Where Have All the Bubbles Gone?

I like tub baths better than showers. One of the great pleasures of life is a long, soaking, hot tub bath on a wintery day. It’s almost as good as a Miami vacation — but not as expensive!

Well, if one is going to take a long, soaking tub bath, it might as well be a bubble bath.

Bubble baths are wonderful! For me, it’s a sensory indulgence in lavender amid a warm blanket of bubbles.

Not only is a bubble bath a gratifying luxury, the bubbles are interesting. I like big, sparkly bubbles. I like how they reflect light! I like the little popping noises they make!

Spending time in a bubble bath makes one relaxed and sleepy. A bubble bath nap is refreshing. The only negative about a bubble bath nap is the bubbles dissipate during sleep. Perhaps someone can write a song! Here’s the title: Where Have All the Bubbles Gone?

The ARPChurch is like the end of a bubble bath. All the bubbles are gone! They have popped!

In the latest issue of the ARP Magazine, the lead article is entitled “The Unseen Ministry of the ARP Church”. In other words, all the bubbles have popped. I’m sure the author wasn’t aware as to how spot on she was. Indeed, the ministry of the ARPChurch is invisible. The ministry is like the end of a bubble bath: all the bubbles are gone.

What does the landscape look like for 2025? Let’s see what the latest statistical report reveals.

Statistical Analysis

Finally, the Minutes of the General Synod have been mailed out. The “Statistical Information” (pp. 171-203) is mixed, but it is not very encouraging.

Somehow ARP ministers have forgotten the church is only one generation from disappearing. This is why the Great Commission is a continuing imperative. The ARPChurch isn’t an exception to the rule.

Total (official) membership on December 31, 2023 is 25,279. That represents a gain in membership of 2725 in 2023 (and remember statistical information always reflects the previous year). One of the troubling aspects is “Adult Professions,” which were down from 339 (2022) to 235 (2023). Only 41 congregations witnessed an “Adult Profession.” The congregations which experienced the most  “Adult Professions” are Bethel Korean ARP Church, 63; Peace Korean ARP Church, 14; and Southern Korean ARP Church, 20 (and all three congregations are in First Presbytery). The total for these three congregations is 97 of the 235 “Adult Professions”. This means “legacy” ARP congregations (if they grow) do not grow by evangelism (“Adult Professions”). The type of growth they experience is what some pastors refer to as “the merry-go-round of the saints” as they go from one congregation to the next.

Growth in 2023 was by “Accessions by Certificate” and “Reaffirmation”: Certificates, 744; Reaffirmations, 3271. Notable congregations: *First Presbyterian Church, Columbia (Catawba) - Certificate, 92; Reaffirmation, 54 — *First Korean Presbyterian Church (First) - Certificate, 25; Reaffirmation, 236 — *Christ Covenant Church (Grace) - Certificate, 82; Reaffirmation, 0 — *Hyo Shin Bible Presbyterian Church (Northeast) - Certificate, 0; Reaffirmation, 471 — *Jesuwon Presbyterian Church (Northeast) - Certificate, 0; Reaffirmation, 174. The statistics here are uncertain, for the information on the Hyo Shin Bible Presbyterian Church and the Jesuwon Presbyterian Church are from prior years but have been added to the totals for 2023 by the folks at Central Services.

Perhaps the best comparison is to look at the total membership in 1983, 31,738 and then look at the total membership in 2023, 25,279. There is a 6000 decline in membership. While the population of the USA was increasing by 30 million, the membership of the ARPChurch was in serous decline.

The SECOND most alarming thing about the congregational statistics is that 191 congregations have a membership of 125 or less. That represents 78% of the 244 congregations of the ARPChurch.

The 125 membership number is arbitrary; however, having worked as a church planter and pastor, I can attest that 125 is a “magic” number. It means a congregation has the people and financial resources for growth.

A new church plant congregation can survive and thrive for a short time on a membership of 125 or less on the basis of enthusiasm for a new thing. The energy of a church plant is contagious, exciting, and outreaching. However, a stagnant congregation of less than 125 is probably in a death spiral.

Older congregations of 125 or less are probably legacy congregations with most of the congregants over 65. They are “old people” congregations. The people are tired, discouraged, and praying there will be someone left to turn off the lights at the end. Pastoring such a congregation is like bringing life to a morgue.

As I was looking at the 191 congregations with a membership of 125 or less, 126 have a membership of 60 or less. Most of those congregations are not large enough to be good sized Sunday School classes in a healthy Baptist congregation in Charlotte.

The congregational statistics indict the ministerial leadership of the ARPChurch. Almost all congregations are in decline. Either the ministerial leadership doesn’t know what to do, or they are lazy and unwilling to do what needs to be done.

I see the leaders looking at one another in stupefaction. They don’t know what to do. They are unwilling to ask for help. So they prat about babbling how they are growing the church deep. They speak of growing the church in Puritan spirituality. They look down on those who hold them accountable for “nickels and noses.”

I wonder why “Average Attendance” was left out as a category in this year’s “Statistical Information”. The last few years have seen a steep decline in weekly attendance. I wonder if that trend is continuing. If weekly attendance were up, it would have been printed and hailed as “great news,” don’t you think?

The FIRST MOST alarming thing about the “Statistical Information” is what it says about the denominational leadership of the ARPChurch. The notable leaders are: (1) Ben Glaser, Bethany ARP Church; membership declined from 118 to 116; no Adult Professions; (2) Clint Davis, Chester ARP Church; membership declined from 220 to 167; one Adult Profession; (3) Mark Miller, Clover ARP Church, membership increased from 209 to 210; one Adult Profession; (4) Andy Putnam, Tirzah ARP Church, membership declined from 222 to 177; one Adult Profession; (5) Patrick Malphrus, Old Providence ARP Church; membership declined from 380 to 375; no Adult Professions; (6) Matt Miller, he heads a C. S. Lewis bookclub in Greenville; one is left to wonder what the ARP space cadet is doing! (7) Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, may his name be blessed forever, Principal Clerk of General Synod; the statistical record of the Lancaster First ARP Church reflects his last year’s work as the pastor; membership declined from 118 to 101; no Adult Professions; according to his Facebook site, he is expert at wearing a kilt and eating his way across the ARPChurch.

So, why is the ARPChurch declining? Why is the ministry of the ARPChurch invisible? Why are all the bubbles gone? A congregation or denomination is not going to grow beyond the quality of its leadership!!

Oh, Canada, Good Bye!

In my assessment of the “Statistical Information,” I did not include the Canadian Presbytery. At the 2025 meeting of General Synod, the Canadian Presbytery is scheduled for release in order to form a Canadian denomination.

This makes sense. Because of Canadian laws, the Canadians have been unable to participate in the insurance program and retirement program or contribute to the Denominational Ministry Fund. One can only wonder what the prospects are for a denomination of 10 congregations, a total membership of 496, and congregations of 65, 45, 65, 203, 32, 9, 0 (new church plant), 1, 14, and 62, and, this year as a presbytery, reporting only two Adult Professions. As an outsider looking in, I would say the prospects of success are as cold as the Canadian winter in January. I hope I am wrong!

Financially Affluent

The “Statistical Information” is positive. The little ARPChurch reports a total “General Fund” giving of nearly 60 million dollars (and it is most certainly larger than that, for many congregations understate giving). The average per capital giving is $2,800 dollars. According to Christianity Today, the average in the USA is $2,297. As you can see, ARPs are generous.

Standing out like a neon light on a dark night, the category of “Other Receipts” for the little-bitty Kings Cross Church in Charlotte is extraordinary. It seems a congregation of 38 members was left a gift of 2.2 million dollars. Wow! The congregation no longer needs people to keep the water and lights on. With that much money, Rev. Nate Frazier should be well stocked with Scotch! The boy loves fine, single malt Scotch whiskeys!

The giving pattern of the ARPChurch reflects the age demographic of the denomination. The ARPChurch is older. Retired “baby boomers” are generally affluent and generous. Congregations with young couples and a gaggle of children usually struggle financially.

Unfortunately, affluence in a congregation often results in a declining congregation. A sense of stability and self-satisfaction sets in and the words of  Revelation 3.7 come into play: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”

Standing out like a giant promontory and unanswered as yet, what will the ecclesiocrats of the ARPChurch do with the approximately 6 million dollars left after General Synod dissolved Second Presbytery last year? When dissolved, Second Presbytery was the most affluent presbytery in the ARPChurch. The ecclesiastical warfare raged by the ecclesiocrats against Second Presbytery was unprecedented, unwarranted, and uncalled for. I expect the ecclesiocrats to mismanage the six million dollars in their effacing of Chuck Wilson. Why not? Anything Chuck Wilson raised is worthy of taking vengeance on!

Erskine College and Seminary Declining

The pride and gleaming idol of the ARPChurch continues to slide into oblivion as a Christian institution.

Have you noticed the impact of Reformed Seminary on Jackson, Ms, Orlando, Fl, and Charlotte, NC? The large number of PCA congregations and other conservative congregations which have sprung up around those three seminaries is amazing. In South Carolina, the same phenomenon is seen in Greenville. Greenville is the home of Bob Jones University. It’s amazing the number of evangelical congregations which have come into existence because of the presence of Bob Jones University. Some say Bob Jones University paved the way for North Greenville University, Anderson University, and Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

What is the influence of Erskine College and Seminary in a 50 mile radius of Due West? Has the college and seminary impacted the area by dotting it with ARP congregations? What about conservative congregations of other denominations or independent congregations?

Six weeks ago, President Steve Adamson sent out an email to alums saying Erskine had not been released from probation by SACS. It seems the auditors at SACS wanted to see if the Erskine administration could keep the institution in the “black” for a second year. Now (January 18, 2025), a statement has been posted stating Erskine has been released from sanctions, and the auditors will not be back for ten years.

What has happened in six weeks? This is unprecedented! Did lawyers get involved (and how much did that cost)? Did politicians get involved and intimidate SACS officials? (You know, the chairman of the Erskine board and the Governor of South Carolina are members of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia.) Did someone die and leave a huge bequest? Whatever it was, it was a doozy for the auditors to change their minds! They don’t do that!

I am reminded of the words of the English novelist and political and social critic Anthony Trollope:

But the glory has been the glory of pasteboard,
and the wealth has been a wealth of tinsel.
The wit has been the wit of hairdressers,
and the enterprise has been the enterprise of mountebanks.

From the Erskine website, the response of President Adamson is, “We have been given a mission to equip students for lives of service and leadership.” He also says, “By God’s grace, we will continue that mission for the next 185 years.”

Interestingly, Adamson’s response says nothing about Christ or the ARPChurch or the role of Erskine in Christian ministry. You see, this displays the “invisible ministry” of the ARPChurch.

Notwithstanding, Erskine is not out of the woods yet. There is another audit looming. This audit involves the state and the charter school mess Erskine is embroiled in.

But let us not despair. Erskine is on the cutting-edge, the very cusp of great things: Erskine has announced the creation of another sport. Cheer, cheer for Female Flag Football! Yes, football for girls! Erskine will join Chowan University, Emmanuel University, Ferrum College, King University, Lees-McRae College, University of Mount Olive, Barton College in Female Flag Football. Yes, to the glory of God: Female Flag Football! I can’t wait! Can you? Just think: if you’re an ARP congregant, you get to give to the creation of Female Flag Football!

If the Female Flag Football team is successful, it will help to offset the dismal failure the Men’s Football team has been, winning only one game in the last two seasons. Like the end of a bubble bath, where have all the bubbles gone?

Well, the tawdry mess that is South Carolina charter schools still haunts Erskine. As stated above, a state audit is looming. It looks like Erskine has lost a million dollars so far, with the leadership looking dumber than a bag of long-dead hammers. Particularly interesting are the connections and crosscurrents between Erskine, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, and Christ Reformed Church, Anderson. I bet the newspapers and radio and television news reporters are going to have a field day!

What is the outstanding ministry accomplishment of Erskine College? Well, you see, it’s invisible!

Correspondingly, what is the outstanding ministry accomplishment of Erskine Seminary? Is Erskine renowned for being an ARP institution? Well, no! It has become a quasi-PCA institution of academics who can’t get appointments at the prestigious seminaries. An institution is what its faculty is!

Most ARP ministers boast of the ARPChurch not being like the PCA. Most of them think of the PCA in negative terms. Clearly, if given the opportunity, they would not be a part of the PCA (that is, unless the money is really, really good!). Notwithstanding, the seminary they support with their denominational contributions is populated with professors out of or still in the PCA.

So, what is the outstanding ministry accomplishment of Erskine Seminary? Maybe it’s in teaching preaching. The professor of preaching is the nationally and internationally known and renowned Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, may his name be blessed forever, Principal Clerk of General Synod. And, being ambidextrous, he can also teach ministerial candidates how to wear a kilt. Poor boy, we have to cut him a lot of slack, for he suffers from a severe case of gasconademania.

Conclusion

The ARPChurch is declining and whatever influence it has is only in the imaginations of its ministers. In the area of Church Planting, one can hope for the success of Morrie Lawing, the new Director of ONA. Perhaps he can bring back the halcyon days of Jim Corbitt, his mentor. The odds are against him, for the ecclesiastical culture is against him. He’s not one of them. I hope he succeeds.

ARPs love to talk about world missions. The present Moderator pontificates, “To the ends of the earth — TOGETHER!” Doing what? Planting churches? Well, how’s that going for ARPs. The World Witness report sounds like Joe Biden bragging about his accomplishments as President. It’s an invisible ministry. It’s like men moving rocks to a rock quarry! A cursory look at the work of World Witness reveals it functions as a support system for parachurch organizations and other denominations. You see, it’s an invisible ministry!

Finally, here’s a good exercise to do: go to the minutes of General Synod and look up the statistical report for 1974 and compare it to 2024. In 1974, there was something to fight for, something to dream for, and something to get excited for. Today . . . well, where have all at the bubbles gone?