The purpose of the Called Meeting is to hear a report of a special commission to investigate problems in the governance of the denominations College and Seminary (both bearing the name Erskine) located in Due West, SC.

As previously reported on The Aquila Report, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) has called a highly unusually special meeting of their national General Synod which will commence on Tuesday, March 3rd at the Bonclarken Conference Center near Hendersonville, NC. https://theaquilareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1248:called-meeting-of-arp-general-synod-announced&catid=50:churches&Itemid=133

The Commission has prepared and distributed a Preliminary Report containing some of their conclusions. The final report with all conclusions and recommendations will be presented at the meeting. The reason given by the commission to not distribute the entire report prior to the meeting is their sense that this would result in ‘depriving the General Synod of the deliberative process’. They explain their fear of the damage that would be done to this process by the ‘publicly-voiced opinions of anyone with internet access, whether or not they hear the Commission’s full report.’

Following are some highlights of the Preliminary Report (a link to the full report is available at the end of this article). In carrying out its work, the Commission interviewed more than 80 trustees, administrators, faculty, and students. They met 14 times, investing about 900 man hours

The Minutes of the General Synod give evidence of a long-standing pattern of concern about the college and seminary. These concerns resulted in production and adoption of documents intended to clarify Erskine’s mission.

The ARP Church owns and operates the college and seminary through the trustees and has an obligation to ensure that the church’s directives are being followed and the missions of these institutions are being implemented.

Several preliminary conclusions received unanimous votes from the Commission members (again, only highlighted here):

1. The General Synod itself has been negligent in its oversight of the institutions. The Synod has not taken responsible measure to ensure that the mission statements are understood and implemented properly by the Board and Administration.

2. There are irreconcilable and competing visions about the direction of the college and seminary among the members of the Board of Trustees. There is widespread disagreement in relation to the meaning of Erskine’s responsibility to integrate faith and learning and what impact, if any, this should have in the classrooms.

3. There are irreconcilable and competing visions about Erskine’s mission as a liberal arts college on the Board and within the administration and faculty, much as a result of the growing number of professional, rather than liberal arts, degrees.

4. The current problems affect the search for a new president. The next president must have the full support of the ARP Church and it Board of Trustees.

5. The size of the Board (34 members) is a significant obstacle to effective governance. This results in the fact that the Administration, and not the Board, effectively sets policy for the institutions.

6. The committee structure employed by the Board is a hindrance to proper governance and oversight because, in the nature of the case, the Board relies heavily on its Executive Committee.

7. The Seminary oversight is in the hands of a committee which includes members who, themselves, do not meet the criteria for ordination as ministers or elders in the denomination.

8. Ideological divisions on the Board have created significant challenges for the faculty. A lack of clear directives from the Board has led to widespread faculty confusion about their responsibilities to the church in the classroom setting. Additionally, it was found that a significant majority of the professors interviews had no understanding of how the Christian faith could be meaningfully integrated into their disciplines.

9. The Board has been negligent in it’s responsibly to hold the Administration accountable for the faculty it employs. Thirteen faculty members have been employed since the General Synod added inerrancy to its definition of what constitutes an evangelical profession. It is not evident that many of these new faculty members are committed to inerrancy.

To read the entire Preliminary Report, go to: https://theaquilareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1526:complete-text-of-preliminary-report-of-the-app-moderators-commission-on-erskine-college-and-seminary&catid=54:national-denominations&Itemid=61

[Editor’s note: the original URLs (links) referenced in this article is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]