Dallas bible college under fire after Minnesota shooting suspect identified as former student

Dallas bible school defends against online attacks

A Dallas-based college says it's facing online attacks because the man accused in the Minnesota lawmaker shootings was once a student there. The school's leadership spoke exclusively today to FOX 4's Shaun Rabb.

DALLAS - A Dallas-based college says it's facing online attacks because the man accused in the Minnesota lawmaker shootings was once a student there.

Christ For The Nations

The school's leadership spoke exclusively today to FOX 4's Shaun Rabb as the Christ for the Nations Institute said it has been a tough week for the school, and they’ve had to increase security around its campus.

What they're saying:

The Christ for the Nations president, Golan Lindsay, said that they've done nothing wrong and are standing strong in their faith.

"It hits our hearts because our heart is to train these students up. To prepare them to go into the world. To bring Jesus and when you see the opposite that happened, it hits us hard." said Lindsay.

Word spread that Vance Luther Boelter, the man charged with murder and attempted murder in Minnesota for attacking and assassinating elected political officials, was a student at Christ for the Nations between 1988 and 1990. 

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Vance Boelter graduated from Dallas religious school

Minnesota lawmaker shooting suspect Vance Boelter attended Dallas' Christ For The Nations Institute in late 80s and early 90s, according to the school.

"That's not who we are. That's not what we believe in. We're not a cult, we're not teaching violence at all, and we actually do the very opposite. So, we want to get that to the public. We don't want anybody to think otherwise because we want them to come here and learn the heart of Jesus."

Mission statement controversy

Dig deeper:

Christ for the Nations Institute found itself hit by a storm of vitriol and had to increase security because of the anger aimed at them. The school's public relations director, Kiplion Batchelor, details some of the comments the school has received.

"We got lots of emails, we got phone calls, we were blasted on social media, attacking us saying, I mean shocking things, saying that we are responsible for the assassinations in Minnesota. We have heard phrases like, ‘You guys are American-ISIS’ and ‘You guys are a radical group,’" said Batchelor. 

Comments in part aimed around a statement from the current President's late grandfather and Christ for the Nation's founder, Gordon Lindsay, which is part of the mission statement on their website.

"It’s sad when we hear people twisting words such as what my grandfather used to say, ‘Go every day and pray one violent prayer a day’. That's one of the main things that he would say," said Golan Lindsay. 

Lindsay was asked to elaborate on the meaning of the quote and if they plan on taking the statement off their website.

"It's nothing to do with violence in the physical at all, it's to be fervent, passionate with what you pray about with your faith. Believing the Lord's going to come through and that's something you do in the spirit realm," said Lindsay. "I'm not going to take it down. Maybe I’m wrong about it, but I don’t let the public view and their opinions alter what we believe here. If I have a passion in my heart that the Lord said this is what we're about, this is what truth is, then we will hold on to that." 

CFTNI Condolences

Holding on to their beliefs and offering condolences to the families touched by the unspeakable tragedy in Minnesota.

"It's not our heart. We pray for them, and we just want to say we're sorry for what had happened," said Lindsay. 

What's next:

Golan Lindsay wants people to know more than 40,000 students have been trained at Christ for the nations and are doing the work of ministry worldwide.

Never an issue, scandal, or an incident like this. Adding that whatever happened to change Vance Boelter was not learned at Christ for the Nations.