Christianity

I have to confess that when I left Louisiana I had a real distrust of SBC Pastors and Theologians. I felt betrayed by some. I saw the true lack of character in others. And, in others still, I saw them stay quiet in the face of evil, seemingly for their own personal benefit and self-preservation. I always thought it was odd that “The Art Guy” was the one standing against the blatant wrong-doings while those with seminary degrees stayed quiet or even helped the institution take Christ’s name in vain. One person who has done a great deal to restore my faith in ministers and theologians is Jay Adkins. Jay serves on the Board of Trustees for Louisiana College and has been willing to speak truth while still honoring his duty to the school. His latest blog post, On Power and Protection,  shed’s a great deal of light on the situation in the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

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I heard this from several sources last week but Chairman of the Louisiana College Board of Trustees Tommy French spoke directly to the Town Talk on the issue of Aguillard’s contract. According to French the Executive Commitee is looking to extend Aguillard’s contract. When commenting about the committee’s discussions French said, ““But I saw no opposition. There were not any negative points there to say we would not renew because we think he’s done a good job.” French also did not expect money to be an issue. Saying of Aguillard, “He doesn’t work for money, he works for the Lord.” That said, in 2012 (the most recent numbers available) Aguillard was paid $216,556. According to Chris Gherz, Chair of the History Department at Bethel University, on his blog the Pietist Schoolman Aguillard’s pay was 7th highest among Council of Christian Colleges and University schools and 79th highest among the 500 schools in the study, when compared against the schools budget.

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For almost a year, ever since the investigation by the Board of Trustees into corruption, Louisiana College President Joe Aguillard and his supporters have been using the term “exonerated” every chance they get. The story from the Aguillard camp has been that a Calvinist take over was thwarted and Godly leadership maintained. The truth, however, is much darker.

This blog has previously discussed Aguillard’s vindictive nature and his strict line on loyalty and his authority behind closed doors. But, today Aguillard made a news story out of something no source had previously reported on. In January of 2013, Dr Chuck Quarles filed a complaint with SACS about ethical concerns over Aguillard’s behavior. According to Quarles he “did so only after speaking to an official at SACS and receiving assurances that [his] complaint would not result in LC’s loss of accreditation.” As Quarles explains, “Many fine Christian educators whom I greatly respect serve at LC and I did not want my complaint to harm them in any way.” However, yesterday Louisiana College posted on their website a press release entitled “SACS Reaffirms Louisiana College: Denies Quarles Complaints” In the release, Aguillard claims that the accusations were false and compares himself to The Apostle Paul in Corinth when explaining how he will respond to the “false accusation.” Tommy French, Chairman of Louisiana College’s Board of Trustees, asserts, ” Our President, Dr. Joe Aguillard, has been vetted and completely exonerated. The facts have proved the absolute integrity of Louisiana College, the Board of Trustees and President Aguillard.”

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