Brian D. Smith, president of Dallas Christian College since 2014, is a Florida Christian College graduate who served 10 years in various academic administrative roles with that school, including during the time FCC was in danger of failing in 2012 due to loss of accreditation, and the subsequent rescue by Johnson University and renaming of the school. He shares his thoughts and insights in the aftermath of last week’s announcement that Johnson University Florida will close after this coming academic year.
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By Brian D. Smith
I clearly remember the day in early November 2012 when I transparently shared the multiyear financial and accreditation struggles of Florida Christian College with three colleagues while sitting at a picnic table outside Christ’s Church of the Valley in Phoenix, Ariz. Chris Davis and Gary Weedman, then provost and president, respectively, of Johnson University, and John Derry, then president of Hope International University, each provided a sympathetic ear, advice, and encouragement. But I saw in their eyes that they agreed with me that FCC’s future was going to be difficult.
Looking back, I am certain this conversation was ordained by the Lord, though at the time I was simply looking for answers to our dire situation. We discussed ideas that eventually led to administrators from Johnson and Florida to engage in preliminary conversations.
A few weeks later, on the evening of Dec. 10, 2012, Florida Christian College entered, arguably, its darkest hour, and movement toward a solution necessarily accelerated. That’s when we learned the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools had decided to remove FCC from membership (in other words, revoke FCC’s accreditation). Years of financial decline, due largely to multiple years of operational losses and debilitating debt, was the primary reason.
The loss of accreditation started a cascade effect that threatened the survival of the institution and its mission. A key result, for example, would be the potential loss of federal student financial aid.
After approximately 37 years and the equipping of more than 1,000 graduates for Christian ministry by excellent and dedicated staff and faculty, Florida Christian College was nearing the end unless something was done.
FCC’s Board of Trustees and administration responded quickly by officially opening dialogue with Johnson University about the possibility of merging—an idea only briefly discussed several weeks earlier.*
On Dec. 18, 2012, FCC’s Board of Trustees sent a letter to Johnson University’s Board of Trustees formally requesting that they “engage in discussions . . . in order to continue the mission and vision of biblical higher education for the Restoration Movement in Florida.” The letter went on to say, in part,
Despite our best efforts, and despite great success on several fronts, including increasing enrollment over several years, . . . we find that our finances are simply not strong enough to carry us into future years. . . . We wish to honor the heritage and contribution of FCC and all of those that have been part of its history. . . . It is our desire that the best of what FCC is can be continued, while our weaknesses can diminish in this partnership.
After extensive investigations and conversations, Johnson University’s administration and board fully committed to continuing the mission of FCC. An immense amount of work occurred during the first six months of 2013, resulting in approval of the merger/acquisition by both SACSCOC and the Association for Biblical Higher Education.
Those were some of the hardest and most wonderful months of my life. Colleagues from both institutions worked with more diligence, urgency, and integrity than I’ve ever witnessed or been a part of. I saw the Lord’s providential hand at work as men and women went to great lengths to continue the vital kingdom work of biblical higher education in Florida.
And that hard work continued even after July 1, 2013, when Florida Christian College formally became a branch campus of Johnson University.
At an Alumni Homecoming event on the Tennessee campus in February 2014, I publicly reflected on the merger from the FCC/JUFL perspective. (I believe these thoughts are largely applicable in the face of the impending 2024 closure of the Florida campus.)
The faculty, staff, and students at what is now Johnson University Florida, have suffered great heartache and anxiety over the near destruction of FCC, and with it, the dreams of its founders and its mission in service to the Great Commission. And yet . . . through immense adversity, in the midst of seemingly hopeless situations, we have seen nothing short of the hand of God bringing about immeasurable good. . . . Johnson University acquired Florida Christian College, practically speaking, but much more has taken place. . . . We are constantly surprised at how God has taken our plight and turned it to his glory. [But] should we be surprised? We are the body of Christ! On behalf of Johnson University Florida, I say that we are honored to be fully adopted members of the family who are [quoting JU’s mission statement] fully committed to educating “students for Christian ministries and other strategic vocations framed by the Great Commission in order to extend the kingdom of God among all nations.”
Approximately a year and a half after the merger, the Lord led me to serve with Dallas Christian College as president. But I have continued to follow the efforts of my alma mater in Florida (though I am not privy to much insider information). I have seen men and women continue to faithfully serve the cause of Christ. Johnson’s leadership has invested immense resources (financial, personnel, physical, and technological) to continue the mission of Florida Christian College—resources that come from students and donors, which they are charged to steward.
In the years since the merger, challenges to all of higher education, including biblical higher education, have only increased. I and my fellow workers at DCC, as well as all of our colleagues at other Restoration Movement colleges and universities, live this reality every day.
I’ll go out on a limb and say that—again, with little insider information—it would not surprise me if Johnson University’s leadership and board have continued on the path of making JUFL sustainable well beyond what makes normal business sense, by continuing to perhaps invest more resources than would normally be considered prudent, and courageously trying every method and best practice to secure JUFL’s future, because they were seeking to be faithful to Jesus and his mission.
Those same leaders, however, have the righteous and legal responsibility to protect the long-term health of the entire university. It was never FCC’s intent to harm the mission or health of Johnson University. May it never be! Though I certainly don’t rejoice in the ultimate outcome, I am grateful they have poured so much into JUFL. And I am also grateful they had the courage to make this immeasurably difficult decision to close the Florida campus if, in keeping it open, it would diminish Johnson University’s ability to produce kingdom returns over the long term.
All that said, am I grieving the eventual loss of JUFL after next year? Absolutely!
My wife, Samantha, and I are 2003 FCC graduates. Our story mirrors many others. We met, fell in love, got married, and were shaped by the immensely valuable education, mentoring, and relationships found only at Christian institutions such as FCC and Johnson. I was honored to serve FCC and JUFL as an administrator and professor for a decade. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
In many ways the closure of JUFL is like grieving that loss again. We should grieve. This world is broken, and this side of eternity contains much sadness and loss. I grieved for the loss of Central Florida Bible College/Florida Christian College, along with many of you, in 2012–2013. I now grieve for the pending closure of JUFL, the “resurrected” version of the original school. I grieve for all that could have been accomplished if these institutions, founded to serve the church and Christ’s Great Commission, had not ultimately had to cease their work in their original forms. This does not mean the Lord cannot do another great work with the campus. It certainly does not mean the work is done. No, that work continues through Johnson University and every other Christian college and university faithfully pursuing the Great Commission.
This side of eternity, we grieve, but we “do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Was all of this “worth it”? Without a doubt. The work has not been in vain, nor are the Lord’s purposes ever ultimately thwarted.
In the final analysis, Johnson extended the mission of Central Florida Bible College and Florida Christian College by an additional 11 academic years. In that time, more than 300 graduates were added to the 1,000-plus who had already been sent out for kingdom service. Add to that the influence of all of those associated with, or in some way blessed by CFBC/FCC/JUFL’s faculty, staff, and alumni, whether directly or indirectly, and the impact can’t be calculated . . . it has been exponential.
The alumni, faculty, and staff who have served through decades, the faithful churches and individuals who have sacrificially supported the work, and the courageous trustees who worked to merge the schools are to be commended for being faithful. Every single one has made an eternal impact. Christ’s mission in the world has been advanced because of you . . . “and the zeal of dear FCC, may it never cease!”
I am deeply grateful for the way Johnson University administrators and board members have honored Christ by undertaking this decade-long effort. I am certain the mission of extending “the kingdom of God among all nations” will continue. I pray that the Lord, in the way only he can, will expand his kingdom even more than he already has, so that disciples can be made among all nations, through the great and faithful efforts of these workers and institutions.
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*A thorough account of these events is contained in Chapter 7 of L. Thomas Smith’s book, Above Every Other Desire: A History of Johnson University, 1893–2018, the Silver Anniversary Edition, 2018.
Brian D. Smith has served as president of Dallas Christian College since 2014. The Florida native earned a BA in Bible and Christian Ministry from Florida Christian College in 2003. He subsequently earned an MA at Lincoln Christian University and a PhD in Theology at the University of Exeter (England). He served for 10 years at FCC in such roles as registrar, associate dean of academics & institutional effectiveness, vice president of academics, and professor of theology. After helping facilitate the merger with Johnson University (Knoxville, Tenn.), he served Johnson University Florida as associate provost and professor of theology. He and his wife, Samantha, a 2003 alumna of Florida Christian College, have four children: Jason (16), Aliyah (15), Kylee (13), and Isabella (10).
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