religion or spirituality, didn't Jesus say something about "ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"? Posted by: John Sparks | November 18, 2006 at 01:51 AM Whoever is forwarding these e-mails to Frank Lockwood -- and I imagine there might be more than just one --could be motivated by a desire to prevent a successful cover-up, or to vindicate Dr. Greenway's reputation in the Holiness Church community. I am somewhat sympathetic to the writer's desire for discretion. We don't want every personnel decision ATS makes splashed onto a blog. But Dr. Greenway's hiring and firing were both public acts, and the board tried to use his own conscience against him, to gag him (counting on his reluctance not to sue them, in light of 1st Corinthian's admonition for Christians to not sue each other). The alumni have a vested interest and religious motives in making sure their school is being run in accordance with the highest Christian ethical standards. Since there seems to be no higher governing authority at ATS than its board, the only system of accountability available might be alumni opinion. If the board has acted toward the former president in an egregious manner, and made his job unperformable in order to set him up for an inevitable firing, then the alumni ought to know. This is one way to do it. Posted by: Jack Brooks | November 18, 2006 at 09:40 AM An investigative reporter worth half his (or her) salt could have parlayed this ongoing Asbury mess into scads of juicy press since early September. Exposing Evangelical leaders is a hot topic. The Herald Leader chose not to do this. Why? We can only speculate. The fact remains that Asbury Seminary was left untouched by the hands of outside journalistic investigation. But make no mistake, the outside community was watching and waiting and surprisingly savy to the debacle. We watched in skeptical patience for moral integrity to burst forth like the Saints on horseback. Surprise! The Saints were a no show. Not one person I knew was horrified, or appalled at the "Asbury incident". There was no gasp with widened eyes, or shaking of head in confoundment. I saw a uniformly tepid smile and shrug of shoulders in knowing resolution of "what else is new". Unchristian behavior from the ones who proclaim the loudest? Who knew. And now the time has come to retrospect the occurrances of the past 2 months. To examine the dispicably unchristian actions of your board. To regroup what is left of the benefactors and alliances and attempt to exit this man-made horror with chin up and head high. And you want to do it in secret again? Pardon but....it's too late. Posted by: Lexingtonian | November 18, 2006 at 10:23 AM One wonders, based on this example, if they still teach the English language at Asbury. Though I do like the image of God bringing a shop vac with him when he shines the light on us . . . Posted by: Caleb Powers | November 18, 2006 at 11:23 AM As a Christian community, the Asbury seminary folks are going to have a reputation for living truthfully or being liars in the broader public community. If they want to have a reputation for truthfulness and integrity, they're going to have to earn it with some transparency. Posted by: Kyle | November 18, 2006 at 12:26 PM To speculate with no sound evidence just creates hardships for all involved. To continue to hide and be secretive leads to speculation. Posted by: perplexed | November 18, 2006 at 12:48 PM