Hyles–Anderson College - Misplaced Pages

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Hyles-Anderson College

Established	1972
School type	Private/Unaccredited
President	Wendell Evans
Location	unincorporated St. John Township, Indiana, United States
Campus	8400 Burr Street Crown Point, Indiana 46307 United States
Enrollment	approximately 1700
Faculty	38 full time
Colors	Green and White
Mascot	Bagpiper
Homepage	www.hylesanderson.com

Hyles-Anderson College is an unaccredited Bible college in unincorporated St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana, with a physical address at 8400 Burr Street, Crown Point, Indiana. The college is operated by First Baptist Church of Hammond. It focuses primarily on training pastors, missionairies and other church workers. It also trains Christian educators to work in K-12 Christian schools. The partially-wooded 100 acre (40 hectare) campus includes a lake, football field, bowling alley, and a variety of school and entertainment resources.

History

Hyles-Anderson was founded in 1972 by the late Jack Hyles with financial support from Russell Anderson. The college states that it was established so that pastors, assistant pastors, bus directors, missionaries, music leaders, teachers, and principals may be better equipped to do the work of the Lord. The school was originally located on a campus known as Baptist City in Schererville, Indiana. HAC's former campus was turned into Hammond Baptist K-12 school. This school is also operated by the First Baptist Church of Hammond. After his death, Hyles, who was the school's chancelor, was succeeded by his son-in-law, Jack Schaap, a graduate and former vice president of the school.

Academics and accreditation

Hyles-Anderson College is not accredited by any agency recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation or the US Department of Education. The school claims that it does not want accreditation.

The college has 38 full time educators and administrators, who have received degrees from a diverse range of both traditional universities and colleges as well as bible colleges. Each of the faculty at Hyles-Anderson has at least one degree from Hyles-Anderson College.

The science programs the school offers include "music education," "marriage and motherhood," "pastoral assistantship" and "pastoral theology."

Policies

The school forbids students "to attend Hollywood movies, play cards, or participate in other questionable amusements." As for politics, "we do not fellowship with liberals, but instead take a strict separatist stand from the world and apostasy." In terms of sex, the school notes that "absolutely no hand holding or other intimacies are allowed between the sexes."

Students are required to go "soul-winning" each week.

HAC also offers free courses for wives of students taking more than five units at the college so that the wives "can learn to be a successful leader's wife."

Hyles-Anderson is a supporter of the King-James-Only Movement, using the KJV exclusively.

Controversy and criticism

1989-1993

On May 28, 1989 The Chicago Tribune reported "former associate Victor Nischik has accused Hyles of having an affair with his former wife Jennie" and questionable financial dealings.

Hyles responded to the Nischik charges when said, "Everything that I am charged with is a lie". Hyles received "love offerings and honorariums" from his nationwide speaking engagements and he said that gifts given to him he shared with others, especially with those that worked with him. Hyles said that "money doesn't mean anything to me" and that he has given away "hundreds of thousands of dollars to needy friends" but he doesn't keep records of all the gifts he has given out over the years. Hyles also pointed out that his accuser was known to him to be an immoral man. Hyles said that Nischik 's wife discovered him alone in his pajamas with another woman and soon after Nischik's wife divorced him.

Hyles also responded to the charges of financial impropriety by pointing out that his salary was only $18,308 in year. He said, "I'm not a wealthy man...I could have been, but I have chosen not to be." Hyles pointed out that the Nischiks and other workers and needy friends regularly received many gifts from himself, including new cars. Hyles replied by saying the charges were "false" and indicating that "he has given 'hundreds of thousands' of dollars to needy friends over many years but has kept no records of the transactions." Hyles was not ever charged with a crime.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that in 1993, a Detroit, Michigan news team, following up on allegations in five different fundamentalist churches of children molested by church workers, traced each alleged perpetrator back to Hyles-Anderson college. This news team produced a 30-minute documentary called "Preying from the Pulpit" for the Detroit Michigan Eyewitness News program.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Hyles "disputed the latest reports point by point in a speech to Midwest ministers and businessmen, brought together by COMPASSION - Churches Organized & Mobilized for Preservation and Safety for Sunday Schools in Our Nation." Hyles also claimed out that one of the people in the report said to have attended Hyles-Anderson College had not really attended the school. Also, Hyles spoke at a church in Denver, Colorado Hyles to defend himself from the allegations.

Combs' child abuse

Reverend Joseph Combs and his wife, Evangeline Lopez Combs were members of First Baptist Church of Hammond and Combs was also a professor at Hyles-Anderson College.. The two adopted Esther Combs, who "experts" say was "tortured" for nearly 20 years. "The 410 scars she accumulated from curling iron burns, baseball bat beatings and other abuse went undetected because she was in the care of a minister and his wife, who used a cloak of religion and home schooling to isolate her." While one babysitter testified "that they suspected Esther was mistreated but didn't want to contradict Combs, who had been their Bible professor at Hyles Anderson College."Furthermore, another babysitter testified she "reported her suspicions to the college president, but apparently nothing was done, she said." In 1986, Combs moved to Florida to start a church. After accusations of abuse, they moved to Tennessee. There they were charged in 1998 and convicted in 2000 of kidnapping, child abuse and aggravated assault.

References

See accreditation database at CHEA
Founder Jack Hyles asserted that the college remains unaccredited because the government would "take away our freedom."
^ Maybe you wouldn't like Hyles-Anderson website March 2006
^ "Charges All Lies, Hammond Pastor Says," The Chicago Tribune, May 28, 1989.
"Pastor Linked to Sex Abuse Lashes Out," Chicago Sun-Times, June 2, 1993.
Hyles: I'm no dictator. First Baptist leader defends Northwest Indiana Times May 28, 1993
"Springs drive-by baptisms immersed in controversy" Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer. Denver Post. Denver, Colo.: Aug 22, 1993. pg. 7.C
^ Becky Campbell. "Experts say Combs child abuse case unusual," The Associated Press, April 7, 2000.
Esther Combs faces the woman she called mother and asks: Why?. The Associated Press. 25 April 2000.