Our Synod’s present tension was not generated by anyone opposed to unity or peace. It was generated by scandal and – let’s be honest – a failure of nerve to address it. I could wish unity were the problem. If it were, it would be painlessly solved. But it is not the issue. Trustworthiness is, not just the trustworthiness of Erskine but of the Synod to prove it still has the courage of its convictions.

The comments below are from an e-mail that was sent by Dr. Curt Young, who is the Senior Pastor of the Church of the Atonement, Silver Spring, MD:

Recently I received a call to unity and peace in the church, written by John Bunyan – or, as it turns out, maybe not. I am always concerned when I receive an exposition of a doctrine without an explanation of why it has been sent to me. Does the action amount to a cordial encouragement or rebuke for an unnamed sin? Especially when a scandal has become apparent – and Erskine’s infidelity to the Standards is a scandal – what does a call for peace mean?

Does peace trump objecting to a scandal, to calling it what it is, or to taking strong measures to address it? If so, then peace has become synonymous with suppression.

Our Synod’s present tension was not generated by anyone opposed to unity or peace. It was generated by scandal and – let’s be honest – a failure of nerve to address it. I could wish unity were the problem. If it were, it would be painlessly solved. But it is not the issue. Trustworthiness is, not just the trustworthiness of Erskine but of the Synod to prove it still has the courage of its convictions.

(Editor’s Note: Dr. Young’s comments refer to a sermon on the topic of Peace and Unity written, many believe, by John Bunyan, and distributed throughout the denomination by the current Morderator in anticipation of the upcoming ARP Synod in early June.)

Indeed, I agree with Dr. Young’s comments. In the shadow of a stunning failure of ecclesiastical nerve on the part of the General Synod last June at Bonclarken, continuing theological unfaithfulness on the part of Erskine College and Theological Seminary that goes uncorrected at this time, a long history of unfaithfulness to and subversion of the theological standards of the ARP Church, failure of fiduciary oversight, and the recent condoning of administrative malfeasance at the seminary of the ARP Church on the part of the Erskine College and Seminary Board of Trustees, now is not the time to speak of unity as though these disruptive issues are not divisive and matters of public record. It is simply mystifying why a pseudo-Bunyan sermon on unity was sent to the ministers of the ARP Church at this juncture.

“Mr. Timorous” is not a pseudo-creation of Bunyan. Bunyan highlights Mr. Timorous in Pilgrim’s Progress. Mr. Timorous is NOT noted for his courage and faithfulness and resolve. Ours is not a time for those of the tribe of Mr. Timorous. Ours is a time for the tribe of another of Bunyan’s characters: “Mr. Faithful.” Indeed, ours is the time for the ministry of able and faithful men of Christian faith and character and courage.

Below is a link to a sermon by Samuel Miller, who, from 1813 to 1849, served as Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government at Princeton Theological Seminary and was also one of the significant leaders in the founding of the seminary.

The sermon was first published as The Duty of the Church to Take Measures for Providing an Able and Faithful Ministry, included in a larger publication, The Sermon, Delivered at the Inauguration of the Rev. Archibald Alexander, D.D. Professor of Didactic and Polemic Theology, in the Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, in the United States of America: to Which are Added, the Professor’s Inauguration Address, and the Charge to the Professor and Students (New York: Whiting and Watson, 1812). The sermon is found online at this link.

Charles ‘Chuck’ Wilson is an honorably retired ARP minister who edits the blog ARPTalk. This article first appeared at that website and is used with his perkmission.