Baptists: 
Response to President Eric Bruntmyer’s Letter to HSU Alumni and Members of the News Media 
by Don Williford,
retired Dean of Logsdon Seminary
(Guest contributor)

February 17, 2020

As someone who was present and involved in the evolution of the Logsdon School of Theology to its state just prior to the decision by President Bruntmyer and the Hardin-Simmons University Board of Trustees to close Logsdon Seminary, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to address some of the statements in the letter President Bruntmyer sent to HSU Alumni and news media.

First, allow me to provide my credentials for presenting the rebuttal. I served as a faculty member of the Logsdon School of Theology under its first three Deans and became its fourth Dean. I retired from that position May 31, 2017, having served seven years as the Dean. My term of service on the Logsdon Faculty spanned a period of twenty-five years, resulting in significant institutional memory. That memory is enhanced by copies of files I made and carried with me regarding important actions on which I worked, and which occurred during my tenure as Dean. My institutional memory is further supported by service in the capacities of Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs/Associate Provost from July 2002 to June 2009 and Interim Provost July 2009 to June 2010. One of my major tasks as Associate Provost was to serve as SACS COC (Southern Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Colleges) Liaison for Hardin-Simmons University, which led to my being the primary author of the Hardin-Simmons University SACS COC Reaccreditation Report leading to the University’s reaffirmation in 2007. The research leading to that report resulted in a deep understanding of the events transpiring since its previous decennial report in 1997. SACS required a fifth year interim report focusing on a selected body of standards. The research for that report likewise resulted in deepening of institutional memory.

Charles W and Koreen Logsdon Endowment Fund

In his Report to the Board of Trustees, Board of Development, and Board of Young Associates on October 28, 1984, addressing the Charles and Koreen Logsdon gifts, President Jesse C. Fletcher stated, “My purpose is to make sure that the history of these gifts is preserved in our common memories, both for direction and appreciation.” Dr. Fletcher then gave a brief review of the significant gifts made by Mr. and Mrs. Hart Phillips to the Bible Department (prior to the establishment of the Logsdon School of Theology), Edna Mae Derrick-Warren, and Dr. Virginia Connally, all given for “Bible and religion instruction at Hardin-Simmons University.” Following the review of these three gifts, Dr. Fletcher said:

But the ministry training task, always central to Hardin-Simmons University, and having produced many outstanding leaders over the years, stepped up to a new level in 1982. Charles W. Logsdon had been a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee when he passed away in October of 1981. In the spring of 1982, his widow Koreen Logsdon, with Mr. Logsdon’s trusted financial advisor Lee Hemphill, approached the administration about a wish that Mr. Logsdon himself had expressed before his death. He had desired for his estate after his and Mrs. Logsdon’s death to go to Hardin-Simmons University to help train young ministers. We proposed the Logsdon School of Theology which would fit into the new University framework and with additional funding would enhance the University’s opportunity to train Christian workers in the years ahead.”

Later in the same report, Dr. Fletcher said:

Mrs. Logsdon made available large blocks of land in the Abilene area valued in excess of three million dollars to build the Logsdon School of Theology building and the Logsdon Chapel. . . . As Dr. Neely leads the School of Theology with Dr. Hall’s support toward its new Master of Divinity program, along with its already existing graduate programs, it is in a unique position to make major contributions to Baptist life in the years ahead.”

There are several salient facts that emerge from Dr. Fletcher’s report. First, there was not one, but several, gifts from Mr. and Mrs. Logsdon to Hardin-Simmons relative to the Logsdon School of Theology: a gift of $3,000,000.00 for the construction of the Logsdon School of Theology facility and the Logsdon Chapel, a gift of $50,000.00 per year to provide for graduate assistants for the Logsdon faculty (included in Dr. Fletcher’s report, but not mentioned in the above quotes), and a final gift of the remainder of the Logsdon Estate, upon the death of Mrs. Logsdon, to the Baptist Foundation of Texas to establish the Charles W. and Koreen Logsdon Endowment Fund. According to Mrs. Logsdon’s Last Will and Testament, the income from this Endowment Fund would “be paid in quarterly or other convenient installments, but in no event less often than annually, to Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, Texas, for the operation and support of the Logsdon School of Theology on the campus of Hardin-Simmons University; provided, however, that Baptist Foundation of Texas shall add twenty-two percent of all oil, gas, and other mineral royalties produced in the Fund to the principal of the Fund at least annually.”

Second, the net income from the Endowment Fund was intended to help train young ministers. The task of equipping ministers is at the heart of the mission of all Texas Baptist Universities. The closing of Logsdon Seminary and moving of Logsdon School of Theology under the College of Liberal Arts with only a BA or BBS degree in but one disciplinary focus strike at the heart of the central task of preparing young ministers. Although the University Administrations have interpreted this statement, “to train young ministers” in different ways—to use the Logsdon Endowment funds for student scholarships, in support of the salaries and benefits of Logsdon faculty, or support of other costs directly tied to Logsdon programs—the funds were always dedicated to that essential effort.

Third, before the official establishment of Logsdon Seminary, Logsdon School of Theology had begun to offer a Master of Divinity (MDiv) Degree. Logsdon School of Theology could have continued to offer the MDiv without establishing the Logsdon Seminary. However, had LST chosen to proceed in that fashion, some ministers, namely, those planning to enter Military Chaplaincy, would not have been able to pursue their MDiv at Logsdon, since the United States Military required their chaplains to earn their MDiv degree from an entity accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). This requirement would have limited the number of potential students applying to Logsdon. Therefore, under the leadership of Dr. Vernon Davis, Hardin-Simmons University and Logsdon School of Theology began the process of applying for ATS accreditation, which necessitated the establishment of a Seminary.

Fourth, President Bruntmyer’s letter indicated an inaccurate separation between the Logsdon School of Theology and Logsdon Seminary. At the time of gaining ATS provisional accreditation, several requirements had to be met. Among those, ATS required a faculty specifically identified as Seminary Faculty, distinct from Logsdon faculty identified as teaching non-seminary courses. From the very outset, the Logsdon School of Theology was the primary structure under which all non-seminary programs (BA, BBS, and MA) and the seminary programs (MDiv, MAFM, and DMin) resided, with the same Dean serving over both seminary and non-seminary programs. This structural reality might be viewed under the analogy of a parent structure under which both seminary and non-seminary programs were included. (To avoid any more confusion than necessary from this point forward, I will refer to the “Parent” Logsdon School of Theology as the LSTP and the non-seminary programs as the LSTUG.) The ATS requirement for a separate designated faculty resulted in serious conflict between some faculty members who would be designated as non-seminary faculty, because the faculty members so identified felt that designation implied a lesser status for them. The name selected by HSU Administration and the Dean of Logsdon School of Theology for the seminary was Logsdon Seminary, in honor of the Logsdons for their provision to train young ministers. The faculty members who would serve as non-seminary faculty met with the Dean, Dr. Vernon Davis, to discuss possible names to be used for those non-seminary programs, including undergraduate programs and the MA program. One faculty member was vehemently opposed to identifying these programs by any other name than the Logsdon School of Theology. That faculty member’s passion won over the majority of the non-seminary faculty, with the result that both the parent or primary structure (LSTP) under which all non-seminary programs (LSTUG) on the one hand, and Logsdon Seminary on the other hand, went by the same name—The Logsdon School of Theology. This unfortunate turn of events has created confusion, nigh unto a nightmare for anyone not a part of the faculty or the administration at that time. In an attempt to provide clarification, Logsdon Seminary was given the name Logsdon Seminary of the Logsdon School of Theology. The Logsdon Endowment Funds were, from the outset and continuing to the present time, devoted to the “parent” Logsdon School of Theology.

Therefore, the claim that Logsdon School of Theology (LSTUG) funds were “being redirected” to Logsdon Seminary is patently untrue. The Logsdon Endowment Funds have from the outset belonged to the parent Logsdon School of Theology (LSTP) under which Logsdon Seminary and the non-seminary Logsdon School of Theology (LSTUG) programs were housed. Likewise, the claim that Logsdon Seminary “lacked appropriate funding from the very beginning” is not true. Hardin-Simmons was not using funds designated only for the Logsdon School of Theology (LSTUG) as denoting the non-seminary programs to cover $600,000.00 of the annual cost of funding the seminary. Both Logsdon Seminary and the non-seminary LST were and are entitled to share the Logsdon Endowment Funds. Since the Logsdon Endowment was provided “to help train young ministers,” consideration of allotment of the endowment funds should be based on the number of students enrolled in non-seminary programs compared to the number of students enrolled in the seminary programs.

Two issues have, however, had a crippling effect on Logsdon Seminary’s ability to become more viable. The first of these issues relates to the complaint about declining seminary enrollments. At the time of my retirement, the annual enrollment of Logsdon Seminary, over the course of three years, averaged 100-120 students depending on the particular semester. The seminary was experiencing gradual growth. Within a short time following my retirement in 2017, the University Administration terminated the Logsdon Seminary Director of Recruitment and Student Services and eliminated that staff position. That staff member had been quite successful in recruiting new students to Logsdon Seminary each year. The Administration’s action virtually guaranteed a diminishing of Logsdon Seminary’s ability to reach and enroll new students, since the University’s Office of Enrollment Management is devoted to the recruitment of Undergraduate students. In addition, under demands to drastically reduce the Seminary budget, Logsdon Seminary Leadership was forced to close off-campus Logsdon Seminary sites in Lubbock, DFW, Corpus Christi, and McAllen. These closures resulted in an enrollment loss of approximately forty students in a single year. It is important to consider the tuition loss created by that enrollment drop. The second issue is the persistent action by the University’s Administrations to prohibit the Logsdon Seminary Deans from undertaking development efforts on behalf of the Seminary. The reason most often cited was the potential conflict between seminary development efforts and university development endeavors, specifically the possibility that both might unknowingly approach the same donor(s) and thereby diminish the success of both groups. I often pointed out that surely the Seminary Dean and the Vice President for Advancement could maintain close contact to assure such a conflict did not occur. That stumbling block was never overcome, though.

From 2010 to present, Logsdon Seminary suffered the loss of eight seminary faculty members, six to retirement and two to required faculty reductions. Logsdon Deans were allowed to replace only one of those eight faculty members. The reduction in faculty positions would result in a minimum of $540,000.00-$600,000.00 decrease in funding required for salary and benefits per academic year at its peak. Thus the Seminary requires far less financial support than it did five to ten years ago.

Related to the focus placed on the financial viability of Logsdon Seminary, one should also consider the Endowments designated to the Logsdon School of Theology, referring, as originally was the case, to the Logsdon School of Theology (LSTP) as the parent entity under which Logsdon Seminary and the Logsdon non-seminary programs (LSTUG) resided. There are several significant endowments which were and should continue to be available to the seminary and non-seminary programs alike. The first is the Phillips Bible Endowment which funds the Phillips Bible Chair, which traditionally has been assigned to the senior Bible Professor and then provides the remainder of its annual earnings for the Logsdon School of Theology. Upon my retirement, the corpus of that endowment totaled approximately $8,600,000.00, which should provide earnings income of $430,000.00 annually. The current faculty member holding the Phillips Bible Chair is Dr. Robert Ellis. The earnings cover his salary and benefit package, with considerable money remaining to be used by the Logsdon School of Theology. A second endowment is the Cook-Derrick Professorship of New Testament and Greek. The Cook-Derrick Chair is currently held by Dr. Dan Stiver, who is a part-time Logsdon Seminary faculty member, thus according to University policies not entitled receive benefits. The corpus of that endowment is over $1,200,000.00, which should provide earnings of approximately $60,000.00 annually. Another endowment is the Connally Chair of Missions. The corpus of that endowment is approximately $600,000.00, which should produce annual earnings in excess of $30,000.00. Since no faculty member currently holds that chair, the annual earnings of that endowment should be rolling back into the corpus of the endowment. The fourth endowment is the Maston Foundation Chair, which has a corpus of approximately $840,000.00. That endowment will produce earnings of $42,000.00 annually. Dr. Myles Werntz is the seminary faculty member holding the Maston Chair. The last and largest endowment is the Charles W. and Koreen Logsdon Endowment Fund. Although I do not have the current sum of the corpus, it should be approximately $10,000,000.00 or more. The annual earnings of that endowment should produce in excess of $500,000.00 in annual income for the parent Logsdon School of Theology (LSTP), to be distributed equitably between the non-seminary LSTUG and Logsdon Seminary. The combined earnings of these endowments, excluding the Logsdon Endowment which provides support for both the seminary and non-seminary programs, contribute approximately $562,000.00 annually toward the support of Logsdon Seminary. In addition to the above-mentioned endowments, there are a significant number of endowed scholarships which are specifically designated to be awarded to Logsdon Seminary students. The corpus of those endowments totals approximately $630,000.00. In summary, a careful reexamination of the financial viability of Logsdon Seminary, in light of the information in the preceding paragraphs, seems fully justified.

The announcement Mr. Bruntmyer made late in the afternoon of February 15 that the Logsdon School of Theology would be relocated under the Cynthia Ann Parker College of Liberal Arts is a reversal of the action taken by Dr. Jesse C. Fletcher and the HSU Trustees, upon the receipt of the Logsdon Endowment, to remove the Bible Department from the School of Arts and Sciences to establish a separate School, the Logsdon School of Theology. I think Mr. Bruntmyer and the HSU Trustees should be aware that this reversal could be interpreted as an inappropriate use of the Logsdon Endowment and borders on a violation of official trust.

There are additional problems associated with the changes Mr. Bruntmyer announced in the February 15 Letter to the HSU Family. That letter announced the creation of a BA degree and a BBS degree with but one major which will be designated Christian Studies to replace the existing baccalaureate degrees in Biblical Studies, Ministry, Theological Studies, and Worship Ministry. The nomenclature “Christian Studies” is extremely generic, which will likely be confusing to seminary and graduate school admissions officers and/or admissions committees. Baccalaureate majors usually include 30-36 semester hours of required courses in the major. The current majors in Logsdon School of Theology feature more specific areas of focus, thus providing the graduates with advanced coursework in a single area, resulting in a greater degree of expertise in the area of their choice from Biblical Studies, Ministry, Theological Studies, or Worship Ministry. The single major in Christian Studies will only be able to offer a variety of courses spread across several disciplines, none of which will provide a level of expertise in any specific area. Those who have been engaged in higher education for any length of time will likely remember when a number of colleges and universities decided to experiment by offering a degree in “General Studies.” This degree was basically valueless because of the same lack of focus in one or two areas that would result in a beginning level of expertise upon which the graduates could build in graduate school programs. I think this should give pause to the Trustees concerning their actions. Generally speaking, baccalaureate degrees in Theological Studies, Biblical Studies, and Ministry have not been considered as providing adequate preparation for most areas of ministry. That recognition is what led to the establishment of seminaries and other graduate programs in Schools of Theology.

Ken Camp, Managing Editor of The Baptist Standard, in his article addressing the decision of the Trustees, summarized Mr. Bruntmyer writing, “Students will continue to participate in chapel services and weekly Bible studies, and they will have ‘expanded opportunities to participate in ministry events locally and abroad and to take additional Bible Courses.’” The first twenty-two years of my ministry were in the local church setting, two years in youth ministry, five years as an associate pastor for teaching and administration, and fifteen years in pastoral positions. Every church except one offered ministry trips and programs in which young people and university students were involved. But I never considered Bible studies, worship experiences, or ministry opportunities to have provided adequate preparation for vocational ministry. I believe most pastors would agree with that position. Additionally, the University’s accrediting agencies will not consider those activities as constituting a viable academic program.

Considering the faculty reductions, which have primarily impacted Logsdon Seminary and endowment incomes which rightfully provide funding to both seminary and non-seminary programs, along with income from tuition income generated by both entities, it seems inconceivable that Logsdon Seminary should be creating such a financial crisis for Hardin-Simmons University. The undergraduate courses, which include six semester hours of Foundational Curriculum required of all HSU undergraduate students, as well as courses taught in the undergraduate majors and minors in Logsdon, produce a minimum of $868.00 per semester hour if the student takes 34 semester hours of coursework in the spring and fall semesters. Each incoming class of new students totals 400-plus students. Those students will be required to take six semester hours in Logsdon Foundational Coursework at some point in their stay at HSU. The minimum tuition generated by those students taking the required coursework in Logsdon is $2,083,200.00 per incoming class. This tuition income is reduced by unfunded scholarships (referred to as the discount rate) given by the University. Though I am not certain of the current discount rate, I do know that rate has been increasing over the past decade. For the sake of argument, let’s assume the current discount rate for undergraduate tuition is 50%. Under that assumption, the minimum tuition rate per semester hour of $868.00 would be reduced to actual tuition income of $434.00 per semester hour. That impacts the overall financial state of the University. The tuition rate for Logsdon Seminary before scholarships is $475.00 per semester hour for the next year. For students affiliated with a Baptist Church participating with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Ministerial Financial Aid reduces that fee to $325.00 per semester hour. However, the actual tuition received for Logsdon students with or without Ministerial Financial Aid is $475.00 per semester hour. If the tuition discount rate for undergraduate students is close to 50%, the tuition dollars per semester hour received from Logsdon Seminary students is greater than the discounted tuition rate for undergraduate students. Perhaps a more equitable solution for the financial woes of HSU would be to reduce the undergraduate tuition discount rate. At any rate, tuition income plus Ministerial Financial Aid income generated by Logsdon Seminary students should produce a minimum of $399,000.00 annually. The six full-time and one part-time faculty remaining in Logsdon Seminary will likely require approximately $590,000.00- $600,000.00 salary and benefits per year after the endowed chair funds are applied. Since neither the Enrollment Services nor Financial Aid Offices service Logsdon Seminary, the overall share of Logsdon Seminary’s support to the overall expenses of the University should not be calculated at the same rate as undergraduate programs. A troubling question comes to my mind at this point in the discussion: “Is Logsdon Seminary the only underperforming school at Hardin-Simmons?” If not, why did Mr. Bruntmyer’s first letter to the HSU family focus almost entirely on Logsdon Seminary with a protracted explanation attempting to cast the closure as entirely motivated by financial concerns?

Regarding additional motives for the closing of Logsdon Seminary, I think it is important to note that there is strong evidence to indicate that theological/political reasons played a much larger part in the decision of Mr. Bruntmyer and the HSU Trustees than indicated in Mr. Bruntmyer’s letter dated February 7. Several individuals currently connected to HSU and the Board of Trustees have revealed that Mr. Bruntmyer accused Logsdon Seminary and Logsdon (LSTUG) faculty of being liberal. He addressed this issue in a meeting of the entire HSU Faculty, in a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Trustees, in conversations with several members of the Board of Trustees in different settings, and apparently to the full Board of Trustees. For that accusation to have been addressed so many times, it appears to have been very prominent in the discussions to close Logsdon Seminary. Mr. Bruntmyer specifically mentioned a meeting he and several Trustees attended in Lubbock, hosted by Dr. David Hardage, Executive Director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. In addition to Dr. Hardage, three pastors participated in the meeting: Howie Batson, Pastor, FBC Amarillo; Bobby Dagnel, Pastor, FBC Lubbock; and Darin Wood, Pastor, FBC Midland. These four individuals accused Logsdon Seminary of promoting LGBTQ individuals, homosexuals in particular, to serve in leadership positions in Texas Baptist churches. Mr. Bruntmyer told the faculty and other individuals and groups in different settings that these pastors said they would no longer send students from their churches to Hardin-Simmons because Logsdon had become so liberal. This sounds to me like thinly veiled threats at the least or outright blackmail at the worst. It is interesting that Hardage and the three pastors mentioned above lodged their accusations at a distance without the Logsdon Dean or any Logsdon Faculty members being present to defend the Seminary and themselves against the allegations. That allowed their allegations to be impersonal. These four individuals, as well as Mr. Bruntmyer, should realize nonetheless that the charges are ultimately deeply personal in nature. They undermine the personal reputation of each one of Logsdon Seminary’s faculty members and the Dean. May I remind these four individuals that in ministry, whether in a church setting or in a teaching environment, when it comes to the minister’s reputation, even their reputation, credibility, and integrity are the most valuable possessions any minister has. Though I am not privy to the sources Hardage, Batson, Dagnel, and Wood claimed to have for their allegations, I can unequivocally assert that their accusations about Logsdon, its Dean, and Faculty are blatant lies. In my opinion, President Bruntmyer sought to use financial conditions at HSU to cover these uglier and baser motivations for closing Logsdon Seminary.

I’ve heard a great deal about how these decisions were made after much prayer and spiritual searching. Are we to understand that the faculty of Logsdon Seminary and School of Theology did any less as they prepared and taught their students? Are we to understand the Logsdon faculty did any less when they struggled with the difficult decisions facing Christians today? I think not! I’d like to share with you what I told every student in every New Testament Survey, Biblical Interpretation, advanced or graduate New Testament Class I taught. “I live under the warning and admonition of James 3:1, ‘Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.’ I come to every class session humbly and prayerfully, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit because I do not want to have to stand before my Lord in eternity and hear him say, ‘Williford, you really blew it. Look at the damage you have done to the Kingdom and to the least of these because you did not carefully weigh every word you spoke in the presence of your students. Your sin is the more egregious as a result.’” I believe that is the conviction shared by every faculty member with whom I have served at Logsdon Seminary and School of Theology.

I have gone to great length to address the words and actions of Mr. Bruntmyer and the Trustees. I have done so because I consider their words and actions to be cavalier and irresponsible. I appeal to each Trustee and Mr. Bruntmyer to consider the words of the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 4:1, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” You have been given not just any trust, but a most sacred trust. That trust involves much more than finances. For Hardin-Simmons University, your stewardship also involves faithfulness to a trust at the heart of her founders and of every President in her history, as well as at the heart of the nature of a Texas Baptist University. That trust, to put it in the words of the University’s founding agreement, is “To bring young men and women to Christ; to teach them of Christ; to train them for Christ.” I appeal to you to reconsider the action you’ve taken in light of the insights presented in this letter. Faithful stewardship demands it.