12 May 2009

Dear Dr. Ruble,

Greetings! As I prepare to leave Erskine, I have been processing my four years here as a student and the past two years of my involvement as a student leader. While I have seen God at work in many ways during my time at Erskine and appreciate the positive aspects of the Erskine community, I leave Erskine with the concern that Erskine is not headed in the right direction at multiple levels. I write to you today to share those concerns with you.

One of the reasons that I came to Erskine was because it advertised itself as a Christian liberal arts college where, as Dr. Weatherman would so often say, we bring together reason and revelation. I remain convinced that Erskine’s formal commitment to the integration of “learning and biblical truth” and to a “Christ-centered environment” constitutes a vision for an excellent Christian liberal arts education that seeks to equip Christians to faithfully serve Christ in their churches, families, and vocations and to reach unbelievers with the hope of the Gospel. Sadly, instead what I have observed during my four years here is a grievous gap that is steadily growing between that formal mission and the practical condition of Erskine in its administration, faculty, and community life.

Concerning the Administration, I have seen a glaring and consistent pattern of the evasion and suppression of Erskine’s mission. The starkest example of this concerned the 2008 Strategic Plan. With the approval of the new mission statement, there was a tremendous opportunity to move Erskine forward toward being more faithful to its mission. Instead, the mission was not practically front-and-center in the planning process. Given your frequent comments on the importance of being Christ-centered, why did not you provide stronger definition and leadership for what that would mean in the planning process? Why do we now have an Admissions process that emphasizes “faith” more than “Christ”, which substitutes vague and vacuous phrases such as “Forever Connected” for a vigorous attempt to market Erskine as a Christian liberal arts college? Such vagueness shamefully uses the name of Christ as a mantra to cover Erskine’s lack of institutional integrity…

Unfortunately, that is but one of the examples of the many gaps between Erskine’s stated mission and how things are actually done. While our mission commits us to the integration of “learning and biblical truth”, many faculty members (beside Dr. Crenshaw, who is only the most extreme example!) openly oppose or evade the integration of Christian faith with learning. Why is it that since our new mission was approved I have heard more and more reports from my fellow students about professors (not just in one department, but in many) who teach from a basically secular perspective? There are unfortunately too many stories I could tell of seeing Christian students come into Erskine only to have their faith weakened or destroyed because of how their professors compartmentalize Christianity and learning, and elevate reason and the individual over God’s revelation and the journey of faith in Christ. These things should not be so at a Christian liberal arts college.

Finally, during my two years as an SLA, I have seen our student body become more divided, more disgruntled, and more frustrated. Students are frustrated about many things across the spectrum, from rising tuition to the lack of Christian commitment to fearing that there is too much Christian commitment. Our campus culture is split between mediocrity and overextendedness. Why is there such fragmentation and division? Yes, we live in a broken and sinful world and we will never reach perfection in this life. But what else can we really have but disunity when the historical, living Christ of Scripture is not the center of our campus life, not the center of the vision of Admissions, and not the center of our classrooms? This is not to suggest that we should only have Christian students or that we should not engage human thought in its diversity; rather, it is to suggest that behind Erskine’s problems with retention, with the lack of school spirit, and with the general lack of a truly Gospel-centered campus life lies the failure of the Administration and the Board to be committed to implementing Erskine’s mission in the fullness of its Christ-centered vision.

I have prayed and will continue to pray for you, and for Erskine College. I have presented these concerns to you because I love Erskine, because I love our students, and (most of all) because I want to see Erskine be faithful to Christ as the ministry of the ARP Church in Christian higher education. Thank you for reading this, and for your acts of service to Erskine and to its students.

In Christ,

Joshua Grimm
Chair, Student Life Council, 2008-09
Student Life Assistant, Grier Dorm, 2007-09
Member, Steering Committee, Erskine College Strategic Plan, 2007-08
Editor-in-Chief, The Erskine Mirror, 2007-08

Cc: Dr. John R. deWitt
Cc: Mr. Steve Maye
Cc: Mr. Gordon Query
Cc: Mr. Scott Mitchell