I am in my eighth year at FLBCS. A lot has changed in higher education in the past seven years. One such change has happened thoroughly and quickly enough that it surprises me regularly: Many people view our on-campus, in-person program as an alternative educational approach.  

The pressures of the past years have unmasked some inherent inefficiencies, redundancies, and maladies of higher education. People are over certification disguised as education. If higher ed is “how to,” a trade school (or even YouTube) may suffice. Many now realize that student loans—though helpful to some—can become a financial noose around students’ necks when they enable them to pay for campus amenities more than education itself.  

But some higher educational trends over-emphasize ease, accessibility, and efficiency, missing one big point: We need each other. Humans in general, and Christians specifically, were designed to live in community. You can get a college degree while sitting in your basement and wearing your pajamas. But what good is that to your fellow man?  

We live our lives in Christ with others. God designed it that way. The dorms at FLBC are not just places to live. They are our shared home where young Christians live with each other under the guidance of mature, trusted leaders. We learn how to respond when sinned against or confronted with our own sin. We learn forgiveness, mercy, patience, and love. Campus life is a place of spiritual growth.  

I call what we have a “discipleship learning community.” Our dorms are not perfect, nor are they congregations, nor are they families. But our in-person, on-campus approach maximizes lessons learned in the classroom. People are messy, but ministry is for people, not self-interest. A ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not what ships are for.* 

Dr.  Wade Mobley [FLBCS President]  

*The Yale Book of Quotations, by John A. Shedd