By request of the Defense, the trial for Mr. Jared Olivetti has been moved to the week of March 7, 2022, and the trial for the ruling elders (Mr. David Carr, Mr. Ben Larson, and Mr. Keith Magill) has been moved to the week of March 28, 2022. These are the final dates. Location and logistics for these trials are being worked out by the SJC.

In the 2021 meeting of Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), the court assumed original jurisdiction for the matter pertaining to complaints associated with events at Immanuel Reformed Presbyterian Church (IRPC). The Synod Judicial Commission (SJC) has been often heartened and encouraged by word from many in the denomination who have been regularly praying for our work. We continue to invite and encourage the entire denomination – members and churches alike to be in prayer for the IRPC congregation, their current and former members and all those who have been impacted by these events. The SJC is regularly in prayer for each and together we seek the blessing of the Great Shepherd in this work.
This is a report of a few recent actions and upcoming milestone dates for the work of the SJC.
We previously reported that the SJC had approved accusations against the elders of IRPC. After that action, the SJC arranged to conduct pre-trial hearings on November 30th with both Prosecution and Defense participating. It was a purposeful and meaningful exchange about hard things. In the hearings, the SJC heard objections to actions of the SJC and received requests and motions from the Defense. Each of those topics have been addressed by the SJC and results communicated to the parties. As previously reported, the approval of accusations does not pre-judge the case, but simply acknowledges that they conform to the requirements of the Constitution of the RPCNA. The judicial process must run its full course to determine the outcome.
Regarding the judicial process now underway, the following actions and decisions have been recently confirmed by the SJC:

The SJC denied the motion of the Defense to vacate all charges and nullify the investigation. The SJC determined that the denial of judicial process was unfair to all – accusers and accused alike. A full, fair, and impartial opportunity to fully ‘address this matter’ is necessary to bring it to completion.
In the accusations approved against the ruling elders of IRPC, the SJC has removed Mr. Zachary Blackwood and Mr. Nate Pfeiffer from the list of the accused. Both Mr. Blackwood and Mr. Pfeiffer resigned their office (Mr. Pfeiffer also resigned his ordination) earlier in 2021 in response to the recommendations of the Great Lakes Gulf (GLG) Presbytery Judicial Commission.
By request of the Defense, the trial for Mr. Jared Olivetti has been moved to the week of March 7, 2022, and the trial for the ruling elders (Mr. David Carr, Mr. Ben Larson, and Mr. Keith Magill) has been moved to the week of March 28, 2022. These are the final dates. Location and logistics for these trials are being worked out by the SJC.
As permitted by the RPCNA Constitution Book of Discipline (II.2.9), the SJC has imposed the requirement for Mr. Olivetti to refrain from the exercise of the office of teaching elder until the judicial process is complete. By imposing this requirement, the SJC in no way pre-judges the case, but acknowledges the gravity of the accusations against Mr. Olivetti. The SJC has not imposed the same requirement to refrain on the ruling elders at this time.

The SJC acknowledges the significant amount of time, efforts and sacrifices that have been invested in this matter in recent months. Many have given inordinate amounts of energy on behalf of the Synod, and this includes not only the SJC, but the investigators (who now serve as Prosecutors) and the accused (now the Defense). The SJC is pleased to report that healthy patterns of communication have been established between all the parties and even in difficult concerns we trust the Lord will give light and stamina to all as we continue in this process.
Because the judicial process is ongoing over these next few months, the SJC is not soliciting general communications or input from members of the denomination unless they are urgent for the good of those involved. The SJC is focused on carefully carrying out the process as described in the Constitution and seeks to conduct each step decently and in order. The SJC is not responding to any requests from the media as our charter from Synod is wholly an ecclesiastical matter. Further, the SJC cautions each and every one to be careful in their conversations about this matter. We remind ourselves and all to remember Ephesians 4:29 – “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” We are a communion of saints, and we love our brothers and sisters in every dimension of this matter. Our words ought always to give grace to all who hear. The Lord directs our hearts even in difficult matters such as this and we are ever encouraged to love one another…without exception.
Please continue in your prayers and petitions. Our Lord reigns.
The 2021 Synod Judicial Commission
TE Mr. Bruce Backensto, SJC Convener, First RP Church, Beaver Falls, PARE Dr. John Bower, Covenant RP Church, Aurora, OHTE Mr. Brian Coombs, Messiah’s Church, Clay, NYRE Mr. Tom Fisher, SJC Clerk, Cambridge RP Church, Cambridge, MATE Mr. Kelly Moore, Tri-Lakes Reformed Church, Colorado Springs, CORE Mr. Tom Pinson, Springs Reformed Church, Colorado Springs, CORE Mr. Keith Wing, SJC Moderator, College Hill Reformed Church, Beaver Falls, PA
January 6, 2022

In 1955, A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), classic work The Root of the Righteous was published. The 46 brief chapters therein are all well worth reading and meditating upon. But I want to refer you to chapter 34, “In Praise of Disbelief”. Yes, you read that right. Let me quote much of this great piece here. He begins with these words: In our constant struggle to believe we are likely to overlook the simple fact that a bit of healthy disbelief is sometimes as needful as faith to the welfare of our souls. I would go further and say that we would do well to cultivate a reverent skepticism. It will keep us out of a thousand bogs and quagmires where others who lack it sometimes find themselves. It is no sin to doubt some things, but it may be fatal to believe everything.

Some of you might be wondering if I am starting to lose it. ‘Praising disbelief? I thought you were a champion of belief and faith!’ Well, I certainly do stress the vital importance of a strong faith and solid belief. But that does not mean belief in anything. That does not mean brainless gullibility.
There are plenty of things we should not believe, and that we should question, doubt and even call out. Having a healthy scepticism is always an important element of the Christian life. The past few years have certainly made this clear even in secular areas.
Our elites and media bombarded us for several years with the blatantly false idea that we should simply ‘trust the science’ and do what we were told. That of course is and was a recipe for disaster. The hysterical fear-mongering and panic over Covid and the completely destructive government overreactions caused untold harm – and we are still reeling from the negative impact of all that today.
We all should ask hard questions about what we hear and what we are told. We should not only question our leaders and politicians, but those who claim to be coming to us in the name of science. As any real scientist knows, questioning things IS how the scientific method works. It does NOT work by forcing compliance and unquestioning subservience.
But all this is true in the Christian life as well. Every day – especially with social media – we read and hear things that are patently false and unbiblical. Yet far too many believers never question anything and are far too gullible and lacking in basic discernment.
The Apostle Paul told us to “test all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). And John exhorted us with these words: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1-2). Believers really ought to start obeying these sorts of commands.
With all this in mind, let me draw your attention to someone we all associate with strong faith and robust belief. We do not normally think of him as someone who would advocate disbelief. But he most certainly did. I refer to the great A. W. Tozer (1897-1963).
In 1955 his classic work The Root of the Righteous was published. The 46 brief chapters therein are all well worth reading and meditating upon. But I want to refer you to chapter 34, “In Praise of Disbelief”. Yes, you read that right. Let me quote much of this great piece here. He begins with these words.
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Written by Benjamin T. Inman |
Friday, February 24, 2023
We need the outwards means that Christ actually uses. Where has he put his promises? How does he give us the benefits of redemption? It is appalling to assert that sanctification by faith urgently needs something other than what Christ has appointed. This is about how is it even possible, and how is it actually accomplished– that faith in Christ can deliver us from fruitless lives of being “anything but faithful, self-denying, cross-bearing Christians.”

That was Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday. My special needs daughter’s trainer gave her some red beads in the morning. That was kind of one, and delightful to both. We didn’t discuss penitential practices, or the twisted reliability of the-day-before-lent. Just a day on the calendar. Just shiny beads. Yes, I thanked her.
The next day I drove into town, past the Anglican Church: “Ash Wednesday: Drive-Thru hours 12-1 pm and 4-5 pm, Service at 5:30.” I’m new in this town and haven’t yet met the priest. I have only done some drive-by praying. I have no idea what to make of that sign. Somebody’s circus, somebody’s monkeys. For that clergy in that building, it was most certainly Ash Wednesday. What does it mean for them on Thursday?
Thursday is the day when I think about my two dear Anglican brothers. I think. I do not text the thought, though it would make them laugh. I am not making light of their discipleship. I know they think of me on this day too– fond thoughts edging over towards how immovable I am on this stuff. It’s me; it’s Thursday; it’s not a big deal; it just won’t budge.
But then, I read this from a fellow minister in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). He and I have communicated about my concerns before. He wrote this originally for all and sundry, though now he publishes it again for the members of his new congregation. He explains that ashes for repentance is something people actually did when open fires were ubiquitous to civilization. Perhaps today we would follow their example by licking an electrical outlet. Or we could anoint with embalming fluid. He carefully acknowledges that what we now do at the drive thru only emerged in the 11th century. He then goes on to speak of embodied rituals and their necessity for our sanctification.
He is not fooling around; he knows that it is an old practice, not an ancient practice. Accordingly, his reflection produces a flexible conclusion: this is like something seen in the Bible, and a lot of professing Christians have done it in the past– so, it is okey-dokey but not mandatory for congregations to do it now. Perhaps his session promulgates this ritual for those under their care. Perhaps he performs it in his office as their pastor. Perhaps some of them do not participate. This is an elective practice for Christians. No, not in the Bible, but cherished by some people who have high regard for the Bible. It is more than naming a day, but also less.
What’s The Problem?
Easter. Lent. Fat Tuesday. Ash Wednesday. I even made up my own name for Thursday. This is not about naming days. This is not about despising disciples in earlier centuries from whom we have received the legacy of their tenacity. I am not scandalized or deprived of a gleam of my thankful wonder by thinking that the people who blessed me did some stupid stuff. I am encouraged to think some folks may regard me similarly. I’m not bent out of shape because “that is not a very presbyterian thing to do.” Let all the jerseys be so smeared with mud and blood, that we can’t discriminate with our comments from the sidelines. There are differences and details, but don’t muck around like this:
We live in a culture that is constantly barraging us with rituals. We are moved along like sheep by the media and other forces. We participate in the Super Bowl, an event that is laden with ritual. We do Fourth of July, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day – and most of these rituals involve opening up the pocket book to buy things. We participate in sporting events of all kinds, which are rituals. We do Valentine’s day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day – all rituals. And yet even though our secular culture hits us with rituals all day long, seven days a week, and twice on Sunday, many of us Protestants and Evangelicals are wary of rituals in the church! In light of everything the culture uses to shape and form us, what we need in the church is not less rituals but more! We need rituals to shape and form us to counteract the forces in the culture which are forming us into anything but faithful, self-denying, cross-bearing Christians.
Ritual is a profound and trendy topic. My daughter is a professional philosopher, and she has schooled me a bit. It is of interest to professional philosophers lately. She doesn’t think my views of intinction or the call to worship or Matthew 18 are just persnickety opinions about details and criteria. She and I both are nodding with this impassioned paragraph about those cultural rituals. The real-world power and trajectories are weighty.
Most certainly, believers need something “to counteract the forces in the culture.” Romans 12:1ff and similar texts indicate that just such “greater than” power and influence is necessary in sanctification. The PCA’s view of wholesome religion thrums with the same urgency: “What doth God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse, due to us for sin?” (SC 85).
That dire question has a stout and energetic rejoinder. “To escape the wrath and curse of God, due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption.” No, under the pressures of our wicked society, we do not need to multiply liturgical rituals.
We need the outwards means that Christ actually uses. Where has he put his promises? How does he give us the benefits of redemption? It is appalling to assert that sanctification by faith urgently needs something other than what Christ has appointed. This is about how is it even possible, and how is it actually accomplished– that faith in Christ can deliver us from fruitless lives of being “anything but faithful, self-denying, cross-bearing Christians.”
This is not about being unpresbyterian. This is not about naming days.
What’s the Other Problem?
I am heartened about the point of agreement: we want Christians to live worthy of their calling. I am distressed at this out-of-the-ancient-blue prescription. We agree on how high the stakes are, and the necessity of every believer laying his cards on the table. Our Standards exempt no believer. There is no Christian freedom athwart this point: God requires “the diligent use” by everyone. Sanctification is serious business and it must contend with the atmospheric influence of the world, the flesh and the devil– peer pressure, systemic influence and worldly rituals. Given the glory of sanctification in Christ, of course there is urgency.
How then can a faithful pastor present something so powerful as optional? We must counteract the worldly rituals– on that we agree. If more rituals are a necessity for the spiritual good of every sheep, how could a pastor fail to urge participation on each and every one? How could one leave them bereft without more rituals? Isn’t that neglect? I am ashen faced at the thought of telling my bi-polar nephew that his meds are optional.
I am aghast at the illogical tolerance that wafts from mixing this 11th century smoldering into this 21st century muck. “Ash Wednesday and the imposition of ashes is one of those helpful rituals that push against the world, the flesh, and the devil.” Helpful? That’s an anticlimax. One of? Apparently, there are others to add. The imposition of ashes by a minister of the gospel is not for every Christian. Are we at the post-modernism part yet?
Does this mean that– which rituals are indifferent, but we must multiply other rituals? Do we need to make things more fitting for people who are ash intolerant? Is this the church’s task, inventing rituals? Thoughtfully the church describes the dire situation. Winsomely, she exposits the theological provisions. Then she earnestly urges, “Don’t just stand there; do something.” And she comforts: “Don’t worry, we’ll make something up.”
Given that worldly rituals are a malicious influence, surely the Word of God provides all the counterweight needful for life and godliness. According to our Standards, are there rituals with such influence? Are rituals so prescribed in our Standards? How on earth can Christians be shaped more by Christ in heaven (Col 3:1ff) than by the rituals of the society we inhabit?
This is about how Christians are enabled to honor Christ with faith and repentance in the world. This is not about naming days in the calendar. This is about the vitals of religion.
Benjamin T. Inman is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and a member of Eastern Carolina Presbytery.
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