Generosity in the ABHE
Picture: two Presidents from Bible schools within three hours of each other sitting down to discuss what they could learn from one another. No competition, just generosity, and brotherhood.
That's what happened this week when we welcomed Larry Griffin, President of Mid South Christian College of Memphis, TN, to our campus in Nashville. Connected by a mutual friend, John Savage of The Savage Group out of Seattle, the goal was to share some ideas related to Mid South's growth. Institute President Gregg Garner gave Mid South President Larry Griffin a tour of our campus. Then, the two discussed the future of both institutions.
The visit was encouraging, not least because the presidents bonded about their experience on the mission field and mission start-ups. Larry Griffin was one of the founding members of a mission organization that worked in Uruguay and now leads a bilingual college in Memphis. Gregg Garner was the founder of G.O.D. International and its program Students Living A Mission have led thousands of young people on mission experiences throughout the US and the third world, including Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
The two presidents reflected on how their experiences in mission helped them understand the importance of teams. Both schools feature project-based learning with small teams who learn they can't let one another down. At Griffin's college in Memphis, their mission field is the urban city. For the Institute in Nashville, students participate in both stateside urban ministry and third world development efforts. At neither school will any student be sent out into ministry alone, a model we borrow from our Lord who sent his disciples in teams (Mk. 6:7, Lk. 10:1).
In the end, the presidents discussed exciting plans for the growth of their schools, not worried that the growth of one would mean the subtraction of another. Both were confident that their students were the ones God sent them and entrusted to them.
For the colleges that are a part of the Association for Biblical Higher Education, we’ve found this to be normal. We're happy to be aligned with an accrediting association whose members "rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn" (Rom. 12:15). We're glad to be a part of a group where generosity is the standard way!
In the same way I watched President Garner give President Griffin generous wisdom and insight about future developments at his college, I've watched Aaron Proffit of God's Bible School (Cincinnati, OH) encourage us on our accreditation journey. We receive regular book donations from Welch College -- another neighboring ABHE college in Gallatin, TN. Their library is large and well-established compared to our own, as our physical holdings have been shared with partners of G.O.D. Int’l in the third world. (Our students prefer the digital resources that immediately sync with their Logos Bible Software.) Nonetheless, for the last four years, Welch continues to sort through their holdings and send boxes and boxes our way, helping us offer more physical resources to our students.
Each of the schools listed here, located a few minutes or a few hours away from one another, could see themselves as competitors for the same pool of students searching after a biblical education, but they don’t. They recognize that each school is following the Lord, and lend one another a hand (or a book) to help ensure greater success for their brothers and sisters in Christ.
This week, our team is preparing to leave for the ABHE Annual Conference in Orlando. Once again, we are grateful to gather with other Bible colleges and seek ways to make each of our schools better. Edification, not competition, is the name of the game in ABHE. We're happy to be a part of a network of Bible colleges focused on building God's kingdom and, in the process, getting by with a little help from our friends.
2 Cor. 9:6 Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
