From leaping out of an airplane to leaping down South to Bob Jones University, Dr. Bruce Meyer’s dreams are coming true. Meyer, a new full-time professor in BJU Seminary, is one of the many new faculty making the transition to BJU this year.
People are often surprised to discover that the Seminary professor is a big fan of all things speed-related: roller coasters, flying and even sky diving.
Meyer had always wanted to go skydiving and found his chance to do so during his 19-year teaching career at Maranatha Baptist University. He attended an event called Bid on Milwaukee, which happened to have skydiving for a discounted price.
“I went to some of the Bible faculty and said, ‘would you like to go skydiving with me?’” he said. “And there were three other guys that said ‘yeah, I’ll do that.’”
“We’re sitting on the floor, [the instructor] says ‘hang your legs out and pull them underneath the aircraft,’” Meyer said.
“So my legs are underneath the aircraft,” he said. “And then we just fell out. And it was so much fun.” The experience was unexplainable for Meyer. “It was the most thrilling feel,” he said.
Meyer came to BJU not because of one single event but because of a series of events.
“It was really the Lord’s providence, things that lined up in ways that I never could explain.”
He and his wife loved Watertown, Wisconsin, home to both their family and Maranatha. Moving to South Carolina was not something that originally seemed possible.
It was really the Lord’s providence, things that lined up in ways that I never could explain.
—Dr. Meyer
“Somewhere in there, the Lord kept working,” he said. “I captured a glimpse of the vision of what they [BJU Seminary] were wanting to accomplish here, and that, I think, grabbed my heart.”
Meyer is looking forward to teaching a variety of classes. “I get to teach counseling, I get to teach some systematic theology,” he said. “I love teaching the Bible. I love teaching theology, teaching counseling.”
Meyer’s area of expertise is in counseling. “I’m still interacting with Scripture a lot, but we’re talking about human problems and human personality and some of the issues related to human nature.”
Along with seminary classes, Meyer will teach an undergraduate counseling class and Doctrines I. Meyer is looking forward to his interaction with the students.
Meyer said he was excited about teaching undergraduate classes to stay connected with students.
“When you’re with the undergrad students, there’s an energy there that goes with the academics,” he said. “The sports contribute to that … societies, ministries, it kind of all works together.”
The transition from Wisconsin to South Carolina brought a set of adjustments for Meyer, like traffic and a lack of snow. However, he fits right in at BJU.
“I think the greatest thing is being at Bob Jones, the colleagues I’ve already met and the students,” Meyer said.