Thursday, March 31, 2016

30 March 2016




“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]


“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]


Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] The Islamic Mahdi

[2] Trinity Foundation Adds Three New Lectures and a Q and A by John W. Robbins from 2004 Reformation Conference

[3]
Church of Scotland Study Concludes People Who Stop Attending Church Still Believe in God

[4] PCUSA Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons Applauds Georgia Governor’s Veto of Bill Protecting Christian Pastors That Refuse to Marry Homosexuals; Says Similar Enacted North Carolina Legislation Should Be Repealed

[5] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell

[6]
The Thinning Blue Line

[7]
Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

[8] 
The Religion of Peace

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[1]
The Islamic Mahdi

Excerpted from
The Future According to the Bible by David Cloud, ISBN 978-1-58318-172-0

Members of both Sunnis and Shiites believe in an Islamic messiah, the Mahdi, who will appear at the end of the world to establish Allah’s kingdom on earth.

Both Sunnis and Shiites accept hadiths (writings of Muhammad collected after his death) which predict the coming of a Mahdi who will establish a global caliphate in Allah’s name and rule for a period of time (seven, nine, or nineteen years, according to varying interpretations), ridding the world of evil before the day of judgment.

The coming of the Mahdi is believed to coincide with the second coming of Jesus, whom they call Isa, who will join hands with the Mahdi against a false messiah or antichrist.

The Shiites have developed this theology more extensively and emphasize it more forcefully.

As we have seen, “Twelver” Shiites (and Sufis) believe that the 12 Imams who succeeded Muhammad inherited Muhammad’s spiritual perfection and wisdom and are therefore interpreters or and trustees of the light of Islam.

They believe that the 12th Imam, Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Mahdi, was the prophesied Mahdi. He is believed to have died or otherwise disappeared in AD 941 and to be hidden by God until he will reappear at the end of time. The hiding is called the Occultation. (This is “an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer,” such as a sun eclipse.)

Other groups of Muslims, such as the Druze, the Mustaali, the Zaidi, and the Nizari, believe in a different Mahdi and are not “Twelvers.”

The Sunnis believe that the Mahdi has not yet been born but will be named Muhammad and will be a descendant of Muhammad.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president of Iran, has zealous faith in the coming of the Imam Madhi, and Iranian radio has broadcast prophecies of his coming.

“In short, when he reappears, peace, justice and security will overcome oppression and deceit and one global government, the most perfect ever, will be established. ... Another beautiful moment of the Savior’s appearance is the coming down of Prophet Jesus (PBUH) from heaven. Hazrat Mahdi receives him courteously and asks him to lead the prayers. But Jesus says you are more qualified for this than me. We read in the book Tazkarat ol-Olia, ‘the Mahdi will come with Jesus, son of Mary, accompanying him.’ This indicates that these two great men complement each other. Imam Mahdi will be the leader while Prophet Jesus will act as his lieutenant in the struggle against oppression and establishment of justice in the world. Jesus had himself given the tidings of the coming of God’s last messenger and will see Muhammad’s ideals materialize in the time of the Mahdi” (“Police Storm Home,” WorldNetDaily, June 23, 2007).

We see that Islam’s “Jesus” is given a subordinate position in these prophecies.

The following is from the London Telegraph, Jan. 14, 2006:

“As Iran rushes towards confrontation with the world over its nuclear programme, the question uppermost in the mind of western leaders is ‘What is moving its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to such recklessness?’ ... The most remarkable aspect of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s piety is his devotion to the Hidden Imam, the Messiah-like figure of Shia Islam, and the president’s belief that his government must prepare the country for his return. One of the first acts of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s government was to donate about £10 million to the Jamkaran mosque, a popular pilgrimage site where the pious come to drop messages to the Hidden Imam into a holy well. ... A common rumour--denied by the government but widely believed--is that Mr. Ahmadinejad and his cabinet have signed a ‘contract’ pledging themselves to work for the return of the Mahdi and sent it to Jamkaran.”

From time to time, various individuals have claimed to be the Mahdi and have gotten large, enthusiastic followings. One of these was Siyyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, who was called the Bab (“gate”) and is one of the central figures of the Baha’i. They consider the Bab to have been the Mahdi, Elijah, and John the Baptist. Others who have claimed to be the Mahdi are Muhammad Jaunpuri, founder of the Mahdavia sect, Muhammad Ahmad, founder of the Mahdist state in Sudan in the late 19th century, and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya sect.

In this way, we probably see what will happen in the time of the Antichrist, in that either he or his prophet or both will be accepted as the fulfillment of prophecy by Muslims, and they will obey him. [The article's author is a dispensational, fundamentalist, independent Baptist. Ed.]


+
Way of Life Literature, Post Office Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, 519-652-2619, fbns@wayoflife.org


[2] Trinity Foundation Adds Three New Lectures and a Q&A by John W. Robbins from 2004 Reformation Conference

The Trinity Foundation has added three new lectures and a Question and Answer session to Collection 13 in their MP3 Lectures. The Lectures are all by John W. Robbins and were given at the Reformation Conference in 2004. The titles are "Forgotten Principles of the Reformation," "The Reformation Betrayed," "The Current Justification Controversy," and a "Question and Answer Session." The Trinity Foundation expresses its special thanks to Paul Elliott for uncovering these lectures. Each of these lectures and the Question and Answer session is available on The Trinity Foundation website.


+
The Trinity Foundation, Post Office Box 68, Unicoi, Tennessee 37692, 423-743-0199, Fax: 423-743-2005, tjtrinityfound@aol.com


[3]
Church of Scotland Study Concludes People Who Stop Attending Church Still Believe in God

A 26 March 2016 BBC article by John McManus titled “People Who Stop Going to Church 'Still Believe in God'” reports that a study commissioned by the Church of Scotland concludes that two-thirds of those who stop attending weekly church services have a strong personal faith and maintain a belief in God, which is practiced in different ways including gathering in small groups for prayer and discussing theological issues. People’s homes, cafes, restaurants and shared activities like walking are common substitutes for church attendance.


+
BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398

+
Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722


[4]
PCUSA Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons Applauds Georgia Governor’s Veto of Bill Protecting Christian Pastors That Refuse to Marry Homosexuals; Says Similar Enacted North Carolina Legislation Should Be Repealed

“Since 1977 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church has advocated for just treatment of LGBT persons in regard to their civil liberties, equal rights, and protections under the law from social and economic discrimination that is due all citizens (Minutes, PCUS, 1977, Part I, p. 174).

“Therefore, we applaud Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia on his veto of Georgia House Bill 757, which would have caused discrimination against LGBT persons. Governor Deal said, “I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, of which I and my family have been a part of for all of our lives.”

“At the same time, we find that the recent legislation approved in North Carolina and signed into law, which bans people from using bathrooms that don’t match the sex indicated on their birth certificate, is discriminatory. It would be good for legislators and the governor in Raleigh to hear the words of Governor Deal.

“The North Carolina law also prevents cities and counties from establishing ordinances extending protections covering sexual orientation and gender identity to restaurants, hotels, and stores. It overrode the desire of the city of Charlotte’s duly elected leadership to be a city of nondiscrimination.

“This law is discriminatory both to the LGBT community and everyday employees in North Carolina, and is defended by casting all transgender persons as sexual offenders. It is our hope that the legislature and the governor of North Carolina will listen to the citizens of their state, do factually based analysis, and repeal this discriminatory law.”


+
Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005


[5]
News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell

-- Utah Governor Signs Bill to Require Anesthesia Before Abortion Because Baby Can Feel Intense Pain

--
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe Vetoes Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood Abortion Business

--
Hillary Clinton: I Would Not Appoint Someone to the Supreme Court Who Didn’t Support Abortion

--
Baby Who Screamed for an Hour While Left to Die after Botched Abortion Causes Global Outrage

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Belgium Allows Doctors to “Presume” a Patient is Dead to Harvest His Organs

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Alabama Legislature Considers Bill to Train Teachers to Not Have Sex with Students

-- North Korea Close to Attacking U.S.A. with Nuclear Missiles

-- Pope Francis Declares That Muslims and Hindus Are All Children of the Same God

-- New York City Will Recreate the Temple of Baal in Times Square in April 2016

-- Abortion Activists Upset Congress Wants Names of People Selling and Using Aborted Baby Parts


+
LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com

+
LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page

+
Yellow Hammer, Contact Page

+ John McTernan’s Insights, Contact Page

+
Now the End Begins, Contact Page


[6]
The Thinning Blue Line

-- NYPD Cop Fatally Shoots Family Dog Wagging Its Tail

-- Arlington, Texas SWAT Raids Small Organic Farm, Confiscates Blueberries

-- Fresno, California Police Body Cams Capture the Public Execution of Unarmed Mentally Ill Man


+
Film the Cops

+
Truth and Action, Contact Page

+ The Free Thought Project, contact@thefreethoughtproject.com


[7]
Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

-
- Marquette University Firing Professor Who Defended Student’s Man-Woman Heterosexual Marriage Opinion

--
North Korea Threatens Washington with Nuclear Attack in New Video

--
Christian Magistrate Suspended from U.K. National Health Service Trust for Biblical Marriage Views

-- White Castle, Louisiana Reporter Arrested While Seeking Public Records in Public Building

-- Traitor Obama Tells Argentine Students That ‘There Is Little Difference Between Communism and Capitalism’


+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page

+
John McTernan’s Insights, Contact Page

+
Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page

+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor,
New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com


[8] 
The Religion of Peace

--
Minnesota: Muslim in Contact with Islamic State Jihadis Threatens to “Shoot Up,” “Blow Up” a Walgreens

--
Islamist Terror Growing in Lethality and Geography Investigative Project on Terrorism Analysis Finds

--
Turkey Expropriates Armenian, Assyrian Churches

--
Taliban Slaughter Seventy, Injure Hundreds in Pakistan EASTER Bombing Targeting Christians, Obama Admin Laments Victims Who Were Muslims

--
Muslim Dairy Queen Owner in Texas Installs Signs Comparing Hindus to Monkeys

--
Obama: 'Our Most Important Partners Are American Muslims

--
Obama Promises to Drastically Increase the Amount of Muslim Migrants Coming into U.S.

--
CIA-Armed Militias Are Shooting at Pentagon-Armed Ones in Syria

--
Suicide Blast Kills Twenty-Nine at Iraq Football Stadium; ISIS Claims Responsibility

-- More Islamic Terror Coming: Isis Has Sent 400 Trained Fighters into Europe to Conduct Terror Attacks

-- Middle Eastern Islamists Kill Four Wycliffe Bible Translators, Injure Several Others, and Destroy Translation Office

-- As ISIS Blows Up Europe, Pusillanimous U.S. President Obama Does the Tango


+
Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch

+
LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com

+
Right Side News

+
Assyrian International News Agency (Nineveh Software Corporation, 2317 West Farwell, Chicago, Illinois 60645, 773-575-5863, Fax: 773-761-8534)

+
Pamela Geller, writeatlas@aol.com

+
CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com

+
Chicago Tribune, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611, 800-874-2863, ctc-editor@tribune.com

+
Right Side News

+ Wycliffe Associates, 11450 Translation Way, Orlando, Florida 32862, 407-852-3800, web@wycliffeassociates.org

+
Now the End Begins, Contact Page



Thursday, March 24, 2016

23 March 2016



“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]


“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]


Presbyterians Week Headlines



---


By the Rev. Dr. Chuck Wilson

I grew up in the little Central Florida citrus community of Eloise. We were members of the Eloise Baptist Church, and Rev. Walter Matheney was our pastor.

​I was an inquisitive child who asked lots of questions. Pastor Matheney had the habit of bowing his head just before he read from the big pulpit Bible. I remember asking my Daddy why he did that. Daddy responded, “To show respect for the Bible.” Then Pastor Matheney would read from the Bible, close it, set it on his left on the pulpit, and spread six 4” X 6” cards on the top of the pulpit; and Daddy explained the cards were the notes for his sermon. Pastor Matheney would then take his pocket watch out of his vest, unhook it from a gold chain, open it, and lay it on the right side of the pulpit. His watch was an old, key-wind Waltham about the size of a cathead biscuit. When I asked, “What does all that mean?” Daddy said, “Nothing! Nothing at all!”

BETRAYAL OF THE ASSOCIATE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

​The Three Amigos of Due WestPaul Kooistra, Brad Christie, and Greg Haselden are the Three Amigos of Due West. What does their stewardship of Erskine College & Seminary look like?

​When Paul Kooistra arrived in Due West to assume the presidency of Erskine, he arrived with the goodwill, prayers, and hopes of most of us in the General Synod. At long last, we breathed a sigh of relief, and we said, “An evangelical PCA minister who is like us!” Boy, were we wrong!

​Many of us arranged conversations with Kooistra. Immediately, we were disappointed! He made it very clear he was not interested in what we knew or desired. When Kooistra and I talked, he gave me less than fifteen minutes of his valuable time. He had pressing business to attend to elsewhere; without apology, he did not have time for me. It did not matter it took weeks to set up the appointment. It did not matter my wife and I drove an hour to be in Due West and gave up most of our day. My experience, however, is not unique. In conversations with others, they reported he was also dismissive and graceless to them. IT IS VERY OBVIOUS HE DOES NOT EMBRACE THE ASSOCIATE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHUCH OR OUR ASPIRATIONS!! Kooistra has become just another interloper!

​What does Kooistra want? To whom does he listen?

​Since April of 2014, I sat on a document. The title of the document is “Cabinet Meeting with Trustee Leadership” (http://www.arptalk.org/cabinet-meeting-with-trustee-leadership-2014-04-22/). Written by then (Acting) President Brad Christie and then Chairman David Conner, the document proposes an outline for (1) the separation of the college and seminary, (2) the separation of the college from the General Synod and the establishing of a self-perpetuating board, and (3) the launching of a football program. The following names from the then administration are attached: Brad Christie, Greg Haselden, Robyn Agnew, David Earle, Mark Peeler, Bryan Rush, and Cliff Smith.

​When this document was presented at the May 2014 board meeting, it was met with such resistance David Conner left the meeting, went home, and resigned from the board. Those whose names are attached to the document and remain at Erskine are Brad Christie (Senior VP for Academic Affairs), Greg Haselden (Senior VP for Finance and Operations), Mark Peeler (VP for Athletics) and Cliff Smith (VP for Communications). Christie, Haselden, Peeler, and Smith are presently members of Kooistra’s Senior Leadership Team (that is, an odd way of saying “cabinet”).

​Though Head Amigo Kooistra has not been an amiable amigo to the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, a cursory reading of the “Cabinet Meeting with Trustee Leadership” indicates he has generally embraced its subversive principles. Which, in a word, is “betrayal” of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. He has taken sides, and he has not chosen the side of the denomination owning Erskine.

​Amazingly, the future of Erskine College & Seminary is plotted out in a document which proposes a plan to steal the college and seminary of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Incredibly, with Paul Kooistra a PCA minister, Brad Christie an elder in the PCUSA, and Greg Haselden a Roman Catholic, Erskine College & Seminary has no Associate Reformed Presbyterian connection or representation among the Three Amigos — only enemies.

​So, what does it mean when Head Amigo Kooistra talks about advancing the name and mission of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church at Erskine College & Seminary? In the words of my Daddy, “Nothing! Nothing at all!”

A MATTER OF DUPLICITY

​There are folks in Due West and elsewhere who say Head Amigo Kooistra cannot be trusted. Certainly, the former VP of the Seminary gives that impression about Kooistra in ARPTalk(122) (http://www.arptalk.org/2016/01/30/decimation-of-erskine-seminary/).

​In ARPTalk(93) (http://www.arptalk.org/2014/03/21/gay-erskine-student-athletes-come-out/), I reported on two Erskine student-athletes who outed themselves. Of course, the article was called controversial (but was the article controversial because I reported what had taken place or because the student-athletes went public with their homosexual sexual orientation?). It seems then (Acting) President Brad Christie and VP for Communications Cliff Smith took umbrage with my article and directed the IT personnel to block ARPTalk and my e-mail account from the Erskine server. Indeed, it often seems those who are in an academic community and champion “academic freedom” and “freedom of speech” for themselves are the first to take up the censor’s scissors against those with whom they disagree!

​When Paul Kooistra became the president of Erskine, he and I had a number of conversations regarding Erskine’s IT people and the censoring of ARPTalk from the college’s server. He assured me he was opposed to censorship and would see to it ARPTalk was no longer blocked by the server. Well, the matter came to a head in October of 2014 at the meeting of Second Presbytery at the Greenville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. In the hallway leading to the room where the presbytery was meeting, Kooistra and I spoke. Once again, I informed him ARPTalk and my e-mail address were still blocked. He responded: “I have spoken to the people in charge of the server and they won’t do what I ask them. I don’t know what to do!”

​Good grief! What a lie!

​At that point, I said, “Thank you!” and walked away. I know when a man is attempting to play me! I know when a man is lying to me and dissing me as a fool! I know what a twit looks like!

​The stories out of Due West of this sort of “aw-shucks” duplicity abound. Therefore, when Amigo Kooistra says he is going to do something, what does it mean? In the words of my Daddy, “Nothing! Nothing at all!”

UPDATE ON THE SEMINARY

Update — Part One

​Before I go farther, let me give an update on the seminary. The morning after the publishing of “The Three Amigos (Part One)”, March 16, the following e-mail was sent from the President’s Office:


On March 8, 2016, we had a favorable visit from the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). The Visiting Committee recommended no sanctions or notations and Erskine Seminary enjoys continued accreditation through ATS.

With the future of Erskine Seminary having been discussed for several years, we will now look at several options moving forward. This will include the 2013 Report to General Synod.

I will request that the Board of Trustees appoint an Ad Hoc Strategic Committee to consider the best options for the future viability of both schools.

The motion from the Seminary faculty that was sent on March 10, 2016, will be considered carefully and objectively along with several other options.

We thank God for the favorable outcome of the ATS focused accreditation visit. We are in prayer that God will guide the future of the Seminary to his honor and glory.

​How nice!! Indeed, how nice!! However, I wonder why President Kooistra responded to the petition from the seminary faculty. THE PETITION WAS NOT ADDRESSED TO HIM. The petition from the faculty was sent to the board of trustees (particularly, Chairman of the Board Ron Vigus, who has not responded at this time) and the General Synod (particularly, Moderator Jamie Hunt, who has not responded at this time). A simple reading of the petition reveals the signers of the petition were asking for RELIEF FROM Kooistra. In other words, the petition is a unanimous vote of “NO CONFIDENCE.” So, why did Kooistra respond? Why did he not hide his head in shame? Did he not realize he was tossed out of the boat by this NO CONFIDENCE petition? Is he now swimming back to and re-entering the boat, hoping no one noticed he was tossed out by the seminary faculty’s VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE? Is his e-mail a face-saving device for a pricked ego the size of Texas? You betcha!!

Update — Part Two

​An analysis of the goings on in the Kingdom of Kooistra is needed at this point.

​On Friday, there was a meeting between Head Amigo Kooistra, CFO Amigo Haselden, and Rob Gustafson, Vice President for Administration (and, since Mr. Gustafson is new to Due West, most readers of ARPTalk have probably never heard of this good man). Gustafson is a former Headmaster at the prestigious Stony Brook School which was founded by Frank E. Gaebelein in Stony Brook, New York. As I understand it, Kooistra wanted a “new set of eyes” to look into all matters at Erskine (and, particularly, financial matters),” and he hired Gustafson for the job about 80 days ago. Well, with regard to Chris Wisdom, Kooistra said he made a mistake in hiring him. Well, did Kooistra make another mistake in hiring Rob Gustafson in January? In a month’s time, two VPs have resigned! What is the response of Chairman Ron Vigus?

​The three (Kooistra, Haselden, and Gustafson) met to discuss differences regarding the financial narrative at the seminary. It is sometimes possible to look at financial spreadsheets and come to different conclusions. Gustafson seems to have offered a narrative which contradicted Haselden’s narrative regarding the seminary — a narrative Kooistra did not want contradicted. Since Kooistra did not want to hear the information found and the advice given by his new VP for Administration (and, mind you, Kooistra hand-picked Mr. Gustafson), Kooistra closed the meeting. Mr. Gustafson then returned his keys and went home. Amigo Haselden then handed Kooistra a water glass and asked, “Sir, may I refill your glass with more green Kool-Aid so you can cool down?”

​At this point, VPs are falling like ripe figs in the Fall. Gone are the following: the VP for Administration, the VP for Development, and the VP of the Seminary. Also, with no one in charge of recruitment, the alumni director has now been tasked with student recruitment (but, as is well known in the Erskine community, the real job of recruitment is in the hands of Mark Peeler, the VP for Athletics). As a friend texted me, we now have in Due West, “Vanishing Vice Presidents and Diverted Dollars.”

​Good grief! Can anyone who dares disagree with Kooistra work for him?

​The Girardeau Lectures were in Columbia this past week (March 16 and 17). It is reported to me Kooistra was present and (except for the meeting in Due West on Friday) spent Thursday through Sunday in Columbia. It is reported to me he met with the session of the First Presbyterian Church. The church currently houses the Columbia site of Erskine Seminary. So, what is the Head Amigo attempting?

​The following is what I think. On the basis of Kooistra’s e-mail, he is attempting to preempt the petition by the seminary’s faculty. He does not want to see a Greenville site because the people who registered NO CONFIDENCE in him have suggested it. For him, it is better to have a Columbia Erskine Seminary. First Presbyterian Church is an affluent congregation. A Columbia site may not need the seminary’s assets in Due West. The troubling part in the faculty’s petition for Kooistra are these words: “to effect an equitable division of institutional assets (e.g., real estate, endowed funds, library holdings, etc.) in a manner respectful of institutional history and donor’s wishes” [emphasis mine]. In other words, Kooistra will attempt to peel off the various assets of the seminary for the college (and, as I have surmised elsewhere, use the money assets to launch a football program and the building assets {Bowie and McQuiston} to house athletes).

​Since I have mentioned football, let me share three new items. The first is an article dealing with a NCAA study which reveals the financial drain of football on a college/university: “NCAA study finds all but 20 FBS schools lose money on athletics” (http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/08/ncaa_study_finds_all_but_20_fb.html). The second is a news clip exposing the high cost of hidden fees for all students at most football colleges/universities (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guHL1pNtVS8). The third is this article: “Jim Moran says only twenty colleges make a profit from sports.” According to Moran, all athletic departments outside of the FBS operate in the red. In other words, only twenty of the 1,083 college sports programs in the nation are profitable (http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2014/dec/22/jim-moran/moran-says-only-20-colleges-make-profit-sports/). Nevertheless, Kooistra is undeterred. Unless the members of the board are willing to stand firm against football, Head Amigo will have football as his great legacy.

​At Covenant Theological Seminary, Kooistra’s MO was to eliminate and replace the faculty. Kooistra has often bragged the Covenant faculty hated him (indeed, George Knight and O. Palmer Robertson are two of his trophies; and, perhaps, they will be joined by the members of the Erskine faculty). I fully expect to see Kooistra attempting the same with Erskine Seminary. The Head Amigo is not a gracious man who countenances anyone who disagrees with him, nor does he suffer an offense well. Expect to see most, if not all, the Due West seminary faculty fired in the near future. This faculty by its petition demonstrates its desire to become more closely identified with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and our Standards. Expect to see classes taught by adjuncts. Besides, adjuncts are cheaper and more easily manipulated. In other words, Head Amigo Kooistra uses and discards people like tissue paper. Afterwards, he will mount Erskine on his trophy wall in Atlanta beside Covenant Seminary and MTW.

​This past year there was a movie called The Wolf of Wall Street. That may be appropriate for the Head Amigo of Due West: “The Wolf Who Ate Erskine Seminary.”

​Now, when Head Amigo Kooistra speaks of his diligent oversight of the seminary, what does it mean: In the words of my Daddy, “Nothing! Nothing at all!”

​By the way, if you are interested, seminary alum Rev. Drew Collins has established a petition for the separation of the seminary from the college according to the points in the faculty’s petition. Access information is here: https://www.change.org/p/the-erskine-college-board-of-trustees-support-for-the-separation-of-erskine-theological-seminary-from-erskine-college.

GRACELESS GRACE

​Generally, a conversation with Head Amigo Kooistra leads to a discussion about grace. What does it mean?

​When I was informed Paul Kooistra was going to be appointed the President of Erskine, I called a number of PCA friends to let them know of our good fortune. My friends warned, “You are in for a disappointment!” As one particular old friend put it: “You’ll hear a lot about grace, but don’t expect to find much grace given!”

​From where I sit and watch, my old friend is correct. By my observation, Kooistra is one singularly graceless individual!

​If only half of what the former VP of the Seminary relays in ARPTalk(122) is true (http://www.arptalk.org/2016/01/30/decimation-of-erskine-seminary/), grace is foreign to the Head Amigo of Due West. In the Seminary Committee at the board meeting, it is reported Kooistra was graceless toward the absent former VP of the Seminary, blaming him for all the ills of the seminary, and intimating he was incompetent. He declared the VP of the Seminary did not have a plan (as though the president was not the chief-in-charge for casting a vision and a plan). He declared the Chairman of the Seminary Committee did not have a plan (and when has the Chairman of the Seminary Committee every been tasked and paid to come up with a plan?). He declared the Seminary Committee did not have a plan (and, again, when have trustees been paid to come up with a plan?). The only person who escaped his blaming finger was the Head Amigo himself. According to several sources, Head Amigo Kooistra demonstrated the fine art of throwing people under the bus. Indeed, what a bully! The man is a Dutch peasant!

​But a question hangs, does it not? After throwing a gaggle of people under the bus, what is Amigo Kooistra’s plan for the seminary? Obviously, Kooistra does not have one, does he? Nevertheless, the Head Amigo of Due West has accused everyone connected to Erskine Seminary and the Seminary Committee of the board with failure and a lack of diligence for not having a plan for the seminary. Why does he beg he is too busy to come up with a plan? Well, it is about two months before the meeting of General Synod. Is two months enough time to come up with a plan? I expect to make a motion at General Synod in June asking the Moderator to give King Kooistra the floor so he can detail his plan for the seminary of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church to the delegates of General Synod.

​The stories abound. I have even spoken with a couple of Due West people who are not connected to Erskine who have interesting stories. I wonder, are all these people getting together, joining hand, sharing “a joint,” and experiencing communal hallucinations?

​For those who are interested and feel they work in an abusive workplace and labor in an environment of intimidation, perhaps this article from Christianity Today is helpful: “Considering (and Surviving) Unhealthy Christian Organizations, part 1,” by Ed Stetzer (http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2012/april/considering-and-surviving-unhealthy-christian.html). Also, for anyone at Erskine who is interested, let me remind you of the following from the Employees Resource Handbook, P-8 (top of the page):


Specifically, no student, faculty member, supervisor, employee, or other individual shall threaten or harass any other individual or insinuate harassment toward another individual through their conduct or through communication of any nature. Erskine will investigate all complaints of harassment, formal or informal, verbal or written, and take appropriate action or discipline against any person who is found to have violated this policy (http://www.erskine.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Employee-Resource-Handbook-7-1-2014-Final.pdf).

​If I were an Erskine employee, I think I would familiarize myself with this section in the Employees Resource Handbook.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE MONIES GONE, LONG TIME PASSING?

​Since the 2010 “Snow Synod,” questions regarding the management of monies at Erskine abound. In the latest round, there are conflicting narratives regarding the seminary. As far as I know, no one is accusing anyone of misappropriation of funds. The question is: what has happened to the funds? As I understand it, it is a matter of two things: (1) the management of the monies; and (2) information regarding the disposition of monies.

​For years, the operating maxim of Erskine administrations has been the following: “What happens in Due West, stays in Due West.” Amigo Kooistra has gone beyond this maxim; he has turned Due West into a black hole, and not even light escapes a black hole.

​When I served on the Erskine board, it did not take long for me to realize the information given to the trustees was managed — especially, financial information. As an Associate Reformed Presbyterian minister, it did not take me long to realize the only information General Synod received from Due West was the annual report from Erskine in June, and it was managed information. To this day, the general principle of operation in dealing with the Erskine report is: do not trust anything in the Erskine Report until it is clearly verified!

​Let me ask a question: apart from ARPTalk, when was the last time you saw anything coming from the administration resembling a report on an Erskine board meeting? Cliff Smith is the VP of Communications. What does he do? Do you recall reports on board meetings used to be posted on the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church: ARP News (arpnews.org)? What happened to transparency and disclosure? Since the arrival of Head Amigo Kooistra, where has all the transparency and disclosure gone? So, when Kooistra speaks of keeping folks informed about the goings on at Erskine, what does it mean? In the words of my Daddy, “Nothing! Nothing at all!”

​I have diverged, so let me return to the question: where has all the money gone?

​In the last 16 years, there is one constant regarding the oversight and management of monies at Erskine: that is, CFO Greg Haselden.

​I inform the reader that most, if not all the present board members, say they do not trust his reports. Ken Conner is the most prestigious individual to ever serve on the Erskine board, and, as I have been told by many sources, he resigned because he was most uncomfortable with the financial practices at Erskine. One of the reasons former-Moderator and trustee Steve Suits resigned was because he was uneasy with the financial practices. I also tell the reader many individuals have met with Kooistra and expressed their unease in the competency of the CFO. So, how is it Head Amigo Kooistra is so comfortable with Amigo Haselden who has presided over the near financial collapse of Erskine College & Seminary?

​Well, how bad is it at Erskine? Regardless of how one feels about Erskine fulfilling General Synod’s mission, the following score should concern everyone. The following is from The Chronicle of Higher Education: “160 Private Colleges Fail Education Dept.’s Financial-Responsibility Test.” A score of 1.5 is a failing grade. In 2014, Erskine had a score of 0.7 (http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/160-private-colleges-fail-education-dept-s-financial-responsibility-test/ - scroll down to “search” and type in “Erskine”). Can anyone explain how Amigo Haselden is not responsible for this predicament? Can anyone tell me why Haselden is still the CFO? What is connection between Haselden and Kooistra?

​Now, before anyone can says, “Wait! That report was in 2014. That was one of the major reasons SACS put Erskine on ‘probation.’ Erskine is getting better.” Well, yes, incrementally, and will any of us live long enough to see Erskine get a passing score?

​By the way, at this point, it looks like another bad year financially for Erskine. All the indicators are presently down: both total giving and the Annual Fund. Interestingly, Amigo Kooistra and Chairman Ron Vigus speak of last year being a “balanced budget.” Well, if calling “robbing Peter to pay Paul” is balancing the budget, then the budget was balanced. When one takes old “designated” funds, reclassifies them as “undesignated,” and then accounts for the funds as revenue, money is not acquired — A NEW NARRATIVE IS WRITTEN!

​The only reason a college president exists is to raise money. That is the priority. Well, how has Kooistra done? He has failed. Therefore, if raising money is the standard by which Head Amigo Kooistra’s effectiveness is judged, why has he not been fired and replaced by the board?

​So, when Head Amigo Kooistra speaks of raising money, what does it mean? In the words of my Daddy, “Nothing! Nothing at all!”

ACADEMIC DEMISE

​Brad Christie is one of the Three Amigos, and he also wears the big sombrero of SUCCESSLESSNESS. When the Erskine story is written, it will be written LARGE, LARGE, LARGE that Amigo Christie oversaw the academic demise of a college which had a reputation for academic excellence when he was hired to teach English.

​During Amigo Christie’s stewardship, has the entering SAT score risen or declined for the Freshman Class? During Amigo Christie’s stewardship, has Erskine’s reputation for academic excellence soared or crashed? During Amigo Christie’s stewardship, has the retention rate become higher or lower? During Amigo Christie’s stewardship, has the discount rate Erskine gives students to attend Erskine College become larger or smaller? Are these fair questions to ask of an academic dean? Are these fair standards whereby to judge an academic dean’s success or failure?

​At this time, I am told deposits are down. At this time, I am told prospects for next year’s Freshman Class are not good. So, what can we expect? We can expect what usually takes place. We can expect VP for Athletics Mark Peeler will sally forth to buy athletes to fill dorm beds. We can expect to see the endowment raided again. Before the board can respond, it will be a fait accompli.

​Well, the Three Amigos of Due West still ride. What does it mean? Well, my Daddy’s aphorism does not work here! It means Killer Kooistra and his masters of incompetency are still loose on Due West. Heaven help us! They still ride!!


+ ARPTalk Blog, 864-882-6337, wilson6114@bellsouth.net

+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, 2 Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 864-379-2131, Fax: 864-379-2167, jguyette@erskine.edu

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729



Hungary Today, 21 March 2016, by E. Sylvester Vizi in Romania


A leading Hungarian academic and former head of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences is returning a major Romanian state decoration awarded to him after Klaus Johannis, the country’s president, revoked the Romanian state decoration of Bishop László Tőkés, the ethnic Hungarian Reformed pastor renowned for his pivotal role in the 1989 Romanian Revolution.

Dr. Vizi is handing back his Romanian state decoration in protest against Bishop László Tőkés (pictured) being stripped of his Order of the Star of Romania (photo: valasz.hu)

E. Sylvester Vizi, who is currently chairman of the Friends of Hungary Foundation, disclosed that he has informed the Romanian Ambassador to Hungary of his decision in a letter expressing his regret at the Romanian President’s decision to strip Bishop Tőkés of his Star of Romania order.

In the letter to the ambassador, Dr. Vizi pointed out Bishop Tőkes’s role in the 1989 Romanian Revolution, which eventually lead to the demise of the Communist Ceauşescu regime. Stressing that Hungarian academics foster excellent relations with their Romanian colleagues, Mr. Vizi wrote in the letter that the President’s decision suggests that the spirit of the loathed dictator is, in one way or another, currently being rehabilitated in Romania.

Dr. Vizi, a neuroscientist, pharmacologist and university professor by profession, received the Order of the Star of Romania (Rank of Officer) from then President of Romania Traian Băsescu in recognition of his scientific achievements in 2006, three years before Bishop Tőkes received the Order (Rank of Knight) for his historical role in the Romanian Revolution.

The process to revoke his award was launched by Victor Ponta, the former left-wing Prime Minister of Romania, after Bishop Tőkés, who is a Member of the European Parliament, urged Hungary to act as a “protective power” in the interests of Romania’s ethnic Hungarian-populated region of Transylvania. The decision to strip him of the state order was finally made by Romanian President Klaus Johannis on 3 March this year.

[Editor’s Note: Bishop László Tőkés was a dear friend and brother-in-Christ to Christian Observer Publisher the late Rev. Dr. Edwin Elliott, who with Dr. Elliott’s brother the late Mr. Francis Elliott arranged to smuggle communications resources to Bishop Tőkés in Romania when Tőkés was under house arrest by the Ceauşescu Communist regime. The Christian Observer concurs with Friends of Hungary Foundation chairman E. Sylvester Vizi’s concern that “…the spirit of the loathed dictator [Ceauşescu] is…currently being rehabilitated in Romania.” Please see The Confessional Presbyterian 6 (2010), p.60, American Presbyterianism and the Cold War. By Frank J. Smith]



+ Bulgária-telepi Református Gyülekezet (Reformed Church in Romania), 400628 Kolozsvár - Cluj Napoca, Arad út 8-10 szám, Romania, 0264 - 415 756

+ The Confessional Presbyterian, Post Office Box 141084, Dallas, Texas 75214


Friday, March 18, 2016

16 March 2016





“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]


“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]


Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] The Three Amigos of Due West (Part One)

[2]
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Names the Rev. Rob Pacienza as New Lead Pastor

[3] Former Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (PCA) Pastor Tullian Tchividjian Fired from Willow Creek Presbyterian Church over Previously Undisclosed Adulterous Affair

---

[Editor’s Note: Please forgive the delay in sending Wednesday’s Presbyterians Week. The editor began a new job on Monday of this week, and is attempting to reschedule his life around the earlier hours, etc.]

[1]
The Three Amigos of Due West (Part One)

By the Rev. Dr. Chuck Wilson

There once was a trading post near a native American reservation in New Mexico that was run by a man who was ostensibly a Christian. His custom was to quote Bible verses when he made a sale. For example, when he sold a loaf of bread, he would say, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”; or, when he sold a bottle of milk, he would say, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby.”

One day an automobile with eastern tags stopped at the store. A man and woman came in, and the man informed the owner of the store that he wanted to buy “real Indian blankets.” Well, the owner of the trading post had a number of blankets that he had piled in three places throughout the store — all about the same quality. The owner led the easterners to the first pile of blankets and told them that they cost US$10.00 a piece. After looking disdainfully at the blankets, the lady said, “Do you have better blankets?”

Well, the owner of the store led the couple to the second pile of blankets. They were informed that the price was US$20.00 per blanket.” Without looking at the second pile of blankets, the man said, “My wife wants real Indian blankets — authentic quality!!”

As the owner of the store led the couple to the third pile of blankets, he said, “Yes, I have a third pile of blankets, but I’m sure you’re not interested in them. They cost US$300.00 a blanket.” The man and his wife from the east wanted four.

The locals who hung around the store were amused at the proceedings. As the owner checked out his customers, they wondered, “What Bible verse will he use?”

As the happy owners of four “real Indian blankets” drove away, the storeowner was heard to say, “I saw them coming from afar, and I took them in.”

FOOTBALL

The Three Amigos of Due West is a story about three congenial but hapless and ne’er-do-well Hollywood cowboys who think they are heroes who can save a Mexican village from bandits. They take in themselves, they take in a village, and they nearly get themselves and the villagers killed. But, wait! Wait! This is Hollywood - make-believe city. In the end, they save themselves and the village. In the end, they ride off like heroes; nevertheless, they are still blithering twits. The magic of cinema! The moviegoers go home after a pleasant evening of entertainment.

Erskine College & Seminary was NOT established for entertainment. Erskine College & Seminary was founded to educate college and seminary students to the glory of God. In the Philosophy of Christian Higher Education, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church’s reasons for Erskine College & Seminary are clearly delineated (
http://arpchurch.org/philosophy-of-christian-higher-education/). The Definition of Evangelical and the definition of The Good News clearly identify both the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and Erskine College & Seminary as EVANGELICAL and not secular or Roman Catholic or Orthodox or nonaffiliated (http://arpchurch.org/position-statements/ and http://arpchurch.org/the-gospel-message/).

Presently, the three amigos of Due West (Paul Kooistra, Brad Christie and Greg Haselden), who were called to the stewardship of leading Erskine College and Seminary on behalf of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, are attempting to turn Erskine College from the envisioned roles of an educational enterprise and a “gospel enterprise” to a sports-entertainment enterprise. Incredibly, since becoming the Senior VP for Academic Affairs (that is, academic dean), Brad Christie has overseen the academic demise of Erskine as he has lent his hand in engineering the turning of Erskine from Liberal Arts and academic excellence to the entertainment of sports. It is now no exaggeration to say that it is nearly as difficult to find a non-student/athlete at Erskine as it was to find a natural tooth in George Washington mouth (
http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/did-george-washington-have-wooden-teeth). Ironically, a sports program has been built and very few show up to watch!

Most recently the three amigos of Due West have turned to football as the means whereby to save Erskine College. This is nearly as comical and wacky as Hillary Clinton explaining why she did not compromise national security with her e-mails.

Here is the truth: even most of the big universities in the “Power Five Conferences” struggle to break even in football. The small schools find themselves in a “red hole financially” with the tail of football wagging the dog. For example, consider the following nearby schools:

Bellhaven University, team profit: US$10,163 (
http://college-sports.pointafter.com/q/7568/3448/How-much-profit-does-the-Belhaven-University-Football-team-in-Jackson-Mississippi-make);

Presbyterian College, team profit: US$0 (
http://college-sports.pointafter.com/q/13513/3448/How-much-profit-does-the-Presbyterian-College-Football-team-in-Clinton-South-Carolina-make);

North Greenville University, team profit: US$14,303 (
http://college-sports.pointafter.com/q/13504/3448/How-much-profit-does-the-North-Greenville-University-Football-team-in-Tigerville-South-Carolina-make;

Wofford College, team profit: US$0 (
http://college-sports.pointafter.com/q/13610/3448/How-much-profit-does-the-Wofford-College-Football-team-in-Spartanburg-South-Carolina-make);

Limestone University, team profit: US$0 (
http://college-sports.pointafter.com/q/35857/3448/How-much-profit-does-the-Limestone-College-Football-team-in-Gaffney-South-Carolina-make);

Newberry University, team profit: US$26,594 (
http://college-sports.pointafter.com/q/13494/3448/How-much-profit-does-the-Newberry-College-Football-team-in-Newberry-South-Carolina-make);

Davidson College, team profit: – US$100,108 (
http://college-sports.pointafter.com/q/10474/3448/How-much-profit-does-the-Davidson-College-Football-team-in-Davidson-North-Carolina-make);

Furman University, gain (total revenue less total expenses): US$133,274 (
http://www.athleticscholarships.com/mens-football-scholarships/furman-university/);

Reinhardt University, net total sports: US$1561 (
http://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/reinhardt-university/student-life/sports/); and,

Bethel University (Tennessee), team profit: US$157,362 (
http://college-sports.pointafter.com/q/13734/3448/How-much-profit-does-the-Bethel-University-Football-team-in-McKenzie-Tennessee-make).

I stand to be corrected, but my preliminary research reveals that Erskine’s total profit from all sports last year is US$0. So, why are the three amigos so drawn to football? It is simple: warm bodies to fill dorm space. The goal of the Three Amigos of Due West is 700 students, and football is the way to the Glory Land.

Yes, 700 students, but at what cost to the students? What we have at Erskine presently is the administration of the Three Amigos of Due West that is ready and willing to take advantage of students who are marginal athletes and academically limited. That is, the Three Amigos of Due West are ready to pile on a load of school debt in order to continue their kingdom of make-believe academics and athletics.

Kooistra, Christie, and Haselden have chosen to chase the unicorn of football rather than the mission of Erskine as embraced by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church: a premier evangelical, Christian Liberal Arts college and a theologically orthodox, Presbyterian seminary that are open to all who wish to come and learn. Academic excellence is not on the agenda for the Three Amigos of Due West; their agenda is 700 students. I think of the marginal student-athlete who is recruited to play a certain sport at Erskine; however, after two years, the realization that he/she cannot do the academic work hits, the dream of an athletic careers melts, and the reality of “I-have-nothing-to-show-for-my-two-years-at-Erskine-but-US$50,000-of-student-loan-debt-and-it-is-going-to-take-me-years-to-recover” becomes as clear as poverty. I wonder: will the Three Amigos of Due West watch from their perch in Belk Hall as the student drives away in debt and disappointment and say, “Bring us a bowl of water so we can wash our hands; this does not concern us!”? What a wretched thing to do!

ERSKINE SEMINARY

When the ¡Three Amigos! went into Mexico on their mission, they did not have the slightest notion as to what they would do. Amigo Kooistra also seems to have driven into Due West without the slightest notion of what to do. His mode of operation seems to have been: “Have no fear, I am here!”

One of the reasons Kooistra was chosen as the president of Erskine was because he was supposed to have been the Savior of Covenant Seminary. It was ballyhooed, “This man knows how to run a seminary!” Have we been taken in? From where I sit, it looks like Kooistra’s legacy will be “Kooistra Who Tried to Kill Erskine Seminary.”

Head Amigo Kooistra’s leadership of Erskine Seminary looks cannibalistic. In St. Louis, he was the “Savior of Covenant Seminary”; however, in Due West it looks like he is the “Killer of Erskine Seminary.” That is, he is looking at Erskine College & Seminary and saying the college and seminary are conjoined twins and in order to save one, he is willing to eat the seminary bones, shoes, and all for the sake of the college. Incredibly, it seems he has not lifted his hand to help the seminary (and this is one of the loudest complaints that is being noised about). He has been a spectator in what has taken place. It is reported the only things he has contributed are to carp, blame, threaten, and lose his temper. And this is the man who is the savior of seminaries!?!

On Thursday, March 10, 2016, the following e-mail was sent out from the seminary to the members of the Erskine board and the Moderator of the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.


Motion from the Erskine Theological Seminary Faculty to the Board of Trustees and the General Synod of the ARP Church:

“The Faculty of Erskine Theological Seminary respectfully requests that the Board of Trustees and the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church establish the necessary mechanisms to facilitate the separation of the college and the seminary as soon as possible, and to effect an equitable division of institutional assets (e.g., real estate, endowed funds, library holdings, etc.) in a manner respectful of institutional history and donor’s wishes.

“The names of the full-time Faculty who voted (unanimously) for separation are as follows: William B. Evans, Terry L. Eves, R. J. Gore Jr., R. Leslie Holmes, Dale W. Johnson, Loyd D. Melton, Toney C. Parks, Max. F. Rogland, Mark E. Ross, and George M. Schwab Sr.

Note of Explanation from the (Acting) Dean of the Seminary [R. J. Gore Jr.]:

“The following points reflect some of the concerns that have been expressed by various faculty members during our discussions on the motion to separate. These points are my effort to summarize faculty concerns; they are not part of the approved motion.

“The college and the seminary have distinct missions and serve very different student bodies.

“The current structure, a single administrative umbrella for college and seminary, has not served the mission of the seminary well, particularly in a time when resources are constrained and the seminary’s viability is in question.

“Individuals, per se, are not the problem; administrative structure is the problem.

“Serving the seminary student body may be better accomplished if the administrative hub of the seminary is located elsewhere in the upstate, perhaps in Greenville, and perhaps even in co-location with other synod agencies at the new ARP Center.

“We believe that both the college and the seminary can benefit from this separation, as it will allow each institution and its administrators, faculty, and staff to concentrate fully on its distinctive mission.”

CLEARLY, at Erskine Seminary, Paul Kooistra is a failure! What did he do to create such a rebellion on the part of the members of the Erskine Seminary faculty? By nature, seminary professors are meek and mild individuals. They are not given to a bold action such as the above petition.

Well, if pushed enough, even a mouse fights back. The members of the seminary faculty have had enough of being taken in by the Head Amigo of Due West and his compadres of disaster.

I think most of the readers of ARPTalk are aware that there has been an audit of Erskine Seminary this month by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). ATS is the accrediting association for seminaries. Most expected Erskine Seminary to fail the audit. In a planning meeting before the arrival of the auditors, Kooistra was rude, condemnatory, and angry. It is reported that one long-time Erskinite responded in this manner: “Why does he always act like this?” In other words, the rumors coming out of Due West about Kooistra’s temper-tantrums, his storming out of meetings, and slamming doors are not apocryphal. The man has acted like a Dutch peasant. I think the Dutch phrase is stijf Hoofd or stijfkop. I understand that stijfkop is Frisian.

The manner in which Kooistra has treated the seminary of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is disgraceful. The seminary has borne an excessive part of the cuts he imposed. According to Amigos Kooistra and Amigo Greg Haselden (CFO), the seminary is a financial anchor on the institution. That is, the seminary deserved to be punished with the deepest cuts. Well, is that the case?

Financial numbers in Due West are often malleable. When I was on the board (1998-2004), I was a member of the Finance Committee. Even back then, we were never sure of the financial information we were given.

It has been reported to me by sources that in the planning meeting before the meetings with the ATS auditors that Amigo Haselden said he kept more than one set of books. Now, I do not know what that means, but, if a board member is reading this article, I would think that he/she might want to ask about this at the next board meeting. Indeed, as it is reported to me, Haselden’s trust level among board members is very low. Confidence regarding financial statements has not improved.

Recently, I discovered some interesting financial information. One of the things I found most interesting is the amount of money that the seminary sends to Belk Hall for ancillary services. Usually, one would think that the largest item in the seminary’s budget is the total for the salaries of the members of the faculty. At Erskine Seminary, the amount for salaries and the amount the seminary sends to Belk Hall for ancillary services are essential the same. How does that take place?

What does this mean? It means, as I do the counting (and, of course, this is an estimation), that the seminary is sending between US$500,000 and US$600,000 a year to Belk Hall for ancillary services. It means that the single largest donor to Erskine College is Erskine Seminary and not the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Well, what does the seminary get for such an extravagant amount of money sent to Belk Hall? Well, it is not competent and engaged leadership from the president. It is not wise financial management from CFO Haselden. It is not help with recruitment or development. Maybe it is the knowledge that the seminary is making it possible for the college not to be another half million dollars or more in red ink this year.

No wonder the members of the seminary faculty want to be rid of Erskine College and, particularly, Amigo Paul Kooistra and his academic and financial braintrust. It seems the folks at the seminary are tired of being taking in by the Three Amigos of Due West; now they want to be taken away from the Three Amigos of Due West.

If the seminary had the monies that are given for ancillary services (which gain the seminary little more than nothing), the seminary can afford its own president and a dedicated seminary staff. A competent President of Erskine Seminary might even be able to increase the salaries of long-suffering faculty members.

Under Kooistra’s Kakistocracy, property that is dedicated to the seminary is seized without compensation. McQuisten Hall belongs to the seminary. It was given by Associate Reformed Presbyterians and paid for with 1938 dollars. Under Kooistra, the building has been seized by the college and turned into an athletic dorm for male athletes. This means that the seminary no longer has a dorm available to serve DMin students and other students who need lodging. Well, that has a stifling effect on the seminary’s programs, does it not? It also means that the seminary has not been compensated for the seizure of the building and has been denied the income generated by use of the building as a dorm. Well, is there any wonder that seminary personnel want to be free of Kooistra? They do not see him as a friendly amigo! I wonder: do they call him “killer”?

Everyone who reads ARPTalk is aware that the Editor has not been supportive of the seminary in recent years. However, when many of the things which have limited my support are eliminated, I feel compelled to extend my support. Richard Burnett is no longer teaching at the seminary (and, though his photograph is still in the catalogue, it is there as a courtesy for this year). The MEDCOM program will not be continued and is winding down. The seminary’s hiring policy states that new faculty members who are not Associate Reformed Presbyterians must be members of a NAPARC affiliated denomination. Finally, the members of the seminary faculty are making it clear that they want to draw closer to the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and not farther from us.

It is time for the separation of the seminary and college. It is also time that the yearly contribution by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church to Erskine be redesigned to Erskine Seminary ONLY. If the college and seminary are conjoined twins that cannot be separated without doing harm to one of them, let it be the college. Paul Kooistra can then be called “College Killer.”

By the way, for those trustees who are reading this article, may I suggest a course of action? Consider this motion: that the Executive Committee of the Erskine board appoint an investigative committee to examine matters relevant to the seminary’s faculty’s request for separation of the college and seminary, including the accounting of seminary and college budgets, and the use of restricted endowment funds and other institutional resources.


+
ARPTalk Blog, 864-882-6337, wilson6114@bellsouth.net

+
Erskine College and Theological Seminary, 2 Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 864-379-2131, Fax: 864-379-2167, jguyette@erskine.edu

+
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729


[2]
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Names the Rev. Rob Pacienza as New Lead Pastor

A 17 March 2016
Sun Sentinel article by Mike Clary titled “Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Names New Lead Pastor” reports that the Rev. Rob Pacienza has been named lead pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, replacing former pastor Tullian Tchividjian who left Coral Ridge in June 2015 after admitting to an adulterous affair.


+
Sun Sentinel, 200 East Las Olas Boulevard, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33301, 954-356-4000, afins@sun-sentinel.com

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Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org


[3] Former Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (PCA) Pastor Tullian Tchividjian Fired from Willow Creek Presbyterian Church over Previously Undisclosed Adulterous Affair

A 17 March 2016 Religion News Service article by Emily McFarlan Miller titled “Tullian Tchividjian Fired from Florida Church over ‘Previously Undisclosed Failures’” reports that Willow Creek Presbyterian Church of Winter Springs, Florida has fired Tullian Tchividjian after an additional former adulterous affair came to light.

Tchividjian told Christianity Today:

“Nothing grieves me more than the fact that people are suffering because of my sins, both in my past as well as in the present. I want to be perfectly clear that I take full responsibility for this.”



+ Religion News Service, 1930 18th Street Northwest, Suite B2, Washington DC 20009, 202-463-8777, Fax: 202-463-0033, info@religionnews.com

+ Christianity Today International, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, 630-260-6200, Fax: 630-260-0114, mwhite@christianitytoday.com

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Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org