Dr. Richards said I should be at Journal Day that summer – it was going to be an historic event; but that was all he would say about it.  It didn’t take the mind of Sherlock Holmes to figure out was most likely going to happen.

In April of 1972, I received a phone call from the pastor of the Perry (GA) Presbyterian Church (then PCUS, now PCA) asking if I would consider coming as the summer intern.

I had completed two years at Covenant Seminary (which put me right in the middle of my studies since it took me four years to complete – I had to work full time the whole way through).  The pastor was Mark Gutzke, son of the late Manford George Gutzke, who had been one of the last conservatives on the faculty of Columbia Seminary.  Mark had never met me, but had a reference from Jim Lipscomb, then pastor of a PCUS church in Ruston, LA.  I had spent some time at the Ruston church earlier in the month considering a full year internship but that didn’t work out.  Jim suggested to Mark that he contact me.

The Perry church always had a summer intern working with the pastor, and Mark said that the Session would call me in that status. However, this summer would be different.  He had just accepted a call to a church in Jacksonville, FL (he hadn’t even told his elders yet) and I would become the interim for the summer.  At that time I was preaching as a student supply for a little RPCES church in Afton, MO that had 2 elders and about 50 members.  Perry had 9 elders and about 250!  But Mark said he would be there for a week after I arrived and he would get me started on the right track.

Some other day I’ll tell the long version of that summer, but now I want to focus on a special day during those three hot summer months.  My wife, Esther, was from Asheville, so we made plans for a visit there in early August so I could attend the annual board meeting of the Presbyterian Journal.  Each year they had a special open meeting, inviting the public to special preaching and presentations.  The crowds had grown so big they had to rent the auditorium at the North Buncombe County High School in Weaverville, NC.

That summer I had come to know a lot about the Presbyterian Journal and the movement that was considering starting a new church.  Aiken Taylor (Editor of the Journal in those days) had a son and his family who were members of the Perry church and Aiken would fly in for Sundays we were celebrating communion so he could administer the sacraments.  Dr. John Richards and his wife, Kitty, had bought a farm just outside Perry.  Dr. Richards had just retired from First Presbyterian Church in Macon (Jim Baird succeeded him there) and now he was heading up Presbyterian Churchmen United.

Here is an excerpt from the August 1972 Concerned Presbyterian Magazine giving the news about Dr. Richard’s work:

Dr. John E. Richards, pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Macon, Ga., has resigned from this important pastorate after 16 years to become the Administrator for the Steering Committee for a Continuing Presbyterian Church.  Dr. Richards’ distinguished ministerial career includes pastorates in First Presbyterian Church, Waynesboro, Ga., First Presbyterian Church, Meridian, Miss., First Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Ga. and First Presbyterian Church, Roanoke, Virginia. During World War II he served five years as Chaplain in the Air Force with the rank of Lt.-Colonel. When asked if decisions of the recent General Assembly influenced his decision to resign his pastorate and devote his full time to serving as Administrator for the Steering Committee, Dr. Richards said that the refusal of the Assembly to take a stand for the infallibility of God’s revealed Word “made God’s call much clearer.'”

He said that the terrible decisions of the 112th Assembly “make it mandatory that all Bible-believing Presbyterians become active in preserving their historic faith.”

Dr. Richards will assume his new responsibilities on August 1st, coordinating the work of the four conservative groups from offices in Perry, Georgia.

Dr. Richards said I should be at Journal Day that summer – it was going to be a historic event; but that was all he would say about it.  It didn’t take the mind of Sherlock Holmes to figure out was most likely going to happen.

My memory of the exact sequence of events is a little hazy, so I pulled up a copy of the announcement of the meeting that was contained in that same August, 1972 issue of the Concerned Presbyterian Magazine:

WEDNESDAY, August 9th, is JOURNAL DAY! The place: North Buncombe High School, Weaverville, N. C. The Time: 9:50 A.M. (9-9:45 for Registration and Fellowship). The program, prepared by the Steering Committee for the Continuing Church, will feature addresses by Dr. Edmund Clowney, president, Westminster Theological Seminary, and the Rev. John Oliver, pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Augusta. W. J. (Jack) Williamson, Secretary, Concerned Presbyterians, Inc., will speak on “The 112th General Assembly and Where Do We Go From Here.” The Rev. Donald B. Patterson, pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Miss., and Chairman of the Steering Committee, will close the meeting with a talk “Summing It Up.”

I asked Paul Settle if he could share any additional details of the event and it turns out his memory is a bit clearer than mine.  He writes:

Jack Williamson made the formal announcement of the proposed separation. I was introduced as the new Executive Secretary of PCU, and I briefly addressed the crowd. Ken Keyes made a stirring speech. Don Patterson was introduced as the Chairman of the Steering Committee for a Continuing Presbyterian Church. John Richards was elected Executive Director for the Steering Committee.

Needless to say it was an exciting day – especially for a seminary student who was just beginning to learn about Southern Presbyterian history.  I had entered seminary from a RPCES church in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and of course had learned a lot of the northern church history, but this was all very new and very exciting.

It many ways the events of that summer were strong influences on my decision, after seminary, to take a call in the newly formed National Presbyterian Church, to the Eastern Height Presbyterian Church in Savannah.  In fact, it was Dr. Richards who recommended me to the pulpit committee and talked me out of taking other possible calls in either the RPCES or OPC (back in those days we had a lot of choices open to us coming out of seminary).

I can’t wait until this time next year when I can share my recollections for the 40th anniversary of the Advisory Convention meeting (also in Asheville, at the Grove Park Inn) that set up the structure for the First General Assembly of the NPC; you know, the one where Jimmy Lyons threatened to punch Charles Dunahoo in the nose!!

Don K. Clements is a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, currently serving as an Associate Evangelist with PEF and Director of Metokos Ministries (Encouragement for Smaller Churches).  He is also the co-founder and currently News Editor of The Aquila Report.