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Reporting the Truth.
Restoring the Church.

Moody Bible Institute Facing Unprecedented Crisis. Please Pray!

By Julie Roys
Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute's campus in Chicago, Illinois.

The Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is facing what is arguably one of the most serious crises it’s faced in its 132-year history.  In addition to a dramatic financial downturn, which caused the institute to close its Spokane campus and cut nearly one-third of its faculty, MBI leaders are now dealing with allegations that they have betrayed the institute’s mission. 

Tomorrow, the Executive Committee of the Moody Bible Institute Board of Trustees is meeting with President Paul Nyquist to discuss extremely serious allegations against his administration.  These include:

  • Allowing professors who deny the inerrancy of Scripture to teach at the institute and write curriculum
  • Allowing a professor who supports Planned Parenthood, liberation theology, and a host of other liberal causes to teach at the school, and even spearhead missions conferences
  • Permitting a top education official to violate the institute’s bylaws repeatedly, and openly practice reverse-discrimination
  • Fostering an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, silencing whistleblowers by reprimanding, or even firing them
  • Refusing to allow shared governance with faculty as stipulated by the Higher Learning Commission, which oversees accreditation for Moody

I first learned of some of these allegations in October and forwarded credible information to certain trustees, urging them to conduct an investigation.  Instead, these trustees went directly to President Nyquist, failed to interview a single faculty member, and dropped the matter without relaying any of the information to the rest of the board.

In November The Moody Standard, the MBI student newspaper, published an Open Letter expressing multiple concerns about the administration.  The letter, which was penned anonymously by “Moody staff,” charged that the administration had “engendered a culture of fear” and added, “(W)e don’t feel that the administration is willing to listen or respond in wise ways.”

The authors also charged that the administration had purposefully whitewashed certain facts connected to recent staff reductions, noting that Moody had told Christianity Today that it was cutting 10-percent of institute staff.  “What this doesn’t reveal,” the letter states, “is that 34 of 112 full-time faculty have been cut – just under one-third.”

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The authors also questioned the wisdom of constructing the $22-million Gary Chapman Global Media Center in the midst of a financial crisis, and challenged Nyquist’s explanation that a recent drastic downturn in student enrollment was the result of a nationwide trend “there was no way to predict.”  “(T)his enrollment bubble has been on the horizon for 12 years,” they write.  “How could the administration possibly have missed this?”

I couldn’t find the Open Letter at the Moody Standard website, but a recently-launched website called the “The Broken Twig: Documenting the Decline and Fall of the Moody Bible Institute” published the letter. 

For several days, The Broken Twig also posted a detailed and revealing email from Intercultural Studies Professor Jean Penfound to Vice President & Associate Provost of Faculty Larry Davidhizar. The email complained of three administrative issues: “inconsistencies between stated beliefs and actions, antagonism toward faculty and intentional actions to squelch true shared governance.”  It also stated that “faculty are fearful of administrative retribution” and that “morale is low.”

These published complaints also failed to rouse trustees to conduct any significant investigation.  So over the past few months, I have been conducting my own investigation.  I have recorded hours of interviews with numerous MBI faculty and staff. And on December 15, I flew to Detroit with a trusted friend and presented my findings to Trustee Emeritus Paul Johnson and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees Rick Warren. At about the same time, Theology Professor Rich Weber also sent Johnson a 65-page document, detailing shocking allegations of wrongdoing and including numerous supporting documents. (see note below) 

Johnson and Warren found the evidence Weber and I gave them convincing and assured me that the rest of the board would act swiftly to address issues and remove guilty parties.  Johnson and Warren have worked hard the past three weeks to follow through on this pledge.  Some other members of the board, however, have seemed more interested in showing loyalty to the administration than loyalty to MBI’s mission.  They initially stonewalled, and even chastised me for going directly to trustees, rather than following some unwritten “protocol.”

So now I am asking those who care about the Moody Bible Institute to pray and intercede for its future. I don’t believe I can overemphasize how crucial the next week is to the continued mission of MBI. After Friday’s meeting between the executive committee and Nyquist, the full board will convene on January 10 at MBI’s Chicago campus to decide its next course of action. (I have requested an interview with Nyquist as well, but so far he has not agreed to one.)

I love the Moody Bible Institute.  For more than a century, the school has trained thousands of young Christian men and women for ministry, which was its founder, D.L. Moody’s, passion.  MBI still has some of the most godly and biblically grounded professors I know.  Similarly, many of the students I have met during my 10 years with Moody Radio love Jesus wholeheartedly and earnestly desire to serve him.

Yet a professor recently confided to me that she barely recognizes the institute anymore.  Theology Professor Kevin Zuber actually told me that when he says his favorite tagline, “Moody, the name you can trust,” his students laugh.  “It used to be true,” Zuber lamented.  “That’s what we need to get back.”

So please pray for Moody.  Pray for repentance. Pray for courage.  Pray that those who need to resign will – both within the administration and on the trustee board.  And pray that God would strengthen what remains (Rev. 3:2).

*In the coming days, I hope to publish Weber’s 65-page document, but so far have been unable to obtain it.  Weber told me yesterday he’s willing to release the document to me, but is bound by a promise to Paul Johnson not to release it to anyone but trustees.  When I asked Johnson if he would release Weber from this agreement, he refused to do so. Either way, I will be releasing details of my investigation because I feel a moral responsibility to do so.

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154 Responses

  1. Please get your facts straight. If you’re going to bring up charges against anyone, you should at least research and make sure that all of your facts are correct. A quick Google search would confirm what I wanted to tell you which is that Jean Penfound has never taught Intercultural studies. She has always as far as I know been in the sports ministry department. She taught me lifetime fitness along with self-defense. If you miss simple facts like this then I have a hard time trusting anything that you have said in this article. I spent 10 years at Moody both as a student and as an employee and just recently left. I do not agree with most of this article. To others reading, I hope you realize how unfounded most of this is nervous you start forming your opinions about this fantastic school.

      1. On Moody’s website, Jean Penfound is listed as “Professor of Sports Ministry and Lifetime Fitness” in the Sports Ministry Department.

      2. Thank you, Julie. I think I didn’t fully trust the email source as being legitimate, so I relied more on the Moody website. Now I have learned that she is indeed part of the intercultural studies area and has been since 2016. I have tried to delete my original comment but it seems I am unable to do so. I apologize for that criticism.

        1. Lauren, be encouraged you are correct. Julie’s claim that Jean was an intercultural professor is only sightly true as you’ve come to know. Through her whole career Jean only taught lifetime fitness and sports/wellness related classes. Recently however with the cancelation of the sports ministry major they had to place all of the sports ministry professors in some broad category at Moody. So, she Daly, Mchugh, Dunn, Ficter and more were all “moved” to the intercultural studies major. However, You are right and Julie is wrong in the fact that she has only ever taught sports related courses. While her title was intercultural professor for two years her job description never changed since she was hired at Moody. I hope Julie will see this to help her understand Jean Penfounds role at Moody.

      3. Julie, first allow me to commend and affirm you for your courage and integrity, along with your willingness to expose corruption in high places. I have listened to you for your 10 years at Moody and have always appreciated your willingness to let your guest express themselves while at the same time always responding with the truth from the scriptures.

        Reading your post only confirmed what I have been suspecting for at least the last 10 years: that Moody was drifting away from D. L. Moody’s original vision. I cannot count the times that I have said, “Moody must be spinning in his grave.”

        It appears that MBI has gotten caught up in the corporate culture, treating MBI as an organization rather than an organism, the body of Christ. While it is not a church proper, it does train and equip the body of Christ for the furtherance of the gospel and the corporate mentality has placed it (Moody) on a trajectory that has taken it far from the mark of their high calling.

        I can confirm your allegation that the leadership at Moody does not receive criticism well, regardless of how constructive that criticism might be. Ten years ago, out of concern for Moody’s reputation, I attempted to warn them against their affiliation with a pastor who was a prolific womanizer (I had first-hand knowledge) and I was admonished for not being forgiving. That pastor has now been convicted for sexually molesting one of his teenage congregants.

        Finally, I find it interesting that many of the comments on you post attack you and do not address the more serious allegations you listed. I hope that eventually, Moody will will consider the damage being done to the cause of Christ and repent. While we, as the body of Christ, are not without sin on this side of eternity, yet, we can still be light and salt in the world by showing it how we confess and repent when we are wrong.

        God bless you, I will be upholding you before the Throne as you fight the good fight. (Psalm 31:14-18)

        Martha

    1. Is Google god? Google can not be trusted 100% either. Maybe you should consider doing your own research and not let Google do it for you. Pointing fingers at investigators should not be the priority, but listening with an open mind and heart, seeking God, and praying for all parties involved.

    2. Moody Education reorganized into four divisions a year and a half ago, and Sports Min was subsumed into Intercultural Studies. Jean is officially an ICS Prof. You owe Julie an apology on this one Lauren.

      1. Can you please show us something confirming this, as I could not find this anywhere on MBI’s website?

        Rather, I found the 2017 – 2018 catalog is still showing these classes listing under the grouping of Lifetime Fitness, whereas Intercultural Studies is shown as the umbrella category for the classes “MI-2242 Second Language Acquisition” and “MI-4445 Linguistic Field Methods”, classes which are clearly related to Bible translation work.

        https://www.moody.edu/siteassets/website_assets/files/academic-catalogs/undergraduate/mbi_catalog_17-18.pdf

        Let’s all work together to build up MBI rather than tear it down.

    3. Sports Ministry is no longer a program at Moody. When Jean Penfound sent an email to students just a few weeks ago, her signature was intercultural studies.

    4. Sports ministry no longer exists at Moody. When Jean Penfound sent an email to students a few weeks ago, her signature said intercultural studies. You can’t accuse someone of not having facts straight when you don’t either.

  2. Dear Julie,
    I was led to the Lord by a Moody student. I graduated from Moody in1965. I love Moody and repent that I didn’t pray for Moody more than I did. Thanks for helping me know how to pray.

  3. Moody’s by-laws may differ, but:

    Except in crisis situations, college trustees generally do not directly deal with faculty or with administrators other than the president. They oversee the president, the president oversees the other administrators, etc.

    If it IS a crisis, then the trustees need to inform the president that they’re going over the president’s head. That = telling the president to dust off his/her resume & seek employment elsewhere.

  4. A few years ago on Moody Radio there were guests who promoted contemplative prayer and spiritual formation which have their roots in Eastern mysticism. That was enough to show that Moody was on a slippery slope.

    1. Is this serious? You know that Jesus practiced contemplative prayer and admonished the disciples for not doing it? Are you… are you a real person?

    2. I think you can modify things like making contemplative prayer more of a reflective prayer by reflecting on Scripture. We have done that and called it contemplative.

    3. My friend and my fellow moody grads, I grow concerned over comments like this which unknowingly limit our rich christian heritage and traditions to only a brand of western evangelicalism which is about 50 or 60 years old in practice…and mainly american. (See Common roots by Eugene Peterson). When we lose our religious history we lose treasures of our faith. Contemplative practices in the christian tradition did not come from the east, but were first created by the desert Fathers and Mothers as a response to Caesar making Christianity the legal religion of the roman empire. Some Devout Christians retreated to the deserts to practice the faith in ways “untainted” by the empire. Beautiful practices of engaging God in stillness and silence were created (and some very odd ones!) Famous practices that emerged over centuties…St. Ignatious 1400’s created the prayer of examen. 1600’s – breath prayer came into being. Thomas Keating was a deep proponent of centering prayer. Theresa of Avila, st. John of the cross, mother Theresa, …the list of christian saints who advocate for this type of prayer and for the principles of spiritual formation is expansive. Eastern religions have their own teaching and practices on being still, present and inner silence but there is a distinction in heritage. So, let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater, but choose to be discerning. Its God himself who called for us to be still and silent, to find his voice in the whisper, to consider the lilies of the field, to abide in him. Contemplative practices give the christian practical ways to live, move and have their being in Christ.

      While I gained much from moody, we were only taught from one stream christian thought. Sadly, I graduated thinking it was the only way to engage our faith. How much I was given… But how much I missed out on. I can’t but wonder that enrollment at moody is down because evangelical young adults of today are crying out for different ways to experience God. Who is telling this generation that they don’t actually have to step outside of Christendom to find a rich diversity of traditions and thought?? But we do have to look outside of our own limited experience. (See Dallas Willard: streams of living water)

    4. Wow. Letting people who think differently from you talk on your media channel… I guess Jesus would nip *that* in the bud, tout d’suite!

  5. I was a student at moody. I did eventually graduate. However my intention was to get through and move on. I believe God will have his way with judgement, mercy, and grace. I will pray the truth comes out. I have experienced this first hand as a student. And would be happy to give you more information when I was there! [email protected] it is time!

    1. Why is it that every church, etc. when falling on hard times finds it absolutely necessary to throw money at a wall; seriously millions and millions for a media whatever while 1/4 of staff is laid off? Somebody wanted their name on a plaque!

  6. I’m gonna list the allegations and respond to each.

    Allowing professors who deny the inerrancy of Scripture to teach at the institute and write curriculum.
    – I have never heard of a professor at Moody who denies the inerrancy of scripture. I have limited experience, though I think I know what she is referring too. Some professors have unorthodox views on some passages of scripture, e.g. evolutionary creationism or that some passages have been affected by culture. Those are not violations of inerrancy, they are interpretations.

    Allowing a professor who supports Planned Parenthood, liberation theology, and a host of other liberal causes to teach at the school, and even spearhead missions conferences.
    – This statement is taken out of context. Firstly “other liberal causes” is a disgusting phrase the Bible is not a republican book. Believers can be on either side of party lines. The specific professor mentioned supports Planned Parenthood for the services they offer outside of abortion e.g. free HIV screenings, free breast cancer screenings, and free contraceptions (condoms). I support those causes too, they keep people safe. So yes, he does support Planned Parenthood to some extent. But if that’s wrong then I’m with him in that camp. And the bashing of Liberation Theology is disgusting. At its core, liberation theology concerns a emphasis on the liberation of the poor and oppressed through civil and political action. It has a dicey past due to some followers that have said heretical things, but every movement has that. Martin Luther was an anti-Semite, that doesn’t mean we denounce Protestantism.

    Permitting a top education official to violate the institute’s bylaws repeatedly, and openly practice reverse-discrimination
    – I don’t know who this education official is, but this argument that she\he is using reverse-discrimination is very ignorant. Reverse discrimination is “discriminating” against the majority e.g. white people. Moody has been very adamant about creating a diverse campus full of male and female faculty and students from across the globe. They are intention about hiring a diverse faculty. If they are turning away professors with good credentials because they are white. Some see that as discrimination. Because our faculty is made entirely of committed Christians, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. I do not believe they are discriminating. I believe they are trying to build a good team of diverse faculty.

    Fostering an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, silencing whistleblowers by reprimanding, or even firing them.
    – this is the weakest of all of the arguments because the evidence as provided later in the article is entirely based off of the questionable and anonymous open letter released in The Standard which if read reveals no hard evidence. This has no fact or basis.

    Refusing to allow shared governance with faculty as stipulated by the Higher Learning Commission, which oversees accreditation for Moody.
    – I don’t think the author understands shared governance of faculty. That’s like saying “The senate passed a bill the majority of Americans disagree with, they are refusing to allow shared governance of the people”. The board makes decisions the faculty and students don’t like. Yes we have a voice and yes we are a body that can influence the process. But the board is still the deciding entity.

    Articles like this make me upset because false opinions and weak arguments are getting a large audience. It’s incredibly sad to see an article that displays no actual fact but merely panders to our culture of clickbait media and empty statements.

    1. It sounds like you’re suggesting that Julie ought actually to be cognizant of the depth of the witness of scripture, which is that God cares for the broken, the downtrodden, the needy, and the hopeless. Perhaps God also cares for those who rely on the services of planned parenthood and other low or no cost medical services in order to stay alive, protect themselves, and help their families.

      Perhaps Jesus isn’t as afraid of “liberals” as Julie is. Whatever liberals are. I assume from Julie’s use of words such as “liberalism” that she assumes herself to be “properly” conservative. Meaning that in some form she believes she’s got all the answers right and doesn’t stray too far from the straight and narrow on any issue. Of course, if oneness with Christ were about heeling close to conservative dogma, that would mean something. As it is, it just means she (and here, “she” is a proxy for an entire thought-bubble of “evangelical conservatism” which remains prevalent at Moody), is unaware of the ways in which she is more liberal than others and less ideologically charitable than Christ. As you say, the Bible does not belong to Conservatives.

      It is confounding to address the whole range of this nonsense, but Julie did a great job of presenting the real problem. Which is Julie herself, and her counterparts in the never-ending witch hunt Moody has been saddled with by those who get holiness points with each other for rooting out the next most liberal person from the herd. People like Zuber and Weber have an inherent fear and a bitterness toward those they disagree with on the minutia of theology. They are held in such a state by their non-gracious picture of a God who will be wrathful if they “turn away” from the truth. Funny, but I always thought that “perfect love casts out fear”.

      Why are you all so very afraid of those you disagree with, Julie? Moody and her administration may need prayer. But the only thing that will tear that institution down is all of you trying to tear it apart from within. You are doing no service to the mission of Moody with this nonsense about how liberal-and therefore, in your view, evil- everything has gotten. Time to turn that investigation inward and seek out ways to place the trust, love, and forgiveness of Christ in your fellow Moody colleagues. You are sowing weeds and thorns where you should be sowing seeds that will give life.

      1. My comment above refers to the reply/statements by “Moody Bible Institute Student.”

    2. Thank you. If only this would actually affect Julie’s choices, but she’s had her ax to grind for too long now, and her damage will be done no matter what anyone says.

      Thank goodness she doesn’t actually have any control over Moody, even though she is doing her best to make the board and administration’s lives miserable. Waiting for the day she gets bored and moves on to another juicy scandal–self-created or otherwise.

      1. Yes, her knee jerk reaction is “the sky is falling”. Just read about the other schools she has made similar allegations against.

        It also appears someone in her camp is deleting comments that are contrary to her stance on her Facebook page. It is an echo chamber over there. Great “reporting.”

  7. My name is Winfred Neely. I hold the rank of full professor at Moody Bible Institute where I have been blessed to serve at for over 17 years. Julie did not interview me and ask me what I thought about the recent developments at Moody. I appreciate Julie and her commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, but I disagree strongly with her interpretation of the situation at MBI, expressed in her blog. Paul Nyquist is godly man and a good leader. Our senior educational leader has never exercised any kind of reverse discrimination in faculty hires. The reduction in faculty, while painful, was necessary. I grieve over the loss of colleagues, but the reduction was not due to poor leadership at MBI; to the contrary, it was an expression of good leadership and the courage to make hard decisions. Even with the reduction in faculty, we still have one of the godliest and ablest faculties in evangelicalism. Many of our recent graduates are serving the Lord Jesus across the planet. What we need at this time is your prayers, and not this continuous barrage of unfounded accusations and statements that lack precision and nuance.

    1. Thank you Dr for your response. I’m a graduate of MBI. As a Pastor I have referred dozens to MBI for their second to none discipleship. My own son attends MBI. I know MBI to be an imperfect place, like my own church and family, but knowing first hand of your character and impact on my own son and students i know who attend, your words are enough to bring me comfort that all remains well at MBI even if some painful adjustments need to be made. I too have not been as faithful as i should of supporting and praying for the Institute and her ministries, i will now remedy both,

      Mark Wilke
      Alumni 1987

    2. Winfred, I love you, brother, but I can’t believe you’re unaware of what’s happening. I will be releasing an article shortly citing first-hand sources, as well as posting corroborating documents. So sad it’s come to this.

      1. As a recent alumnus of MBI, I’m deeply saddened by this article, Julie. I don’t know if the claims made here are true or not, but I don’t think that’s the most important issue here. From what you said, you are working with Moody to resolve these issues as they’ve been brought to the attention of leadership. If I understand correctly, your motive for posting this article is to ask for prayer, but at what cost to the Institute, which you care so much about? Donors in the comments are already saying they are going to withhold their support now that they’ve read your article. I believe this article may only be a detriment to the amazing work God continues to do through Moody about which you, yourself wrote. If what you say is true, there are many within the Moody community who are already aware of all this who can be praying. Dealing with these issues inside the community – which you said is now happening anyway – is what needed to be done. It’s not secrecy for the sake of putting on a facade that Moody doesn’t have issues to work out, it’s using discretion over what one posts online for the world to see for the sake of the Gospel. This information is now not only in the hands of believers like us, who deeply care about Moody and it’s Gospel mission, but also in the hands of those who wish to hurt Moody and oppose the Gospel for which it stands.

      2. Dr. Neely says these are unfounded accusations. If that were true, why did the executive commitee of the board feel a meeting today was necessary? It looks to me that they felt there was merit in what you brought forth, Julie. God bless you for shining light in the darkness.

      3. Let’s talk about credibility for a second, shall we? You can’t be serious in posting this reply to Dr. Neely. He has worked at MBI for 17 years and is addiquately acquainted with all the ins and out of each of these accusations you are making. Not to mention Dr. Neely is a highly educated man, who holds a doctorate and is finishing work on a second doctorate. All of his personals education has come in the field of biblical studies and theology. The man has pastored and led souls to Christ since he was a teenager. As far as acclimation with the situation goes, who seems to be the more credible person? A radio host who works on Saturdays, with little if any biblical training (Wheaton and Northwestern journalism). Or, a man who has devoted 17 years of his life to Moody Bible institute, knows all the professors involved, knows all of the education officers as well as board of trustees, and has had more years of bible training than you have been alive…

        I will say respectfully that I believe you had good intentions in presenting this article in the first place, but to dare spit in the face of Dr. Neely with your reply is low. He is Dr. Neey, I’ll repeate in case you didn’t see. You refer to this Dr. as Dr. Neely. He obviously is not cordial enough with you for you to be calling him Wifnfred, especially when Dr. Neely is disagreeing with everything you said. Not to mention your use of “brother” was hysterical. As a black man myself, that was a typical response from a white person trying to be friends with a black person who is clearly not your friend. No wonder you are so conserned about reverse discrimination, maybe you need to check yourself before you go around using slang like that especially in regard to such a highly qualified leader of the word of God. Show some dignity for yourself and for others and refer to the Dr. by his title.

        Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

    3. Dr. Neely, I am a Grad from the Pastoral Studies Department 1997-2002. I so appreciate your response. Are any of her comments accurate? Are there profs that do not believe in the inerrancy of scripture? Is there a prod that supports parenthood?

      1. Jim, Not sure you would remember me but we hung out some while at Moody. I would have trouble believing there are professors who do not hold to the inerrancy of Scripture because don’t they have to sign a document every year stating that they agree with the theology of the institute? Sometimes people have different interpretations than others and the claim is made that one person doesn’t believe the Bible. One example of this is a class I took while at Moody. It was a science class and I can’t remember the professor’s name, but he believed in the Old Earth View and not the literal Six Day Creation View I held to. I asked questions in class about it and neither of us budged on our view. I can’t claim that he doesn’t hold to the inerrancy of Scripture because he interprets Genesis 1 differently than I do. Hey are you serving the Lord in the pastorate now? I’ve been in the ministry since leaving Moody in 2001. Blessings to you and your family.

        1. Of course I remember you Robert. I have been in a senior pastoral role since 2003 after my Mdiv..
          I am so thankful for my Moody Heritage. Every year i go to mbi’ s pastors conference for the last in May.

          Anyway Robert, I agree that there are different views. That being said, I hope that there are no profs on staff that support planned parenthood. But will do my own investgating and looking into. Robert, you can look me up on fbcopi.com. I’d love to connect.
          Jim

  8. And they began to argue amongst themselves who would be the greatest……..Satan is always at work to try to undermine God, but he can’t. Therefore Satan attacks the weak party in the relationship – man, knowing his sinful nature. Wake up and repent.

  9. Thank you for this article. I pray daily for Moody and all churches/organizations that are slipping in these dark times. Moody still does a lot of good. I hear people responding and coming to the feet of Christ through their radio show. I am a financial supporter of Moody radio for the good it does. But it has some problems and some misleading and false gospel teachers have been allowed to speak unopposed. When I brought this up to one of their leaders (naming a specific false teacher), I was told, “We are not perfect.” I already knew they weren’t perfect, none of us is. But a Christian’s response to a rebuke should not be that answer. We should be able to confront each other in a loving manner and be heard and self-examination and prayer should follow. My experience said that didn’t happen as that same false teacher spoke again spewing even worse doctrine on the same show after my letter. I almost stopped my support but there are so many other great programs that were doing such good, I have continued to support them, for now.

  10. Glad my wife and I (both class of ‘75) converted to the Orthodox Church. Don’t have to deal with issues if inerrancy or the petty divisive denominational issues that has beset Protestant churches ever since Martin Luther and is doctrine of “Sola Scriptura”. Will pray for you all.

  11. “Please Pray!”- the Christian way of spiritualizing sharing gossip. These allegations are just that at this point. Therefore, I believe it is not good or wise to have put them out for the whole public. Let’s be real- the purpose of this article is not truly to get people to pray but to put MBI on blast.

  12. This shouldn’t be a public issue. This is not helping at all. Let the board handle it. You are only causing dissension by making it public.

    1. I am a Moody graduate as well. I also hesitate to make something like this public. However, the believing community, especially those who love the Institute, need to know how we should pray.

      It brings tears to my eyes to think that those being trained in God’s word at Moody Bible Institute may not be on solid ground. My daughter is considering going there and I will discourage it if the wind is shifting towards heresy and worldly views of God’s truth. Does this happen in every Christian institution? Of course. Satan has a never ending assortment of “revelations” and “epiphanies” to lead Christian leaders astray. However, no matter how small or great the error, we are blessed to know about it so we can fight the good fight of faith on our knees.

      Let us seek the face of God for those entrusted with the education of His future soldiers/servants. Unfortunately, sometimes public scrutiny is the only way to get any action. As long as we can hide in the shadows, evil can prevail. Teaching God’s word is fraught with the temptation to take away from or add to His truth in order to address cultural, social or political concerns. We might stand against anything that draws us away from leaning on exactly what God said and nothing else This task is enormous but the cost of error is eternally devastating.

  13. I’m glad that there are other people are looking into this. If something is wrong, we shouldn’t look the other way, just because they are Christians. On the contrary, it important to point out what they are doing wrong so they are given a chance to correct it. If they are unwilling, then matters need to be taken to remove them.

    I have personally called and asked for answers from faculty. Then I checked with my child who is attending there on the answers that were given to me. Some were a stretch to be truthful, and they referred me to someone in the department I was asking about, whom my child said there was NO WAY that person would have those answers. Indeed the person who I left an voicemail to, has never called me back and is probably wondering how in the world they were supposed to know as I said that the faculty member had told me to talk to them. Even when I was talking to the faculty person, a lot of my answers were started as, “What they are telling us is…”. I believe a lot of the staff, professors, and students are being kept in the dark about this and are, as someone else said in a comment earlier, AFRAID to question Moody about their actions and inaccuracies.

    I do pray that the truth comes out, and this is the really important thing… that deals aren’t made for scapegoats while others remain untouched. It is hard for my husband and I to believe that just one person could have done all of this. I don’t know if this is a matter of very bad business decisions or (this is the scary part) someone thinking that they are above God (working for Moody) and question His omnipresence in not being right there in all the cover up and lies. It’s time for all the people who need to come forward and own up to this and tell the truth.

    At the very least, there ARE documented lies or half truths that have been told or written about. This generation (Millennials) that is attending Moody right now, just want the truth no matter how painful it might be… and they don’t feel like they are getting it. The trust is gone there and for those that have just a few years there are hoping that they can make it to the end. You are affirming how they are feeling about the church in general. Let’s not fail them when they are looking to Christians for answers and they get lies.

  14. As a long time listener and supporter of Moody Radio, the influx of liberalism in recent years is undeniable. I hoped Moody faculty would have been more grounded in biblical truth and reality, but it has become apparent that Moody is indeed following the same path to destruction as other alleged ‘Christian’ schools such as Messiah College. Truly this is painfully depressing as I have come to rely upon Moody Radio and likewise wish to continue supporting both the Moody Radio and MBI; however, in light of this which confirms that of my observations, I am given pause to redirect my donations to local works.

    As for those who criticize global ministries and business operations, one must understand that as followers of Christ we are indeed directed to ‘go unto all the world and tell’! For those who think it being run as a business, you are correct because it very well must be run as a business with extreme care taken in the matter of fiscal responsibility. I would never donate to any church or mission that is not run according to sound business principles as my donation makes me as much a shareholder in the business just the same as if it were any other business.

    Praying diligently for MBI!

  15. I’ve sat through two parent orientations in the last couple of years. Each time I was told that we love your kids and “we will take care of your kids like they are our own”. I’ve been noticing a change through what my two kids say about the culture at MBI. If true, that a current professor is a supporter of Planned Parenthood, that professor should be terminated immediately. This type of “care” is not what I want for my kids. There is so much more that concerns me, but way too much share in this forum.

    I’m not privledged to know anything about the current financial state of MBI, so I can not address that, but the list of professors that are being “laid off” is very curious.

    Moody is the greatest school in the world to train men and women to go share the Gospel. How about we get back to that?

  16. When you have people on the MBI Board, such as Jerry Jenkins (among other unbiblical issues in his Left Behind series, a character in these fictional books, Chang Wong, accepts the mark of the beast as a Christian and the Biblical scholar of the Left Behind group, Tsion Ben Judah, tells him not to worry that he is still saved — fiction or not, why would a Believer write anything completely contradictory to Revelation 14: 9-11?) and then Rick Warren, who is an advisor to the Tony Blair Faith Foundation (one of the purposes of which is to bring all religions of the world together in their common beliefs such as the love of God) and who seems to believe, when it is politically correct, (among other questionable beliefs he seems to hold) that Muslims and Christians worship the same God…is it any surprise?

    We need to pray for Moody Bible as well as all, so-called, Christian institutions. I will pray for you as well Julie as you seek out truth and desire to use your gifts and your calling for the glory of God alone and not man. Blessings to you and your family. Be strong and courageous for the LORD your God is with you.

  17. These “crises” are perennial. Baylor has these fits every couple of years… Even the sundry “conventions” (e.g., Southern Baptist) go through this so often it feels like deja vu every time I see an article on the latest “crisis” in a news article.

    I suspect it really emanates from a rock/hard-place situation: You want to be able to wield the gravitas and legitimacy of regular, accreditable academic institutionalism, while keeping things under a clean-as-a-whistle bell jar/stasis-field on behalf of dogma.

    For example: A feature of the former is tenure, which confers academic freedom. A feature of the latter are signed “Statements of Faith”. These things (among others) are *going to clash* (just a matter of time), and that’s that. No need to summon wispy denizens of the Nether World to account for it.

  18. I do not know if I am the only one but during these last couple of years at Moody Bible Institute has been great. I attended Spokane for three year’s and now finishing this year and last semester online. There are a few thing’s I would like to point out and hopefully correct.

    -Who are making these accusations?

    Believe it or not, I know many of the student’s and recent graduates behind submitting many of these false claims. Have you ever thought about why they always post by, “anonymous”?
    It is because most of them are those who have graduated or dropped out from Moody and now work at Jimmy John’s. These are not people who have “wisdom”. They are taking revenge and smearing the school’s reputation. Why? That’s a good question… maybe it was due to a professor who’s contract wasn’t renewed, made a big scene, went on strike. It didn’t work, so now is the time for payback.

    -The lie about being “silenced” when other’s disagree.

    I literally just a few weeks ago contacted one of the highest leaders at Moody Bible Institute and asked for a meeting. I expressed I think Moody needs some change and I have some ideas. Immediately, the response was, “that sounds great”, how about next week at this time?
    …that for sure does not sound like being silenced. For those who think there should be change, maybe try not writing angry letters and posting online on your journal blogs hating the leadership. If you did that in the real world or in ministry, well…good luck.

    -Moody moving towards liberal beliefs?
    I really hope this is a joke… I mean, most of the author’s writing these false claims were sooo upset at Moody’s alcohol policy of student’s not drinking because they wanted too! Haha
    Moody doesn’t even have sport’s scholarships!
    But there “teachings” are so liberal! All I have to say is…”what a joke”! You may have a few here and there but this does not mean the “whole” college is teaching liberal teachings.

    – Low Enrollment Rates

    The reason why Moody Bible Institute is suffering from low enrollment rates is because the school and “you” have failed. MBI for the longest time has been relying upon “word of mouth” advertising. For example,
    A graduated from Moody Bible Institute is hired on as a full time pastor. They are faithfully committed to teaching, preaching, and living by Christ example. People all the time ask, “where did you learn this?”…Moody. Then as student’s who graduate high school and want to go into ministry do not know where. The alumni then goes…”Moody Bible Institute”.
    The past few years I have had student’s who want to persue ministry and I will mention Moody. They have never heard of MBI, why? My fault…
    Regardless, I shared with them info on MBI and was met with, “sports scholarships”.

    – Final Thoughts
    I agree, Moody Bible Institute has some thing’s to work on, but the way to communicate this is not through online posts, blog’s-journal’s, and nasty letters. Let’s not forget, for those who are extremely opposed to Moody beliefs and teachings, “you” are the one who signed up and applied for this college. At any point, “you” could have transferred out and went to a different school.
    I consider it a privilege to attend MBI. I was very close to flunking out of high school and Moody Bible Institute gave me a second chance and accepted me. I am now married, in full-time ministry, and graduate Spring 2018.

    I must say, “bravo” to the author’s who blew up these false claims, you have indeed reached a milestone. While taking revenge against MBI leadership, you’ve also caused a great illness infecting the reputation of Moody Bible Institute and it’s graduates.
    But while you sit, groan, and write in your online diaries, God will continue to work through Moody Bible Institute in preparing those who are called for ministry, regardless of your “truth” which is anchored in emotions.

    P.S,
    If you want the truth/opinion of how well Moody is preparing those who are called into ministry,
    Try speaking to those who are currently in ministry and not angry hipsters who work at sandwich shop’s…..
    Moody Bible Institute owe’s you nothing!

  19. Thank you, Julie, for discussing these difficult issues. As an MBI alumn, I’ve been concerned for some time about the de-emphasis on certain doctrines long-taught at Moody. For instance, I’ve been told by at least two MBI professors that there is a deliberate desire among some of the younger faculty to quietly purge premillennialism from the classroom and the Doctrinal Statement. If that happens, MBI should not be surprised that its former loyal constituency abandons the possibility of sending its children there as well. The same trend is occurring at Dallas Theological Seminary, which once provided many, if not most, of the faculty in the Bible and Theology departments at MBI. Also, if the students are embracing “social justice,” this is nothing more than liberation theology (a child of Marxism) masquerading as Christian ministry.

  20. I have no connection to MBI. I AM a servant of Jesus Christ through the grace of God.
    Many commenters here seem to prefer attacking Julie Roys rather than accepting that her evidence is shown by declining support for MBI. What has she to gain by deceptive statements? If she is wrong, will not the truth be shown? The Spirit will lead you into all truth when you walk in Him. I urge everyone to pray as Julie Roys asked in the opening of this article.
    Cultural Marxism has infected all of society including the body of Christ. MBI is not immune. Watch therefore.

  21. Moody alumni here and MBI basically left Moody’s vision when they got accredited. Moody’s original goal was to raise up lay ministers. So in that sense it lost it’s way as soon as it offered accredited degrees, the only explanation was that the culture had changed and the church expected accredited BA or BS degrees and into the M.Div. and PHD’s. Maybe its the church’s expectations that help create the distortion that MBI is today. Moody can recover from this and will with leadership. I enjoyed my experience at MBI.

  22. Julie, I respectfully disagree strongly concerning doctrinal drift.

    First, though, I commend the principle of bringing sin to light. Some will say that we cannot say anything bad about or favorite school, ministry, or church, but when there is sin it cannot be kept silent. Even very recently this silence for the sake of reputation tactic has been used to silence abused women and the parents of molested children who were preyed upon at a church.

    I disagree, however, concerning this drift away from biblical teaching and sound doctrine. I am a Moody Chicago grad, having attended from 2006 to 2016. I’ve studied there longer than most.

    Here is the problem I see: The conflation of theology and politics. You seem to indicate that liberal politics equals liberal theology. Any recent alumni know who the so-called liberal professor is.

    The charge of liberal theology is unfair. Please consider. This person upholds a high Christology in accordance with the Nicene Creed, a strong Trinitarianism in accordance with the Athanasian Creed. This person believes in the necessity of personal salvation, the importance of the local church and universal church, and the authority of Scripture. In fact, I can prove with class notes (and perhaps class recordings since I took to using a voice recorder at the end) that this person believes that the most effective method of evangelism is to get the Word of God (be it a Gospel of John booklet or entire Bible) into the hands of unbelievers.

    This same person believes that both the government and Christians have a biblical responsibility to care for the marginalized. Do you suggest that this makes someone a liberal theologian? Of course not.

    Liberal theology denies the deity of Christ—this person affirms it. Liberal theology denies the Trinity—this person affirms it. Liberal theology denies a Holy God who hates sin—this person affirms it. Liberal theology denies the need for conversion—this person affirms it. Liberal theology has a low view of Scripture—this person has a high view (as stated above).

    Support for BLM, help for the poor, belief that some people groups are more privileged than others, these are all political stances and to conflate these with what we understand as liberal theology is to misuse language. I prefer to assume you did not do this on purpose.

    The planned parenthood support is a red herring. This person does not support abortion, further, he is part of a growing number of Evangelicals who are pro-life from pre-birth to death row. There are two narratives here. The conservative narrative is that Planned Parenthood performs exclusively abortions and the other services are a smokescreen for its true purpose. The liberal narrative is that abortions are a small portion of the service provided and that they are important because there is no other way for women to get non-abortive services like mammograms and STD tests, etc. If this person believes the liberal narrative, he/she is at worst misled by false facts. At best this person is right, and the conservative narrative is wrong. His/her personal motivations need not be construed as pro-choice or as bad doctrine, indeed, that would be simply false.

    In light of this, who else would we want to run a missions conference? Certainly not a Fox News Republican with an “America First” nationalistic agenda. This would be highly tone deaf considering that missionaries go out from among us to foreign people groups with whom they have fallen so in love that they are willing to give up American life and die for those people.

    The accusation against a professor who denies inerrancy is, I agree, serious if true. This is because it is the understanding of donors and supporters that they are supporting a school which upholds inerrancy. I think I know who this professor is as well and I noted that this prof was let go in the cutbacks (therefore was not protected as you seemed to indicate?). I admit that this prof rode the line. But even here, there is need for nuance. For example, Evangelicals are forgetting what inerrancy means. We have allowed the dictionary definition run ahead of the theological definition which has always been believed.

    (For a comparison example, the same has happened to God’s attributes. The dictionary definition of omnipotence is “all powerful, able to do anything.” But this is not true, for God cannot act against His own nature. Therefore, the orthodox understanding of omnipotence states that God is able to achieve any and every goal and do whatever He desires to do. By allowing uneducated believers to run away with the dictionary definition we get people saying silly things like, can God make a rock so heavy he can’t lift it).

    For a specific example, (except for KJV onlyists) no one (including Southern Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Bible Churches, you name it) believes that inerrancy applies to any translation or even any copy of the original document. Many lay people have not been educated on this point and are not aware what their own historic faith has always believed (at least as long as there has been a doctrine called inerrancy). The standard conservative and Evangelical statement on this is the Chicago statement on inerrancy—anyone can read it and I suggest you do because it is usually the document to which other Christian schools appeal to when clarifying what they mean regarding their own doctrinal statements. Also, Darrell Bock has a great article on the range of meaning of inerrancy (his is conservative and Evangelical, don’t worry) in an article titled “Live, Jive, and Memorex.”

    In my experience, Moody is 98% Conservative, Republican even (I’m speaking of faculty here). I see that some students agree that Moody as drifted. I suspect they are talking politically, NOT doctrinally. It is impossible to prove the latter. And even taking politics, it simply isn’t true since the school is so overwhelmingly conservative and I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of profs even voted Trump. Students who share a concern over doctrine seem to have been challenged when the expected for every class to feel just like their home church. I’m sorry that two out of the dozens of profs you took challenged you.

    Is Moody drifting doctrinally or theologically? No, in fact they have been a rock, an anchor, in a storm where the lines that define conservatism and liberalism change over time. Did anyone know that in MBI’s life time Evangelicals used to be pro-choice because of their commitment to small government and limiting it’s say on personal freedom? The advent of the ultrasound changed that, not doctrine. Also in the lifetime of MBI Evangelicals used to think biracial marriages were sin. Are mixed race marriages a sign of theological/doctrinal drift?

    It sounds like their might be legitimate issues with financial management and the respect for faculty. Jean Penfound was one of my favorite profs and I take her letter seriously. I hope this area is resolved. But am I concerned that Moody is drifting theologically or doctrinally? Absolutely not. They are as biblically solid as they have ever been. After all, they teach the Bible and everyone regardless of major is still a Bible minor.

    I ask that you reassess your accusation of doctrinal and theological issues and double down on the leadership problems, if they are true.

    A long time Moody student and at long last, a graduate.

  23. Thank you for bringing this into the light. You are doing the right thing.

    I find Winfred Neely’s comment on the article persuasive (as far as staff reductions). I have also read Dr. Nyquist’s public letters. As an alumnus who has not been involved in MBI recently it’s hard to form a strong opinion on such a thing, but my impression is that the strategic vision for the Chapman Center and the unfortunate faculty cuts may be a sign of wise proactive leadership in difficult circumstances (with long term and sustained effectiveness in mind). But I really don’t know enough about the motives of decision-makers to know for sure. The more recent Christian Post article suggests that among the professors being laid off were ones who spoke out most against MBI’s drift and among those retained are the staff most responsible for the drift. That raises the question of whether this is a purge of the faithful from MBI with a goal of transforming MBI into a more worldly institution. One tweet from a current T.A. at MBI confirms this interpretation, that faculty at MBI are fighting the efforts to turn MBI worldly but the Administration is shutting them down. If that is true, that is enough for me to call for those in the Administration responsible for this oppression to resign.

    Dr. Neely is obviously incorrect in characterizing your article as a barrage of unfounded accusations. Other comments on your article confirm some of the allegations are true and facebook posts by the MBI staff in question confirms as well. Also, he does not even address the majority of the allegations.

    I think Joel Swan may have hit the nail on the head. It seems that as MBI takes its full focus off of being biblically correct and puts focus on being culturally correct and politically correct, then worldliness, evil and false teachings creep in along with those things. As such things creep in, the question is begged, why is the administration trying to by-pass its by-laws (no pun intended), take away influence over certain matters from the larger group of faculty and put more influence in the hands of fewer people at the top? (Mrs. Penfound’s letter is also compelling in that regard.)

    Some of the comments on your article confirm the concerns you have raised. It seems many MBI students and grads are confused about the biblical meaning of love and truth. How does a person who passes through MBI come out thinking that love means trivializing truth, supporting evil, and conforming to the world? The biblical definition of love is the exact opposite. There is at least one professor who openly supports Planned Parenthood (how many others secretly do the same). Some students also support PP because they supposedly do good things for people. That is no different than Germans who supported Adolf Hitler because he did some good things for Germany, his mass murder being an entirely different matter to them. How is it that people at Moody (of all places) can bring themselves to support Planned Parenthood? That shows the extent to which political correctness has infiltrated MBI, that people there could support something so extremely evil.

    Apparently one of MBI’s deans is a gay marriage supporter. Within the last few years I was also astonished to learn how many MBI students supported gay marriage. I was a student there a decade and a half ago, and I later learned there was a small presence of secret homosexuality, but nobody would have ever came out publicly to support gay marriage at that time (another sign that MBI is simply conforming to the world and what is politically correct at this time). In a recent year I noticed an MBI student on facebook supporting gay marriage. I questioned him about it in an MBI student facebook group. A debate ensued in which he wholeheartedly supported gay marriage and condemned opposition to it. As if it weren’t shocking enough that even one MBI student would take such a position, the majority of MBI students responding to the dialogue were supporting his statements. Nobody else made any comments rebuking him. One MBI student private messaged me thanking me for standing up to him Just a decade and a half ago I don’t think such a thing would have been allowed at MBI. As a student, I never heard of such a thing.

    Is it possible for there to be so many MBI students having such unrepentant, brazen, worldly, sinful, unbiblical beliefs without any enabling from at least some faculty, or at least some administration? It’s hard to imagine. Who is screening these students before admission? Who is allowing them to continue? The fact that there is Moody staff that have made statements supporting abortion and gay marriage and that their pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage comments are still posted and that they still work at MBI shows this change must have support from some in the Administration and that these violations of MBI’s standards are not in the past, as Dr. Nyquist implied in one of his most recent letters.

    This isn’t about Right or Left, this is about Right and Wrong. This is about whether God’s Word means anything, whether the Spirit of Truth means anything to us.

    Unlike the testimony from named people, it’s hard to give much credence to the anonymous op-ed in the Moody Standard. If things are really as bad as they make it at MBI, should not at least one of these supposed staff members be willing to put their job on the line for the sake of something so much more important (the spiritual fate of MBI) and name themselves?

    Also I find the following statement to cast suspicion over the genuineness of that article: “Employee and student trust has never been high at Moody.” Is that really what the author(s) meant to say or is it a typo? I was a student at the end of Joe Stowell’s tenure. I can’t think of a single serious criticism I ever heard anyone make about Dr. Stowell. As far as I could tell all the students, faculty, and employees loved him. When students made their own coffee shop on campus they named it after him. A student on my floor made a parody of the “Sweet Home Alabama” song called “Sweet Home Moody Bible.” In his version he affectionately sang, “Joe I’m coming home to you.”

    I also have a hard time giving much credence to broken twig. As one commenter pointed out, the website seems to be fatalistic over the future of MBI, maybe even rooting for its demise. The tone just doesn’t seem Christ-like. But I think it does do a service in exposing MBI staff members and the beliefs they express that run contrary to MBI standards.

    By the way, regarding reverse discrimination, I don’t have a problem with MBI hiring a minority or a woman over another candidate who might be otherwise slightly more qualified when that person’s race or gender will help MBI’s overall effectiveness in ministry (as long as they are qualified). In my view, when gender or race plays a role in the ministry you are trying to accomplish then it is not discriminatory to factor those things into a hiring decision (Paul became all things to all people). The problem with unbiblical racism that has taken a foothold in MBI is when professors start teaching racist ideologies like “white guilt” or “white privilege.” The first time I had a Moody professor tell my class that all white people are inherently racist was over a decade ago. I did rebuke these notions in an essay I wrote for that class. Now I don’t think that particular professor is an infiltrator. I actually trust him as much as any Moody professor to be godly and faithful to Jesus Christ and the Word of God. I think most people spreading such anti-white racism in the church are simply misguided and have mistaken political correctness for ministry. They are sincere but sincerely wrong. I have a harder time accepting that people encouraging MBI students to support gay marriage or planned parenthood are honestly mistaken. More likely, such people are infiltrators there to be a corrupting influence.

    1. Eric, This is really wonderful comment, thank you for posting it, you point out a lot of great stuff in here.

      We would hope that those who are critical of us remaining anonymous would take some time and think about why we might need to be anonymous, and what would you do, given our position.

      Also, it is not our aim to see Moody’s demise. We want to see Moody restored! – The Broken Twig is set up to “Document the Decline and Fall of MBI” – Document. We are reporting the facts that we find. Yes we give our opinion and we are very harsh towards Dr. N and his admin, but that is because we believe they are working towards MBI’s demise. Don’t confuse us with them.

      Thank you.
      TBT

      1. TBT, I understand the wisdom in anonymity. But I think you need at least one person willing to put out their neck, to lend it legitimacy. Why not a faculty who has already been let go? I have never had a family to support so I can’t honestly tell you what I think you should do. As a single person if I believed the Administration was seeking MBI’s demise I absolutely would put my name out there and risk my job. I have put my jobs on the line multiple times in the past for my principles, on matters of far less importance, and have suffered because of it. As far as the anonymous op-ed in Moody Standard do you think they meant to say trust has never been high under Dr. Nyquist? They say never at MBI period. That latter makes it sound like MBI is not a place worth saving. The former would be a different matter. It is good to hear you say your goal is to restore MBI. My advice would be to change your subtitle to reflect that. Maybe “Document Recent Decline at MBI and Seek its Restoration.” When you include the word “fall” you make it sound like MBI is already finished and there is no hope for restoration. I think you are doing the MBI community a service in exposing faculty/staff who have violated MBI standards, especially since it appears they have the endorsement of the administration. btw, I had a hard time seeing what was wrong with the Park and Norquist posts. It was hard to read but from what I saw it did not seem to have anything to do with any fundamentally moral question.

      2. TBT, I posted a reply to your reply to me already, but I don’t see it here. Maybe it didn’t post successfully or maybe it was removed. If it was removed, maybe it was because I named a couple names. I’ll try again and say less. I understand the wisdom in anonymity. But I think having at least one faculty/staff member put their name with it would grant legitimacy. I think it would also help you be more careful in the spirit and tone you present with. Would it be easier for a faculty member who has already been laid off to put their name on it? I wouldn’t tell a person with a family to support what I think they should do. As a single person I would put my name on it and risk my job for a matter as important as the future of MBI, especially if I believed as you do, that the administration seeks MBI’s demise. I have put my jobs at risk multiple times in the past to stand for my principles, and for matters far less important. And I have suffered because of it. But it’s hard to imagine putting one’s children or wife in a situation where they may be at risk of suffering. It’s good to hear you wish to see restoration at MBI. I would suggest you change your subtitle to “Document the recent decline at MBI and seek its restoration.” Using the word “fall” implies finality, as if MBI is already finished and has no hope of restoration. In the same way the author of the anonymous op-ed in Moody Standard sounds awfully cynical when they say that there has never been a high level of trust at Moody. That seems to denigrate the entire institution and all of its history. But I have a feeling that was a misstatement and perhaps they meant to say that during Dr. Nyquist’s tenure there has never been a high level of trust at MBI. I won’t name names this time but there are a couple posts on your “wall of shame” that I have a hard time reading. From what I can read they seem to be expressing opinions that don’t necessarily have anything to do with fundamentally moral questions like the other posts dealing with abortion and gay marriage do.

        1. You are utterly wrong and idiotic. To be a Christian you have to hate planned parenthood, hate church leadership (only Jesus leadership maters), vote for Trump, own ten guns and be a true American.

          Deep snark is inside that comment, but all joking aside. You really need to doubt everything you read from Moody right now. They are lying and hiding the truth to save their lovely retirement packages. Nyquist, Every Dean and all leadership must go. We need a leader like Southern Baptist has, heck maybe with all the money and our God loving reputation we can sway him our way.

          God bless the school that D.L. Moody founded (through faith alone, through Christ alone)

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