Boston Connection - June 2025

President David Melton 

More Than Ever

Boston Baptist College is not now and never has been a convenient endeavor.   (That’s probably the understatement of the day!)  We are – without a doubt – a top flight degree program, relentlessly committed to biblical truth and church ministry…doing it all in a regulatory environment that doesn’t like our world view.  But our founders set the course, and now for almost 50 years we have battled forward.  And that is still true today.

Every once in a while, it’s good for me (and you, too, I suspect) to step back and see how we are doing.  We could talk about so many aspects, but without diminishing our biblical values, I’m particularly encouraged to see what the Lord has used us to do together in terms of our educational reputation.  If you have never been to one of our Senior Seminar presentations, you owe it to yourself to get it on your calendar.  It is something to behold to see men and women articulate complicated questions of truth, ethics and morality, and evaluate reasonable scholarly opinions.  If you doubt how far students grow during their Boston years, ask one of the graduates about their senior seminar work.  Thanks to the tireless work of our professors, Boston students genuinely develop the skill to think biblically.

I’m ecstatic about the growing faculty, and the expertise we are able to attract.  Just this past semester we added two new faculty members, one with a Ph.D. from Texas Tech in English and the other with a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard.   Both of these young scholars are sound in the faith (all of our faculty members sign our doctrinal statement), they are skillful in their fields, and they connect in the classroom.  It pains me to see so many families spend a LOT of money on tuition to colleges where they really don’t check the ingredients.  Here, even more than ever, this generation of Boston students are educated to have an ever-growing capacity to articulate God’s view of all Truth.

This morning, another alum let me know that she is furthering her education.   Boston graduates are ready for Master’s programs, if that is the door God opens, and we have graduates thriving in MANY different fields of endeavor.  And that is in conjunction with their faithful service to our churches.  Last week I talked to an alum who is doing graduate work in Criminal Justice.  Several I know are working on MBA’s.   You would be surprised at all Boston alums are accomplishing.   People know that our missionaries and church leaders are doing amazing work around the world.  But here is the real takeaway:  Boston alums received the quality of Christian education to equip them for that.  Every one of those alums I mentioned is making a difference in their church…even though they get their paychecks from someplace else. 

Nobody needs to point out that our culture keeps finding ways to wiggle farther away from God and His Truth.  Even many Christian colleges seem to minimalize the element of Scripture in their curriculum.  But in such a normal-gone-crazy world, we need biblical education of the highest quality MORE THAN EVER.  It’s not easy.  It’s not cheap.  Maybe it’s not even for the faint of heart.   But it’s Boston at its very heart.

Senior Seminar by Eric Karplus - Regent

Senior seminar is a distinctive experience for all bachelor’s degree candidates at Boston Baptist College.  Spiritually provocative topics are generated by faculty and assigned randomly to students, who in most cases have never encountered the topic previously.  Over the course of the next six weeks, the students familiarize themselves with the topic and relevant reference material, write a paper, and undertake an oral defense before a jury panel. 

This is an unmatched opportunity for the students to apply the academic skills and Biblical concepts that they have learned.  In many cases, thoughtful people of faith have had differing views on the topic.  Students are tasked with explaining the various views and evaluating them from a Biblical perspective.  Examples of topics this year include “The Religious Experiences of Sarah Edwards and Their intersection with the Theology of her Husband” (which received the 2025 Flynn Award), “Andrew Fuller and Fullerism: A Great Donation of Service for the Gospel” and “C.I. Scofield’s Doctrine of Union with Christ”. 

In the oral defense, students give a brief summary of their paper and then field open questions from the panel of jurors.  In this setting they demonstrate impromptu use of their understanding of the topic, along with wisdom the Spirit has given them from Scripture and life experience.  For many students, Senior Seminar is one of the most memorable activities on their journey through college to a life of ministry.

2025 Senior Seminar Topics

Keeley Lloyd: Evaluate the mysticism of Sarah Edwards and its intersection with the theology of her husband, Jonathan Edwards

Jeffrey Demosthenes: Assess and evaluate the theology and experiences of C.I. Schofield

Elyse Warren: Evaluate the theology and political activity of Ian Paisley

Dianna Fecher: Evaluate the American ministry and controversies that surrounded Rev. John Cotton

Hannah Hurlburt: Evaluate the theology and influence of Andrew Fuller

Joseph McDonald: Evaluate the work and influence of B.H. Carroll

Graduating Senior Elyse Warren Reflects on Her Boston Baptist College Experience

Through staff, faculty, and fellow students, Boston Baptist College taught me the importance of being able to communicate what I believe so that I can defend my faith that is based on the word of God. When I was 15, I dedicated myself to being a missionary as I have always had a heart for missions but didn’t know how to begin.  Boston Baptist College was my first step on that path to getting to the mission field. I am still in the process of getting to the mission field but I am very grateful for the preparation and learning that I received from the college.

In my time at Boston Baptist College and Boston itself my skills in communicating the Gospel, and how to talk to others about Christ have improved compared to my 15-year-old self from small town Crane, TX. While attending BBC I was taught to study the Bible and write on a specific book or passage and do it well. In my time there I sought God and His guidance to lead me in what to do and say in my classes and homework assignments so that it reflected what He has said in His Word to be true. With this wisdom and knowledge, I have been able to share with others who do not know Christ better.

While Boston is a liberal city that stands against God, Boston Baptist College stands there along with many churches to teach the Word of God in the face of such adversity and hatred of our Lord. With this in mind, my time in Boston made it clear that following Christ is such a crucial and important part of my life. People may know of the name of Jesus by cursing His name, but they do not know Jesus in a true and loving relationship. God has used the college and the city to grow the fire that burns within me to show Jesus to people. I cannot truly express the overwhelming power of the Holy Spirit that has worked in my life through my four years there.

College was hard with late nights either doing homework or working and not being able to go out and do things with other students because of my responsibilities. Almost each semester there was a point where I thought of quitting, but then I was reminded why I was at the college. God was using the college to grow and mature me not only spiritually but personally as well. I am thankful that I did not quit, and that I finished well, Cum Laude well. But what I am most proud of and thankful for was that even in the midst of always go-go-going I was able to complete my final year married to my husband, Nicholas Warren who graduated from BBC in 2024.

My time at Boston Baptist College was a very profitable time and was exactly what I needed. I want to shout out to a few ladies that held me together in my time there: Jill Roby, Erica Robinson, and Hannah Berry.  Y’all are amazing and thank you! Ultimately, I thank God for everything that He used to teach me and grow me through my time in Boston.

“Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.” Psalm 25:4-5 NKJV

Spring Semester Study Trip by Keeley Loyd

Greece is jam-packed with biblical significance. It is home to:  the language in which the majority of the New Testament was written, roads Paul and his ministry associates traveled, towns and churches to which Paul addressed letters in the New Testament, including Corinthians, Philippians, and the island of Patmos where John was exiled and wrote the book of Revelation.

There is no doubt that Greece holds biblical importance when referring to the beginning works of the church and missions post Jesus' death and ascension. However, there is something special when the words on pages come alive not only in truth but by being able to see and stand in the very places where it is recorded. Study trips, such as those to Greece, helped shift my perspective from the realm of biblical stories to the reality of biblical events. I was and still am in awe at the opportunity to climb and stand on Mars Hill in Athens and read Acts 17:22-31 on location. Or being able to see the ruins of Philippi and walk to the same river where Lydia and other women worshipped. 

Additionally, I loved how our study did not stop there.  We plunged into multiple historical periods, going 5 centuries before Christ, into the Battle of Marathon and many of the Greco-Persian Wars, to witnessing how the 21st-century Greeks understand the Gospel message today through the cultural and individual level. 

Professor Bill Smith by Eric Karplus

Bill Smith, head pastor of Temple Baptist Church in West Bridgewater, MA, teaches many of the Pastoral Ministries courses at Boston Baptist College.  He first encountered Boston Baptist when he was a young pastor at the age of twenty-five. Forty years later, he holds three degrees in ministry-oriented fields and believes the passion and dedication of Boston Baptist's leaders to shape the next generation for ministry are still evident. 

The Scriptures and several pastors in New England helped him discover how God had gifted him for what he now does.  The books of James and Proverbs shepherded his early development, and the Pastoral Epistles guide and mature him today.

Teaching through the 2020 pandemic stands out as his most challenging and rewarding experience at Boston Baptist. He recounts, "Witnessing the resilience of students and staff and, subsequently, watching many of those students graduate and go to serve the Lord was worth it all."

He is thankful to be able to contribute to the spiritual impact of current students and graduates, knowing their sacrificial ministry will continue to thrive long after his time at Boston Baptist College.