Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Jonah and Nineveh in 2010 - Haiti President Replaces Mardi Gras Festival with Three Days of Fasting and Prayer
[2] Erskine College and Theological Seminary Files Lawsuit against Associate Reformed Presbyterian General Synod
[3] Cornerstone Ministries Investments Bankruptcy Liquidation Plan Administrator Selects Special Counsel to Pursue Claims Arising from “[US]$140 Million Ponzi Scheme”
[4] Evangelical Presbyterian Church Interim Committee on Women Teaching Elders Releases Report Ahead of June 2010 GA Meeting
[5] Muslim Clergyman from Falls Church, Virginia 9/11 Mosque Offers Invocation before Virginia General Assembly on 11 March 2010
[6] Morocco Deports Christian Foster Families of Thirty-Four Orphan Children
[7] Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola Holds HIV/Aids Seminar 12-14 March 2010 in Luanda, Angola
[8] Internal Revenue Service Agents Visit Sacramento, California, Car Wash 10 March 2010 about US$0.04 Tax Debt from 2006
[9] U.S. Department of Education Buying Twenty-Seven Remington Model 870 Police Shotguns
[10] Geneva College Faculty Openings
[11] Naphtali Press and The Confessional Presbyterian Spring Sale
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[1] Jonah and Nineveh in 2010 - Haiti President Replaces Mardi Gras Festival with Three Days of Fasting and Prayer
A 16 March 2010 ASSIST News Service article by Jeremy Reynalds titled “Haitian Mardi Gras Festival Replaced with Three Days of Prayer and Fasting” reports that in the wake of the 12 January 2010, 7.0-magnitude earthquake, Haiti’s president René Préval, for the first time in Haiti’s history, cancelled the internationally attended annual Mardi Gras Festival, and instead called for three days of fasting and prayer 12-14 February 2010.
An estimated 1 million people, more than ten percent of Haiti’s population, gathered each of the three days across from the earthquake-collapsed National Palace, where a Haitian Christian leader said: “In unity and humility we cried out to God. One can truly assert that God has visited Haiti during these three days and has poured his shower of blessing and forgiveness over our nation….We closed the three days with seven tours around the National Palace (like Jericho). It took us four hours to make it because of the density of the crowd.”
Reciprocal Ministries International (RMI) reports that more than 3000 people professed faith in Jesus Christ during the three days, including 120 Voodoo priests. Another church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital and the center of the earthquake, reported over 2000 professions of faith.
RMI said that President Préval had been asked by Christian leaders for three years to set aside a national day of prayer, but had always refused for fear of offending the Voodoo practitioners and Roman Catholics. When Préval was contacted after the earthquake, three days of prayer and fasting were declared in lieu of the Mardi Gras Festival.
Resolutions coming out of the three days of prayer and fasting included:
-- that 12 January be declared an annual National Day of Reflection and Thanksgiving;
-- that 14 February be declared an annual day of National Prayer and Fasting;
-- that the Bible should be adopted as the spiritual constitution of the new Haiti and should be taught in all Haitian schools;
-- and, that the Haiti president should finish all official speeches with the words, “God bless Haiti.”
A YouTube video of the three day services is available at: http://www.allaboutgod.net/video/haiti-3-days-of-prayer
For further information on the spiritual situation in Haiti prior to the earthquake, please see the 6 January 2010 Presbyterians Week article “[4] Poverty Drives 225,000 Haitian Children into Slavery.”
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ Reciprocal Ministries International, 5475 Lee Street, Suite 301, Lehigh Acres, Florida 33971, 239-368-8390, Fax: 239-368-8325, rmioffice.florida@rminet.org
[2] Erskine College and Theological Seminary Files Lawsuit against Associate Reformed Presbyterian General Synod
A 12 March 2010 article in The Aquila Report by Don K. Clements titled “Erskine College, Plaintiff, vs. General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian General Synod, Inc., Defendant,” describes the eight-page lawsuit filed at the Abbeville, South Carolina, Courthouse 10 March 2010 by Erskine College against the Associate Reformed Presbyterian General (ARP-GS) Synod, Inc.
The lawsuit alleges facts including that the ARP-GS has “resolved to usurp control of the operation of Erskine College,” that the ARP-GS changes to the Erskine Board of Trustees (BT) structure “causes Erskine College immediate and irreparable harm,” and that the removal of fourteen members of the BT as the suit alleges “without due process,” has caused “immediate and irreparable harm to those threatened Trustees.”
The “Cause of Action” portion of the lawsuit seeks a “Declaratory Judgment that the General Synod has no authority to remove members of Erskine’s Board of Trustees, that any attempted removal is unlawful and void….and that the Interim Board……be disbanded immediately,” and declares a “Civil Conspiracy in that the General Synod,” of whose actions are “combined for the purpose of injuring Erskine,” are “intended to injure Erskine and damage its mission,” and “to lose its academic independence, to lose its standing and accreditation, to creating a perception of instability which would discourage and inhibit the effectiveness of the ongoing College presidential search committee, and allow [the ARP-GS] to control the presidential search process for their own gain.”
The “Cause of Action” further seeks “[a] declaration that the General Synod has no authority to remove members of Erskine's Board of Trustees,” and asks “[f]or an award of actual and punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a Jury;…[f]or an award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs;…and “[f]or such other legal and equitable relief the Honorable Court deems just and proper.”
The ARP Catawba Presbytery moderator, upon resolutions for communal prayer received from the sessions of the Tirzah ARP Church in York, South Carolina, and the First ARP Church in Lancaster, South Carolina, has called meeting of Presbytery for the purpose of communal prayer for the ARP-GS and Erskine College and Seminary issue, and the individuals involved, for 25 March 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Union ARP Church in Richburg, South Carolina.
+ The Aquila Report, c/o Metokos Press, 211 Main Street, Suite 108, Narrows, Virginia 24124, 540-726-8223, operations@theaquilareport.com
+ ARPTalk Blog, wilson6114@bellsouth.net
+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina, 800-770-6936, gaston@erskine.edu
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
[3] Cornerstone Ministries Investments Bankruptcy Liquidation Plan Administrator Selects Special Counsel to Pursue Claims Arising from “[US]$140 Million Ponzi Scheme”
Glass Ratner Capital and Advisory Group, LLC, the plan administrator overseeing the liquidation of the Chapter Eleven bankrupted Cornerstone Ministries Investments (CMI) has selected the law firm of Reid Davis LLP (RDLLP) to handle the claims associated with the collapse of CMI, which RDLLP characterizes as a “[US]$140 million Ponzi scheme.”
Mr. Jason Collins of Reid Davis will be the lead lawyer for the claims litigation. Mr. Collins is an attorney and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who handles all types of complex business and financial litigation with a special emphasis on financial fraud cases, insolvency disputes, fiduciary duty, and professional liability matters, and cross-border financial litigation.
Additionally, Mr. Collins is a member of the American Bar Association, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and the State Bar of Texas. Mr. Collins’ accounting credentials include an M.S. in Finance and B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas A&M University, where he graduated summa cum laude, finishing as the top student in his class, and served as a Mays Business School Fellow.
For further background information on the CMI bankruptcy and related matters, please see the 23 July 2008 Presbyterians Week and the 26 August 2009 Presbyterians Week.
+ Glass Ratner Capital and Advisory Group, LLC, Lenox Overlook, 3391 Peachtree Road, Suite 110, Atlanta, Georgia 30326, 678-904-1990, Fax: 678-904-1991
+ Reid Davis LLP, 4301 Westbank Drive, Building B, Suite 230, Austin, Texas 78746, 512-647-6100, Fax: 512-647-6129
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[4] Evangelical Presbyterian Church Interim Committee on Women Teaching Elders Releases Report Ahead of June 2010 GA Meeting
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) Interim Committee on Women Teaching Elders released a unanimous report on 3 March 2010 to be presented for approval to the EPC 30th General Assembly in June 2010 containing recommendations from the committee meetings that were charged with exploring “…ways to include those pastors and churches with conflicting positions on women teaching elders in the presbyteries of the EPC.”
The report states: “The issue of women’s ordination, particularly as it applies to clergy, has been a test of our genuine commitment to the EPC motto: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things charity….Women’s ordination is a non-essential issue about which faithful believers may have honest differences of biblical interpretation and practice. One’s view of women’s ordination is not an essential element to the catholic faith, Evangelical Protestantism, or the Reformed Tradition. The EPC has always affirmed that women’s ordination is a matter of biblical interpretation, not biblical authority.”
The primary recommendation of the report is that a congregation desiring to call a woman teaching elder should be allowed to “transfer from its current presbytery to an adjoining one that does receive women teaching elders.” The report additionally proposes a procedure for churches coming from a transitional presbytery or from a non-EPC context be placed in an appropriate presbytery, and that the Mid-America Presbytery (MAP) be split into two distinct presbyteries where one would retain the current MAP policy forbidding women teaching elders and the other would allow for women teaching elders.
+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 17197 North Laurel Park Drive Suite 567, Livonia, Michigan 48152, 734-742-2020, Fax: 734-742-2033, webmaster@epc.org
+ Mid-America Presbytery, moderator@presbyteryofmidamerica.org
[5] Muslim Clergyman from Falls Church, Virginia 9/11 Mosque Offers Invocation before Virginia General Assembly on 11 March 2010
Muslim clergyman Johari Abdul-Malik of the 9/11 Mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, who has defended several convicted terrorists connected to his mosque, offered the opening invocation before the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond, Virginia, on 11 March 2010.
The Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force (VAST) led a protest of Abdul-Malik’s appearance, and urged Virginia lawmakers to speak out against or boycott the invocation. Twelve Virginia legislators chose to boycott the event.
VAST Chairman James Lafferty commented: “Every day, some of Virginia’s finest young men and women are among those Americans who patrol Iraq and Afghanistan to protect us from the violent terrorists like this imam. They risk their lives for America’s safety. The least these lawmakers in Richmond can do is get out of their chairs and object to this imam’s presence at the opening of the General Assembly. This is an outrage.”
+ Traditional Values Coalition, 139 "C" Street Southeast, Washington DC 20003, 202-547-8570, Fax: 202-546-6403, mail@traditionalvalues.org
+ Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force, Fairfax, Virginia, 703-931-2324,
jameslafferty@usa.net
+ Virginia General Assembly, Capitol Square, Richmond, Virginia 23219, 804-698-1619, information@sov.state.va.us
+ Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, 3159 Row Street, Falls Church, Virginia 22044, 703-536-1030, Fax: 703-536-1035
[6] Morocco Deports Christian Foster Families of Thirty-Four Orphan Children
A 14 March 2010 article from ASSIST News Service by Janey L. DeMeo titled “Americans Deported from Morocco – Forced to Abandon Orphans” reports that on 6 March 2010, Christian foster parents from several countries including an American family that cared for thirty-four Moroccan orphans at a Village of Hope (VOH) orphanage were ordered to leave Morocco, abandoning thirty-four orphan children being raised by the foster families.
Ms. DeMeo reports: “The VOH compound was legal and legitimate. The missionaries had openly stated their standing as Christians, and had accepted the conditions placed on them by the Moroccan government. Those limitations included the requisite that the children were to learn about Islam as well as Christianity and to be well acquainted with the Muslim culture. The missionaries honored this stipulation to a tee, trusting that God would use their obedience and reveal Himself to the children.”
Ms. DeMeo continues: “So why were the workers ordered to leave without any proven misdemeanor? The Bible answers that question. We are in a spiritual battle. And the battle is worsening. Hostility towards Christians is increasing worldwide, and with it, hostility to children—particularly orphans. This is a time when we, the body of Christ, need to step up our prayer quota and stand in the gap for the children and the nations. Morocco’s children need our prayers more than ever—as do the children worldwide.”
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
[7] Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola Holds HIV/Aids Seminar 12-14 March 2010 in Luanda, Angola
A 15 March 2010 article on the Angola Press Society website reports on the HIV/Aids Workshop conducted by the Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola (ERCA) 12-14 March 2010 in Luanda, Angola. Discussions on the “History of HIV/Aids,” “ Contamination and Symptoms,” “ The Epidemiological Situation in the World and Angola,” and “HIV/AIDS in Biblical Context: Churches and Prevention Measures,” were included.
During closing ceremonies, the ERCA praised the efforts of the Angolan government in the fight against HIV/Aids. Workshop participants requested that the Angolan government publicize and enforce the law prohibiting requiring prospective employees to take an HIV/Aids test.
+ Angola Press Society, 16 Road Rei Katyavala, Luanda, Angola, 44-6771, Fax : 44-7336, angop@netangola.com
+ Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola, Rua Rainha Ginga 75; Andar 4, Apartment 1, 2 e 16, Caixa Postal 2594 C, Luanda, Angola, 244-222-39-4586, Fax: 244-222-39-4586, iera_cdg@yahoo.com.br
[8] Internal Revenue Service Agents Visit Sacramento, California, Car Wash 10 March 2010 about US$0.04 Tax Debt from 2006
A 13 March 2010 article titled “IRS Visits Sacramento Carwash in Pursuit of Four Cents” in Bob Shallit’s Business column in the Sacramento Bee reports that on 10 March 2010, two Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents paid a visit to Harv’s Metro Car Wash in Sacramento, California, to demand payment of a US$0.04 in delinquent taxes from 2006, which had grown to US$202.35 with penalties and interest.
The car wash owner described the IRS agents as “deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending” and “rude,” and suggests that the IRS “may have a problem with priorities." Additionally, the car wash owner provided Mr. Shallit with a 22 October 2009 letter from the IRS that states Harv's "has filed all required returns and addressed any balances due."
+ The Sacramento Bee, 2100 Q Street, Sacramento, California 95816, 916-321-1000, Contact Page
+ Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20224, 202-622-5164, Fax: 202-622-8653
[9] U.S. Department of Education Buying Twenty-Seven Remington Model 870 Police Shotguns
The U.S. Department of Education issued an 8 March 2010 solicitation EDOOIG-10-000004 for the purchase of twenty-seven Remington Model 870 police, twelve gauge shotguns with fourteen-inch Parkerized choke, modified sight, and “ghost ring rear Wilson combat.”
The required delivery date is 22 March 2010.
+ General Services Administration, Federal Service Desk, 866-606-8220
+ U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue Southwest, Washington DC 20202, 202-401-2000
[10] Geneva College Faculty Openings
Faculty positions currently available at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, include:
-- Department of Business and Accounting Management
-- Electrical or Computer Engineering
-- Literacy/Reading Education Faculty
-- MA in Counseling Program Faculty
-- Reference Instruction Librarian
+ Geneva College, 3200 College Avenue, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania 15010, 724-846-5100, Fax: 724.847.6696, pr@geneva.edu
[11] Naphtali Press and The Confessional Presbyterian Spring Sale
The Confessional Presbyterian and Naphtali Press are having a 2010 Spring Sale with significant discounts on the James Durham and Robert L. Dabney Book Bundle, Westminster Larger Catechism Manuscripts, the Solemn League & Covenant Large Broadside, and Volumes I –V of The Confessional Presbyterian.
+ Naphtali Press, Post Office Box 141084, Dallas, Texas 75214, naphtali@naphtali.com
+ The Confessional Presbyterian, Post Office Box 141084, Dallas, Texas 75214
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
17 March 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
10 March 2010
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Erskine College and Theological Seminary Constituencies React to Synod Actions [Extended Article]
[2] Nigerian Muslims Shoot, Burn, and Butcher Christians, Leaving 500 Dead
[4] Twenty-Year-Old Undergraduate Woman Called as Pastor of Alabama Cumberland Presbyterian Church
[7] Springfield, Virginia, PCUSA Church Celebrates World Day of Prayer with Indoor Labyrinth
[9] Reformation Trust Publishes By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me by the Rev. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
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[1] Erskine College and Theological Seminary Constituencies React to Synod Actions [Extended Article]
The 2-3 March 2010 called meeting of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) General Synod (GS) at the Bonclarken Conference Center in East Flat Rock, North Carolina , voted to 1) restructure the Erskine College and Theological Seminary (ECTS) Board of Trustees (BOT) to be a smaller body of sixteen members plus the active Moderator of Synod, 2) appoint an interim board of sixteen plus four ex officio members, the first two items effectively removing all current ECTS-BOT members, and an amendment to the second commending the former BOT members and stating that “systemic problems,” not “personal failure[s]” are the reason for the removals, 3) modify the nomination process for ECTS-BOT members, and 4) modify the qualifications for ECTS-BOT members, including “subscrib[ing] to the mission of Erskine College and Seminary as set forth in its mission statements.” Following the called ARP-GS meeting, several reactions to the synod initiatives have been voiced by ECTS constituencies within and outside of the ARP Church.
An 8 March 2010 Inside Higher Ed article titled “Questions on Erskine’s Accreditation” states that Belle S. Wheelan, president of the regional accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS), is “concerned about key rules about institutional independence,” regarding the ARP-GS actions toward ECTS, and said that “there is a serious chance that the college could be in violation of at least two standards that are required for accreditation.” The same article states that ECTS outgoing president Randall T. Ruble says “that he too believes the ARP Church violated accrediting standards.”
An 8 March 2010 article in The Index-Journal by Scott J. Bryan titled “Erskine Dean Bashes ARP” reports that ECTS interim vice president and dean of the college W. Gid Alston “vehemently opposes” the ARP-GS actions, questions the motives and actions of the ARP-GS, and supports the ousted trustees. Alston said: “The thing I found most disturbing about the firing of the fourteen board members is that some of the most highly effective board members in Erskine’s history were among those fired....These people have given tirelessly of their time, talent, and funds to help Erskine grow and flourish, and their dismissal was one of the most unethical and un-Christian acts that I have ever witnessed.” Alston continued: “I assume that sense of ownership stems from the fact that the ARP Church founded Erskine College in 1839, but the synod failed to note that the vast majority of Erskine’s assets, including its endowment, have (come) from contributions from alumni and friends of the college….Only a small percentage of financial support has come from the ARP Church, and the rights and investments of all of our contributors must be protected. Bottom line — the ARP Church does not own Erskine College.”
A 4 March 2010 article in The Index-Journal by Felicia Kitzmiller titled “ARP Fires 14 Trustees on Erskine College Board” quotes several ECTS faculty members including English professor William Crenshaw who said: "It looks like they’re trying to take over the college and imprint the college with their own kind of narrow Christianity. That does not bode well for Erskine to continue as a liberal arts center….I try to teach critical thinking. Part of critical thinking is asking questions about everything. You don’t accept anything just because someone says it.” Retired thirty-four year faculty member Dick Haldeman said: “They have no regard for the tradition of academic excellence….These are very dangerous steps they have taken.... It’s a coup. Associate professor of psychology Robert J.F. Elsner said: “The only fear anyone really has about it is academic freedom. Academic freedom is paramount to a school built on academic success.” Commenting on the possibility of the ARP-GS requiring all ECTS faculty to be of the Reformed faith, Elsner said: "Blind faith is a weak faith. A faith untested is like a sword untempered; it breaks in the first battle….(Students) have to be able to function in the world so they have to be able to understand evolutionary perspective.”
Since the ARP-GS meeting, hundreds of wall posts and discussion posts, the overwhelming majority of which are critical of the ARP-GS, have been published on the “Alumni For Erskine - A Christian Liberal Arts College” Facebook group. Several regional alumni chapter meetings to discuss the ECTS changes are scheduled and listed in the same Facebook group.
ARP pastor the Rev. Tim Phillips’ Gairney Bridge Blog published an 8 March 2010 article titled “Reactions to Synod’s Actions,” where Phillips takes issue with several inaccuracies in reaction to the ARP-GS meeting, concluding “…that a failure to know adequate information leading to invalid logical conclusions is not sound critical thinking.”
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina, 800-770-6936, gaston@erskine.edu
+ Inside Higher Ed, 1320 18th Street Northwest, 5th Floor, Washington DC 20036, 202-659-9208, Fax: 202-659-9381, editor@insidehighered.com
+ The Index-Journal, 610 Phoenix Street, Greenwood, South Carolina 29646, 864-223-1411, jburns@indexjournal.com
+ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033, 404-679-4500, Fax: 404-679-4558, questions@sacscoc.org
[2] Nigerian Muslims Shoot, Burn, and Butcher Christians, Leaving 500 Dead
An 8 March 2010 article from Compass Direct News titled “Islamic Assailants Kill Hundreds of Christians Near Jos, Nigeria” describes how ethnic Fulani Muslims on the morning of 7 March 2010 killed 500 ethnic Berom Christian men, women, and children by gunfire, by burning seventy-five Berom houses, and then attacking those fleeing the fires with machetes.
A statement released by the Plateau State Elders Christian Fellowship said “…the Hausa Fulani Muslim militants were chanting ‘Allah Akbar,’ broke into houses, cutting human beings, including children and women with their knives and cutlasses.”
Dr. Abel Damina, youth president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria said: “Young men, Christians, were going to their farm to harvest their produce and the [Islamist] fundamentalists pounced on them,” he said. “They were called infidels. At the last conference, we received reports with photographs of the [Islamist] fundamentalists using AK-47 rifles to destroy our churches. Where did they get the arms from? We have reports of truck loads of arms that had been intercepted, and we did not hear anything about them.”
+ Compass Direct News Service, Post Office Box 27250, Santa Ana, California 92799, 949-862-0304, Fax: 949-752-6536, info@compassdirect.org
[3] Reformed Baptist Founders Ministries Blog Exposes “How to Smoke Out a Calvinistic Pastor in your Church” Documents
A 4 March 2010 article by Tom Ascol in the Reformed Baptist Founders Ministries Blog titled “Memo: How to Smoke Out a Calvinistic Pastor in your Church,” publicizes three unofficial documents circulating in some Southern Baptist churches in western Tennessee being “distributed at seminars being held for churches to teach "how to find out if any of your staff are Calvinists and how to get rid of them."” The seminars are being conducted “by zealous people who view the doctrines of grace as heresy.”
The three documents are 1) "Reformed Red Flags" - containing “a list of sixteen "behaviors" to look for when seeking to smoke out Calvinistic pastors,” 2) "Theological differences between Traditional Southern Baptist and Extreme Calvinists," and 3) A document for new church pastors and staff members to facilitate that “a pastor be forthcoming in doctrinal convictions.”
Ascol concludes the article by evaluating the appropriate response to the documents, concluding: “Let's examine ourselves in the light of that Word and determine to live wholeheartedly for our crucified and risen Savior. Critics will come and critics will go. What ultimately matters faithfulness to our Lord expressed through obedience to His Word.”
+ Founders Ministries, Post Office Box 150931, Cape Coral, Florida 33915, 239-772-1400, Contact Page
[4] Twenty-Year-Old Undergraduate Woman Called as Pastor of Alabama Cumberland Presbyterian Church
A 7 March 2010 article in The Birmingham News by Greg Garrison titled “20-Year-Old Pastor Brings New Life to Aging Church” reports that twenty-year-old University of Alabama senior Micaiah Thomas was recently called to be the pastor of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Hueytown, Alabama.
Ms. Thomas is a candidate for ministry in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and wants to attend seminary after her December 2010 graduation, and possibly help manage an orphanage in a poor country sometime after seminary.
Ms. Thomas is the daughter of the Rev. Lynndon Thomas, director of Cross Culture Ministries for the Board of Missions of the Cordova, Tennessee-based Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Ms. Thomas was born and lived for ten years in Colombia in South America when her parents were on the mission field.
+ The Birmingham News, 2201 Fourth Avenue North, Birmingham, Alabama 35203, 205-325-4444
+ Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 8207 Traditional Place, Cordova, Tennessee 38016, 901-276-4572, Fax: 901-272-3913
[5] Louisiana Public School Industrial Arts Teacher Placed on Leave for Refusing to Allow Student to Build Wiccan Altar for Class Project
A 2 March 2010 Des Moines Register article titled “Wiccan Altar Puts Teacher, Officials at Odds” reports that Guthrie (Iowa) Center High School Industrial Arts teacher Dale Halferty was put on paid leave 1 March 2010 after refusing to allow a student to build a Wiccan altar for a class project.
The student is a practicing witch, and had been bringing a book on witchcraft to class.
+ Des Moines Register, 715 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309, 515-284-8000, publisher@dmreg.com
[6] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Asante Presbytery Holds Workshop for Ministers, Presbyters, and Catechists
A 3 March 2010 article on the GhanaWeb website titled “Presbyterians Asked to be Committed to Ideals of the Church” describes a recent workshop for ministers, presbyters, and catechists held by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG)’s Asante Presbytery with the theme “Let us rise up and build - the way forward after eighteen decades of existence as a church.”
At the workshop, PCG Moderator of the General Assembly the Right Rev. Dr. Yaw Frimpong-Manso voiced concern about the lack of evangelism in the church, and said that church members are idle, undisciplined, and ignorant of the tenets of the faith. The moderator added that “it was important for Presbyterians to cherish selfless and dedicated service in the missionary work in order to transform society.” Additionally, the moderator advised church members to “shun activities and lifestyles that were not in conformity with the church's beliefs and practices,” “to promote education, employable training and health outreach programs to enhance the physical well being of people,” and “to campaign vigorously to bring back "the Presbyterian discipline…"
+ GhanaWeb, Poederooienstraat 66, 1106 CK Amsterdam, Netherlands, 31-207700126, Fax: 1-815-6429100, akoto@ghanaweb.com
+ Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Post Office Box GP 1800, Accra, Ghana, 233-21-662511, Fax: 233-21-665594, pcghg@yahoo.com
[7] Springfield, Virginia, PCUSA Church Celebrates World Day of Prayer with Indoor Labyrinth
The 4 March 2010 The Washington Post’s Fairfax County (Virginia) Religion Notes compiled by Jean Mack announced that the Kirkwood Presbyterian Church of Springfield, Virginia, held a celebration of the World Day of Prayer on 5 March 2010 that included a prayer walk on an indoor labyrinth.
A 6 December 2005 post on The Puritan Board by the Rev. Bruce Buchanan of the Chain-O-Lakes Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Central Lake, Michigan, describes the prayer labyrinth as “an occult path of the dead. Successful navigation of it led one to heaven; the lost wandered it forever in terror, ending up in the center pit from which there was no escape. Arcane knowledge (gnosis) of traversing it or a suitable guide, therefore, was [a] necessary part of pagan religion. In other incarnations, it serves a gnostic purpose of meditation…not the “inner-peace” type, but the “path”…to enlightenment.”
+ The Washington Post, 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington DC 20071, 202-334-6000, Contact Form
+ The Puritan Board, Contact Page
+ The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 North Easton Road, Building E, Box P, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania 19090, 215-830-0900, Fax: 215-830-0350
[8] Yale University Press Publishes Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” A Casebook
On 15 February 2010, Yale University Press published Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," A Casebook, edited by Wilson H. Kimnach, Caleb J. D. Maskell, and Kenneth P. Minkema.
The book “presents the accurate and definitive version of Sinners, accompanied by the tools necessary to study and teach this famous American sermon….[and] contains questions for in-class discussion, a chronology of Edwards’s life, and a glossary. In addition, curricular materials and video mini-presentations are available on a dedicated Web site.”
+ Yale University Press, Post Office Box 209040, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, 203-432-0960, Fax: 203-432-0948, customer.care@triliteral.org
[9] Reformation Trust Publishes By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me by the Rev. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
Reformation Trust Publishing on 26 February 2010 published By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me by the Rev. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson.
In the book, “Dr. Ferguson laments that “we have lost the joy and energy that is experienced when grace seems truly ‘amazing.’” In an effort to restore the wonder of divine grace, he reflects on it from seven angles, each built around a stanza from a rich but little-known hymn, “O How the Grace of God Amazes Me,” written by Emmanuel T. Sibomana, a pastor in the African nation of Burundi. This book poses probing questions for today’s believer: “If I am not amazed by God’s grace, can I really be living in it? Can I really be tasting, and savoring, and delighting in it?” But those willing to delve into God’s Word with Dr. Ferguson will come away with a deeper astonishment at the depths of God’s grace.”
Dr. Ferguson is the Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church (Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church) in Columbia, South Carolina, and is Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, Pennsylvania.
+ Reformation Trust Publishing, c/o Ligonier Ministries, 400 Technology Park, Lake Mary, Florida 32746, 407-333-4244, Fax: 407-333-4233
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
+ Westminster Theological Seminary, 2960 West Church Road, Glenside, Pennsylvania 19038, 215-887-5511, Fax: 215-887-5404, communications@wts.edu
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
3 March 2010
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Christian Observer Highlights for March 2010
[2] Erskine Theological Seminary Called Out by Former Trustee for Admitting Non-Christians to DMin Program (Extended Article)
[3] Syriac Catholic Church Patriarch Accuses Iraqi Government of Complicity in Recent Mosul, Iraq Murder of Ten Christians
[4] Family Research Council President Tony Perkins Disinvited to Speak at 25 February USAF Prayer Luncheon due to Perkins’ Criticism of Obama Efforts to End “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
[5] Seven Christians Arrested in Asmara, Eritrea, for Praying Together in a Private Home
[6] Botswana Dutch Reformed Church Woman Pastor Establishing New Church
[7] Traveler’s Journey Blog Article Highlights Dutch Reformed Church History in Sri Lanka and Features Photos of Historic Church in Galle
[8] Books on Atheism and Satanism Found in Raid on Texas Church Arson Suspect’s Home
[9] Presbyterian Church in Ireland Elects New Moderator
[10] Pulitzer Prize Winner and Calvinist Novelist Marilynne Robinson Interviewed in February 2010 Christianity Today
[1] Christian Observer Highlights for March 2010
New articles in the Christian Observer for March 2010 include:
-- Falling on Deaf Ears? — Why So Many Churches Hear So Little of the Bible – by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary - writing about contemporary impatience with the Word of God leading to sermons that reflect congregational concerns rather than exposition of Scripture;
-- Original Sin and Education – by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – how belief or unbelief in the doctrine of Original Sin influences educational philosophy; and,
-- A Lunch Bag That Was Multiplied – by Karen Gonzalez of ASSIST News Service - how God used the death of a missionary couple’s son to launch a program that feeds malnourished children in Central and South America a nutritious lunch and the Word of God;
plus, regular features including weekly Sabbath School Lessons and weekly Westminster Shorter Catechism Lessons by Christian Observer Assistant Editor Dr. Robert LaMay, and Daily Devotionals from T.M Moore.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
[2] Erskine Theological Seminary Called Out by Former Trustee for Admitting Non-Christians to DMin Program (Extended Article)
One of the factors likely being considered by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP)’s called synod meeting of 2-3 March 2010 (for the purpose of presenting and acting upon the recommendations of the ARP Moderator’s Commission on Erskine College and Seminary) is documented in an article by former Erskine Trustee, the Rev. Dr. Charles W. Wilson, published 26 February 2010 in Dr. Wilson’s ARPTalk Blog titled “Erskine Seminary Now Matriculating Jewish, Mormon, and Islamic Clerics
into the DMin Program!,” in which Dr. Wilson takes the Erskine Board of Trustees and the senior administrators of Erskine Theological Seminary (ETS) to task for admitting non-Christian clerics to the ETS DMin Program.
Dr. Wilson begins by quoting the ETS mission statement, “The mission of Erskine Theological Seminary is to educate persons for service in the Christian Church,” asks “How does helping to advance the careers of Jewish, Mormon, and Muslim clerics work to advance the cause of the Christian Church?,” and concludes “[T]he administrative leaders of ETS have jettisoned the stated mission of ETS.”
Dr. Wilson next cites the academic requirements (p. 81 of ETS catalog) for the ETS DMin program, which include the prerequisite of an MDiv degree from an accredited seminary or equivalent, questions whether, e.g., Muslim Imam training meets the required prerequisites, expresses concern that ETS’s accreditation is being endangered, and concludes that “the mission and the academic standards and protocols that make for a viable and respectable seminary have been jettisoned by the very people who have been called to protect them.”
Dr. Wilson next recalls serving on the Erskine Board of Trustees in 1998 when the DMin program for U.S. Army chaplains (from which the non-Christian chaplain DMin candidates have come) was begun, stating that the original contract with the U.S. Army, “had specifications that protected the mission and academic requirements of ETS,” and that “[t]he Army personnel at Fort Jackson who met the purpose statement and the academic requirements of ETS were admitted into the program.”
Wilson next references several subsequent contracts signed with the U.S. Army and asks: “Were these documents seen and authorized by the Board? What were the specifications? Who signed the documents? Did someone act on his own initiative in disregard of Board oversight? Was the General Synod of the ARP Church made aware of the specifications of these contracts? Who authorized the signing of these contracts? Why were the ARP Church and the seminary of the ARP Church not protected? The current Executive Vice President of ETS [H. Neely Gaston] has often publicly claimed ownership of the MEDCOM program? What has he wrought?”
Dr. Wilson next states that “…the witness of the ARP Church has been put out for public ridicule,” describes the issue as “aiding and abetting the cause of false religions,” and concludes that “our brothers and sisters in our Reformed and evangelical community see this clearly and are dismayed at us. This is not engaging the culture! This is aiding the enemy!”
Dr. Wilson states that non-Christians have been admitted to the ETS DMin program as far back as 2005, asking why the trustees and the senior ETS administrators have done nothing about the issue. Wilson asks: “Why have the chief administrators of ETS done this thing? Is it because they are theologically inept? No! Is it because they have knowingly and willfully betrayed the Christian faith? I hope not! Is it because they need a bag of money to support the institution? Yes! There it is! Money! They have sold the birthright of the ARP Church for a mess of pottage,” concluding that “…the educational services of Erskine Theological Seminary have been rented out to the highest bidder.”
Dr. Wilson asks several other pertinent questions including why sacrificial gifts to ETS given by Christians are being used in this way, why ETS is conforming itself to the inclusive policies of secular institutions, and whether this issue is honoring ETS, the ARP Church, and most of all Jesus Christ?
Dr. Wilson next recalls the orientation meeting of the Erskine Class of 2004 Board of Trustees, when in a condescending manner the board members were told by the Erskine President and Board chairman to not meddle in ETS details or the institution’s day-to-day affairs, but to stick to “big picture” matters. Wilson states that the Trustees have followed these directions for the past forty years to Erskine’s great detriment.
Dr. Wilson concludes the article by recalling the question asked throughout the article: “How do we respond to this?,” reminds the readers of the Apostle Paul’s righteous anger “…when the truth of the gospel and the saving uniqueness of Jesus Christ were being compromised or betrayed,” and prays for Godly wisdom and courage for the ARP Church when the time comes to address the subject issue.
Dr. Wilson then expresses “…an overwhelming sense of sadness over what ETS has become, and remorse over how we in the ARP Church have allowed this to happen,” and avers “Let us, in due time and with God’s help, do what needs to be done. But in the meantime, let us grieve and repent of our failure as a General Synod to oversee this once-proud seminary properly.” Wilson closes: “How should we respond? Weep.”
[Editor’s Note: A 2 March 2010 evening dispatch from delegate Don Clements published in the Aquila Report : http://theaquilareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:arp-called-synod-meeting-starts-in-a-snowstorm&catid=50:churches&Itemid=133
says that the major recommendation of the ARP Moderator’s Committee is to completely replace the current Erskine Board of Trustees with a smaller group of sixteen members, and that the bylaws be revised to contain “more effective policies to prevent further failures regarding financial integrity, conflicts of interest, integration of faith and learning, board training, and other issues identified by the commission. These policies must align with Synod’s Philosophy of Christian Higher Education and Erskine’s current mission statements. These revised bylaws shall be adopted by the full board at its May 2010 meeting, and subsequently presented to the Synod for adoption at its June 2010 meeting.”
Please read the referenced Aquila Report article, as this summary is quite brief and is missing many details due to publishing time constraints, and the Moderator’s Commission Report contained in the dispatch explains much more fully the recommended restructurings.]
+ ARPTalk Blog, wilson6114@bellsouth.net
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
+ The Aquila Report, c/o Metokos Press, 211 Main Street, Suite 108, Narrows, Virginia 24124, 540-726-8223
[3] Syriac Catholic Church Patriarch Accuses Iraqi Government of Complicity in Recent Mosul, Iraq Murder of Ten Christians
A 27 February 2010 Assyrian International News Agency article titled “Iraqi Government Accused of Complicity in Christian Murders,” reports that Syriac Catholic Church patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan on 24 February 2010 sent a letter to the Iraqi prime minister accusing Iraqi government officials with complicity in the murder by Islamists of ten Christians in Mosul, Iraq, since 14 February 2010, including the killing of a Christian father and his two sons in front of his wife and daughter by an armed commando who came into their home.
Hundreds of the 15,000 remaining Christians in Mosul are fleeing the city for their lives.
As of 28 February 2010, United States military forces fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom have lost 4380 soldiers killed.
+ Assyrian International News Agency
+ Open Doors USA, Post Office Box 27001, Santa Ana, California 92799, 949-752-6600, Fax: 949-752-6442, usa@opendoors.org
+ Icasulties.org
[4] Family Research Council President Tony Perkins Disinvited to Speak at 25 February USAF Prayer Luncheon due to Perkins’ Criticism of Obama Efforts to End “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
In a 26 February 2010 article titled “Air Force Retracted Invitation for Conservative Leader to Speak at Prayer Luncheon After He Criticized Obama's Position on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'”, Cybercast News Service writer Peter Winn reports that the Chaplain’s Office at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County, Maryland, retracted an invitation to Family Research Council President and former U.S. Marine Tony Perkins to speak at a 25 February 2010 Prayer Luncheon after Perkins criticized U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama’s efforts to end the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell" military policy on homosexuality.
The Chaplain’s Office said Perkins’ comments made many who planned to attend the prayer luncheon uncomfortable, and that the Chaplain “wanted the luncheon to be inclusive for the entire base community.”
+ Cybercast News Service, 325 South Patrick, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 703-683-9733
+ Family Research Council, 801 G Street Northwest, Washington DC 20001, 202-393-2100, Fax: 202-393-2134, Contact Page
+ Andrews Air Force Base, 1535 Command Drive, Suite AB-210, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland 20762, 301-981-1110
[5] Seven Christians Arrested in Asmara, Eritrea, for Praying Together in a Private Home
International Christian Concern (ICC) reported 23 February 2010 that Eritrean security officials on 18 February 2010 arrested seven Christians in the nation’s capitol of Asmara for praying in a private home, then took the seven to an unknown location.
ICC reports that the predominantly-Islamic country of Eritrea has imprisoned 3000 Christians for exercising their religious freedom, that the imprisoned Christians are kept in underground dungeons, metal shipping containers, and military barracks, and that several of the Christian prisoners have died due to torture and a lack of medical attention.
+ International Christian Concern, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest #941, Washington DC 20006, 800-422-5441, Fax: 301-989-1709, superadmin@persecution.org
[6] Botswana Dutch Reformed Church Woman Pastor Establishing New Church
A 25 February 2010 Daily News article by Aron Moreeng titled “Reverend Kgosiemang Establishes Church” describes how the Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana (DRCB)’s first woman pastor, the Rev. Mmonie Kgosiemang, was dismissed in 2008 from the church she pastored after it was alleged that Kgosiemang was not cooperating with the church congregation.
A group of congregation members had previously and unsuccessfully fought in the courts for the pastor’s dismissal, maintaining that the DRCB constitution does not allow women to be ministers.
A classroom in the Isang Primary School in Mochudi, Botswana, is the current home of the seven-month old New Revelation Church (NRC), now led by Pastor Kgosiemang. A recent benefactor to NRC, Mrs. Baba Whisler, says that the classroom where NRC currently meets is not conducive for church services. Mrs. Whisler is working to raise funds for a new church building through her acquaintances in the United States.
+ Daily News, Department of Information Services, 37795 Wellie Seboni Drive, P/Bag BR 139, Gaborone, Botswana, 267-365-3500, dailynews@gov.bw
+ Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana, PO Box 853, Mochudi, Botswana, 267-57-77204, drcbadmin@botsnet.bw
[7] Traveler’s Journey Blog Article Highlights Dutch Reformed Church History in Sri Lanka and Features Photos of Historic Church in Galle
A 17 February 2010 article in the Traveler’s Journey Blog titled “Dutch Reformed Church” provides a brief history of the Dutch Reformed Church in Sri Lanka and features two photographs of the historic Dutch Reformed Church in Galle, Sri Lanka, which currently holds services in the Sinhala Tamil and English languages.
+ Traveler’s Journey Blog
+ Dutch Reformed Church in Sri Lanka, 363 Galle Road, Wellawatte, Colombo 6, Sri Lanka, 94-1-236-0861, Fax: 94-1-258-2469, cnj@eureky.lk
[8] Books on Atheism and Satanism Found in Raid on Texas Church Arson Suspect’s Home
A 1 March 2010 article in the Religion News Blog titled “Arson Suspects Grew Up Together in Texas Church” describes the two suspects arrested for a fire at Dover Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas, and who are suspected in connection with nine other arson church fires and three attempted church break-ins in Texas since 1 January 2010.
Suspect Jason Robert Bourque, nineteen, was an Eagle Scout and high school debate champion. Police found weapons and books on atheism and Satanism when the home where Bourque was arrested on 21 February was searched. Suspect Daniel George McAllister, twenty-two, was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, on the same day.
The two men are childhood friends that attended First Baptist Church in Ben Wheeler, Texas. Both are charged so far with one count of felony arson, each is being held on US$10 million bond, and both face possible life terms in prison if convicted.
+ Religion News Blog, Contact Form
[9] Presbyterian Church in Ireland Elects New Moderator
A 2 March 2010 BBC News article titled “Rev Norman Hamilton New Presbyterian Moderator” reports that the Rev. Norman Hamilton, pastor of the Ballysillan Presbyterian Church in north Belfast, Northern Ireland, was nominated 2 March 2010 by eleven of nineteen presbyteries to be the next moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and will assume the post on 7 June 2010 when the current moderator, the Rev. Dr. Stafford Carson, finishes his term.
The BBC describes Mr. Hamilton as “a well-known evangelical, considered by some to be on the progressive wing of evangelicalism,” who “became a significant public figure as a result of his mediation work in the Holy Cross dispute [2001-2002] in north Belfast.”
+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398
+ Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Church House, Belfast BT1 6DW, Northern Ireland, 028-9032-2284, Fax: 028-9041-7301, Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
[10] Pulitzer Prize Winner and Calvinist Novelist Marilynne Robinson Interviewed in February 2010 Christianity Today
The February 2010 issue of Christianity Today includes an interview by Virginia Tech Professor of English Thomas Gardner titled “Marilynne Robinson, Narrative Calvinist,” which begins with Ms. Robinson describing her early-in-life strong sense of God’s presence and the people who taught her Presbyterianism in her childhood.
Gardner’s interview discusses several of Robinson’s books, including her 2006 publication of John Calvin: Steward of God's Covenant, where Gardner writes that Robinson shows “…the Reformer has been hidden under a caricature, known only as "an apostle of gloom dominating a gloomy city," his legacy one of "repression and persecution." Robinson instead finds three liberating themes in Calvin's thought, and in the preface and an earlier collection of essays, The Death of Adam (1998), she articulates how they impress upon her literary vision.”
Please read Gardner’s Christianity Today interview, and discover this remarkable author, Marilynne Robinson, and how her mature Reformed understanding of the Word of God is utilized in writing books from a perspective acknowledging a Sovereign God in every facet of one’s existence.
+ Christianity Today International, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, 630-260-6200, Fax: 630-260-0114, mwhite@christianitytoday.com
