Yet, I often wonder, is Northland the same now as it was when I was a student? Many of the faculty and staff I knew and loved left the year I graduated. If I had to do it over again, would I still go to Northland, or would I choose a different Christian college?
I am not one of those students who left college with a bitter attitude toward the school. There are many of those people out there. God used NBBC in my life and for that, I am grateful. I look back at the years between 1998-2002 and I smile, because those years were awesome!
Since graduation I have changed a lot, as I am sure we all have. I have come to embrace my faith in a new way. The things I believe, I believe because I am convinced they are Biblical. The standards that others have always preached that are somewhat extra-Biblical are no longer important to me. If I were a student today, what would I think of some of the "convictions" or "standards"? I'll be honest (and I know many of you may not agree with me) - I don't care if a woman wears a skirt, as long as she is modest. It's not a big deal to me if you read a translation other than the KJV. I see nothing wrong with going to the movie theater or playing cards. I think it is unwise on multiple levels to drink alcohol, but I wouldn't "separate" from someone who does. I don't think I get closer to God by following a list of man- made rules or living up to another person's expectations. I think it is ungodly and unbiblical to separate from other believers just because they don't have the same standards as I do. I think it is ridiculous to claim that I am "offending" others when I don't live by their own set of rules.
I believe in the fundamentals of the faith, but would I call myself a fundamentalist? When I think of a fundamentalist, I think immediately of a body of believers who strongly believe they need to separate and criticize anyone who disagrees with them. I hate to say it, but in my mind, I sort of link fundamentalism with legalism. Please understand me. I know there are a lot of great churches who call themselves fundamental - I got saved in one and to this day I love that church! But Trinity Baptist Church is NOT like most "fundamental" churches. Is Northland fundamental? They claim to be, and many churches of that stripe send their kids to the north woods to be trained.
So why am I rambling on and on? I don't really know. My father-in-law called the other day and said he had some questions about NBBC he wanted me to answer. My brother-in-law is looking for a Christian college and they wanted to know my thoughts. I have no bad taste in my mouth. I love Northland! But, if I was then where I am now in my faith, would I still go to college there?
To clarify where I am coming from, let me mention that I do not link NBBC with schools like PCC. My brother and brother-in-law have both attended PCC and I have to admit that I really don't have anything good to say about that school.
So I ask you Northland graduates - if you could do it over again, would you still choose Northland? Why or why not? Are there any other Christian colleges that you would recommend that are outside the circle of Bob Jones University , Pensacola Christian College , Maranatha Baptist Bible College , and Northland? Michael (Ben's brother who is looking for a college) has already visited Maranatha. It was more strict and conservative than what he expected. By the way, I am not anti-standards. I would not recommend a school that is "Christian" in name only. I don't personally have a problem with the before mentioned schools, except of course, PCC. I do have a problem with them and would not recommend it to anyone.
While I am discussing Northland, let me ask another question - what do you all think about the new academy they are opening? I don't like the idea at all, but this post is already getting too long for me to get into that as well.
As I end this post, let me again say, that I loved Northland! Any feedback from this post will be appreciated.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
What do you think of Northland?
Posted by Kelly Glupker at 8:29 AM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
13 comments:
I love Northland, and if I had to do it over again, I would come back again, again, and again. I have been here for 7 years now, and I don't think it has changed since you left. I think you would be surprised if you came back and realized that some of the rules that may have once been viewed as "legalistic" are being reconsidered and changed, but not compromised. There are many things such as dress, versions, music, etc, that have had posotive changes. The school has been doing a wonderful job at explaining to the students that while they are a student at Northland they will have to sucuumb to certain rules that may not be rules for the rest of thier life. And as far as the christian school, either Northland takes it over or there is no Christian school at all for the staff kiddos!! I would whole-heartedly suggest that your brother-in-law come here! Just thought I would share my thoughts and opinions!
I too am thankful for Northland. I got the privilege to grow up there and see that what many of them taught and preached they practiced at home. I got the best of both worlds in eventually becoming a student and then working on staff there. I wasn't always a staff kid there but grew up with them and saw many great examples in the home. Kelli is also speaking from experience as that's where she's at too. The most important thing I learned in my journey of sanctification is my view of God determines my view of life. There were many basics we learned there that we had never learned in our local church. I don't take any of that for granted. I will say that Northland and many other Christian colleges are 'plastic societies'. You can't judge who a person is just by the amount of demerits or submission to rules or not. It's 'easy' to live for God at Northland I think, since being here in Virginia Beach, a lot has been revealed to me of what's truly in my heart that I didn't experience when being with saved people all the time. I don't think Northland means for anyone to take their standards for the rest of life. It's just what they had to do for institutional purposes. We don't have all the same convictions/standards as were on us when in school. We feel that's the Spirit's job to lead and guide each Christian in those personal areas. The sanctification journey is a process, and we have learned from seminary and been able to build upon so much that we did gain from Northland. To answer your question though, at this time I think Northland is a great school for any believer desiring to grow and mature. We'll see where they are when it's time for Esther to go for college, but for now we're okay with endorsing it. No place is perfect.
I would still make the same choice - I know God wanted me there. I never felt like any of the rules were imposed as a standard of godliness but maybe it was my perspective - I grew up with the same type of rules at our Christian school, but my parents always taught me that they were just rules, meant to be followed but not written in stone next to the 10 Commandments. Some people that graduated from my school think it ruined their lives, but I never felt that. Same with N-land. I loved that place and am grateful that God had me there. Shannon nailed it - your view of God is what will change you. I think God used my time at Northland to teach me how to really get to know HIM. I know He can do that other places, too. I'd definitely still recommend Northland. There are some other good schools as well. I've heard good things about Faith in Ankeny, IA, but I've never been there. And I have some former students who are growing by leaps & bounds at Clearwater.
Still not sure how I feel about a school there. I hope the faculty still can home school if they choose to.
Kelli, Shannon, and Jenny,
Thank you for your thoughts. I agree with you all - I loved Northland and have never regretted going there. I also felt that NBBC made it very clear that the rules they had were not expected to be lifelong rules for the students. I loved the spirit of the school and the hearts of the faculty and staff. They truly lived their faith. I had a great time while at NBBC and am dumbfounded when others talk poorly of the school. I certainly didn't agree with everything, but I am the type of person who can just go with the flow. I have never been given a rule to follow that I couldn't submit to. I guess I just always knew it was temporary so I didn't let it bother me. However, people who don't grow up in that type of atmosphere seem to have a hard time with it (of course I didn't grow up in that type of environment either). My brother-in-law graduated from a super strict school (Bridgeport Baptist Academy in Michigan. R.B. Oulette is the pastor). He managed fine and was not one to get in a lot of trouble. He did not, however, grow up in that type of church. I think he would do fine at NBBC, he may just be hesitant because of where he came from. These are my words - not his. I would love to see him go there!
Ok after I read this I can see that your views of legalism in Christian colleges are the same as mine. So that makes me feel better about that mess of an email I sent you! :) Please let me know if you have any more questions about Clearwater.
I loved my time at NBBC too. It was such a great growing experience for me spritually as well as in other areas.
I still highly recommend NBBC to the teens in our church. I personally think the NBBC is changing for the better & not hanging onto things that were issues 50 years ago (such as the pants issue). They seemed to take a balanced approach, and like you said, the faculty/staff was wonderful! It is hard to hear criticism over your school, but chances are that they never went there & are just passing along what they heard. :)
As for the Christian school, the church was putting in more & more money each year because the enrollment was decreasing. I think mainly b/c many of the faculty kids that were in school there when we were at NBBC are in college or even out of college! Since Faith as a church cannot fully support the school to pay the teachers, they are having to close the school. So, it was offered to NBBC to take over administratively & financially, but the school will still take place at Faith for now. It should be interesting to see how this will work out. Hope that makes sense!
I loved my time at NBBC too. It was such a great growing experience for me spritually as well as in other areas.
I still highly recommend NBBC to the teens in our church. I personally think the NBBC is changing for the better & not hanging onto things that were issues 50 years ago (such as the pants issue). They seemed to take a balanced approach, and like you said, the faculty/staff was wonderful! It is hard to hear criticism over your school, but chances are that they never went there & are just passing along what they heard. :)
As for the Christian school, the church was putting in more & more money each year because the enrollment was decreasing. I think mainly b/c many of the faculty kids that were in school there when we were at NBBC are in college or even out of college! Since Faith as a church cannot fully support the school to pay the teachers, they are having to close the school. So, it was offered to NBBC to take over administratively & financially, but the school will still take place at Faith for now. It should be interesting to see how this will work out. Hope that makes sense!
I've been to both Pensacola and Northland. Between the two? Northland. I think it is going to be different for everyone. I really regret not having a trade, though, even Paul had one. My degree can't get any kind of job, and that's where the unsaved people are. Soooooo, I don't really have to say that I don't agree with all of the standards, my husband drinks wine, but it's a whole other ball game out here. When you're in ministry, directly, things like that change, in order not to be a stumbling block. One thing I struggled with getting out of the whole Northland "bubble" was the sense that I was going to fall, or that I was getting "too far away". I don't know if anyone else has had that sensation, but it's wrong, once you're in God's hands, you're never out. It's just a matter of walking without crutches, which brings me to my point. You're brother in law has to ask himself is he ready to face the world, biblically? Or stumbling around a little bit? I definitely love the Bible teaching I got, I looked up the Northland's leaders. It wouldn't be at all bad if he took a couple of years of Bible college, but maintain the mindset that there is a world out there that needs God and they don't care about the length of the skirt.
What a brave blogger you are to ask these loaded questions! I won't completely answer your questions though as I think I could write a book instead of a comment-length post. :)
Like everyone else's prior comments, I absolutely LOVED my time at northland and think it was profitable. God gave me deep lasting friendships there, a passionate love for Him, and a desire to dig into His word. I probably have a different view of NBBC than most others because my years at NBBC were my very first exposure to any Christian college at all. I thought the rules were strange but they didn't seem to matter to me at the time because i was a new Christian and so excited to be surrounded by other God-lovers.
God has very much changed my view of Him and His sovereign grace since my graduation from NBBC in 1999. Because I believe so deeply that God is sovereign, I don't think your question about "would you choose nbbc again if you had the chance" is appropriate. God had it in His perfect plan for me (and for all others who attended/attend nbbc) to go there and there's no way I could have chosen outside of that plan. If instead your question were phrased, "Would you send your child to nbbc?" or "Would you recommend nbbc to a friend?" then I would have to say no. There's no way I would want Chloe to attend nbbc. Both for theological and academic reasons. As a graduate of nbbc's secondary ed program (math & science), I don't feel as though the curriculum or faculty was of a collegiate level. Theologically, I disagree with nbbc's demonstrated view of God and use of guilt to push for spiritual decision-making. I also think nbbc wastes energy in areas of legalism instead of focusing on the important and main facets of Christianity.
Sorry, this has indeed become a book. :) I would instead point my children to colleges like cedarville, calvin, and wheaton (and maybe moody) rather than the nbbc circle of colleges.
Please know that I don't have any bitterness towards nbbc. I reiterate that I loved my time there and I know it was valuable time. I don't harbor any bitterness towards nbbc at all. Although I don't personally want any affiliation with nbbc, I know that their ministry has a perfect place in God's plan to further the gospel. The folks working and serving there are my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and I am excited to see how God will use them!
Enough of my book . . . .
Speaking of PCC....I just got kicked off that campus today for no apparent reason. Security said, "Well, we're not sure why we're just doing what we've been told to do." That place is a joke. I could say a lot more but I'll stop there.
Alicia,
I appreciated your comments and I thank you for leaving them. I did hesitate to post about any of this because I didn't want to offend anyone or come across as divisive. I share many of your thoughts. Thank you for correcting my statement regarding my question "Would you choose NBBC again." I too believe in God's sovereignty and my words were simply careless. I don't know that I should respond about Northland's classes being at a collegiate level since your husband was one of my math teachers. :) Just teasing.
I have heard that Northland has changed quite a bit since our time there. It would be interesting to visit and find out.
Academically, I do believe N-land has been doing some drastic re-vamping. When I was there as staff in Admissions, they were implementing an exit exam for all education majors, and really endeavoring to beef up the academic requirements for instructors and students. I do believe that area has changed for the better.
oh, and that was about 4 years ago now that I was on staff. :-)
Post a Comment