Christopher Cone, Th.D is President and Professor of Bible & Theology at Tyndale Theological Seminary. He can be reached at 800.886.1415 or through his web site at www.tyndale.edu

1) First of all, what is your exact title and what do you do?

President, Tyndale Theological Seminary

2) You were recently involved in a major law suit. What were the issues?

In a nutshell, the primary issue was whether or not the state had the authority to regulate theological training –including specifically the right to use terms which the state declared 'protected' – including 'degree' and 'seminary'. In effect, had the state won, the prize would have been the governance of quality control for pastors. For the first time in the history of this country the state could definitively regulate the training of pastors, thus defining and regulating the doctrine and direction of churches. This would have been remarkably impactful in the most negative sort of way…

The initial decision by the state, which was ultimately overturned by the Texas Supreme Court, was that schools could not (for example) call themselves seminaries or offer degrees of any kind (even purely theological ones) without registration and state recognized accreditation. Tyndale Theological Seminary has never sought any kind of state recognized accreditation on three specific grounds: (1) to keep our expenses low, enabling Tyndale to maintain its very low tuition rates – pursuit of accreditation would require a dramatic increase in costs passed on to the student (by the way, accreditation does not guarantee a quality education, but it does guarantee an expensive one); (2) to maintain doctrinal autonomy, and (3) to continue the utilization of Tyndale educated faculty to ensure theological and philosophical consistency with the doctrinal statement and mission of Tyndale – pursuit of accreditation would make this increasingly difficult…the state came down hard on Tyndale, fining the school $173,000 and prohibiting the use of the 'protected' terms and the granting of degrees. As you might expect, this was devastating to the growth of the school, yet we were able to maintain a consistent student body, as many people seeking Biblical education recognized that state approval was not at all germane to ministry preparation, and they became Tyndale students nonetheless.

After roughly nine years of wearing these 'handcuffs', while maintaining a strong presence in Texas, we moved our headquarters to Shreveport, Louisiana. Operating under the authority of the state of Louisiana we were able to have total freedom to conduct 'business as usual' – as a degree granting seminary. But we still had to await the outcome of the case in Texas, as it was a landmark issue regarding religious freedom –not to mention the dramatic financial constraints it brought. Mention should be made of the many men and women – faculty and staff  - who have remained faithful even through drastic income cuts and other financial challenges - these are really the ones who have been hurt over the years. These are the exemplary servants who have made immeasurable sacrifices to continue the rich tradition of quality Biblical education at Tyndale. And sadly, the whole situation was not only unnecessary, but, as the Texas Supreme Court ruled – unconstitutional. Praise God for such men and women.

It is also worth mentioning that it was, of course, not only Tyndale that was affected in this manner – but every Bible institute and seminary in the state of Texas not holding a state recognized accreditation surely felt the same crunch.

Additionally, there are some other very beloved people who made great sacrifices to help achieve this victory: Mal Couch, founder and inaugural President (now retired) of Tyndale bore the brunt of this struggle and dealt with much criticism and even derision resulting from Tyndale's 'legal troubles', but he was faithful – not considering the negative public perception associated with his decision (to reject state recognized accreditation), but instead being fully committed to faithfulness to God's word and the integrity of Biblical education at Tyndale. In this regard, Mal is truly a hero of the faith, and I (along with the current staff and faculty) am committed to living up to his ideal for Tyndale's integrity.

Also, Shelby Sharpe and Kelly Shackelford of the Liberty Legal Institute deserve much gratitude for their tremendous sacrificial work in representing Tyndale and the other schools impacted by this legal challenge. Praise God for such faithful servants.

3) What was the outcome?

By the grace of God, after the case was fought for nearly ten years in the legal system, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that this regulation "impermissibly intrudes upon religious freedom protected by the United States and Texas Constitutions". It has yet to be seen how significant this case will be to religious freedoms in other states – I suspect it will be profoundly impactful, but for religious freedom in Texas, this victory is sweeping, indeed.

4) My understanding is that your institution trains ministers- Is there any regulation at all by the state of Texas?

This was certainly the issue in Texas – at present, with the victory, there is no state regulation on the training of pastors, however, for the duration of this nearly ten year battle state regulation was more than suffocating. It is absolutely remarkable that such a case could wait almost ten years for resolution…

5) When did your problems first start?

In 1997 the word "seminaries" was added to an existing statute regulating law schools, medical schools, and other technical schools and colleges. With the addition of one word, the state completely took over theological education and this remarkable odyssey began. This should be a wake up call for believers in every state…a ten year fight over one word – an easy violation of constitutional freedoms on the part of the state, and a very difficult mess to clean up…over one word.

6) Does the State of Texas contribute ANYTHING at all to your institution?

This is a very insightful question – one of the primary reasons that schools seek accreditation is to access federal dollars in the form of student financial aid. Accordingly, these dollars are unavailable to schools who have chosen to avoid accreditation, thus it is more difficult financially for such schools. But with federal dollars come federal stipulations. Tyndale does not receive any government contribution – state or federal.

As an aside, this is why schools like Tyndale Theological Seminary are so dependent on Christian donors – in particular, we are committed to keeping our tuition rates low (roughly the same as community college) so that graduates find themselves prepared for ministry and not in debt caused by their education…believers really need to prayerfully consider supporting ministries like this…

7) How many students do you have and what degrees do you offer?

We maintain at present roughly 300 students, although we have begun to see dramatic increase in student growth over the past year as we now have learning centers and campuses in several states. We offer a number of degrees – including Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorates - all of them are designed to prepare students for ministry in teaching the Bible and Biblical leadership – and remarkably a large percentage of our students are already involved in ministry, seeking to enhance their ministry and improve their effectiveness…

8) Are there other ministerial facilities that have been faced with the same dilemma?

There has been of late a measurable increase in cases of state intrusion in matters of the church – Shelby Sharpe and Kelly Shackelford of the Liberty Legal Institute could give you much more accurate information in this regard, I am sure. They are involved in a number of very important ongoing cases – people should be aware of the work they are doing…

9) What question have I neglected to ask?

Your questions have been thorough and insightful – I would request that people be made aware of Liberty Legal Institute's website (www.libertylegal.org ) and Tyndale Theological Seminary's website (www.tyndale.edu).

Michael, thank you so very much for your willingness to bring attention to this important issues and to allow people an introduction to Tyndale Theological Seminary and the quality Biblical education for which we stand.

With tremendous gratitude,

Christopher Cone, Th.D

Published Deecmber 3, 2007