“Now, as never

before, we need
to understand
the true science
of education. If
we fail to
understand this,
we shall never
have a place in
the kingdom of
God.” Christian
Educator, Aug,
1897.
 A Study of Adventist History
“Let the history and “We must study to find
experience of those out the best way in which
who have made
mistakes be a warning to take up the review of
to others.” EGW, Series our experiences from the
A, No.7, p.11 beginning of our work…”
“Their history is a CW 145.
beacon of warning to
us, and points out a “The record of the
safe path for our feet if experience through which
we will but shun their the people of God passed
mistakes.” EGW, in the early history of our
November 30, 1897.
work must be
republished.” CW 145.
“I feel deeply over our
present situation. We must
now do a work that should
have been done long ago.
We must do as the Lord
directed Moses to do, when
the children of Israel, having
crossed the desert, were
encamped on the borders of
Jordan. Moses was bidden to
rehearse to them all the
dealings of the Lord to them
during their journeyings
through the wilderness. The
record of this rehearsal is
found in the book of
Deuteronomy.” CW 145.
 Five Part Series
1. The Beginnings of our Educational Work
(1867-1904)
2. The Story of Madison and How it Fell (1904-
1965)
3. The Story of Loma Linda and the Influence it
has had on God’s People (1905-Onward)
4. How our Schools are Destroying our Churches
(1935-Onward)
5. Where Do We Go from Here? (Right Now)
The Beginnings of our Educational Work

► Beginnings at Battle Creek

► Establishment of Two New Colleges in early
1880s
► Other Colleges and Academies begin to
spring up
► Walla Walla College
► Avondale
► Emmanuel Missionary College
 Beginnings at Battle Creek
► The educational work of our church began with home
schools. (1853 at Bucks Bridge NY, Martha Byington)
► Goodloe Harper Bell starts a school in Battle Creek (1868)
 Edson White and J.H. Kellog were some of the early
students
 He was willing to put into practice Spirit of Prophecy
principles
► First Denominational College (Fall of 1872)
 Sister White wept because her counsel was rejected to
purchase a 40 acre former fairgrounds outside Battle
Creek
 Instead they purchased a 12-acre estate in the city
 Later reduced to seven to cover building expenses
 Battle Creek College
► Sindney Brownburger
was elected president in
1875 fresh from the
University of Michigan
► Bell was placed in charge
of English Department
► Uriah Smith was the
Bible Teacher
► Brownsburger believed
in and instituted a
classical (liberal arts)
curriculum
 Battle for Classical Education
► By 1878 students were taking classical courses
such as:
1. Latin
2. Greek
3. Mathematics
4. Rhetoric (The art of speaking with propriety, elegance and
force.)
5. Elocution (Pronunciation; the utterance or delivery of
words, particularly in public discourses and
arguments.
6. Geology (The doctrine or science of the structure of the
earth and of the substances which compose it; or the
science of the compound minerals.)
► Only a few were required to attend Smith’s
Bible Classes.
► “Brownsbuger…taught a curriculum little
different from that of other educational
institutions.” Vande Vere
► Bell, supported by Sister White, continued to
urge leaders to put in practice God’s plan of
true education.
 Why Battle Creek Split in 1881
► In 1881 Brownsburger resigned. (Later in his life he accepted
the blueprint. He helped establish the Asheville Agriculture
School near Fletcher, NC.)
► The Board of Directors was unwilling to appoint Bell as
President because he lacked a college degree.
► Alexander McLearn was appointed instead. (he had a classical
degree)
► Immediately Bell began agitating the issue of vocational
training as outlined in the Spirit of Prophecy.
► This was contrary to McLearn’s Philosophies of education.
► As a result of this lack of harmony the campus split.
► Unfortunately Uriah Smith, still the Bible teacher, was found on
the wrong side of the issue. He sided with McLearn.
 Why Battle Creek Split in 1881
► Sister White wrote to him saying: “I
am not surprised that such a state of
things should exist in Battle Creek,
but I am pained to find you, my
much-esteemed brother, involved in
this matter on the wrong side with
those whom I know God is not
leading. Some of these persons are
honest, but they are deceived. They
have received their impressions
from another source than the
Spirit of God.” 5T 45.
► The school closed for a year (1882-
1883)
► McLearn left the Battle Creek School
and eventually left the church
 George Ide Butler
We can never have true success until the main
object for which the college was created is kept
constantly in view, and the spirit of true humility
and the love of Christ actuates teachers and
scholars. The spirit of pride and display and vanity
and worldly success has been far too prominent.
To make a show in graduating exercises, and in
displaying diplomas, and to be called ‘Professor,’
has with many been a great object.
We firmly believe if this institution had never been
called a college, but had simply been a school of
instruction, where our young people could learn
things that would make them useful, and where
they could learn God’s truth for this time, without
any graduating exercises, diplomas, etc., that it GC President and Board
would have accomplished far more good than it member of Battle Creek
has, and it would have escaped some disasters it College
experienced. Review, September 31, 1883.
 Blessing or a Curse?
► In 1882 two new colleges opened
► Healdsburg College (Beginning of 1882)
► South Lancaster Academy (April 1882)
► In both these schools we find that adherence to
the blueprint did not require great financial
resources.
► Strong leadership was the key
► Brownsburger was placed as president at
Healdsburg
► Bell was given the responsibility at South
Lancaster
 Healdsburg College (1882-1908)
► Located 65 miles north of San Francisco Bay
► Brownsburger became fully supportive of
establishing a manual training curriculum.
► The faculty taught the academic classes each
day and then went to work with the students.
► Trades which were taught included:
1. Carpentry
2. Printing
3. Painting
4. Shoemaking
5. Blacksmithing
6. Tentmaking
 Healdsburg College (1882-1908)
► Three problems which to led to it being
closed down in 1908:
1. It was located on the edge of a town.
2. Later management lost the vision for lack
of understanding the blueprint.
3. Its industries perished.
► After the close of Healdsburg
Brownsburger went to help establish
Ashville Agricultural School and Mountain
Sanitarium in N.C.
 South Lancaster Academy
► Operated as a college though called an academy
► S.N. Haskell was the driving force behind this
school
► He said this school was established to
accomplish two objectives:
1. Train workers who could labor for the
denomination
2. Train workers who could labor for the Lord as
self-supporting missionaries
► The course of study Bell proposed included none
of the classical studies
 South Lancaster Academy
► The plan was for short courses of study to
quickly fit students to enter the work
► Students helped in the construction of the
institution
► Manual labor was required three hours a day
► By 1894 four trades were being taught
► Students engaged in missionary projects such as
literature distribution
► Elder Haskell reported that during the first two
years of the school’s existence 30 souls were
won to Christ as a result of the students being
engaged in missionary activity
South Lancaster Academy Curriculum
“The course of study will embrace the English
Language; Mathematics; Geography;
Human Physiology and Hygiene; and Bible
History; together with practical instruction
in Tract and Missionary Work, and in the
most useful of the Agricultural, Domestic and
Mechanic Arts…But of all studies, the Bible
ranks highest.” Review, March 7, 1882.

“For I am the LORD, I change not…”

Malachi 3:6

Has God changed A.U.C.’s curriculum, or has

man changed it? Steven Haskell, Bible
teacher at South
Lancaster Academy
 Other Schools Established
► Union College (1891 in Nebraska)
*Adopted a classical curriculum
from the beginning
*Required no Bible classes
► Graysville Academy (1893,
Tennessee, SAU)
► Keene Academy (1894, SWAU in
Texas)
► Washington Missionary College
(1904, CUC)
* Originally shared fifty acres
with the sanitarium and also Ellen White at Oakwood
operated a 100-acre farm
► Oakwood College (1908, Alabama)
 Walla Walla College (1892-Present)
► In 1883 Battle Creek reopens
► W.W. Prescott takes over in 1885
► In 1885 a young man named Edward Sutherland
came to study at Battle Creek
► In 1888 Percy Magan arrived at Battle Creek and
right away they developed a strong bond in the
Lord
► Both spent much time at Ellen White’s house while
they were in school
► Sutherland graduated in 1890
► In 1892 Sutherland became head of a newly
established school in Washington State under
Prescott’s supervision
 True Education at Walla Walla
► First Adventist Institution to serve only
vegetarian meals
► Sutherland was in counsel with Sister White,
who was in Australia at this time
► As his philosophies of true education were
developing, he sought to educate his staff
members in these principles
► The Staff heartily took hold of them
► Teachers worked with the students
► Sutherland believed that all teachers and all
students should spend some time every day
working together in productive manual labor
► In the third year of Walla Walla short one year
courses were offered to those who wished to E.A. Sutherland, author of
make speedy preparations to enter the Lord’s Living Fountains or Broken
work.
Cisterns and Studies in
Christian Education
 True Education at Walla Walla
► Courses were offered in cooking, printing,
gardening, and dairying by second year
► Students helped earn their tuition by cutting
timber in nearby mountains
► Staff would come together and study in
groups articles that were arriving from
Sister White who was in Australia
► All pledged to follow the light recognizing
that only this could secure God’s blessings
Avondale College
 A Blueprint School
► Ellen White went to Australia
in December of 1891
► The work in Australia started
seven years earlier by
Haskell
► In June 1892 two large
houses were rented in
Melbourne for a school
► The school was very
successful "Sunnyside," Cooranbong,
Australia (Ellen White moved
► Sister White encouraged the into this home on Christmas
brethren to purchase Day 1895)
acreage out in the country
 A Blueprint School
► In April or May they found the 1450-acre Campbell
Estate
► The brethren were not in favor of buying
► The Lord revealed to Sister White this is the land for
the establishment of a school in Australia
► By looking at the top layer of the soil, experts saw the
soil as sandy and worthless
► God showed Ellen White the rich soil below the top
layer that only needed deep plowing to be brought up
 A Blueprint School
► The school opened April 28, 1897
► Sister White assisted in planning the curriculum
► A worthy student fund was set up to help needy
students attend the school
► 25 Cents a week would pay the tuition of one
student
► A number of industries were established
► In 1897 a food factory was established in
Melbourne
 Summary of the Blueprint
► Schools must never be located “near a city”
LS 351,352
► Manual Occupation is vital LS 353
► School Industries must be established LS
355
► The school should be a training ground for
missionaries LS 372,376
► Students should help erect the buildings 6T
182,183
Sutherland and Magan at Battle Creek

► In the February 1897 General Conference

Session at College View Nebraska, delegates
voted to call Sutherland to Battle Creek
► Magan had been on the faculty for years
► They labored together earnestly to fulfill the
Spirit of Prophecy blueprint for the College
► The school became vegetarian
► Encouraging them in their reforms were A.T.
Jones and J.H. Kellogg
 Course of Study Altered
► The curriculum became more flexible, allowing the
students to choose their subjects
► 12-week courses were offered for mature
students, missionary workers, teachers, and
canvassers
► In 1898-1899 school year the school discontinued
the granting of academic degrees (“The conferring
of degrees originated with the Pope.” Advocate)
► The faculty were quite satisfied with classical
methods of study, and many were not supportive
of reform
 More Changes at the College
► Magan and Sutherland accompanied
by another person, on one Sunday
morning, plowed up the tennis court
and turned it into a vegetable garden
► Funds were given for the school to
purchase an 80-acre farm a short
distance from the campus where they
planted fruit trees and vegetables for
the college
► Great emphasis was placed on
missionary work
► Much of the $100,000 debt the
school was in before Sutherland came
was eliminated
Opposing circumstances should
create a firm determination to
overcome them. One barrier
broken down will give greater
ability and courage to go forward.
Press in the right direction, and
make a change, solidly,
intelligently. Then circumstances
will be your helpers and not your
hindrances. Make a beginning. The
oak is in the acorn. {6T 145.2}
 The Need to Leave Battle Creek
► Sutherland was influence by Dr. David Paulsen
(Medical Director of Hinsdale Sanitarium) to sell
Battle Creek and start over in a place where the
school could run a farm
► Sutherland and Magan saw need to get the school
away from the worldly influences Dr. Kellogg was
advocating
► Sister White endorsed the move, saying in a
private conversation with Magan: “It is time to get
out now, for great things will soon be happening
in Battle Creek.”
College Moved to Barrien Springs
► Battle Creek property was sold to the
Sanitarium
► Sutherland and Magan arranged with the
railroad for sixteen freight cars to haul
everything 90 miles south to the location
► 272 acres were purchased for $18,000
► Named Emmanuel Missionary College
Emmanuel Missionary College 1901-
Present (Andrews University)
► Original plan was that if enrollment ever reached 250, a
new college would be started somewhere else
► Sutherland said: “We want our buildings to be simple and
small…for this is the kind of buildings our students will find
in the mission fields.”
► Student labor helped in the erection of buildings
► One of Sutherland’s goals was to make the school self-
supporting
► Faculty and students assembled weekly for frank discussion
of college problems of all kinds
► Spirituality and evangelistic fervor pervaded the campus
► Students worked in the day and instruction was given in
the afternoon and evening
Emmanuel Missionary College 1901-
Present (Andrews University)
► Each student took one class each of the three terms of the
nine-month school year
► The University of Chicago in the mid-twentieth century
started a similar program which met with outstanding
success
► Recent secular educational research has discovered that
students learn far more by studying only one or two
subjects at a time than by taking five or more classes
► Every subject was presented from the standpoint of the
Bible
► The Math Textbook was very practical, containing problems
about bones in the body and Old Testament chronology,
making a canvasser’s report, and figuring up one’s tithe,
etc.
 Opposition Arises
► By 1904 Sutherland had a divided faculty
► Many missed the comforts of Battle Creek
► Some did not like the emphasis on the Bible in all lines of
study, thinking it fanatical
► In 1903 the GC and the Review move to Washington D.C.
► On May 19th Ida Magan dies as result of the stress
Sutherland and Magan were experiencing because of the
opposition
► A number of church leaders were determined to get rid of
Sutherland and Magan
► During the Lake Union spring session that year, on the
campus of EMC, they turned in their resignations
 Preparing to Start Again
► Sister White suggested
they go South
► They went determined
that they would perfect a
blueprint educational
missionary school in the
South
► Meanwhile, out on the
West Coast, an effort
was being made by Ellen
White to start a blueprint The Madison Board
medical missionary
school
“We are in a situation
we must get out
of, but we must get
out right.” A.G.
Daniells, GC
President, 1913
 “That I may know Him”
Phillipians 3:10
“The education to be
secured by searching
the Scriptures is an
experimental
knowledge of the plan
of salvation.
Such an education
will restore the
image of God in the
soul.” COL 42,43