news at free will baptist bible college     Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville, TN, has been the official college of the Free Will Baptist Denomination since 1942. To find out more information about the school, visit their website at www.fwbbc.edu.

 

 

Tom Sass Transitions to VP Role as Senior Financial Counsel

After 26 years as chief financial officer at Free Will Baptist Bible College, Tom Sass shifted to a part-time role as vice president and senior financial counsel effective January 1, according to President Matt Pinson. He will continue as a member of the President’s Leadership Team while he hands over vice president for financial affairs duties to his successor, Reverend Craig Mahler.

“Tom Sass is a trusted friend whose life is marked by godly character and a hunger for righteousness,” President Pinson said. “For almost three decades, no one has better understood the financial picture at FWBBC. He has provided financial advice and counsel for three college presidents. I have the highest respect for him, and I’m so pleased that he will continue to serve as a presidential advisor.”

Mr. Sass’s main focus in the newly created position of vice president and senior financial counsel will be analyzing financial data, budgeting, and mentoring. Other duties will include assisting with accounts payable and serving as liaison with Plant Operations.

A 1972 FWBBC graduate (business certificate), Mr. Sass earned the B.B.A. degree in Business Administration at Belmont University, graduating with honors. He also pursued graduate studies at Tennessee State University.

The Illinois native is highly regarded for his outreach in the broader Christian community, first as a deacon at Cofer’s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church where he chaired the deacon board. Other ministry service includes the Nashville Rescue Mission where he chaired the board three times, current chairman of the board with Tennessee Child Evangelism, past president of the Nashville Gideons chapter, and a 12-time evaluator with the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), one of the college’s accrediting bodies.

Sass began working in the FWBBC Business Office in 1972 after serving two years with the U.S Navy’s legal division. When long-time FWBBC treasurer E.B. McDonald retired in 1986, Mr. Sass was tapped to succeed his mentor. Tom, his wife Sheila, and their three children all attended FWBBC.

“This has been a great ride and a fulfilling ministry with FWBBC, but I’m looking forward to transitioning from full time to fewer hours,” Mr. Sass said. “I know the college’s financial concerns are in the best of hands with my good friend Craig Mahler. I plan to enjoy more time with Sheila, volunteer at the Nashville Rescue Mission, and I hope to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial in Hawaii.”

Mahler Promoted to Chief Financial Officer

Reverend Craig Mahler, comptroller at Free Will Baptist Bible College since 2006, has been named vice president for financial affairs, according to President Matt Pinson. He succeeds Tom Sass who recently transitioned to a part-time role as vice president and senior financial counsel. Both changes took effect January 1.

President Pinson said, “Craig Mahler is resilient, has great financial insight and wisdom, as well as a quiet strength that’s wrapped in a humble spirit. We have been delighted with his professional work in the Business Office and his technological skills. He has a broad understanding of both personnel and financial matters. We have found Mr. Mahler equal to whatever task comes his way.”

An ordained Free Will Baptist minister, Mahler is youth minister at Carthage FWB Church. The 2004 honors graduate at Tennessee Technological University (B.S. degree in Business Administration) brings a variety of experiences to the position, including several years in TTU’s Internal Audit Division and specialized management training at DeKalb Community Bank in Smithville.

“When FWBBC invited me to join the staff, I thought it would be a great place to serve for the rest of my life in ministry. I still do,” Mr. Mahler said. “I believe this is what God wants for me. This broader responsibility will demand my best effort. I look forward to the challenge and the blessing.”

As comptroller, Mahler was overseer for cashier and data processing, general ledger entry and financial statement preparation, student account maintenance and billing, monthly payroll for college employees, special projects, and other budget matters.

Tom Sass said, “I believe that Craig Mahler is the best man for this job, and he has my total support and endorsement. The Lord has been preparing Craig and FWBBC for this transition.”

Missions Conference Challenges Students

Numerous students stepped forward during the 2011 World Missions Conference in response to cutting-edge messages that dared them to make a difference in a post-Christian culture, shake off spiritual apathy, and commit their lives to Christian service. The October 2-4 event included seven general worship sessions and nine educational seminars.

President Matt Pinson said, “There’s always something powerful and compelling about missions conferences at FWBBC. God’s presence seems to wrap around us as we worship and pray and sing together. His cleansing power reminds us again of our primary mission—to win the lost, to tell the Good News, to build His Church.”

Clint Morgan, general director of International Missions, and Larry Powell, general director of the Home Missions Department, confronted students with the practical claims of Christ on their lives. Scott Warren, home missionary to Utah, said he only had one point to make in his message: “You have one life. Don’t waste it.” Missionaries Sam McVay (Spain) and Steve Lytle (Panama), along with Hanna Project personnel David and Angie Outlaw, sounded the same clear note, challenging students to embrace the task of evangelism.

Workshop participants included Rachel Atwood (Campus Crusade for Christ), Ed and Linda Speyers (Wycliffe Bible Translators), Andrea Lowe (English Language Institute), and others.

Ron Callaway, missions program coordinator, said, “The conference was everything we hoped it would be. God spoke to us all, and some of us will never be the same again.”

Carol Reid Elected to ACL Foundation Board

Mrs. Carol Reid, librarian at Free Will Baptist Bible College, was elected to the Board of Directors for the Foundation for the Advancement of Christian Libraries during their 2011 annual conference, according to Foundation executive director Janelle Mazelin.

The organization, also known as the Association of Christian Librarians (ACL), elected Reid for a three-year term, 2011-2014.
Mrs. Reid previously served as both director-at-large and treasurer of the ACL Board. She is a frequent presenter at professional educational gatherings and has been published in The Christian Librarian, journal of the Association of Christian Librarians.

“I have been involved with the Association of Christian Librarians for many years,” Mrs. Reid said, “and I have profited greatly from the professional development and friendships the Association provides. I am happy for this opportunity to serve on the Board. It will be a lot of work, but it is also profitable to me personally and to our library and college as well.”

Her broader ministry includes a recent term as secretary on the Commission on Accreditation for the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), the accrediting association for Bible colleges in the United States and Canada.

A 1977 FWBBC graduate with an M.L.S. degree from Vanderbilt University, Mrs. Reid has been librarian at Free Will Baptist Bible College since 1988.

“Mrs. Reid is a credit to FWBBC,” said Provost Greg Ketteman. “Our faculty, students, and many others in the greater Nashville community benefit from her work. Her knowledge, professional skills, and dedication have earned her an excellent reputation among her peers.”

College Named One of the “Best Christian Workplaces”

Free Will Baptist Bible College received notification that it has been certified as a 2012 Best Christian Workplace in the United States, according to President Matt Pinson. The college participates in the international survey biennially. The BCW survey, conducted by the Best Christian Workplaces Institute, has surveyed over 100,000 anonymous employees to date.

President Pinson said, “This is a first for us. What great news for the college family that even though we’ve been grappling with a down economy, our employees recognize FWBBC as a place where God is honored and workers are respected, and they rate the college as an exceptional place to work.”

To be certified as a Best Christian Workplace, organizations must complete an employee engagement survey and meet predetermined standards of excellence. The survey covers such issues as: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, Christian witness, supervisory effectiveness, work satisfaction, personal growth and development, management effectiveness, supporter satisfaction, teamwork, communications, and pay and benefits.

BCWI is a research and human resources consulting firm based on Mercer Island, Washington. Its purpose is to serve faith-based organizations by creating processes of discovery, facilitating organizational effectiveness, and encouraging practices that build healthy workplaces.

“Providing quality Christian collegiate education has always been challenging,” Provost Greg Ketteman said, “and this is especially true today. FWBBC employees carry the well-known rigors of their jobs in addition to the effects of a difficult economy and heightened demands for clear, accurate, Bible-based teaching. All this is encountered in a culture increasingly hostile to the Christian worldview. Being included in the Best Christian Workplaces in America demonstrates how FWBBC employees are facing the difficult challenges of our world. They have consistently responded with courage, integrity, and dedication to God.”

Hester to Direct Institutional Planning

Dr. Kevin Hester has been appointed director of institutional planning and assessment, according to Provost Greg Ketteman. He will continue as chairman of the Department of Theological Studies and the Accreditation Compliance Committee.

Ketteman said, “Dr. Hester is an exceptional, multi-talented individual. Following his outstanding service as chairman of both the SACS and ABHE Compliance Committees, he is well prepared to step into this role. He will assume some responsibilities previously managed by Dr. Milton Fields, former vice president for institutional planning who retired in May 2011.”

The job description has been carefully tailored to allow Dr. Hester space to give appropriate attention to this area while maintaining his teaching and departmental roles. In addition to the modified job description, Dr. Hester will have a reduced teaching load and will increase summer responsibilities.

Dr. Hester said, “This new position allows me to take much that I have learned over the past several years as chairman of the Compliance Committee and apply it to the broader educational enterprise at FWBBC. Thanks to Dr. Fields’ visionary leadership in institutional effectiveness, I will inherit a top-notch program of assessment. I’m also delighted to be working with Mr. Wayne Spruill whose professionalism and tireless devotion have always been an inspiration to me.”

Due in large measure to Dr. Hester’s leadership skills as chairman of the college’s Accreditation Compliance Committee, FWBBC received its 10-year accreditation reaffirmation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in 2011.
A member of the college faculty since 2003, Dr. Hester is frequently published in professional journals and denominational publications.

Hester is a 1993 FWBBC graduate. He completed the M.Div. degree at Covenant Theological Seminary in 1997 and his Ph.D. at Saint Louis University in 2002.

Nicene Faith Book Includes Chapter by President Pinson

A new book titled Evangelicals and Nicene Faith: Reclaiming the Apostolic Witness includes a 23-page chapter by Free Will Baptist Bible College president Matt Pinson. The 16-chapter, 272-page paperback edited by Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School and senior editor of Christianity Today, was published in October 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.

Dr. George said, “Evangelicals and Nicene Faith: Reclaiming the Apostolic Witness is a fascinating collection of essays by first-rate scholars from various evangelical traditions. What is surprising is how each one affirms the abiding validity and relevance of the Nicene faith for the life of the church today.”

Commenting on chapter eight written by President Pinson, Dr. George said, “Dr. Matthew Pinson has written a superb essay, ‘Confessional, Baptist, and Arminian,’ in which he surveys the importance of Nicene belief within the General-Free Will Baptist Tradition. He traces this trajectory through early Baptist pioneers like Thomas Grantham and Joseph Hooke as well as their spiritual descendants in America.”

Dr. George continued, “Dr. Pinson is one of the leading Baptist scholars, and he illuminates his own ecclesial heritage by placing it in continuity with the Great Tradition of historic Christianity. In doing so, he aptly illustrates this famous statement by the late Jaroslav Pelikan in whose memory we have dedicated this book: ‘Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.’”

The book grew out of a 2009 conference, “The Will to Believe and the Need for Creed: Evangelicals and the Nicene Faith,” at Beeson Divinity School at which President Pinson spoke. Pinson’s chapter in the book is joined by contributions from scholars such as Timothy George, Gerald Bray, Thomas Oden, and Ralph Wood.

Dr. Pinson said, “I am delighted to have a chapter in this book, and especially excited that the Free Will Baptist story can be told in this wider evangelical venue.”

Dr. Pinson is frequently published in professional theological journals. He has written two books—A Free Will Baptist Handbook (1998) and The Washing of the Saints’ Feet (2006)—and served as general editor for two others: Four Views of Eternal Security (2002) and Perspectives on Christian Worship: Five Views (2006). He also wrote a pamphlet in the Heritage Series titled “Free Will Baptists and Church Government” (2008) for the Free Will Baptist Historical Commission.

He is a member of the Commission for Theological Integrity of the National Association of Free Will Baptists.

Visiting High School Seniors Praise FWBBC Hospitality

Twenty-four students from eight states attended the fall 2011 Senior Days on September 29-30 at Free Will Baptist Bible College, giving high marks to FWBBC student, faculty, and staff for the warm campus-wide hospitality, according to Rusty Campbell, director of enrollment services. Thirteen students came from Tennessee and three from Michigan. Others included: Alabama (1), Arkansas (2), Florida (2), Illinois (1), Ohio (1), and West Virginia (1).

Mr. Campbell said, “Seventy-five percent of the students who attended indicated that because of the Senior Days event they are more interested in FWBBC than before they came. We changed up the schedule to give visiting students a more hands-on campus experience. We added a panel discussion with a Q&A involving representatives from resident life, athletics, Christian service, music, drama, the Student Council, and Global Missions Fellowship.”

The visiting seniors toured the campus, attended classes, worshipped in chapel, participated in a Thursday evening friends-and-food-fest hosted by the Student Council, and enjoyed a Friday breakfast with Provost Greg Ketteman. Each senior had a personal guide for the weekend as they moved about the campus. Friday activities included a panel discussion about life as an FWBBC student, an afternoon faculty reception, and a closing session followed by a Lady Flames volleyball game.
Verbal commendations for the two-day Senior Days event came from visiting students and parents. One student said, “Everything was really great! I enjoyed talking with the students and faculty.” A first-time-on-campus parent said, “We had heard this was a good school, but now that we are here and see what goes on, we are really impressed. I think FWBBC is the place we want our child to attend.”

For more information about Senior Days, contact the Enrollment Management Office at recruit@fwbbc.edu.