Louisiana Baptist University

Louisiana Baptist University (LBU) is a conservative Christian university and seminary located in Shreveport in far northwestern Louisiana. It was founded in 1973 as Baptist Christian University under the auspices of Baptist Tabernacle in Shreveport. Since its establishment it has graduated more than 1,100 graduate and undergraduate students through on campus and distance learning programs.

History[edit]

Louisiana Baptist University was established by the minister Jimmy Gid Tharpe, Sr. (1930-2008) as Christian Baptist University under the direction of Baptist Tabernacle, a large church in Shreveport. Tharpe, who studied under L. L. Clover at the Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary in Minden, also founded Baptist Christian Academy in Shreveport and worked to establish seventy-five Baptist churches in other states. Christian educators and church leaders decided that there was a great need to form an institution in Louisiana to train Christian leaders in the orthodox traditions of conservative Judeo-Christian education. LBU claims to be one of the pioneers of distance education and external degree programs and that many of the nations leading pastors hold degrees from the University.

Since 1973 it has expanded its academic programs to include Christian Communications, Christian Counseling, and Christian Education.

In 1993 the name of the University was changed to Louisiana Baptist University to accommodate the revised charter and the expanding programs. As part of its significant growth and development, the University has instituted a Seminary Division.[1]

Facts About LBU[edit]

Established: 1973

President: Dr. Neal Weaver

Faculty: 44

Students: 1,100 undergraduate and graduate

Location: Shreveport, Louisiana

Accreditation[edit]

Louisiana Baptist University does not seek accreditation and is not accredited by any accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. government. LBU is one of six approved colleges and universities of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International and those who graduate with a concentration in missions can be approved as a missionary for the fellowship.[2] LBU also has the approval of the Association of Christian Colleges and Theological Schools (ACCTS) which is a Christian agency involved in approving Christian schools. Though LBU is not regionally or nationally accredited it is however, well known throughout the Christian academic and theological community. Some of the keynote speakers at LBU commencement ceremonies have been well known Christian leaders like Jerry Falwell of Liberty University and Dr. Paige Patterson of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. LBU claims that in some cases Liberty University accepts transferred credits or degrees from LBU as well as other well known seminaries. This is not unusual considering the fact that credits and degrees of other institutions like Bob Jones University (unaccredited until 2005) have been widely accepted by accredited schools of higher learning.

Controversial Wikipedia article[edit]

The reliability of an article on Wikipedia® describing LBU has been brought into question by many for serious mudslinging and heavy criticisms against LBU. This has caused some to question the neutrality of the article posted on Wikipedia because of its hostile and biased nature. Users on Wikipedia have gone so far as to employ their otherwise forbidden "original research" to support some of the negative claims against LBU. For example, Steve Levicoff in his book entitled "Name and Frame It?" (1993) claims that LBU is a degree mill but he does not cite his sources for verification. Some have criticized LBU for awarding students with "life experience" credits, however this is not an unusual practice even in accredited secular universities. LBU claims that their evaluation processes for gaining such credits is very precise and detailed. Many users on the Wikipedia who challenge the popular view are labelled "sockpuppets" or blocked from any further editing. [3] [4]

Alumni[edit]

Carl Baugh - Th.D (2005) Creationist, Author and President of Pacific International University. Creation Evidence Museum

Bob Cornuke - Ph.D (2005) Author and Director of the BASE Institute.

Jack Eggar - M.A. and Ph.D (2006) Missionary, Pastor and President of Awana Clubs International

Bill Gothard - Ph.D (2004) Conference speaker and President of Institute in Basic Life Principles.

Grant Jeffrey - M.A. and Ph.D - Author, Speaker, and Bible Teacher. [5]

Thomas Ice - Ph.D - Executive Director of the Pre-Trib Research Center in Washington D.C.

Otis Ledbetter - Ph.D. - President of Clovis Christian Schools and chairman of the board of Heritage Builders, a Focus on the Family organization.

Chuck Missler - Ph.D (1999) Author, Speaker and President of Koinonia House.

Don Ohm - Pastor since 1999 of the Lighthouse Baptist Church, an Independent Baptist congregation in San Antonio, Texas

Rick Scarborough - D.Min - Author and Founder of Vision America.

Bill Robertson - Ph.D - President of the Louisiana Baptist Convention (SBC).

Honorary doctorates[edit]

John Ashcroft - 79th Attorney General of the United States of America.

Jerry Falwell - Founder and Chancellor of Liberty University.

Paige Patterson - Author and President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and two time former President of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Charles Pack - Conference Director and President of Thy Kingdom Come,Inc.

External links[edit]

• Louisiana Baptist University Official Website