Philosophy

Grace Baptist Bible College believes that its philosophy of Christian education must support its mission statement. Servant leaders must manifest the attributes of both parts of the term. First, as servants of God and their fellow man, they must learn and develop the characteristics of servant-hood. Secondly, they must also learn and develop the characteristics of godly leadership. These two are not mutually exclusive. There are, however, core foundational components to which both the servant and the leader must be exposed. It is the desire of GBBC that every student not merely learn the components, but that they adopt them as a matter of personal conviction through their course of study at the college. These core foundational components should become the basis for the future generation of Christian servant leaders.
 
Development of a biblical worldview is essential to servant leadership in this present world. GBBC will endeavor to present the components, the positions, and the basis for a biblical worldview as opposed to the modern, secular worldview. What exactly is a biblical worldview? A biblical worldview can be understood as the lens through which an individual sees and processes the cultures, events, philosophies, and practices of the peoples of the world. Therefore, the question for the Christian is what are the qualities of the lens itself? At GBBC, the lens is the Word of God which includes all the principles for not only how one views the world, but how one should live in the world.
 
There are at least three major components of any worldview; however this statement will only deal with GBBC’s presentation of its biblical worldview. The first and most important primary component is a determination of what constitutes truth. Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?,” and mankind has argued the answer for millennia. GBBC believes that God is the creator of all things, visible or invisible, physical or spiritual (Col. 1:16-17), and that truth itself is as eternal as He is. Indeed, the eternal Son of God, Jesus, Himself declares, “I am the truth”, in John. 14:6. Naturally, truth then is synonymous with God and it follows that His Word is truth. The world’s concept that truth is determined by an individual, group, or a culture is anathema to the Bible’s truth statements. GBBC holds that truth is discoverable by man to the extent of man’s God given abilities. However, man cannot discover all truth due to the omniscient nature of God. The Bible is revealed truth given by God to supply man with what is impossible to discover on his own. Revealed truth gives some, but not all, specifics relative to God, salvation, morality, sin, ethics, origins, life, and eternity. The Christian’s worldview then views all truth claims through the lens of biblical truth.
 
The second major component of the biblical world view deals with the nature of reality. Reality consists of more than can be discerned by sensory experiences alone. Not only is the physical world real, but the existence of the spiritual world is equally real. It is only through the Bible, God’s special revelation to man, that one can learn His truth concerning that spiritual world.
 
The third is the determination of what is good or of value for life and ministry. How is value determined? How does one determine what constitutes goodness? These questions are relevant because Christian servant leaders must devote themselves to good as opposed to what is not good. The determination of good or goodness is based upon the character of God as demonstrated in His Word. Goodness is an attribute of God and all things of human life must be held to the immutable standard of God’s goodness.
 
Understanding worldview is only the beginning for a servant leader. GBBC believes its educational philosophy should develop all areas of the student’s life. These include spiritual life, moral and ethical attitudes, academic activities, and a ministry oriented mindset. To accomplish these objectives GBBC believes these areas must not only be taught as theory, but demonstrated in practice by the faculty and staff of the college.  This can be accomplished through a strong mentorship program at GBBC. Toward the end of each student’s program, life and ministry training begin to focus in a concentrated way through the Internship program.
 
The second primary worldview component is the development of godly leadership. In every dispensation God has raised up godly leaders to guide His people. GBBC believes leadership is taught, demonstrated, and practiced. Leadership is not merely management, but rather flows from the character and integrity of the individual. Therefore, biblical principles of integrity, ethics, and morality are taught not only in the classroom, but also in chapel, relationship situations between students and faculty and staff, and any other venue which presents itself at GBBC. Godly leadership is not merely a matter of pointing the way, but showing the way.
 
GBBC believes and teaches that one’s integrity as a Christian must be at the highest possible level. Leadership is based on the individual, not the organization. People follow the leader not the business, church, or group. Therefore, “Credibility is still the foundation of leadership” (Kouzes and Posner). At GBBC the student is instructed in the biblical requirements of personal holiness, accountability to God, and accountability to others while casting a godly vision for the ministry.
 
GBBC teaches the student how to discover, understand, and transmit a biblical standard for ethical behavior in the Christian life. This is essential more than ever before as the world continues to accept multiple ethical systems based on its varying standards for truth. While it is clear that the Bible does not address every individual issue in life, it does give more than adequate direction through the godly principles from which biblical standards can be developed.