First Post After a Long Break (and ARP Synod Round Up)

First of all, I haven't posted in several weeks due to the premature arrival of my third daughter: Jane Grey Stark. For all of you who were praying for her, thank you! She has been home now for about a week, and is doing very well.

Second, here are some links to various posts summarizing the 207th ARP Synod which meet last week. I was not there, but these gentlemen seem to summarize things pretty well:

From Rev. Tim Phillips:

General Synod, Day One
General Synod, Day 2
General Synod, Day Three (part 1)
General Synod, Day Three (part 2)
General Synod, Day Three (part 3)
Erksine Motion

From Dr. William Evans:

A Most Surprising ARP Synod Meeting

From Rev. Brian Howard:

207th ARP General Synod

Even if you just glance at the above summaries, you will note several encouraging items. I, for one, very much look forward to getting my hands on a copy of our new ARP Psalter. Kent brought back a CD with 20 selections from the Psalter on it, and it made for excellent listening on the way home from church yesterday.

General Synod of the ARP 2010, Part 3: The Ugly

[This is the third part of a three part series on the 2010 ARP General Synod, entitled: "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". Part 1, "The Good" can be found here. Part 2, "The Bad" can be found here.]

There were two ugly events that took place at this year's Synod: the way Synod began and the way it ended.

Synod began with the traditional opening worship service Tuesday evening; however, two things were done differently this year: first, outgoing Moderator Dr. DeWitt chose not to "preach a sermon" but to share some reflections of his on this past year and the current state of the ARP. Related to this, the Lord's Table was not celebrated at the conclusion of the worship service. Concerning the "talk" by Dr. DeWitt, I only want to say that I agree with what he said and found his talk to be relevant and challenging. Concerning not observing the Lord's Table: I must admit that at first I was not happy about this; however, after hearing Dr. DeWitt's reasons and after some time has passed, I have come to agree with his decision. Dr. DeWitt reasoned that in Matthew 5, our Lord tells us that if I have something against my brother, I am to reconcile to him first and then come to the altar. He stated it was his belief that there is division in the body, and until we can be reconciled to one another, it would not be proper for us to observe the Lord's Table together. Although I now agree with his decision, I still categorize it as an "ugly" part of Synod, not because of what Dr. DeWitt said or did (or didn't do), but because it is an ugly thing when brothers cannot dwell together in unity. Dr. DeWitt's decision was not the problem, it was the consequence of a much deeper problem that we all pray can be corrected soon.

The second ugly thing about Synod this year was the manner in which it ended. As I had to catch a flight back to California, I was not present for the end of Synod (and also remember, as I said in Part 1: The Good, I was not a voting delegate to Synod this year, only an observer), I had to read about the end of Synod on The Aquila Report. According to this report, on Thursday night a "Quorum Call" was made and lacking enough men to form a quorum, Synod immediately adjourned. This is an ugly way for a Synod to end its business, and although I sympathize with the men who had to leave early, I wish we could have ended on a better note.

That ends my three part analysis of this year's General Synod of the ARP. Others have offered their opinions and observations, and I'd like to point you toward some of their sites:

Tim Phillips always had good observations concerning Synod.
Chuck Wilson has some notes on the "compromise" which was reached between Synod and Erskine (I have left that out of my analysis as I don't yet know if it will turn out to be good, bad or ugly).
Brian Howard also has some thoughts on this year's Synod. I did not get an opportunity to meet Rev. Howard, which I regret. He and I disagree on somethings, based on some of his past posts, but I believe it is important to hear what he has to say, nonetheless.

General Synod of the ARP 2010, Part 1: The Good

I am home now from Synod (after many delays because of bad weather in Atlanta yesterday). This was my first time attending and to make it clear: I was not a delegate, but an observer. I hope to summarize my thoughts/reflections of this year's Synod in three posts, aptly titled: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (cue theme song).

This post will cover "The Good"

There was a lot of "good" at Synod. A lot. I was able to finally meet in person many godly, gracious men such as Chuck Wilson, Sinclair Ferguson, David Norman (and his lovely wife K.D.), Athole Rennie, Vaughn Hathaway, Tim Phillips, and many, many others. The warm reception and heartfelt welcome was the best possible introduction anyone could have hoped for to the Synod of the ARP.

The Synod was held at Bonclarken, the retreat center of the ARP. The staff were wonderful, the food was delicious, and the grounds were beautiful. I had never been to North Carolina before, and was amazed at how green everything was. It was a prime example of the stunning beauty of God's creation.

It was good to hear of the work God is doing through the ARP in places as remote as Scotland, Turkey and Pakistan. It was moving to hear the choir from our orphanage sing before Synod. It was a testimony to the antipathy of God's church for bureaucracy at just how smoothly so much of Synod proceeded. There were several committee and board reports that did not receive any discussion on the floor of Synod and were simply accepted or approved.

The President-Elect of Erskine was introduced to the Synod and given an opportunity to address the body. This young man was an encouragement to me as he detailed his three point plan for Erskine. (see more at The Aquila Report). I, like many others, told him I was praying for him, as he had a difficult task before him. In his address, he mentioned that he was also praying for the ARP, which was good to hear: praying for one another is the best way to overcome differences, and put problems behind us.

Finally, the worship was biblical, encouraging and reformed. The musical accompaniment to the singing was excellent. We had an organ, a piano, an oboe, a violin, and what I considered the highlight of the music: bagpipes (can't be a Scottish synod without bagpipes!). The ARP showcased several excellent preachers from within its ranks, who brought words of encouragement, challenge and grace to the Synod.

All these and many more things were "The Good" of the 2010 General Synod. Overall, it was very encouraging to be there, despite what I will detail in the next two posts as "The Bad" and "The Ugly". Let me emphasize that, again: the good things far, far outweigh the bad and the ugly. The ARP is a grace filled, reformed Church.

Apologies

Apologies for the long absence from this blog. I hope to remedy that by: 1) posting more regularly and 2) "live" blogging from the ARP Synod beginning tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing/meeting many of my brothers in the ARP. There will be weighty issues at this year's meeting, but by the grace of God, I hope we can act rightly.

In the past, I know Rev. Tim Phillips has also blogged the day's events from Synod, so be sure to check his blog, as well.

ARPTalk Update

APRTalk has posted a new e-mail detailing some more strangeness eminating out of Due West. Apparently, Erskine needs to raise funds for a "legal defense fund" (see Pastor Tim Phillips' comments on that terminology here). What is so interesting is that the Board of Erskine voted to not go through with the lawsuit, and instead it was picked up by individuals who also happen to be associated with Erskine. In other words, Erskine is raising funds to pay for a law suit they are not party to. There's something rotten in Due West, in deed.

Erskine and ARP News Roundup, Part 2

As the week winds down, I feel it necessary to highlight the week's news regarding Erskine and the ARP.

Rev. Wilson at ARPTalk, posted another e-mail on Monday: ARPTalk(E-Mail-2)

The details of the suit against the ARP have been posted on the Aquila Report: Erskine College, Plaintiff, vs. General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian General Synod, Inc., Defendant

That same day, the Erskine Alumni Association joined the suit, as reported here: Erskine Alumni Association joins lawsuit against ARP Synod

The Greenwood, SC newspaper reported on some of the details of the Called Meeting of the ARP Synod, that had heretofore not been made public: Synod meeting began Erskine power struggle

Rev. Fred Greco, Senior Pastor of Christ Church PCA in Katy, TX published an opinion piece in The Aquila Report based on 1 Corinthians 6: What is at Risk in the Erskine Lawsuit?

In what seems to be a direct reply to Rev. Greco, Dr. Hering, a professor at Erskine Seminary, wrote a paper on 1 Cor. 6: Dr. Hering examines litigation in 1 Corinthians 6

On Tuesday, the Erskine Board voted to drop the suit: Erskine Board affirms need to find answers, but votes to drop lawsuit

But, then the Alumni Association voted to go forward with the suit: Christian College Trustee Withdraws Suit Against Founding Denomination

A couple of Erskine Alumni expressed their disgust with this action of the Alumni Association. One response is here: An Open Letter to Mr. J. David Chestnut, President of the Erskine College Alumni Association, Regarding Erskine College-v-ARP Synod

And another, though much, much more brief, is here: Letter to Alumni Association

On Wednesday, Dr. Richard Burnett, professor of Systematic Theology at Erskine Seminary wrote an opinion piece defending Erskine: Has Erskine 'gone secular'? (my own thoughts on this piece, as well as comments from others, can be found here and here.)

Also, on Wednesday, Ken Wingate, Ruling Elder in the ARP and member of the Moderator's Commission which investigated Erskine, was the guest on the "Knowing the Truth" radio program. You can listen to the audio here: Knowing the Truth, Audio (the program was entitled "Restoring Erskine").

The Heidelblog mentioned the radio program, and got some comments on it:
The Latest on the ARP/Erskine Saga-Wed 1PM (Eastern) Live On Air

Christianity Today published a piece on the ARP/Erskine issue (although, to be honest, it didn't include much new information): Fight Between Erskine College and Its Denomination Will Head to Court

Finally, in what seems an appropriate end to the week's news regarding this issue, the Moderator of the ARP, Dr. John de Witt has expressed his shock at the way events have unfolded: Moderator of ARP Synod breaks silence; expresses shock at pending lawsuit

Erskine and ARP News Roundup

The news (and rumors) out of South Carolina are flying around fast this week. In an attempt to keep it all in order (a very Presbyterian thing to do), here are links to the most relevant/latest news items:

As I mentioned yesterday, Erskine (specifically, the chairman of the former Board of Trustees of Erskine, Mr. Scott Mitchell), attained a restraining order against the ARP on Wednesday.

That, of course, generated a flurry of commentary/news items. Here are some of those:

The Aquila Report: BREAKING NEWS: South Carolina Judge issues temporary restraining order against the ARP Synod from calling meetings of the Interim Board of Trustees

Heidelblog: Erskine College Officials Obtain TRO Against ARP Synod

ARPTalk: Extra 7!

Gairney Bridge: Modern Day Corinthians?

Gairney Bridge: Breaking News

The Aquila Report: Update on Erskine College Lawsuit - Thursday Afternoon

Then, yesterday, the ARP's Moderator's Committee held a Q&A on the campus of Erskine. Here are links describing what happened there:

Greenville Online: Erskine Meeting Gets Heated Over Board Ouster

Gairney Bridge: The Culture of Intimidation

Today there is a rumor that the whole lawsuit by Erskine against the ARP may be dropped. The rumor is apparently based, at least in part, on a comment left on this article on "The State" newspaper's article on the Erskine issue:

The State: Dispute at Erskine leads to lawsuit (see the comment by "AttorneyinSC" whose comments on other stories related to Erskine are not supportive of the ARP).

That comment generated the following:

The Aquila Report: BREAKING NEWS: Erskine Lawsuit may be withdrawn

That comment, plus some other, unnamed sources, resulted in this:

Gairney Bridge: Please Pause for Prayer

In the midst of all this, I'd like to point out two good articles on the whole Erskine Issue. The first from an Erskine grad (Mackay Smith, class of '06):

Mackay Smith: Thoughts on Erskine College and Seminary

The second is a piece by Joel Belz in World Magazine (who had previously published the article "Looking for a Miracle" commenting on the Erskine issues last year):

World Magazine: Reclaiming Erskine

So, as you can see, there is a lot going on in ARP-dom this week. Much prayer is needed and appreciated!

I'll be sure to update if the rumor about the lawsuit being dropped is confirmed.