Why Don't Hard Questions Occur to Christians?

Published on by D. G. Hart

So if you were a historic Southern Baptist institution located in one of the former border states — think Kentucky — where would you want to start a branch campus? Dunbar, Wisconsin? You betcha.

The town was founded in 1888 during a period of thriving logging industry in the Wisconsin northern woods. At that time the railroad was the main means of transporting logs from Dunbar to the southern part of the state and Illinois. Before the town was officially founded there was a restaurant where a cook with the surname Dunbar worked. Whenever the railroad stopped at that part of the area they brought food and supplies for the restaurant. The railroad workers said they were bringing things “to Dunbar” the cook. Eventually when the town was founded it was after the cook’s surname.

And this is the place where Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is going to branch out.

I don’t get it.

Northland International University, an evangelical Christian school located in Dunbar, Wisconsin, will become the first campus outside of Louisville for Boyce College, Southern’s undergraduate school. The action is effective Aug. 1, 2015.

“The fact that there will be a Boyce College and Southern Seminary campus located in Wisconsin on a campus of this stature is an enormous step forward for Southern Baptists,” said Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. “I can only imagine what the founders of the Southern Baptist Convention would think to know that the reach of the SBC and its mother seminary is now of this magnitude in the upper Midwest.”

Daniel Patz, president of Northland since 2013, attended the meeting and told trustees, “This is a gift from Northland to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. But really, I feel almost, even more so, it is gift to us in order for this legacy and this mission to continue; it is the greatest mission in the world, to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth.”

Paul Patz, the grandfather of Daniel Patz, founded Northland in 1958 as a camp and expanded it in 1976 to become Northland Baptist Bible Institute. One year later, Northland became an undergraduate college, adding a graduate program in 1988. Throughout its history, the school has continued to operate Northland Camp & Conference Center, which hosts camps, Bible conferences, and other ministry events. Northland has produced nearly 2,900 alumni serving in ministry across the world.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not insinuating that something shady is at play here. In this economy, any gift that an institution receives is a blessing. But when you think about the pattern of branch campuses that Reformed Theological Seminary established, first Orlando, then Charlotte, then Atlanta, then Washington, then Houston, then New York, then planet earth — I’m not sure this is the order or if these are the real campuses, but you get the point — you’re not thinking Dunbar, Wisconsin or Hillsdale, Michigan.

In which case, someone needs to ask why Dunbar? Why a place roughly twenty-five miles from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula? Why not Green Bay?

More important, why isn’t anyone scratching their heads?

17 thoughts on “Why Don't Hard Questions Occur to Christians?”

  3. Now the demise of the college-cum-university formerly known as Northland Baptist-cum-International was on this wise–

    The board and then president decided to pursue a trajectory out of seperatist fundamentalism and into conservative evangelicalism. This move was coincident with the economic downturn and the general falloff for attendance and fundamentalist colleges/universites across the board. Reserve funds dwindled drastically. A couple of really boneheaded moves (organizing a rock band as a summer travelling group to promote the college, the firing, re-hiring, resignation of the president mentioned above, etc, an apparent lady preacher in a chapel session) seemed to seal the fate.

    My guess is, and it is only my guess, that the current president (grandson of founder Patz) and board (many Patz relatives) reached out to the SBC as a conservative evangelical flavored way to avoid totally terminating the Patz legacy of Christian education.

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  5. It might not be as crazy as it sounds. I’ve been to Dunbar more than once, and it’s beautiful country up that way. Culture is also great if you like hockey, ice-fishing, deer hunting, and beer. 😉

    In seriousness, there maybe a segment of northerly evangelicals who would see the SBC control as a stable (which NIU was not perceived to be in its final years) conservative alternative to the more militant fundamentalist options nearby (Faith in Iowa, Maranthat in Southern WI, etc).

    If they can get back into the 500-800 students a year (enrollment this year is around 200, only 25 percent of what it was during the “glory years”) it might work out.

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  7. I hope them bab-dists who go there don’t mind their biscuits & gravy made with kielbasa drippings instead of pork sausage. Oh, and also don’t mind pickin’ black flies out of their iced tea.

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  8. I guess what puzzles me about this is that Wisconsin, like Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are mostly populated by Catholics and Lutherans, not Baptists. While the SBC has made inroads in the upper Midwest in recent decades they are dwarfed by the Baptist General Conference, the Evangelical Free Church, and various other baptistic denominations. Seems like an SBC school in Dunbar will be in direct competition to the other broadly evangelical colleges in the upper Midwest – Bethel, Northwestern, Crown, etc. and they have a small constituency in that region to support it.

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  12. I worked a lot of summers in Wisconsin, and in my more heathens day would head out that way for less sanctified purposes…let’s just say theres a lot of beer in Wisconsin, like a lot. It’ll be interesting to see how a southern baptist school handles that. Also major hick territory, wont be much of a magnet for every-square-incher brownie gospel baking new-calvinist hipsters. More like for people who enjoy wearing flanel and putting trolling motors on canoes for early morning bass fishing.

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  13. I used to hear stories of people coming into Westminster-west still dripping wet from surfing, maybe now they’ll southern students will be known for snow snowmobiling to class from their ice house.

    Dave S, o my goodness someone on OL knows about Crown, Northwestern and Bethel…they are the worst. If a southern campus can be in competition with them I am all for it. I’m still waiting for Westminster-North to start.

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  14. Brian – Also major hick territory, wont be much of a magnet for every-square-incher brownie gospel baking new-calvinist hipsters. More like for people who enjoy wearing flanel and putting trolling motors on canoes for early morning bass fishing.

    Erik – What hath Starbucks to do with Cabela’s?

    Post more here, Brian.

    And doesn’t Piper have dibs on Wisconsin?

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  15. DG,

    Yes, the possibility of a conference center crossed my mind too. Great place to visit from May through October.

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  16. Brian,

    Yes, as a native of the Twin Cities I’m quite familiar with Crown, Bethel and Northwestern. My wife is a graduate of Crown (when it was known by its earlier name). I’m also quite familiar with Wisconsin having lived there on three different occasions including a four year stint at UW-Stevens Point.

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  17. Brian,

    I’m a regular reader of OL and not only do I know about Crown, Northwestern, and Bethel, I graduated from one of those institutions.

    I take no offense, but am curious as to what you mean by “they are the worst”

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