I just finished an audiobook of “A Church Called Tov” by @scotmcknight and @laurambarringer. Almost all I could think about was my seminary experience @BCS_MN. Speaking as an alumni, I would not recommend Bethlehem College & Seminary to *anyone.* Buckle up. I’ll tell you why.

I knew instinctively that I had spent four years in a toxic Christian culture. But this book gave me a framework and vocabulary to describe why it felt toxic.

Scot and Laura aren’t necessarily writing about a seminary’s culture, but Bethlehem’s seminary culture is so intertwined with the church culture that the book applies to both, in my opinion.

What are warning signs of a toxic culture, according to Scot and Laura? 1) Narcissism and 2) Power through fear. Both of these signs are present in spades at BCS. Virtually everyone is drawn to the school because of Piper’s influence and theology.

And there’s HUGE pressure to agree with the contours of BCS reformed theology. It’s assumed you will fall in line doctrinally, and if you don’t, then better shut up about it or you’ll be exposed as immature, and your profs will grade you accordingly.

Literally a month into my program, I realized I just could not bring up my questions and reservations about Calvinism, for example, because profs assumed (and implied—in classrooms) that whoever questioned it was simply incorrect.

I spent four years of my life, stuffing away many of the theological and biblical questions that I cared about most. I knew I couldn’t bring them up at my seminary, so for the most part I just shut up about them, and followed the implicit “rules” at BCS.

Now what does it take to build a goodness culture? First off, empathy. But forget that at BCS. The new president has explicitly (and notoriously) called empathy “a sin,” and the profs by and large give the same impression implicitly.

Since there are literally no females on the faculty of the seminary (and there never will be) the women of BCS bear the brunt of this lack of empathy most. Unless you’re willing as a woman to sycophantically “nurture” the men, you’re regarded as suspect. Oh, could I tell stories!

What else leads to a culture of goodness? Scot and Laura say putting people first. But the weight of BCS’s collective narcissism insures that the interests of the institution will always be put ahead of individual’s interests. Again, the women, the “SemWives” have it worst here.

What else is part of a goodness culture? Truth-telling. Yes. But BCS nurtures a culture of “loyalty” that stifles and suppresses truth.

I’m aware of a handful of profs that have tried to speak the truth. They’ve tried to stand up for students. But almost all of them have either resigned, or were forced into resigning. They’ve also been threatened with lawsuits and pressured into signing NDA’s.

What’s more, I know *students* who have been threatened with lawsuits for simply collecting other anonymous student opinions about school issues! Can you imagine going to a college where they threaten you for raising concerns? (Unfortunately, many of us can.)

So far this culture of silence and “loyalty” at BCS has stifled anything resembling scandal. But the school cannot suppress its toxicity forever. @reachjulieroys, watch for something ugly to break open at Bethlehem College & Seminary in the coming years.

More could be said. But I may have said enough here to later get threatened with a lawsuit myself! The bottom line is, stay far away from @BCS_MN. Thank you @KyleJamesHoward for speaking up about BCS. And thank you @scotmcknight and @laurambarringer for writing this book.

To finish up, my words here are not about Piper (I actually respect him, to some extent). It’s not about Calvinism (I’d still steer Calvinists away from BCS. Go to...somewhere else. TEDS? Haha) It’s about people, truth-telling, and doing what’s right. BCS has failed in all three.