Sattler College Turmoil

[ohio jones]

How many Anabaptist women who head cover also have Ph.Ds?

Well, my aunt has a D. Litt. from NYU. If Sattler had been around 30 years ago...

[Dan Z]

How many Anabaptist women who head cover also have Ph.Ds?

Well, my aunt has a D. Litt. from NYU. If Sattler had been around 30 years ago...

My head-covering middle daughter is on her way to a doctorate.

[Sliceitup]

How many Anabaptist women who head cover also have Ph.Ds?

Well, my aunt has a D. Litt. from NYU. If Sattler had been around 30 years ago...

My head-covering middle daughter is on her way to a doctorate.

That’s awesome! I can also think of a few with advanced degrees, but I’m not sure the pool is large enough for Sattler to have very many options if they wanted to exclude women with children. Why exactly did they want women to be teaching? Was it to appeal to female students? To ‘diversify’ their staff? Or were they interested in specific women?

[Judas Maccabeus]

Homeschooling, and a strong discouragement to schooling outside of the father's authority(Many Mennonite churches have church schools of their own), Full Quiver, Housechurching, Women with children strongly discouraged from working, meetings only open to members.

Ironically, Sattler wanted to recruit Anabaptist women (or at least women with views that would lead them to head cover, etc.) with Ph.Ds to teach at Sattler whilst simultaneously teaching that women with children shouldn't be working. That was quite a circle they were trying to square.

How many Anabaptist women who head cover also have Ph.Ds?

I know at least 3.

J.M.

[Judas Maccabeus]

I just want to say, on a positive note, that I have visited Sattler College a number of times over the past few years, including as a parent of a prospective student, and have been very impressed with the caliber of students, the quality of instruction, and the depth of both the spiritual and academic cultures. I liked their "city on a hill" approach to engaging the world and training up young men and women - equipping them to live out Christ's peaceful revolution. I'm honestly sad to hear of this instability, and especially how it might affect current students and faculty who have invested in the experience, and I am rooting for the school to emerge from this crisis intact and eventually stronger.

I have been up there as well. I would not recommend it.

If they are interested in the sciences, I would seriously reconsider. Sattler does not have any of it's own lab facilities, and contracts it out. No extra time in the lab looking at the slides you just did not "get" the first time through, no extra time handling the disarticulated skeleton so you know the bones by feel, no after hours sessions with classmates looking over specimens that just don't fit, until they do. Fewer opportunities for work outside of the "contracted" time.

This does not reflect on Sattler's staff and faculty, rather on administration. It does reflect on a system that is set up to do things on the cheap at a premium price.

J.M.

[joshuabgood]

I have been up there numerous times as well and sat in classes etc. I think the students are strong and their have been some great staff there also and teaching. And the particularities students are exposed to don't really bother me as long as it isn't coerced or made dogma. The facility from a lab or say music standpoint is not there, but for liberal arts that isn't really that essential.

The boarding is the best, and most expensive, of any college I have ever been at, hello Back Bay. I would love living there.

The turnover and conflicting messaging at times and operational challenges are where the growth points are...which is understandable somewhat for a new school. However the governance issues, evidenced in this latest situation, feels like priority number one to resolve. And the single stream mostly funding complicates governance...though it solves other things.

[Ernie]

At this time, the majority of FOTW members are from Anabaptist churches which makes for an Anabaptist cultural flavor with restorationist ideology.

Do you have actual data regarding what amount of FOTW members are from Anabaptist groups? Does that count Finny who was with EPMC for awhile and MM who was with Mennos in Oregon and at Ephrata Christian Fellowship? Or is this strictly folks with ethnic names?

I don't have data. I was not counting FK and MM.

[Ernie]

Someone with knowledge of the matters being discussed in thread has contacted me to say that there are inaccuracies in this thread and that there is context and complexities that are too personal and too numerous to be straightened out in a thread like this.
So I want to go on record as saying that some of my comments are one sided and that they should be viewed as such. Personal perspectives that I have shared about Sattler and FOTW are simply my perspective and may not reflect reality.

In particular, it would be good for me to clarify that the concerns at FOTW about starting an Anabaptist church in Boston have to do with the foundation upon which such a church is begun. If the foundation for an Anabaptist church in Boston was deemed healthy by FOTW, many at FOTW could likely feel quite positive about the initiative.

[Soloist]

Someone with knowledge of the matters being discussed in thread has contacted me to say that there are inaccuracies in this thread and that there is context and complexities that are too personal and too numerous to be straightened out in a thread like this.
So I want to go on record as saying that some of my comments are one sided and that they should be viewed as such. Personal perspectives that I have shared about Sattler and FOTW are simply my perspective and may not reflect reality.

In particular, it would be good for me to clarify that the concerns at FOTW about starting an Anabaptist church in Boston have to do with the foundation upon which such a church is begun. If the foundation for an Anabaptist church in Boston was deemed healthy by FOTW, many at FOTW could likely feel quite positive about the initiative.

There in lies the problem.

Edit: I remember asking the question "what role does the church have in oversight with this college" the response was "None, its Finny's thing"
Now the church which has condemned Mennonite practice is the one determining the foundation?

[Ernie]

Since this thread was started a few days ago, I’ve been considering whether I should post something I put together in the past, that lists some places where I am aligned with the FOTW vision, as well as some differences. In this thread I have already pointed out some of the differences so I will let that suffice for now.

In this post I will list some areas of agreement with FOTW, its vision, and its critque of the conservative Anabaptist movement.

This list was compiled a number of years ago so some points may possibly be out of date, but it was strengths I noticed at that time. I post this with the understanding that in order for our strengths to serve the Kingdom of God well, there needs to be accountability to the larger church. Otherwise our strengths become an Achilles heel.

1. Some Christians should be attempting church planting in cities. (based on what we read in the New Testament)
2. We should believe more in the power of prayer and make fervent prayer a greater part of our lives.
3. There is a common denominator and kingdom vision that Christians can unite around that is bigger than Anabaptism.
4. A vibrant church often utilizes small group discipleship.
5. A vibrant church relates cross generationally and works against separation according to age groups. There does not need to be a generational gap.
6. Young people and new Christians can be very useful in church planting.
7. Youth don’t need regular volleyball games and lots of social activities. They can find fulfillment in learning, in Christian fellowship, and in Christian ministry.
8. It is not unchristian or unspiritual to architect a vision & plan for church planting and church function.
9. There is a way to equip and mobilize and guide people for Christian ministry in a much shorter period of years than what most conservative Anabaptists think is possible.
10. Many Conservative Anabaptists are often too inward focused. For these folks, too much attention is focused around themselves and their movement. Even if they start outreach churches, many give very little time or priority to discipling the unsaved and the unchurched.
11. The conservative Anabaptist movement is a sleeping giant. It has tons of missions and ministries but the majority of its efforts are not very effective at all in bringing people into the church. The giant needs awakened, not to cause destruction, but yoked to serve the King.
12. Christian teachers and preachers can often benefit from some training in Bible Study and public speaking.
13. Some Christians in the church should be effective in apologetics.
14. Parents should be directly involved in their children’s lives and education. This should be made a priority.
15. Christians should not be pressured to stay long term at a church that is not open to growing or is not open to Biblical teaching.