Building and Managing Character – William R. Tolbert Baptist University

At William R. Tolbert Baptist University

Managing Godliness: Building Citizens’ Integrity & Character
To Educate a Man In Mind And Not In Morals Is To Educate A Menace To Society[1]

WRTBU is not an ordinary university; we have a grand purpose which we must intentionally achieve. We have intentionally set out to create a new citizen of Liberia, a citizen of Integrity and Character. As Baptist, we are uniquely positioned with this responsibility as no other Liberian institution.

It is Baptist that gave birth to the nation; the Declaration of Independence and 1847 Constitution were signed in the Providence Baptist Church, dubbing her the Cornerstone of the nation. Baptists have been at the high table since inception.
Modern Liberia could easily be logged and charted from the end of WWII, which would place us in the Tubman Administration (1943-1971). Tubman selected William R. Tolbert, a Baptist Preacher (1952) his Vice President.
President Tolbert, in a military coup, was overthrown by Master Sergeant, Samuel K. Doe, a Baptist, who declared himself Head-of-State, later elected President.
President Doe, in a military rebellion, leading to a bloody Civil War, led by Major Charles G. Taylor, was eventually brought down. Mr. Taylor, a Baptist, in a landslide victory, was elected President.
When the dust of war was finally settled, President Taylor forced out of office, Africa’s first female President, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Methodist, was elected President carrying with her Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai, a Baptist, as her Vice President.
Continuing in her fragile democracy, after President Sirleaf, Liberians elected a football star, Mr. George M. Weah, her next president, carrying with him Madam Senator Jewel Howard-Taylor, a Baptist as his Vice President.
Liberia is presently in an election year, the next Vice President or President, who will be Baptist, is guaranteed to lead Africa’s oldest Republic.
Given our history, as Baptist, I hope I have demonstrated sufficient reasons to be confident that Baptist will continue to be at the head-table in managing the affairs of Liberia.

At this point it is fair for the reader to ask the question, since Baptist have been at the head-table since the inception of the nation and continue to be there, why have we not succeeded in building a better society? An even greater question may follows, since Christians have been head of the head-table why have we not succeeded in building a better society?

The answer is simple, at no point, past or present, have Baptist, other Christians, Liberians generally INTENTIONALLY tried to build a better society, as a consequence, we have the society we, all of us, Liberians, have built and agree to live in, despite the 2022 census proclamation of Liberians professing to being 86% Christians[2] up from 2008 census of 85.6%.

[1] Theodore Roosevelt

[2] Wikipedia: Religion in Liberia

Baptists have decided to intentionally change the existing paradigm through her University.

Our fight is a fight against corruption. Africa’s first female president said, “Corruption is enemy number one.” The nation, she said, must accept “zero tolerance to corruption.” At the end of the day in her final annual message to the nation, she admitted to losing her fight against corruption[3].

Why did Africa’s first female president pick corruption as enemy number one of the Republic? Because she knew in her very soul that corruption is at the very core of every evil in any society.

She knew it was in the Mansion but also in our streets, in our homes, in our churches and mosques, in our schools and businesses. Corruption is defined as “dishonesty, illegal and immoral behavior by people in position of authority or power.”[4]

You may ask, how can you claim that corruption be everywhere in Liberia, in every level of society, in every profession, in every ethnic group when Webster defines corruption to apply only to those in authority or power? The truth is any time one acts dishonestly, illegally, unethically, immorally, wickedly, one is acting corruptly. Now, you see, corruption is not only in the Mansion or in government, it is everywhere in our society. “Right” has become wrong and “Wrong” has become right. Most importantly, in a republican/democracy such as ours, as fragile, as it may be, our constitution grants ultimate power to us, the PEOPLE.[5] It is from among us that a president and delegations are elected to govern. We have power to elect then and we have power to un-elect them. Our selected/elected officials in church, government and everywhere are mere samples of ourselves. The more integrity and character we have, the more will those we elect and select to deputize for us.

This then, is the mission of WRTBU to intentionally prepare men and women of integrity and character, especially Baptist Men and Women; because we know they will be at the high-table and there where decisions are made, a great difference would be expected.

[3] President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

[4] Merriam-Webster Dictionary

[5] Article One, 1986 Constitution

To Achieve This Objective:
All our students must be boarding
All our students must go through the Godliness, Entrepreneurial and Leadership (GEL) Courses
All our students must have absolute mastery of Soft Skills
All our students must participate and have access to Chapel Counsel, Counseling Counsel and Courtesy Counsel

GEL: Courses, Description & Books

BOOKS/RESOURCES USED FOR BOWEN UNIVERSITY’S GEL COURSES

GEL 101(Principles and Practice of Excellent Living)

Understanding Your Potential, by Myles Munroe;
Releasing your Potential by Myles Munroe;
Developing your Potential, by Myles Munroe;
Principles and Power of Purpose, by Myles Munroe;
Eat that Frog, by Brian Tracy
7 Habits of Highly Productive People, by Stephen R. Convey.

GEL 102 (Public Speaking Essentials)

The Art of Public Speaking: The Original Tool for Improving Public Oration by Dale Carnegie;
The Art of Public Speaking, by Stephen Lucas

GEL 201(Mission Distinctive)

God’s Generals by Robert Liardon,
History Books on notable Baptist and other Denomination Missionaries and the role they have played in promoting missions in Liberia, Africa and the world at large.

GEL 202 (Godly Disposition)

Holy Bible, Trailblazers by Gideon O. Akanbi,
Standing Out to Stand Tall by Adesola A. Adeyemi,
Characters Around the Cross by Tom Houston,
Man of Faith by Lim Kou,
Becoming Like Jesus by Gbile Akanni, and
Courageous Living by Michael Catt.

GEL 301(Leadership Imperatives)

360 Degrees Leadership by John Maxwell;
Talent is not Enough by John Max Maxwell;
5-levels of leadership by John Maxwell;
The Conviction to lead by Albert Mohler;
The Power of Character by Myles Munroe

GEL 302 Leadership Enquiry)

Video recordings/documentaries and books on outstanding godly leaders in various fields of life (e.g., religion, politics, health, lecturing, entertainment, sports, etc.) where in key secrets and principles relating to their life successes have been discussed. Such materials may also be produced or facilitated by the

University, where possible.

GEL 401(Godly Family)

Bible;
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray;
Single, Married, Separated, Divorced by Myles Munroe.

The University could also arrange with experts to make video recordings on the topics within the curriculum. Such could be used to facilitate teaching and learning in the classroom.

Soft Skills Measures[7]
Item	Personal Skills	Social Skills	Communication Skills	Strategic Skills
1	Self-Confidence	Respecting Others	Dialogues/Meetings	Critical thinking
2	Professionalism	Empathy	Presentations	Systems thinking
3	Managing Emotions	Cultural Sensitivity	Correspondence	Problem-solving
4	Responsibility	Indigenous Knowledge	Graphical/Pictorial	Anticipatory thinking
5	Ethical Conduct	Teamwork	Non-verbal Skills	Strategic thinking
6	Respect for Law	Expressing Authority	Code-switching	Decision-making
7	Civic Mindedness	Mobilizing Others	Listening Skills
8	Respect for Nature	Conflict Resolution	Facilitation Skills

[7] HECA- USAID Workshop

The Chapel Counsel:

The Chapel Council (TCC) is headed by the Vice-President for Student Affairs/Godliness (VPSA/G) and reports to the President. This person must be a rained Baptist Minister. The Chapel is at the heart of Student life; hence, chapel attendance is compulsory. It is a combination of GEL, Soft-Skills, Chapel Life, Counseling Council and Courtesy Council working together that intentional makes the citizen of integrity and character.

The Counseling Counsel (CC) l:

Must be headed by trained Counseling Professional at least at the master’s degree level, all student behavior problems are handled by this council. The head of the CC reports to the VPSA/G.

The Courtesy Counsel (cc2):

This Council must be headed by a Baptist, who is a Lawyer; the task of this Counsel is tantamount to a morality police. Its members are dispatched around campus 24/7 to ensure proper behavior, dress, conduct, etc. The head of this council reports to the VPSA/G.

Offences that are at the heart of Corruption, such as stealing are punishable by expulsion.

Offences that are core the Christian Value, such as fornication and pregnancy out of wedlock are punishable by expulsion.

Offences that are directly against God’s Divine Will in nature, such as homosexual behavior are punishable by expulsion.

Offences that are illegal such as usage and/or sale of illicit drugs are punishable by expulsion.

These three counsels are expected to work independent of each other, yet expected to collaborate as overlapping is sure. The heads of these counsels, with the VPSA/G presiding, are required to meet monthly to evaluate their task of the month, agree to additional task as circumstances demand, review all findings, firm up discipline measures if any. Make a monthly report to the President.

Corruption & All General Bad Behavior

It is because of this unique history of Baptist that we confidently mount this preposition to change the dynamics of Liberia by intentionally putting out graduates who are men and women of integrity and character. All WRTBU degree papers will be marked, Excellence in the academic specialty of the graduate and Excellence in Character. Simply put a student, who does not pass conduct, no matter how smart academically, will not be allowed to graduate. Therefore, 50% of a student’s qualification for graduation is Excellence in an academic specialty and 50% excellence in Conduct. No student shall graduate without meeting these two fundamentals.

Every Liberian (from the President, in the highest office in the land, to the least among us) wants a better citizenry; this will never be achieved by the path we have selected, the path of academically training only the minds of our youth.

The formula to creating a better citizenry is simple; we must, in our schools, educate our youths in both mind and morals[8]. Baptist, under the leadership, of its President, Rev. Dr. Samuel B. Reeves, Jr., has intentionally selected the path of training minds and heart, knowing this act is not only exact in its achievement; it is redemptive to the nation. AGH/5^th/8/23

[8] Theodore Roosevelt