Posted on 11/03/2022 10:12:27 AM PDT by fwdude
FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary confirmed with Baptist Press today (Oct. 27) that the entity has initiated layoffs a week after announcing steps to rectify a financial environment that could “quickly escalate to a crisis.”
“As part of the previously announced intention to implement organizational restructuring, including budget reductions, at the direction of the board of trustees, the interim administration has informed certain staff their employment has been ended,” a statement read. “These have been extremely difficult decisions as we seek to address our current challenges.”
When asked by BP if information on the number of affected staff could be released, a seminary spokesman responded, “Not at this time.” BP was unable to confirm whether more layoffs are forthcoming.
“We recognize the disruption that this causes for these staff members and their families,” the statement continued. “There is certainly no joy in having to make these decisions at this time. Appropriate severance is being offered to affected employees.”
Interim President David S. Dockery presented the aforementioned “organization restructuring” to trustees on the second day of their Oct. 17-18 gathering on Seminary Hill. It was the group’s first gathering since the resignation of former president Adam W. Greenway.
“The [SWBTS] community is praying not only for the Lord’s provision and favor but for genuine renewal to come to the Southwestern campus,” Dockery told trustees on Oct. 18.
The restructuring includes a reduction of the operational and personnel budget by at least 10 percent, representing approximately $3.6 million. Those cuts will come primarily from the area of institutional support, beginning with programming over personnel, Dockery said.
A yearslong evaluation of the seminary’s 200-acre “campus footprint and its optimal use” has led to placing the B.H. Carroll Park Apartments on the market. Other parcels surrounding the main campus may follow suit, said Dockery.
Trustees spent Oct. 17 in closed session reviewing seminary financials and, said Chairman Danny Roberts, “had access to any and all information they requested.”
“As a result, we are requesting the auditors to do some additional work to carefully examine all expenditures, especially those which raised concerns,” he said in the group’s open session Oct. 18.
O.S. Hawkins, serving as senior advisor and ambassador-at-large since retiring as Guidestone president, commended trustees as “the most engaged group of men and women I have ever seen.”
On Oct. 24, Baptist Press sent a list of follow-up questions to SWBTS that requested clarity on the new financial guardrails and “multi-faceted matters” mentioned by Dockery that led to the current financial position as well as if details from the audits would be provided.
BP received the following statement:
“Southwestern Seminary trustees continue to work with the interim administration in executing the actions taken by the board during its meeting. As it is appropriate to share new developments, we will provide that information. We were delighted to host the largest recent fall Preview Day in some years on Oct. 21, welcoming more than 300 prospective students and their families, and culminating with more than 650 participants in our fall festival. Our Admissions team is aggressively recruiting students to study with our first-class faculty of scholar-ministers who not only teach their subjects with excellence, but help our students live their calling as Gospel ministers during their studies. Our campus community has been infused with multiple prayer gatherings as students, faculty, and staff humbly seek God’s blessings under the theme verse of Psalm 90:17.”
Interesting. SW is supposed to be conservative and literalist in its orientation as opposed to Louisville which is lib. I don’t know about what orientation New Orleans is.
Honestly, it’s hard to determine whether the decline in this seminary’s viability is due to remaining staunchly orthodox in theology, or because of the inroads that liberalism has had (it has liberalized to some degree for a couple of decades.)
I’m betting on the latter.
Seminaries of various stripes are in financial straits all around the country. When religious organizations lost the plot back in the 60s they began to die.
The residential/on campus model was in trouble even before Covid.
I don’t recall the seminary as being in a good area. (It’s been years since I did some research in their library) and getting rid of buffer property isn’t going to help in the long run.
Might be better to do like Reformed in Jackson and abandon the campus and downsize facilities. (Although RTS probably didn’t jump far enough and in the wrong direction.)
My perception is that the flood of draft dodgers into seminaries everywhere did incalcuable harm to Christianity in the US. It is true that as soon as the draft and Viet Nam ended many of these yellow bastards quickly resigned from the clergy to peusue more bucks, often as stock brokers or wealth management specialists’. But the damage had been done and many of these shits infiltrated the staff of seminaries. The first person I heard supporting queer marriage, albeit in Aesopian language, which my mother caught not I, was one of these weasels who I had known almost his entire life. Amazing, his father was a good guy and a WW2 combat vet. His son turned out to be both gutless and a weasel.
The area of the seminary campus has indeed fallen into decrepit condition, mostly due to the influx of illegal immigrants and the cultural rot that follows that influence. It’s an odd juxtaposition, with the grand, classical stone architecture of the school contrasted against the nearby cracker boxes made even more trashy by the front yard fence walls that the Hispanics love to construct, not to mention the parking lots they make out of their yards.
Not easily moved.
I used to love the formerly popular nearby shopping destination, Seminary South, one of the first shopping malls in the Southwest. Now it’s a Mexican flea market, with no anchor stores, and a crime hazard.
Religious institutions quickly go broke when they go woke.
Good find!
Liberal? Don’t confuse “Louisville Seminary” with “Southern Baptist Theological Seminary” in Louisville. Very different institutions.
SB where I went to church thought the SBC Seminary in Louisville to be a den of race mixiing, civil rights pimping, non literalist liberal pinko commies. I kid you not. A seminarian seeking summer employment was going to be either shown the door or handed a rake if he was from Louisville SBC seminary.
Bkmk
The charlatans have finally wormed their way to the top and cleaned out the accounts endowments included.
I’ve lived within a long block of their campus for over 40 years. It used to be open and community friendly, with many students living in the community. Then tall fences went up and students had to live in campus housing. That’s when they became all about the money and student contact with the outside world discouraged.
You are correct.
Looks like an area where I’d be relatively comfortable in daylight, but wouldn’t want to walk around after dark.
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