Dr. Greg Huffman was inaugurated as President of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in September of 2008. Just three weeks later, the Board of Trustees voted to close the college at the end of December. Dr. Huffman was left to guide the school and its students through those final days, and remains at Pillsbury for now while the campus is in the process of being sold. He visited Watertown Jan. 28-30 and attended a reception for the 32 former Pillsbury students Jan. 29 at the home of Maranatha President Dr. Charles Phelps. We talked with Dr. Huffman there about the lessons to be learned from his Pillsbury experience, God’s wisdom in placing him at that college, and his plans for the future.
Q: When did you know Pillsbury was facing real financial trouble?
A: Two days before they called me (May 20), Pillsbury had gotten a $1.6-million line of credit to pay off past debt and stretch as far as it could through the school year. If we could get to 235 students in the next 1 ½ years, we thought things would be going well again. Our goal for the fall of 2008 was the equivalent of 172 full-time students. We ended up with 122 equivalencies. We had been tracking very well until the end of July. That’s when we started getting the phone calls that said “I couldn’t find a job, so …,” one right after the other. It was in late July, three weeks after I bought my house, when the business manager walked into my office and said, “Let me tell you what we’re facing.”
Q: Was that the point when the Board of Trustees really began looking at closing the college?
A: We talked with another Christian college about merging. We also had a couple investors who would have kept the college operating. On Oct. 10, I was in the Detroit airport and got two phone calls, 30 minutes apart. The first one was the representative for the investors, telling me about the stock market going belly-up and that it was not going to work. The second was from the Christian college saying its Board of Trustees would not approve a merger. At that point, we knew it was the end of the line.
Q: You had just taken on an exciting new ministry after 40 years in the pastorate. You had just purchased a home. How did you maintain the proper spiritual perspective when you found out it was all coming to an end?
A: In July, I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. But I had once heard a sermon by Ken Collier at The Wilds that he called “Four Stabilizing Truths for Trouble.” They were (1) God’s love for you is unchanging; (2) God’s purpose for you is Christ-likeness; (3) God’s Word for you is always the final right answer; and (4) God’s grace for you is always sufficient. I spent a lot of time considering those truths, and conveying them to our students. I encouraged them to constantly focus on “Who is God?” instead of “Where was God?” They have discovered just who God is in an incredibly unique way, like no other college students ever have. That thought helped take away any temptation for bitterness.
Q: Did you consider that perhaps God had brought you to Minnesota specifically for the purpose of guiding the students and the college family through that ordeal ?
A: (Former Pillsbury President) Dr. Robert Crane told me, “I could not have done what you are doing. I am not sure anyone else could have done what needed to be done.” Dr. Bob Jones III told me, “It is as if God called you to Pillsbury to officiate a funeral.” What he meant is that, at a funeral, a pastor is really needed. He has to deal with people who could easily be angry or bitter with God. I believe, in a way, God took me out of the pastorate to be a pastor at Pillsbury. I focused on those students. I poured my life into those students. I didn’t sit with the faculty and staff at lunch, I sat with the students. They never had to make an appointment to come into my office.
Q: You got pretty close to those students in a relatively short period of time.
A: I told God, “Even if it’s only for one semester, I’m going to do my very best to help them know who You are.” Yeah, we got real close. They’re still my kids.
Q: You are taking some time right now to drive around the country and visit those kids. Then what?
A: I’ll be speaking at Red Cliff Bible Camp in Wyoming for three weeks. I’ll be at Faith Baptist Bible College the following week to preach in their chapel and visit those kids. That brings us to March 17, and I’m not sure what God has for me after that. I have talked to a few churches. I’m excited about what God has for us next.
Q: Are you sure you’re excited? Your last job was pretty tough.
A: I’m ready. God is in charge. He’s seldom early, but never late. He’s always right on time..
--Posted by Andrew Call, 1-30-09
Click here to read an interview with Pillsbury students who transferred to Maranatha
Click here to read about what will become of Pillsbury's records