Truth, we hear, is the first casualty of war. It is with sadness our Seminary Study Committee presents evidence in its report that the infighting in the SBC inspires the slaughter of truth about seminary enrollment figures.

The Cooperative Program sends larger and larger dollar amounts to schools growing smaller by the year.

For instance, Midwestern Seminary in Kansas City confessed that they had reported enrollment figures falsely for years during the administration of their SBC-chosen president, Mark Coppenger.

Coppenger's leadership of the seminary ended when they fired him because of anger issues related to his mistreatment of employees. After Coppenger's firing, the interim president admitted they had misrepresented enrollment for some time.

Since the funds the seminary received from the Cooperative Program were based on enrollment figures, the school had banked a substantial amount of overpayment. The one figure produced was that Midwestern got more than $300,000 of CP money to which it was not entitled. They did not return the money.

Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth confessed to reporting inaccurate enrollment figures for 1997 and 1998. The Vice President for Business Affairs, an employee for more than two decades, said they mistakenly had changed the way they counted enrollment for those two years.

Reasons why the school changed its reporting procedure were left unanswered. Left unreturned were the CP funds received for the support of several hundred phantom students. One has to wonder how if past reporting is inaccurate how can future reports be trusted?

Even if Southwestern's 1999 enrollment figures were accurate, they still show a decline of 841 students from 1994 after they fired Russell Dilday. Seminary support from the CP is greater than ever even though it is based on an enrollment which, as we know, is in decline.

In short, even larger amounts of CP dollars are pouring into SBC seminaries while student population ebbs. This might be acceptable should we have no missionary needs. We still need, however, trained leaders to equip churches for the Great Commission work around the world. Moreover, the choice to continue sending more money to shrinking schools with large endowments and giant alumni bases seems extravagantly strange.

Contrast the lavish spending of CP dollars for the established SBC schools that fail to attract students with the comparative bargain in San Antonio, Texas. The Hispanic Baptist Theological School educates cross-cultural, bilingual ministry students for $35 per hour.

Dr. Albert Reyes says that an infusion of scholarship money for students lacking funds would help dozens to continue their education to graduation.

Texas is more Hispanic and less Euro-American by the day. The Hispanic population in Texas is growing five times faster than the Anglo population. 16% of all Texas Baptist congregations and 50% of new starts are Hispanic. Fifty-percent of new church starts were Hispanic congregations.

Texas Baptists would be practicing wise stewardship to redirect our giving to give more money to those who have the least and less money to those who have the most. In addition, we would be giving money that would help us reach the fastest growing part of our population.

October 2000