Arlin Horton Resigns as President of PCC

Apparently 38 years of being President of Pensacola Christian College is enough. Today Dr. Arlin Horton officially announced that he is resigning.You can read the official text here.

According to the official release “Dr.” Troy Shoemaker will be the next President. And yes, his doctorate was, in fact, granted by the very unaccredited college he’s about to take over.

Perhaps this change spells better days ahead for my alma mater. I certainly hope so.

46 thoughts on “Arlin Horton Resigns as President of PCC”

  1. You went to PCC? Have you ever heard of Southeastern in Wendell, NC? That’s where I went, and we had a lot of transfers to and from PCC.

    1. I have heard of Southeastern in Wendell! Graduated actually. Working for a affiliated church. Plotting my way out of Fundie land as I type!! haha 😛

  2. I don’t think anything will get better. I’m sure that as long as they are alive, they’ll have their hands in the pot.
    I do not know this – did they not have any children?

        1. Well, as President of PCC, you could argue that all the students are his children (certainly some students act like children)

      1. God bless the Horton’s for all they have done for Christ. Are they perfect, no. Is PCC perfect, no, but God worked through PCC in amazing ways in my life. I wish Dr. and Mrs. Horton nothing but the best in their retirement.

        PS – A couples choice to have or not have children is one that is very personal and private, and that choice should be respected.

    1. they were only “kjo morphs”— not the real Ruckman brand. “the sword” used to have full page ads for the N.I.V. roman catholic repro. that removes HELL ALL 31 times in the O.T. , and 9 in the N.T.–adolph hyles gavethe falsamentalists the command, and the rest just followed–their heresies never changed.

  3. Nothing will change–at least not for the better for a long time. Remember how you felt about the teacher’s pet? A number of the faculty members feel the same way about Troy–not that they will say anything because they fear for their jobs. The power of fear is STRONG in that place, partly because the Horton’s had no children but regard the “ministry” as their child and have spent a lifetime “protecting” their baby from any outside, “worldly” influences. You mess with their baby at the risk of your own well-being.

    1. the guy has been on staff at PCC for 20+ years. Pretty sure he was hand picked for his like mindedness. Wonder why Mullinex was passed over though. Isn’t he the only one that is still there from all those years ago? Maybe they thought he was too old?

      1. A friend who is still at PCC told me that Mullenix was offered the position but turned it down. Not sure why, but he isn’t that much younger then the Hortons, so it might just be because he’s planning of retiring himself soon. I’m not sure of their source of information, but it does sound reasonable.

        As for changes, not really expecting any (though I can always hope and pray for good changes). Shoemaker, for all accounts, is just a younger version of Horton. You don’t get far in that hierarchy without being a yes-man.

      2. Mr. Shoemaker is a very rude and hateful person. I know first hand.
        I am most disappointed with the choice that has been made in letting him be president. What a shame. I guess no one has seen the other side of him.

  4. You are kind to hope that, Darrell. I cannot believe anything will change for the better, but I am cynical.

  5. @Brandon

    At least one of the Hortons is infertile.

    ~~~~~~~~~

    I concur that nothing major will change. Not because the Hortons will still have their fingers in PCC, but because they don’t exert any where near as much influence as they used to, and haven’t for years. PCC is a well-oiled machine that will keep on keeping on well after the Hortons are gone.

  6. PCC isn’t going to change. They’ve figured out their market: The Sword of the Lord camp. They aren’t going to switch markets. They may ditch silly rules here and there; that process already has begun. No major changes, though. Never gonna happen.

  7. Yes, nothing will change at that place. We just got back from Cuba, and being there, gave me the same feeling I had when I attended pcc 20 years ago. There’s a network within a network of people making sure you say the right thing, look the right way, go to the right places, etc.

    Actually we had MORE freedoms in Cuba. That and an open bar… 😈

  8. Like the Marine Corps, PCC likes to break down the recruit. But unlike the Marine Corps, PCC does very little to build the recruit back up into a confident Christian soldier. When I began my life after graduating from PCC, I felt like I should ask permission before doing anything. (Is it OK for me to pursue happiness now?) Took me several years to get over that.

    1. I actually had a good experience there. I came away with the sense that the most important thing I could do was maintain a personal relationship with God, and that would dictate how I lived. I also learned that the Bible applies to any and all situation, and how to let the Bible speak for itself without twisting it. But I also had a good network of friends and must have gotten the better selection of Professors/Floor Leaders. 🙂

  9. You never really get over that feeling that someone is watching if you were a lucky visitor at this institution. Shoemaker is the last person that might affect change in that place. He has zero personality and is very difficult to work with. He stated from his own lips that PCA does not have any students with “special needs”. That is a statistical improbability and a shameful admission of their “conform or go away” policies. I feel sad for the unfortunate people under his watch.

    1. Oy Vey. You aren’t kidding. I’ve had plenty of interaction with the Shoe to know better about him. He has the same “when I say jump, you ask how high” mentality that has plagued PCC for years, and he is heavily critical of those who aren’t rank-and-file. Not a good choice if you’re wanting hope or change- the real sort- in Fundyland.

  10. A member of my family works for PCC; he told me years ago that once Horton moved on he thought some of the “nonsensical” rules might be relaxed a bit.

    That being said, it was the “no facial hair allowed” rule that spurred the conversation, so IMO they can relax some and still have a lot of nonsensical rules…

  11. Count me as one hoping this is good news. It’s far more common that giving (even a good) fundy power works out well for anyone under him (or her).

  12. The real tragedy of PCC is that the whole place is run by paranoids; I’ve heard of students being expelled for doing things OFF CAMPUS and ON VACATION. It doesn’t help that abuses of power start with the dorm floor leaders or snitching fellow students and end with the Hortons (who actually asked alums to send nice reviews to the StudentsReview website* because there were more negative reviews than positive!) Hopefully, word of mouth has or will keep people away from Pensacola.

    ____________________

    * A college review website for future or transferring college students. This is where I found out about the control-freak nature of PCC, that and the old “Student Voice” website….as a student in a Fundy high school I guessed that these places were nutty, but the facts were amazing; if PCC were a person, it would be psychotic….

  13. You’re missing the Hugh Hefner PCC mag cover photo with all of the girls and Arlin Horton featured on the issue announcing his retirement. I canceled any mailing from them years ago (the lady on the phone tried to make me feel guilty for getting myself removed from the mailing list) but saw the photo from a few friends’ online posts.

  14. By the way, what happened to Student Voice? Lots of links don’t work, and it seems to be frozen in the 2001-2 time frame. ?

  15. Oddly enough, even before this announcement, PCC has already relaxed rules. I was blown away by what they can do now as opposed to what we could do then.

    For example:
    No more hose (except for Sunday dress)
    No more Graf Center (the sick relax in their own dorm rooms)
    Internet, check (with restrictions, of course, but far less restrictions than it used to have
    Cell phones, check
    Skipping class, check (you are now allowed x-number of missed classes a semester)

    I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things…

    1. Tell me the “Graf” you reference is NOT the Graf that used to doctor at Bob Jones ? He was a disaster. He filled a position, but did not know medicine. I know because after being “treated” by him with Robitussin for pneumonia and later when I visited him for terrible eye pain, I was told “I don’t see anything wrong with your eyes”, I saw an eye doctor in town who diagnosed a viral infection on my corneas and he began immediate treatment.
      Graf. I still have a sinking feeling when I think of him. I hope the name of your clinic is just an unlucky coincidence….

  16. One fundy college is just like the other. PCC and BJU are almost clones of each other. The Horton’s went to BJ.

  17. I love those that say they, “heard from a friend on staff.” PCC is more secretive than Apple when it comes to policies and personnel. I do hope that Dr. Shoemaker (no air quotes around Dr. because he did earn his degree) helps to bring along some positive changes and I wish him the best.

    As far as the market for PCC, they draw 3 groups:
    1. My parents make me come.
    2. I am not responsible enough to make decisions and need a lot of structure.
    3. The rest of us that wanted to go to college near the beach, wanted a good education and couldn’t afford $25,000 a year.

    I loved the college campus, nearly all of my professors, sailing at west campus, church with Pastor Schettler, and the best part of course working Stage Crew!

    I hate that I missed out on some of the relaxation process though. I am sure that not wearing a suit coat and tie to dinner every night is great.

    Anyway, I received a good education just like everyone else there that I know and most of my friends are now very successful in their careers!
    Thanks PCC.

  18. Don’t tell anyone but Mr. Shoemaker actually was the chaperone for my hubby and I when we got engaged. I know he can be really uptight, but that night he went and “made coffee” for two hours while my now husband proposed. 😉

    We graduated in 1991. The years following got really weird for PCC I think. As Dr. Horton began stepping his role back and handing the reins over to others, the rules and KJV stuff just became nuts. (Thank you Dr. Mutch). I think Dr. Horton really was a man of more balance than people remember.

    Thank you Tony for reminding us that the campus was beautiful, the sailing at west campus was fabulous, Pastor Schettler preached the Word without compromise, the teachers cared, and we got a great education.

    -Happily teaching music at a Public School in PA

  19. I had Dr. Shoemaker for a class back in 2004 or 2005, and he seemed like an OK guy. He canceled several of our assignments which was totally awesome. I was also there during the summer graduation ceremony when he received his EdD.

    I wish him and PCC all the best.

  20. I did not attend PCC; however, I used many of their books with my children. The key here is choice. You choose to attend a college. You choose to leave a college. I attended BJU in the old days, when rules were strict and one did not date outside one’s color circle. Jim Berg was and still is a completely asinine jerk. I do not need to give details–there are plenty of them on the Internet. The point is this: I did not like the turmoil and path of destruction he left in his wake, so I transferred to another college. I paid for everything myself, so I did not have to worry about anything, except my parents’ disapprobation. I survived. I have heinous stories that would curl your ears, but I don’t usually join the bashing groups. I love the right to choose and to let other people make their own choices. Just like the Amish, PCC is a subculture. Some people flourish there; others wilt. I will say that being a “non-accredited” institution is sometimes a pain for students of BJU and PCC. I was fortunate to have everything transfer. My knowledge and skill exceeded all standards. I got an excellent education at BJU. It still serves me well. Instead of trying to change the character of an institution–change institutions. Find one that you do like and that suits you.

    1. Not everyone has that luxury or ability. Some people don’t know that they have options, so that is like not having the ability.

      To think that because you did something that therefore everyone else can is ridiculous. It’s a damaging line of thinking that serves no one well.

    2. I find that a wide majority of people who describe themselves as being this self reliant, in fact turn out to be just unaware or in denial of how much aid they had in their journey(s).

    3. I was in my mid-twenties when I chose to attend BJU. Even though there were some “redeeming” qualities about my years there, I’ve found I ache with regrets.

      But I chose to remain. Unlike many there, I was not expected to go, let alone remain.

      Regarding “the character of an institution,” I say if there is something that needs changing, do whatever part you can to change it. Ultimately, if one cannot live with the character, one would have to leave. Unfortunately, there are those who feel trapped and end up making the best of it.

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