#ron bean

[wutbju]

So Ron Bean started the fun by an oblique mention of WutBJU. And then the rest of my fans came out in full force.

This is "Grateful BJU Grads," mind you, whose sole purpose is to come and talk about how much God has blessed them personally and who are only to talk about "praise."

John Matzko himself--my former teacher and a person who should now be acting as my colleague--says the following:

I'm a regular reader of the Baroness of Bitterness because, in my line of work, it's important to know if anyone out there has pertinent information that an archivist or historian should follow up on. But I can't imagine spending your life bashing something, even something truly evil. (C.S. Lewis called writing Screwtape Letters "dry and gritty going.")

Awww! See? You are a Friend of the Archive like I've been saying. You love me. And of COURSE you can imagine spending your life fixated on something you consider "truly evil." Look how much you spend reading me! I love you too, Jack.

He goes on:

The Baroness of Bitterness likes to have it both ways. On one hand, BJU hasn't changed a bit since 1927. On the other hand, BJU is totall different today than it was when you were a student. Just depends on the issue at hand and which of those conflicting positions will create the most satisfying amount of dissension.

It's sad that things are complicated, isn't it, Jack? I know, I know. Life is so confounding! It's just so utterly confusing that BJU's foundational ideology of white supremacy still persists even while BJU is changing the wallpaper and carpets. That's just so utterly CONFUSING! Must be my fault. Praise be!

Notice this, too:

She'd be interested in what's in my archive--about her.

All kidding aside, Jack, this is downright gross.

But there you have it, folks. This "Grateful BJU Grads" group has no problem with an entire thread about me personally, and a BJU employee even admits that he keeps records about a former student of his.

This is Bob Jones University.

[wutbju]

Remember DoRightBJU?

It's been ten years this week. Ten years!

It's nice to know that Friend of the Archive, Ron Bean, remembers our protest. He incorrectly assigns the entire effort to this archivist. That's absolutely incorrect.

But thanks, Ron. I always knew you were my biggest fan. I will always remember you too.

[wutbju]

Ron Bean is WutBJU's best promoter!

The BJU student body rapidly declined during the last 3-4 years of BJ III's presidency. Likely contributing factors were the reduction in the number of Christian schools, particularly those of the same cultural mindset of BJU, and the fact that parents who had attended BJU in the 70's and 80's started to choose other schools for their children. BJIII retired, Stephen Jones briefly took the helm and started implementing change and was followed by Steve Pettit, who continued to implement change, while maintaining the school's strong doctrinal stand. The exodus of students stopped, leveled, and started slow growth that was interrupted by COVID. While BJU started building relationships with groups like the GARBC and the IFCA, the FBFI was critical of the changes. Evidently the criticisms of the FBFI were messaged by SOME members of that group to the BJU board. This week the BJU board (described by one of its members as "dysfunctional") will be deciding whether to renew Steve Pettit's contract. If SP's contract is not renewed, it is likely that there will be a quiet exodus of students as well as some faculty and staff. That would be damaging to BJU as I suspect there aren't a great number of prospective students waiting for BJU's standards to be returned to the pre-Pettit days. That would probably lead to the demise of BJU. Sadly there are some who have said they would rather have BJU close rather than continue its present course. There are some like Lou Martuneac, Camille Lewis, and the devil who will delight if that happens. There will also be some who  will claim the BJU closed because of the changes under SP's leadership when it's his leadership that kept the school alive.

[wutbju]

Brian Fuller started with a typical and unsurprising quotation from the October 14, 2022 Faculty meeting that was +++Positive+++ for Pettit. He added this statement after that:

[This is a paragraph from the manuscript given to us made from the recording of the Faculty Meeting, October 14, 2022. In this clip, the Chairman reminisces about the moment the Board initially voted on Dr. Pettit as President of BJU in 2013.]

Useful detail in their efforts. Makes sense really.

BJU Faculty member, Betty Solomon is unimpressed. That's confidential. It shouldn't be shared, she claims.

Sounds a tad negative, but true nonetheless.

Guess who pops up. You know. The ---Negative--- Nellie in every BJU alumni conversation: Ron Bean.

Ronald. That's not +++Positive+++.

Brian Fuller defends his choice, [respectfully gives me a mention, I must add] by saying he got the minutes awhile ago and chose NOT to share them because they are confidential. But this was just so +++Positive+++ they had to!

Now will ---Negative--- Ron's comment remain?

[wutbju]

So Grateful BJU Grads went private in the middle of all this.

Of course, Marty Payne Roberts is relieved because then the Person-They-are-Grateful-They-are-Not (read: me) can't see what she's saying.

[wutbju]

So this morning I put on my hip boots and hazmat suit and visited a couple of those blogs that major in criticism, especially of BJU. As I scrolled through the 40+ comments made in support of the OP in one blog, I noticed that all the posts were by 3 people, not counting the blogger, and realized that I wasn't reading an "influencer" but eaves dropping on some guys in a coffee shop. In another group the "baroness of bitterness" posts "news???" from 100 years ago and innuendoes for her handful of followers. We would do well to ignore these "nattering nabobs of negativism" and be thankful for what God is doing at BJU. It is a different place than it was 40 years ago, and while there have been cultural changes, their adherence to Biblical truth remains.

Ron Bean is one of those quintessential BJU loyalists who is clearly one of my adoring fans. He seems to love me as much BJU loves him.

He can't stop talking about me with this "Grateful BJU grads" group. In fact, I'm really a big focus of their attention.

I guess they must be grateful for me too.

Let me show you how obsessed they are with me.

[wutbju]

This "Grateful BJU Grads" group has rules, you see. Their primary "rule" is that they must

Focus on issues of gratitude and praise

The group is to express how God has worked his grace in our lives and not primarily for information requests or to share content from other sites of groups.

This fits with BJU's rules for its former students.

Except, of course, to express their love of me.

Seriously. Look.

[wutbju]

Friend of the Archive, Ron Bean, just can’t get this archivist off his mind. He’s positively obsessed! It must be part of the reason a person can be grateful for BJU. Love you too, Ron!! 

But don’t worry, Pastor Bean. I don’t have a “group” at all. I know the interwebs are hard for Boomers.