How to Identify Liberal Drift in Christian Colleges - A Conversation with Everett Piper

Dr. Everett Piper got national attention in 2017 when, as President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, he published a book called Not a Day Care, which was a public rebuke of the increasing fragility and wokeness of American Christians. He put into writing a frustration that spoke directly to what people were experiencing all over the country, boldly speaking against increasingly common norms in our culture. As a college president, he refused to make room for theological or ideological drift, insisting on the same standards being met for today’s students as in previous generations. While there was great pushback, there was also great reward for faithfulness. Though he retired a couple years ago, OKWU continues to thrive.

Other colleges have failed to learn from his example. My recent reporting on Baylor, Fuller, and Wheaton has substantiated several concerning signs of theological drift. One would be right to wonder if these colleges are emblematic of common shifts in the current Christian college culture. My own tradition of Methodism has largely become synonymous with liberal arts colleges that are bastions of worldliness and seminaries that are hotbeds of heresy. For those of the evangelical split-off from The United Methodist Church, we need to be able to discern the landscape of our current higher educational system so that we do not fall prey to the same forces that so degraded our former denomination. How do we identify when an institution is being captured or steered?

In this conversation, Dr. Piper speaks from his experience as an administrator and leader in Christian colleges, substantiating that concerns about drift are well-earned. He gives concrete ways to discern the orientation of schools and helps me to think through how the theological, political, and cultural influences work together to obfuscate what is really going on. Those who want to discern which institutions can still be trusted to equip faithful clergy for our churches would do well to consider Dr. Piper’s words.

Links:

Not a Day Care, Dr. Piper’s 2017 book on American fragility and wokeness - https://a.co/d/2AwErib

Dr. Piper’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Dr.EverettPiper

Dr. Piper's Website - https://dreverettpiper.com/

Dr. Piper on X - @dreverettpiper