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I had the wonderful privilege of attending Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute’s new Chapel Dedication Service. The Chapel was appropriately named, The Kenneth W. Ridings Chapel for Biblical Preaching.

Dr Ridings said, “You can go to heaven from many different places, yet you don’t really know the difference unless you go to heaven from Fruitland!” I AMEN his statement! There is something about the campus that instills in my heart the overwhelming manifestation of  the Lord (I am not being a mystical-dispensationalist nor spiritualist; that’s just how it feels.). This phenomenon is know as the Fruitland Spirit . . . it cannot be explained, only experienced. Ask anyone who has been fortunate enough to have spent time at Fruitland.

Fruitland’s Motto is Where Preaching is Our Passion. I had the opportunity to spend two years attending Fruitland from September 1999 until October 2001. Thanks to the Cooperative Program in the BSCNC, I received my PRICELESS education from Fruitland for PEANUTS! (I know the value of the Cooperative Program.) In that course of time, the Lord  used Fruitland to mold me what I am today. In my opinion, Fruitland is the only Theological school on the planet that welds the intellect with the heart . . .  this unique bonding creates passionate preaching. Preaching without passion is intellectual jargon, while passion without preaching is a lot of hoopin’ and hollerin’ without any sustenance. It has been said by many that the preachers Fruitland produces are a distinct breed of their own.

Here is a brief summary of how Fruitland has shaped me:

 (Me and Dr. Kenneth W. Ridings, President of Fruitland.)

I had the wonderful privilege of sitting at Dr. Ridings feet for two years . . . with an entire year in Homiletics 101,102,201, & 202 (Homiletics is the art of preaching . . . the nuts and bolts of creating a sermon from a Biblical text). I thought I was God’s gift to preaching until I preached in THE PIT; I bravely preached from the New Living Translation. (THE PIT is an opportunity for the preacher boysto show what they have learned from the Homiletics professors in front of the class.) After I massacred the text for fifteen minutes, I confidently sat down . . . I knew without of a shadow of a doubt that Dr. Ridings was going to hire me on the spot as the only student in Fruitland history to teach Homiletics. The very first thing Dr. Ridings said was, “Brother Ivester, just what translation did you supposedly preach from ?. . .” that was the only uplifting statement, and it was in the form of a question!       . . . he went on to tell me that I had a lazy tongue with lazy lips (referring to my Redneck Dialect)!  With much grace, he gave me a B+ . . . I translated the B for BLACK EYE! Yes, I was humbled that day and still suffer from nightmares of that traumatic experience. There is one thing about it, I have never preached from the New Living Translationsince then! On a serious note, Dr. Ridings taught me to LET THE TEXT SPEAK; if he said it once, he said it a thousand times. He taught me that the greatest and most effective form of preaching is Expository preaching.

(Dr. Paul Sorrells, English Grammar Extraordinaire, and me.)

Dr. Paul Sorrells is the best English teacher on the planet. I credit him for inspiring me to create this blog . . . so blame him if you don’t like my writings.I could proof-text a paper with my grammatic tool, a thousand times, on my word-processing program, set on the strictest setting, until it was perfect (at least I thought so)    . . . I would still get my paper back with more red than lead . . . he also humbled me! The writing styleskills I have today come from Dr. Sorrells! He taught me that ain’t got nothin’is a double negative that is only acceptable in the Greek language. By the way, Dr. Sorrells, if you happen to stumble upon this post, please give me much needed grace because it is 1:30AM as I type these words!

(Me and Rev. Scott Thompson, Vice President.)

Scott Thompson was not only my Christian Ethics teaching, but he also became my friend. Words cannot say how much I am indebted to Scott for all he has taught me! It’s Scott’s fault that I am a Calvinist He introduced me to the Puritans . . .  the very first book that Scott challenged me to read was, Freedom of the Will, by Jonathan Edwards. Scott challenged me to know what I believe and WHY I believe it, and to anchor my beliefs to the inerrant Word of God. To keep Scott from getting into any trouble with Kenneth, I must say no more!

(Dr. Thad Dowdle, Hermeneutics and Pastoral Ministries Professor, and me.)

Hermeneuticswas my favorite class! I am indebted to Dr. Dowdle for teaching me the art of Hermeneutics: exegetingthe Bibilical texts and putting them in context from the cultural setting from when they were written. He taught me the importance of performing word studies from the original Greek and Hebrew lauguages.  The days of sitting at the feet of this great scholar of the Holy Scriptures are etched in my heart forever! 

(Me and Rev. David McEachern, Pastor of Bat Cave Baptist Church.)

David is the only pastor I know that could really have the nickname BAT MAN and it be legitimate. David was also very skiddish about having his picture taken with me . . . he reads my blog! I told him I was going to put his picture up as being the first  Hyper-Calvinist to come out of the closet and take the $100 reward! David and Dr. Michael Smith actually sat down and had lunch with me  . . . they showed me that their friendship to me was more important than their reputations!     

David was instrumental in leading me to Fruitland. I, being a rodeo cowboy at the time of the Lords call for me to preach, was convinced that I was going to SWBTS in Fort Worth, Texas, for obvious reasons. Yet the Lord placed David in my life at one of the lowest times in my life. David preached at my home church’s Fall Revival in 1998; he hardly knew me from Adam’s house cat, yet he took the time to call me and pray with me about a crisis I was facing. I am forever indebted to the Lord for sending David into my life! David McEachern is a dynamic preacher that can JUMP-START a BRICK to life!  

I miss Todd Edmiston so bad, it hurts! Fruitland will never be the same without Todd!

Others at Fruitland who were instrumental in making me what I am today are (out of the top of my head, at 1:30AM): Ms. Carol Thomas, Mrs. Ann Ridings, Dr. & Mrs. Carlisle Sanford, Mr. Bobby Garrett, Dr. Roy Houston, Dr. Tom Hayes, Dr. Michael Smith, Dr. Steve Scoggins, Mrs. Hazel Ashburn, Rev. Kenny Corn, Dr. Greg Mathis, Rev. Mark Hunnicutt, and Dr. Raymond Whitfield.

Indebted to God for Fruitland,

chadwick