Chapter Eight Correction of Walston's Guide

To all WALSTON'S GUIDE readers:

There was a terribly unfortunate typo in the 4th edition of my book in Chapter 8.

Sometimes typos are small and insignificant. This was not.

I left out a word in a particular sentence which completely reversed the meaning of what I was attempting to say. I left out the small word "not." And, that makes a significant difference.

Here is the sentence as it appears in my book:

Here is how it should have appeared:

So, short of doing a complete recall of the multiple thousands of books that have been sold, I have attempted to "make up for my error" by reproducing the entire Chapter 8 here on this web page, with the new, corrected sentence in bold italics.

Also, for many of my Coffee Talk readers, this information is important. To some, however, you couldn't care less.

So, for those who are interested in this information, here is Chapter 8 of Walston's Guide, from the 4th edition.

Who Have Benefited From Them . . .
Not all unaccredited schools are bad. Remember, accreditation, while good, is not the final word about the validity or academic quality of a school. A few good schools have chosen not to become accredited for various reasons, including but not limited to the various restrictions that may be placed upon their degree offerings or upon their non-traditional mode of operating.

If a good, unaccredited school will fulfill your educational needs, then fine. For instance, if you are a pastor of a church, and your church or denomination does not require an accredited degree, then a good, solidly academic, unaccredited degree will probably be just as good for you as an accredited one, and at a fraction of the cost.

Case History # 1
A man with an accredited master's degree had been pastoring the same church for 20 years. He lived close to an accredited seminary, so he checked out their Doctor of Ministry offering. However, they required classes that had nothing to do with his ministry, nor was he was interested in them. Furthermore, he would be required to attend "school functions" that he did not feel were necessary for him. To top it off, the cost of the degree was about $12,000. So, after doing his research, he found a good, academically solid unaccredited seminary through which he was able to take the classes that he wanted to take; he didn't have to attend mandatory school functions, and the total cost of the Doctor of Ministry degree was less than $4,000. He presented this information to his church's board members, who were paying for his education, and they agreed that he should earn the D.Min. from the unaccredited seminary. He earned the degree that he always wanted while studying just the classes that were pertinent to his pastoral ministry, and all for just 1/3 the cost at the accredited seminary.

Case History # 2
A certain man always wanted an accredited Doctor of Ministry degree. However, one must have a Master of Divinity before even being allowed to enroll for the accredited D.Min. So, he found a very reputable unaccredited seminary. He earned his M.Div. for 25% of the cost at an accredited seminary. Then, on the basis of the unaccredited M.Div., he applied to and was accepted at an accredited seminary for the D.Min.

Case History # 3
A man asked me: "Does it really matter if I have an unaccredited Bachelor's, and an unaccredited Master's as long as my Ph.D. is from an accredited school?" I told him that generally speaking (although, not always), a person's highest degree is the most important degree. So, he earned an unaccredited B.A. and M.A. Now, he has been accepted at a major foreign university which stands in the GAAP for their Ph.D. Since his goal was the accredited Ph.D., he simply used the unaccredited degrees to qualify him for the accredited Ph.D.

Case History # 4
A man had his M.S. in Psychology from an accredited school. Based upon that degree, he was able to be a state-licensed counselor, and he was gainfully employed. He desired to earn a Ph.D. in Christian Counseling, but he did not want to spend the obscene amount of money or time on campus that was required at an accredited school. Since his M.S. had opened all of the doors necessary for his career, the Ph.D. was for personal education and satisfaction. He was able to find a solid, unaccredited doctoral program in Christian Counseling.

Case History # 5
A man enrolled into an accredited doctoral degree program. Each class required one-week of campus residency. He discovered that they were willing to accept two classes from good, academically acceptable unaccredited schools. So, he enrolled with an unaccredited school for two classes. He designed the two classes to match two classes that were offered at the accredited school. The student was able to complete the two classes for less than 50% than at the accredited school and without residency, which saved him money on travel and lodging. On those two classes alone, he saved about $1,500, not including taking two weeks off work for campus residency.

Doctoral Degrees and Martial Arts: An Illustration
I have often thought of non-traditional education in terms of martial arts black belts. Why? Well, I have a couple friends who have black belts in various martial arts.

A few years ago, I was invited to attend a black-belt promotion of a friend. I was mesmerized by his agility, hitting ability, kicking ability, etc. In one case he fought three guys at once. While they got in some very good licks, he triumphed.

Another friend of mine has three black belts from three different institutions. He is an ex-Marine, and he is 6'4"-he's an easy going guy, but I would want an iron wall between him and me if he were angry.

I was once with both of these guys-both solid Christians by the way-in Portland, OR, one day. We were all together with a pastor from Portland. We spent some time together at our favorite Christian book stores, and then we went out to lunch. Somewhere in our time together I turned to my pastor friend, and I pointed to our martial-arts companions, and I said, "This means, doesn't it, that we can pretty much do anything we want to today?" He laughed and agreed, but we didn't use our "resources" at hand.

All of that to say this: I once asked the 6'4" ex-Marine martial artist if we could set up a time each day so he could teach me martial arts. He has taught before at various schools, but he was not teaching in a school at that time (he was pastoring).

He said, "I can teach you, but it won't mean anything." I said, "I don't understand?" He said, "Well, if we don't do it through a recognized school , you won't get the black-belt recognition ."

I smiled, and I asked him, "In four or five years after I have completed martial-arts studies with you, and you put your "unaccredited" stamp-of-approval on my abilities indicating that I have truly reached the black-belt level, if someone attempts to harm my wife, will I be able to use martial arts to adequately defend her and myself?" "Well, of course!" he responded. "Then why" I asked, "do I need a black belt from a recognized school? Isn't a black belt just a belt that's black?"

This is much like unaccredited degrees. I have a friend who has his Th.D. from a solid, unaccredited seminary. He has written about six books that have been published by a major publisher. Some of his books are being used in accredited colleges and seminaries as text books! Yet, some goofy individuals out there will say, "Well, he's not really a doctor."

Who Are They?
There are many people out there with unaccredited degrees who are doing just fine, thank you very much. The late Dr. Walter Martin had his Ph.D. from the unaccredited California Western University (now called California Coast University), and it was certainly a valid credential in his life. He founded the Christian Research Institute (1960). Dr. Martin was well-known for the definitive work titled, The Kingdom of the Cults (published by Bethany House Publishers) and the radio broadcast called, "The Bible Answer Man." He was recognized worldwide as an expert in Christian theology, comparative religions, and the cults. Dr. James R. White , famed apologist and author of The King James Only Controversy has his Th.D. from Columbia Evangelical Seminary, and it too has been a valid and valuable educational credential. Dr. Glenn Wagner has an unaccredited Ph.D. and once served as the vice president of Promise Keepers and has taught classes for several accredited seminaries (including Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland) and has published several books including, Strategies for a Successful Marriage (NavPress), and is also contributing editor to the book, Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper (Focus on the Family). These next three men earned their doctoral degrees from Luther Rice Seminary long before it became accredited: Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D. ,Pastor Charles Stanley, Th.D. , and Dr. Stephen Olford , Founder and Senior Lecturer of the Stephen Olford Center for Biblical Preaching. He is known for his expository preaching and pastoral leadership. He too earned a Th.D. from Luther Rice Seminary prior to its accreditation.

And, no, when a school becomes accredited, those who graduated before the school was accredited do not then have accredited degrees. If you earn a degree from an unaccredited school and that school later becomes accredited, your degree does not go through some mystical "accreditation" process. Degrees are not " grand-fathered in ," contrary to popular belief. The opposite is true as well. If you earn a degree from an accredited school and if that school later becomes unaccredited, your degree does not become unaccredited.Your degree stays exactly as it was at the time you earned it.

An example: If you buy a 1999 Ford truck, and the following year Ford comes out with a 2000 model of the 1999 edition that you bought, your truck does not then become a 2000 model! You can buy a new 2000 model, but your 1999 model will always be a 1999 model.