It’s with great sadness but also joyful expectancy that I’m announcing that as of fall 2020, I will no longer be teaching at Talbot School of Theology. I say “great sadness” because I love our department and my last sixteen years (my first year was part time) teaching for Biola University have been the best years of my life. I had hoped to teach for our department for many more years, and it saddens Jean E. and me that I’m no longer going to be able to do that. Yet I write with “joyful expectancy” because God is good and He will take care of us. Jean E. and I are excited to see what He has in store for us.

Why I’m leaving

For the last sixteen years, I’ve put an asterisk next to the millennium portion of Biola’s doctrinal statement and noted that although I think Biola’s position regarding the millennium might be exactly correct, I couldn’t say I was certain that was the case. But I was informed that it is the “will of the trustees” that everyone on Biola’s faculty agree with Biola’s progressive dispensational premillennialism as this is what the Board of Trustees believes. I was told that Biola will offer me a contract for the 2020-2021 academic year, but if I cannot sign Biola’s Statement of Faith and Statement of Biblical Principles without qualification, then the contract will not be honored (I am teaching my regular classes for our department for the Spring 2020 semester). Once they informed me of this decision, Jean E. and I seriously studied the issue and on several occasions we fasted and prayed about it. But I still can’t sign on to progressive dispensational premillennialism without the qualification—dispensational premillennialism may be exactly correct but I’m unconvinced.

Here’s the fuller story

I became a Christian in 1969 and it wasn’t long before I was reading and teaching the principles of Hal Lindsey’s The Late, Great Planet Earth. I was also enamored with the Calvary Chapels and Chuck Smith Sr., who I thought was the wisest, most spiritual man on earth (perhaps it was a tie between him and Billy Graham). I regularly attended several Calvary Chapels since 1969, including “Big Calvary,” I was on the pastoral staff of one Calvary, and I was given permission by the Calvary Chapels to start a Calvary Chapel (it never became more than a Bible study). As is well known, Chuck Sr. held to dispensational premillennialism and was adamant that the rapture and second coming would occur in the 1980s (“this generation shall not pass away…”). Well, that didn’t happen. This encouraged me to hold some eschatological beliefs loosely, including the nature of the millennium. Just to be clear: I absolutely hold to the imminent, literal, bodily return of Jesus!

2004

I was pleased when Craig Hazen asked me to join the faculty at Biola in 2004, but, as I said, I put an asterisk on Biola’s doctrinal statement next to the section on eschatology and explained that Biola’s position on the millennium may be exactly correct, but I couldn’t say that I was certain that this was the case. Let me be absolutely clear: I’m confident in the truth of Biola University’s eschatology statement except for their stance on the millennium. I do endorse every other aspect of Biola University’s doctrinal statement.

Because of that asterisk, I was asked to meet with Talbot’s assistant dean to discuss the matter. The assistant dean and I talked for probably an hour, and since I don’t teach on eschatology (I teach apologetics), I was soon blessed by the opportunity to join Biola’s Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics faculty full time. That has been a great blessing to me and a great opportunity for me to help our students. Because of this asterisk, I was not put on a tenure track.

2010

In 2010, I submitted the paperwork to be promoted from assistant professor to associate professor, and the vice provost inquired as to why I wasn’t on a tenure track. I told her that it was because I didn’t know I could be tenured. She then got an updated doctrinal statement from me, and I began an email dialog with a Talbot School of Theology professor about my eschatological beliefs. After my exchanges with that professor, the then provost invited my wife Jean E. and me to meet with President Barry Corey in his office for a tenure track interview. But in that meeting President Corey told us that he couldn’t submit me for tenure because of my lack of eschatological certainty regarding dispensational premillennialism.

Although we were disappointed, I walked out of the president’s office with thankfulness because I had demonstrated to the Lord that I was willing to give up something very valuable to be honorable before Him by keeping a clear conscience. Thankfully, after that meeting I was granted the promotion to associate professor, and the vice provost told me that there was no reason that I shouldn’t be able to receive future promotions. I was thankful about that.

However, the next time I was going to apply for promotion, I was told that I could not apply for promotion because of my not being able to sign the doctrinal statement without qualification. That hurt because that meant that I was never going to get another salary increase. Again, however, I thanked God for the money He had given us and I was again thankful that this was evidence before the Father that I really was a faithful servant. The Lord often asks us to give up valuable things for His Kingdom. Thus I just went on with serving the Lord and trusting that He would provide and He has provided!

May 2019

Some of the materials we consulted on the millennium.

On May 13, 2019, I was informed that since I had “expressed written disagreement” with the university’s “eschatology, Israel, and the church statement in the Theological Distinctives” that “it is the will of the Trustees that everyone teaching at Talbot and Torrey shall indicate personal agreement with this statement…. It is not an option to disagree.” The founder and director of our apologetics department, Craig Hazen, requested that Talbot make an exception in my case since I had worked for the university since 2004 and I didn’t teach anything related to the university’s eschatology position. But they told Craig that no exceptions could be made. The reason for that was the concern that it would open the door to other exceptions on other theological matters.

Of course, this has been hugely disappointing to Jean E. and me. I love our apologetics department, I love the people I work with, I thoroughly enjoy and immensely respect my colleagues, and I love our students. The thought of not being a part of their lives saddens me. Jean E. and I have done a lot of study on the topic. There was even a brief period where I thought I might be able to sign the dispensational part of Biola’s doctrinal statement without qualification. But ultimately my position remains unchanged: the progressive dispensational premillennial portion of the school’s doctrinal statement might be exactly correct, but I cannot say that I’m convinced. (By the way, it’s interesting that in June 2019, the Evangelical Free Church of America even struck the word “premillennial” from their doctrinal statement.)

Present Day

As you can imagine I’m deeply saddened by this, but I am willing to lose one of the things that I value most to keep a clear conscience. As I said, Jean E. and I also have a joyful expectancy for what God will do in our future. Presently I have no offers for any substantial work. Your prayers are appreciated about this!

Next, I’ll answer anticipated questions.

Will you be able to teach part-time for Talbot?

I’m afraid not. No one will be allowed to teach even one class for Talbot unless they agree with Talbot’s doctrinal statement in its entirety without qualification.

Is Biola right to request that every faculty member be in full doctrinal agreement?

Absolutely! I totally support the right of Biola University and any other Christian institution to insist that the members of that institution hold to that institution’s doctrinal statement.

Biola has known your position for sixteen years; why are they insisting on this now?

Out of respect for Biola University, I will say very little here. The bottom line is that in the last couple of years it had come to the Board of Trustee’s attention that there were a small handful of faculty who were hoping for Biola’s positions on some issues (namely marriage and sexuality) to change. When these faculty learned that Biola’s position was not going to change as the Statement of Biblical Principles was finalized, they chose to leave the university. With the Statement being finalized, the Board clarified the expectation that all Talbot faculty affirm the university’s position on eschatology.[1]

Why are you announcing this publicly?

Because for the last sixteen years almost everything I’ve done has been associated with Biola University/Talbot School of Theology and thousands of people know me in connection with that. People who know me are naturally going to ask why I’m no longer with those institutions and this way I can answer them all at once.

Why are you announcing this now?

Because I need ministry opportunities! Thus, I need to let everyone know that I’m open to other academic positions, pastoral positions, and speaking opportunities at churches and conferences. Recently I was asked to speak at a hospice clergy conference and since my writing and teaching is mostly about evil, death, and suffering, I’m really looking forward to that! Setting up more ministry opportunities takes time and announcing now gives me almost eight months to secure more opportunities. Let me conclude by saying that it has been an honor for me to work for Biola University and Talbot School of Theology. I pray for their success, especially for the success of our apologetics department, which I love. If I can be of service to your church or ministry, please let me know at clay.jones@biola.edu.

I’m going to open this post up for comments but I have two requests. First, please be respectful. Second, please don’t try to convince me of the truth of your eschatological conviction. Jean E. and I trust Jesus and we know that He will take care of us! He always has and He always will!

[1] About three weeks ago I sent this post to Talbot School of Theology Dean, Clint Arnold, and to Dean of Faculty, Scott Rae, for their comments. It is substantively the same as what I originally sent. Scott and I together crafted this particular paragraph.