Presbyterians Week Headlines
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[Editor’s Note: Presbyterians
Week issues have been few of late due to the editor’s preoccupation with among
other things work responsibilities, family responsibilities, and health issues.
Your prayers for God’s direction are coveted.]
It is now almost twenty years
since the Division which took place in the Free Church of Scotland on the 20th
of January, 2000. It is a time for assessment, to look back but also to look
ahead. My own ministry is drawing to a close after forty-three years in the
active pastoral ministry. This summer I will have been 50 years a member of the Free Church. What huge changes
have taken place in society but especially in the church since my boyhood in
Stornoway Free Church!
First, I would like to look
at some of the positives with regard to our own denomination. There are such.
Then I would like to look at the negatives with regard to our own church, other
churches, and society in general. Thirdly, I would like to consider what are
the particular problems we face. Fourthly, I wish to present what, in my humble
opinion, is the answer. Finally, I wish to present some of the encouragements
that the Lord gives us in his Word.
The Positives
1.
In the year 2000 it was confidently predicted by our opponents that we would
not survive ten years. They said we were such awkward, hardline and
unreasonable men that we would soon fall out among ourselves. Actually, on the
whole, we have got on very well. We have been able to disagree at times and yet
to respect one another. Important matters of controversy have arisen from time
to time but we have been able to work our way through these. At the present
time there is remarkable harmony amongst us. “Behold, how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps.133:1).
2.
In January 2000 it was mostly the older, more mature folk who sided with us. We
did not have many young families and children. Today we are older and a bit
smaller but we are still there, 20 years later. Some have left us for other
churches, a few have fallen by the wayside, many have departed to glory, but
others have joined us.
3.
We were left with little property yet we now have churches and manses for most
of our congregations. Our property now will be worth millions of pounds. Our
ministers have had their salaries paid to them every month. None has lost out
by associating with us.
4.
Training for the ministry is very important for the survival of any church.
With our limited resources we wondered what was possible. Our first ministerial
candidate was trained in the Reformed Presbyterian College in Belfast. However
we now have our own Seminary and over the years have trained some 20 men for
the ministry, most serving in our own church, but some serving elsewhere. Two
able men have finished this session and there is one other man in training. We
have only three vacant charges which could possibly be regarded as suitable to
sustain a full-time ministry.
5.
The Free Church mission work in Peru, India and South Africa remained with the
majority Church. Doors of service in overseas work seemed closed. However the
Lord brought to us new opportunities. A good work was begun in Zambia, a
college was built and continues to train men for the ministry. Educational and
charitable work there has been supported by us. A reformed and presbyterian
mission was begun in Sri Lanka. Two congregations have been established with an
indigenous pastor. Three small congregations in Spain and one in Southern France
are supported by us and have their own Spanish pastor. Considerable
opportunities have arisen in China and through Hudson Taylor Ministries many of
our ministers have been involved in training house-church leaders. Other doors
have opened to us in Kenya and Brazil. We continue to support Jewish missions
in the form of Christian Witness to Israel.
6.
We have a Home Mission Worker who has served diligently all over Scotland.
Millions of tracts, leaflets and evangelistic magazines have been distributed.
Thousands of folk up and down the country have been spoken to about their souls
and challenged regarding their need to make their peace with God.
7.
We have some twenty-five congregations in Scotland. A congregation in Northern
Ireland and five congregations in North America have joined us. We have forty-three
ministers, twenty of whom serve as pastors in Scottish congregations, one in
Northern Ireland and six abroad. The rest are retired men many of whom preach
most Sabbaths.
8.
We have a monthly magazine, the Free Church Witness and a youth magazine, the
Explorer, and print some 1000 copies of each. Useful and edifying books have
been written by several of our ministers.
9.
Hundreds of thousands of the sermons preached by our ministers are downloaded
from the internet all over the world.
10.
Our Church has sought faithfully to bear witness to the truth and the law of
God in an increasingly secular and immoral society.
So there is much for which to
be thankful. In the dark days of 1999 we wondered was our ministry finished.
Our brethren in essence expelled us from the church. On 20 January 2000, twenty-two
ministers, those who had chosen to answer the libel in person, were suspended
from the exercise of ministry. We were forced to disassociate from the majority
in order to continue our God-given ministries. But the Lord has blessed and
prospered us. There have been difficult times and dark days but the Lord has
brought us through them all. When we have been desperate we have cried to the
Lord and he has saved us. We have the Great Commission: “All power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”
(Matt.28:18-20). We have sought by grace to fulfil it and we have his
continuing promise, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world”.
Negatives
We have to be honest and face
the realities. All is not as it should be. There are real problems in our own
church, in other churches and in our society. Let us consider some of these.
1.
We have not grown. Some folk have joined us but more have left us. We are
smaller. Now it is a fact that all the churches of our land have declined apart
from the few that have grown by attracting members away from neighbouring
churches. Some churches are popular because of a specially gifted minister or a
huge programme of social activities. But the question remains, Why is God not
blessing us numerically?
2.
We have seen few conversions. Our adherent base has diminished greatly. This is
true of all the churches. It used to be common practice for people to go to
church whether they were Christians or not. Today the unconverted have little
fear of God and spend the Sabbath watching television, on social media, on the
internet, in sport and pleasure, or working.
3.
Relatively speaking we do more outreach than we have ever done, yet little
blessing seems to rest on the work.
4.
Society is becoming increasingly secular. Attempts have been made to remove all
traces of our Christian heritage from us as a nation.
5.
LGBT enthusiasts have taken over the media. They have been aggressively “evangelistic”,
intimidating all opposition and persecuting some of the Lord's people. Some
Christians have lost their jobs because they believe in marriage as taught in
the Bible and that sex is only for marriage. We hear lots about homophobia but
nothing about christianophobia.
6.
Islam is becoming more and more influential. Amongst the many kind, upright,
loving, Muslim people now in our land there is a substantial minority who have
no wish to integrate, who have very different values from our traditional ones,
and some who support terrorism. Any criticism of that minority, or even
discussion of these issues, is dismissed as Islamophobia.
7.
The Church of Scotland, by far the largest Protestant church in our land, has
been totally taken over by liberalism. There are still many born-again
Christians and some faithful evangelical ministers to be found amongst them.
However, there are also practising homosexuals among its ministers. Biblical
standards of morality are generally despised. The gospel of God's redeeming
grace is either denied or ignored in many sermons. This confusion about what a
Christian really is, makes the work of evangelism even more difficult than in
the past.
8.
The largest evangelical church in Scotland is the one from which we separated.
Having lost its conservative wing, it is changing rapidly. It has become much
more pragmatic. It will do almost anything to get people across its threshold.
In 2010 it changed its form of worship, though all its ministers and elders had
vowed at their ordination to “assert, maintain and defend the purity of worship
presently practised in this church”. Where will it end up?
9.
Charismatic churches grow rapidly and then seem to disintegrate even more
rapidly.
10.
Even the Roman Catholic Church which has the largest attendances on a Sunday is
struggling to hold onto its people. Sexual scandals have done massive damage to
it. Sadly all churches and ministers are blackened.
So today the church in
Scotland is in the weakest position it has been since the Reformation. The
majority of the people in Scotland are practical atheists. While they might not
deny the existence of God they live as if there is no God. There is no fear of
God in our land. I, myself, think back to my childhood 60 years ago when large
churches were full to the front. Often at communion times and special services,
extra seats had to be placed in the aisles. As a student I preached sometimes
to over 1000. Today, I seldom preach to fifty. We have the wonderful glad
tidings of great joy but no one wants to hear. There are more evangelical
ministers than ever, especially in the Highlands and Islands, but fewer and
fewer hear the gospel. Also the power is gone from the preaching. Unlike in the
past, it is rare to see someone today convicted and weeping under the gospel.
Sermons are listened to with sleepy indifference. Surely God has forsaken us
and our land?
What is the Problem?
Why has God forsaken us? What
is the problem? What is God saying to us? “Behold, the Lord's hand is not
shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But
your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid
his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isa.59:1). The trouble is in the
church, not in the world. It is the sins of God's people that has caused him to
withdraw his felt presence. What are these sins?
1. Self-righteousness
Self-righteousness
grieves God. It is to be found among ourselves. Sometimes you hear even old
Christians asking, “Why is God not blessing us? We made a stand for truth and
righteousness. If what we did was right, surely we should be growing and
successful”. How foolish! We think we deserve blessing! Everything we do and
ever have done is tainted with sin. “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are
not consumed” (Lam.3:22). “If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord,
who shall stand?” (Ps.130:3). “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags”
(Isa.64:6). We deserve nothing but God's wrath and judgment. The very best
church and the very best Christian is like a filthy rag to God. Our only hope
is the righteousness of Christ and “the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh
better things than that of Abel” (Heb.12:24). We have done nothing to merit
God's favour and there is nothing that we can do. We, in the Free Church
(Continuing), must come to the Lord as poor, unworthy, beggars pleading for his
mercy.
2.
Pride
Pride
is a huge problem in the churches and in our own church too. It is closely
linked to self-righteousness. There are few things more obnoxious to God. Some
years ago I heard one of our ministers say that we have the best preachers in
our church. We think of ourselves as superior to others because of our orthodox
theology, our reformed worship and faithful church discipline. We think we are
the most consistent Christians. These things are good but we must beware of
pride. Is there perhaps a readiness to look down on other churches. Sometimes
we share information about other churches, pointing out their faults, and we do
it smugly. We look down on them from our high and holy position. We made a
faithful stand for the truth and holiness and church discipline. Our worship in
form is superior to many other churches, but we forget that God sees the heart.
We may be right in form but our hearts can be far from God. Pride is often very
subtle. We can be critical of the pride, arrogance and boasting of others and
be rotten with pride ourselves, though covering it from man.
3.
First Love
The
church of Ephesus was criticised for having lost its first love. It was a sound
church, orthodox, busy, faithful in discipline but Christ threatens to remove
his candlestick out of its place. It would no longer be a church of Christ.
This letter must really have shocked the Ephesians. On the surface all looked
well. They were a well-attended sound church but something was seriously wrong.
Is it not true that we too have lost our first love?
4.
Lukewarmness
If
anything the church in Laodicea received even more serious criticism than the
church in Ephesus. The Laodiceans thought, “I am rich, and increased with
goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev.3:17). They were lukewarm. They
had become complacent. They were satisfied with their achievements and thought
all was well. Are we not like that? We are neither hot nor cold. Where is the
passion for God? A dull, sleepy, worldly spirit has taken us over. We are taken
up with our jobs, our families, our homes and making money. We are satiated
with worldly enjoyments and have become, “lovers of pleasures more than lovers
of God” (2Tim.3:4).
What is the Answer?
There is a great danger that
we simply accept the situation and feel there is nothing we can do. As those
who believe in divine sovereignty we can become fatalistic. We cannot convert
one soul. We cannot sanctify ourselves. All we can do is wait and maybe God in
His mercy will come and bless us. Is it not all of grace? But whether we read
the prophets of the Old Testament or the epistles of the New Testament the
message is the same. God never says do nothing. He lays the responsibility
totally on us. He always says repent and return and I will bless you.
1.
Humble Yourselves
God
through Moses made the promise that when he brought his judgment on Israel, if
they would return to the Lord that he would turn again their captivity and have
mercy upon them and do them good (Deut.30:1-5). Through Hosea Israel are
exhorted, “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will
heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive
us” (Hosea 6:1-2). Peter writes: “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to
the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he
may exalt you in due time” (1Pet.5:5-6). We have been brought very low. We want
to be exalted. So here is the answer.
2.
Prayer
Hosea
encourages God's people to come again in prayer: “O Israel, return unto the
Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and
turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us
graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips” (Hos.14:1-2). God loves
to hear his people's prayers. There is a wonderful promise: “I will heal their
backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. I
will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his
roots as Lebanon” (Hos.14:4-5). Jesus taught his disciples to pray a prayer
which will certainly be answered, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven” (Mat.6:10). Paul wrote “Pray without ceasing”
(1Thess.5:17). Christ advised the church in Laodicea to ask for, “gold tried in
the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine
eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see” (Rev.3:18).
3.
Faith
When
the situation seemed desperate for Israel God said go ahead in faith. There
were mountains on either side. The Egyptian army was charging down on them from
behind and the sea was in front of them, but God spoke to Moses: “Wherefore
criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward”.
By faith they crossed the Red Sea and the Egyptians trying to do the same
without faith were drowned. God said through Isaiah: “Look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else”
(Is.45:22). This is the look of faith. Jesus said to his disciples, “If ye have
faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence
to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you”
(Matt.17:20). Mighty miracles are achieved in response to faith. The shield of
faith is able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one (Eph.6:16). We
are told of those, “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions” (Heb.11:33). By faith the
impossible becomes possible.
Encouragements
1.
God Reigns
The
Psalmist states. “The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice”. Here is a great
reason for joy and the only reason. God is in control and is working out all
things for the good of his church and his own glory. His kingdom shall come,
his name shall be hallowed, and his will shall be done on earth as in heaven.
“Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his
reward is with him, and his work before him” (Is.62:11). Jesus has been exalted
to the highest throne and God “hath put all things under his feet, and gave him
to be the head over all things to the church” (Eph.1:22). He rules the nations
for the benefit of his church.
2.
We should have an optimistic eschatology
The
little stone of Daniel 2, which represents the kingdom of God, smashes all the
earthly empires and becomes a mountain which fills the whole earth. Jesus'
parables describe a great future for the church. The little mustard seed
becomes a tree “so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches
thereof” (Mat.13:32). The leaven spreads through the whole lump of dough till
all is leavened (Mat.13:33). We think of the Jews cast off because of unbelief,
but Paul argues, “For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the
world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?”
(Rom.11:15). As touching election the Jews are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Rom.11:29). Through
the mercy of the Gentiles they will obtain mercy. They will bring great
blessing to the church presumably by becoming mighty missionaries. This will
become a life from the dead experience to God's people.
3.
Fascinating Promises
The
Book of Revelation was written at the end of the first century to encourage a
church suffering intense persecution. In Revelation 20 an angel is pictured
laying hold of Satan, and binding him for a thousand years. We are told that he
“cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him,
that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be
fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Rev.20:3). This
is fascinating. He is not just bound and on a long chain and so able to do some
limited harm. He is shut up and sealed. That means he cannot get out. For a
long period of time he cannot do what he has so successfully done in the past,
deceiving the nations. Some see this as what Christ did at Calvary. But the
problem is that Satan continued after Calvary deceiving the nations. What is
the great Antichrist of Rome but a massive deception of the devil? How can John
say the devil is locked up when Peter writes that “your adversary the devil, as
a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1Pet.5:8). In
Peter's day Satan was definitely not locked up. Paul too, sees the devil as a
continuing problem: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph.6:11). A further difficulty with
this interpretation is that John states that Satan shall be loosed out of his
prison at the end of the thousand years (Rev.20:7). If the binding was Christ's
finished work of crushing Satan's head, then a day will come when this work
shall be undone. God forbid! Away with such a thought! John is shown that a day
is coming when our great enemy the devil will be greatly restricted in his work
and Christ reign over the nations will become clearer for all to see. This
period would tie in with the Old Testament prophecies of future prosperity for
Messiah's kingdom, e.g. his “dominion being from sea to sea, and from the river
to the ends of the earth” and “the whole earth being filled with his glory” (Ps.72:8,
19). “All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O
Lord; and shall glorify thy name” (Ps.86:9). Or in the words of Isaiah:
“Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor
night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their
kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall
perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted” (Is.60:11-12). This will be
the last great revival involving the conversion of the Jews to Christ, “the
life from the dead” of which we spoke earlier. It will be followed by a short
period when Satan will be loosed again and create havoc. We are encouraged to
look forward to a great period of gospel prosperity.
Conclusion
We are called upon to humble
ourselves, to confess our sins, to repent, to fast and to pray, to return unto
the Lord our God and he will return unto us. God does not say “Seek ye me in
vain” (Is.45:19). He loves us and delights in the prayers of his children.
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be
healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”
(Jas.5:16). “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask him?” (Lk.11:13). Let the hope we have inspire us to labour
expectantly for the Lord.
+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing),
Rev. John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack,
Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org
By Chuck Wilson
Unless there is great duress,
a college board goes in the direction the president desires and sets. With the
concurrence of the board’s chairman and input from chief administrators, the
president oversees and approves the framing of agendas for board meetings.
The Erskine board meeting in
Due West last Thursday and Friday (February 21 and 22 [2019]) was not an
exception to the rule. The outcome saw the fulfillment of President Rob
Gustafson’s agenda: the betrayal of those who worked to make him president.
That is, the betrayal of those he convinced his vision for Erskine was a Christ-centered
college, an Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church controlled college,
Christian liberal arts college, and a college which emphasized academics over
athletics.
So, what happened at the
board meeting? Two things happened: (1) the board voted to petition General
Synod to restore the president of the quasi-Erskine Alumni Association to the
board with “voice” but without “vote”; and (2) the board petitioned General
Synod to remove the Moderator of General Synod from the board as a “voting”
member and to redefine the Moderator’s role as one with “voice.” Therefore,
making the Moderator of General Synod and the president of the quasi-Erskine
Alumni Association equals. These two actions equal betrayal by Gustafson.
Remember the quasi-Alumni
Association is an arm of the Erskine Administration which is allowed to
function as though it were an independent entity with a mandate to determine
the direction of the college of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.
Remember the Moderator of the General Synod is the chief officer of General
Synod, elected by the majority of the delegates at the annual meeting of
General Synod. The Moderator of General Synod is the chief officer of the
denomination which owns Erskine College, Inc., and the president of the
quasi-Erskine Alumni Association is the head of a quasi-organization which has
no title to anything which is Erskine. In other words, the Moderator of the
General Synod and the president of the Alumni Association are not equals when
it comes to matters regarding the Erskine board.
Furthermore, (and I will
speak to this again) are the members of General Synod prepared to sanction a
board member who is not only a non-Christian but outspokenly opposed to
evangelical Christianity? Remember the quasi-Erskine Alumni Association is not
a Christian organization. It is a loose association of some Erskine grads (and,
yes, many Erskine grads refuse to participate in it, saying, “It doesn’t represent
us!”). It is not necessary for their president to be a Christian. Also, (and
this is easily established by the comments on their Facebook site) many of the
members of the quasi-Erskine Alumni Association reject the traditional values
of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church on marriage, sexuality, and
abortion. Does this not concern the board? Does this not concern the leadership
and faculty of the seminary that a situation may soon arise where a board
member does not only reject the basic tenants of our Christian faith but
despises them? The 2018 Synod preempts these issues. Dr. Gustafson cheered the
action of the 2018 Synod. Why is he now bringing back what he sanctioned and
cheered last year? Why is he revisiting a settled issue? Have we forgotten the
events that led to the “Snow Synod”?
One can only ask: President
Gustafson, what are you thinking? Why are you pandering to the godless? Why are
you going to Christ’s enemies for help? Why are you seeking aid and comfort
from those who mock evangelical
Christian beliefs?
Athletes-Я-Erskine
“Toys-Я-Us” may be bankrupt,
but “Athletes-Я-Erskine” is doing well in Due West — so far! Indeed, a student
who is not an athlete is not easily found.
What is the prediction for
this fall? Presently, a Head Football Coach has been hired and two assistant
coaches; and, at least, two more assistant coaches are expected to be hired —
and this while the college has no foreign language department (or the
expectation of one), and this while there is an inadequate number of faculty
members to deal with future enrollment needs, and this while present faculty
members (both college and seminary) are awaiting relief from the draconian pay
cuts of the Kooistra Days.
Amazingly, funds are found
and allocated for coaches, coaches, coaches!
Nevertheless, the
administration is jubilant with the expectation of 100-plus football athletes
this fall, which should bring enrollment to the max of 700. Indeed, whatever is
left of the historic “Due West Women’s College” is now a paragraph in the
history of Erskine. The female dorms are being prepared to house male athletes.
I understand housing off campus is being sought for female students. Look for a
male-to-female ratio of above three to-one. Effectively, Erskine is a male athletic
camp where one can also obtain a college degree — maybe. But, degree or no
degree, the average student will leave the environs of Due West with a massive
load of student loans.
To provide entertainment for
the male-dominated student body, the administration has provided a women’s
beach volleyball program. I suppose the beach on Lake Academic, west of the
baseball field and just past where the bass boats are moored, will be used for
matches (and, if you are not in the know, bass fishing is now a sport at
Erskine). It is rumored about a coach has been hired, and she has asked for a
barrier of barbwire and Concertina wire be setup around the beach in order to
protect her players from the female-starved male athletes. I do not believe the
rumors about the building of a wall with gun towers. Now, of course, I am
writing tongue-in-cheek; nevertheless, a women’s beach volleyball program is
now a sanctioned sport at Erskine. I suppose a coach will be hired. The Lord be
praised! This is just precious!
Ruble, Norman, and Kooistra
spoke of turning Erskine into an athletic camp; Gustafson has achieved it. But
at what personal cost to his soul? Just after Gustafson was elected president,
former board member Ms. Dody Morris hosted a dinner in Atlanta for Gustafson to
meet friends-of-Erskine, and I attended the dinner. At this meeting, he was
asked what needed changing at Erskine. He said a divarication between academics
and athletics had occurred whereby athletic programs triumphed and academic
program were withering; moreover, he said a reversal of the condition was
essential for the survival of Erskine as a legitimate academic institution.
Sadly, at this point, Dr. Gustafson appears to resemble a carpetbagger.
As a matter of fact, when
Gustafson worked for former President Kooistra, this was one of the issues over
which they clashed. As a matter of fact, in my presence (and two others) at
lunch in Anderson, SC, Gustafson unequivocally stated if Erskine were to become
an athletic camp there was no reason for Erskine to exist. Well, Dr. Gustafson,
Erskine has become an athletic camp. Is there any reason for Erskine to
continue? Do we now operate Erskine to the glory of God in order to compound athletic
programs for less than stellar student athletes because each one brings revenue
of about $20,000 per year in order to facilitate the paying of the salaries of
some rather unremarkable coaches? Regrettably, Dr. Gustafson makes it difficult
to trust his word.
Balderdash
At Synod this year, look for
the proliferation of balderdash in the Erskine report.
There are two things which
will be shoveled on Synod’s delegates like fertilizer on a field in spring. The
first is the idea of a Worldview Institute. This is a sort of think-tank for
academically-minded students to think Christianly about apologetics, politics,
morality, culture, and other subjects. But where are the academically-minded
Christian students to be found for such an academically challenging program? At
this time, it is very difficult to recruit non-athletes to a campus which is
saturated with athletes. The balderdash about the Worldview Institute is about
smoke screening Synod’s delegates. It is political candy. Gustafson is well
aware Associate Reformed Presbyterian ministers are academically inclined, and
a conversation about a Worldview Institute just may divert attentions enough to
minimize hard questioning. In the words of the Wizard of Oz, “Pay no attention
to that man behind the curtain!”
The second piece of
balderdash is a program which makes it possible for an Erskine student to get
both a BA from the college and a MDiv from the seminary in five years. This is
a terrible idea if one is actually attempting to prepare ministers for
ministry. However, ministry is not what this is about; the program is about
grant money. Well, in the words of John Calvin: “Good luck!” I hear the
congregations which make up the Erskine Seminary catchment are flooding the
seminary office with requests for twenty-two-year-old ministerial candidates.
Pandering
The motion asking General
Synod to restore the president of the quasi-Erskine Alumni Association is not
only an act of pandering to the loud voices of godless alums, it also is an act
of throwing-friends-under-the-bus. Last year when the motion to remove the
president of the Alumni Association as a voting member of the board was brought
to the floor of General Synod, the motion was not done without the concurrence
of and the buoying up by the president. Yes, Gustafson knew what was taking
place and said it needed to be done. Permission was asked and permission was
given to those who brought the motion to the floor. Remember the motion was
passed overwhelmingly, and followed by a standing ovation by the delegates. Why
is Gustafson now retracing his steps?
Gustafson and the board are
pandering to the members of the quasi-Alumni Association who (by way of their
Facebook site) have made it abundantly clear they are opposed to the
evangelical faith of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Dr. Gustafson
and the board are now pandering to a godless mob in the hope they will give
something to Erskine. So, may I be so bold to ask, what has been promised?
However, if past performance is an indicator of future actions, they will not
give much. One is a fool to trust the promises of these people!
As far as regular members of
the board are concerned, they are vetted by General Synod’s nominating
committee as to their willingness to serve on the Erskine board and their
compatibility with the doctrinal standards of the Associate Reformed
Presbyterian Church. I know this to be true because I have gone through the
process. Now, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is asked to accept a
board member who has not been vetted by our committee on nominations.
Interestingly, the members of the quasi-Erskine Alumni Association do not ask
whether their president is a Christian, let alone whether he/she agrees with
the standards by which other board members give assent. Essentially, this
establishes two levels of board members. In the past, Gustafson has stated it
is ludicrous not to expect board members to affirm the standards of the
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. If that is the case, why is he getting
back in bed with the devil?
In these matters, personally,
I feel a great sense of betrayal. As readers of ARPTalk are aware, I refrained from writing about matters regarding
Erskine for a year. Because of what Dr. Gustafson told me, I felt compelled to
give him space to do what he said to me he was going to do. He even said to me
that I should not withhold my public comments and analysis if I saw he was
leading Erskine in a direction which is contra to what we discussed. Yes, he
invited my analysis and dissent. Well, I now feel compelled to write. I feel
deep sadness. I feel I have been manipulated by one who called me “Brother!” I
feel a great sense of betrayal, as do others who esteemed him highly.
+ ARPTalk Blog, 864-882-6337, wilson6114@bellsouth.net
+ Associate
Reformed Presbyterian Church, 918 South Pleasantburg Drive Suite 127, Greenville,
South
Carolina 29607, 864-232-8297,
Fax: 864-271-3729
+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, 2
Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 864-379-2131, Fax: 864-379-2167,
jguyette@erskine.edu
