Ben Glaser: “You’re Jackasses!!”

Two “called” meetings of Second Presbytery, ARP, took place on Tuesday (August 12) at the Due West ARP Church, Due West, South Carolina. Yes, I said there were TWO called meetings. They occurred back-to-back. The first was CHAOS. The second was BEDLAM. One at 11:00 AM, and the other meeting followed immediately after the first.

Expected but not present, Pope Kyle Sims of the ARPChurch, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, was not present for the festivities. Later, it was learned His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, was having brunch with Jabba the Hutt across the street at the Erskine College dining room, in the Founders Room. The brunch ran late into the evening. However, the meeting was recorded, and I’m sure he listens in by cell phone via an envoy while chatting and eating with Jabba.

Originally, Second Presbytery was to meet at the Young Memorial ARP Church, Anderson, SC. It is a mystery as to why Billy Barron (Moderator of the presbytery and oleaginous tool of the Catawba Caliphate), changed the meeting to the Due West ARP Church. Maybe it is because there isn’t a restaurant near the Young Memorial Church.

In the back of the Due West Church sanctuary, perched like buzzards, were three representatives of Catawba Presbytery, ARP, (that is, the Catawba Caliphate), drooling on themselves and eyeballing the pickings — that is, the assets of Second Presbytery. You know, five-and-a-half million dollars is a lot of money!! And the taste of ill gotten gain is so sweet!!

The Catawba buzzards were Ben Glaser, Mark Miller, and James McManus; pastors of three of the largest congregations in South Carolina. I was told by a friend that he overheard a pastor say to another pastor: “Look in the back! We are so blessed to have the pastors of three of the largest, most successful, and influential congregations in the state! What a blessing it must be to have congregations so large and staffs so competent and gifted that these famous preachers can afford to give us their whole day!”

Ben Glaser, the stated clerk of Catawba Presbytery asked to speak to the particulars of a matter regarding the Lower Long Cane ARP Church which has informed the presbytery the congregation voted to renounce the jurisdiction of the presbytery and withdraw from the ARPChurch. There was extensive discussion. Since Glaser is not a member of Second Presbytery, he asked for permission to speak. By a narrow vote, he was given permission; however, in response to the Nay votes, it is reported he was enraged, his bald head turn red, and he exclaimed, “You’re jackasses!!!” This was overheard by a layman who stood and said to the presbytery with a loud voice, “He just called us “jackasses.” A time of pandemonium followed. Well, finally, there was a moment of truth. Indeed, in ira verita. Mealy mouthed, he apologized for his outburst. Nevertheless, in a moment such as this, the truth is told. Glaser thinks those in Second Presbytery who disagree with him are jackasses. So, a question hangs waiting for an answer: why would anyone want to be sucked into Catawba Presbytery where those who disagree with the party line are deemed jackasses.

Notwithstanding, I want to thank Ben Glaser and give him a tip-of-the-hat for providing the title for this article, “Ben Glaser: ‘You’re jackasses!!’”

At the beginning of the meeting, Moderator of the presbytery, Billy Barron attempted to rule HIS own agenda out of order. This is new — even in ARPDumb! I have never seen or heard of a Moderator ruling his own agenda “out of order.” A lawyer from the Greenville congregation, Dan Eller, threatened the members of the presbytery, saying that if the presbytery did not rule the agenda out of order, the members who voted against the moderator’s ruling left themselves open to ecclesiastical discipline. Indeed, in an act of raw intimidation, a “roll call” vote was taken in which each person’s name was called and how he voted was recorded. The moderator’s ruling was overturned and the meeting continued according to the agenda. I suppose Dan Eller’s role in the meeting was as Papal Legate for Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever.

Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, was not pleased with the misconduct in Due West. By Wednesday noon, Dr. John Cook (retired), Rev. Jonathan Cook (pastor, Young Memorial ARP Church), Rev. Eldredge Kelley (retired), Rev. Tony Locke (presently without charge), Rev. Peter Waid (retired), and Seth Yi (pastor, Newberry ARP Church) learned that Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, had filed allegations against them for violating the Ninth Commandment and/or violating their ordination vows. It must have been a tainted raw oyster that he ate during brunch with Jabba the Hutt that gave him such dyspepsia!

The tainted oyster must have been a stinker. Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, failed to give particulars as to how the above ministers violated the Ninth Commandment and/or their ordination vows. But, such a trivial matter as not including the particulars in his allegations is not an important thing. Well, Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, as holy and universal Vicar of the ARPChurch, IS HE exercising raw power? Goodness, Eugene Charles, say it ain’t so! Such a holy man wouldn’t attempt to harm the lives of those on whom he brought allegations of mis-conduct, would he? I’m sure he wouldn’t act like those villainous churchmen in the Church of Scotland who attempted to harm the Erskine brothers and others (the founders of the Associate Presbytery) in Scotland in 1733! That would be like a dog returning to its vomit!!!

The following is the account of most of what took place.

• A motion to obtain an attorney to advise on maters related to the dissolution of the corporation and distribution of monies was made and passed.
• A motion to dissolve the presbytery and distribute the assets as per General Synod’s recommendations in Index 11 failed. The motion failed because it was pointed out the directive from General Synod is illegal.
• A motion was made for Moderator Barron to appoint trustees “to handle any matters directly related to the dissolution of the corporation and/or Second Presbytery before and after September 1.” There is a problem here. Barron is a failed pastor everywhere he served. With his limited abilities, how is he going to find people who can competently deal with 5.5 million dollars? The motion passed. May God have mercy!!
• At the summer meeting of Second Presbytery, a motion was passed to send $600,000 “to the Board of Benefits for the purpose of reducing the debt on the Retirement Pension Fund.” In discussion with the chairman of the Board of Benefits, he said the gift wasn’t needed. So, a motion was made not to send $600,000 to the Retirement Board of Benefits. The motion passed.
• A motion to establish an endowment for church planting, funded by the $5,500,000 held by Second Presbytery was not approved. The reason the motion was not approved is timing. There simply isn’t enough time to work out the legal and administrative details of an endowment before September 1.
• The matter of the Lower Long Cane ARP Church’s letter informing the presbytery that the congregation had voted to renounce the jurisdiction of Second Presbytery and withdraw from the ARPChurch was extensively debated. It was pointed out that the Lower Long Cane Church is where Second Presbytery was organized. No action was taken because the matter needed to be brought up at a “stated” meeting of the presbytery. At this point, Peter Waid made a motion that the Lower Long Cane congregation be immediately dismissed with property. The motion failed after much contentious discussion.
• A motion to provide time for discussion regarding the decision of General Synod to dissolve Second Presbytery failed for no one would second the motion. It seems no one wanted to discuss the matter as Moderator Barron framed it. Barron’s leadership was on display. No one followed!
• As a matter of housekeeping, the motion to approve the minutes from the last “stated” meeting failed or was ruled out of order. The minutes of a “stated” meeting are approved at the next “stated” meeting. Besides, David Griffin, the stated clerk (who was forever complaining that his predecessor did not do his work in a timely fashion) has not done his work in a timely fashion, and the minutes have not been distributed and posted.
• For the first time in 224 years, a meeting of Second Presbytery was closed without the singing of No. 280 in the Bible Songs, “Christian Unity,” “Behold, how good a thing it is”. There was no unity in the meeting!

Below is a copy the call for and the agenda of the second “called” meeting of Second Presbytery.

Dear Brothers of Second Presbytery,

On behalf of Moderator Barron, I am letting you know that, per FoG 10.12, a called meeting of Second Presbytery has been requested by Jonathan Cook, Peter Waid, and Mark Wright.

The purpose of the meeting is to:

"Provide for open response and any actions related to the dissolution of Second Presbytery for congregations and ministers.”

This additional called meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 13, immediately following the adjournment of the meeting of Second Presbytery previously called by Moderator Barron.

Kind regards, David

The meeting began after the first “called” meeting and it was contentious. Below is a record of events. Items are few, but the time to work them out was long and difficult.

• Immediately, Moderator Barron attempted to prevent the meeting from taking place. His ruling was challenged. Finally, after much discussion, a number of delegates stood up and said, “Mr. Moderator, you can go home, but we are going to have this meeting. The meeting has been properly called.” In other words, there were men of courage who said they were not going to be intimidated by the toadies of Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever.
• Peter Waid made a motion to cancel the mortgage on the McCormick property. He argued that only $18,000 remained on the mortgage, and this was an opportunity to encourage a Baptist church plant which was growing and expanding its facilities. The motion passed. See below:
  • That Second Presbytery forgive the remaining balance of the loan of the Narrow Way Baptist Church, McCormick, SC, and that the treasurer, of the assistant treasurer, be authorized to inform lawyer, Randy Newton of this action so that he can remove the lien on their deed.
• A motion by Seth Yi was made that any minister or congregation desiring to withdraw from Second Presbytery and the ARP Church could do so with a letter of notification to the Clerk before September 1, with dismissal taking place immediately. There are many congregations and ministers in Second Presbytery who do not want to be part of Catawba Presbytery or Tennessee-Alabama Presbytery (and the ARPChurch, for that matter!!). The motion passed.
• A motion was made by Rob Roy McGregor, Sr. that Second Presbytery give $1,000,000 to Dunlap. It was late in the day, delegates were tired, and the motion passed. Andrew Di Iulio, the most feckless parliamentarian Second Presbytery has ever had the misfortune to have, missed the obvious that the motion is out of order: directly in violation of the Manual of Procedure regarding use of monies.
• A document written by Drs. John Cook and R. J. Gore explaining and defending the actions of the investigation of Mathew Miller and Charles Wilson by the Minister & His Work Committee was read to the presbytery. A motion was made and passed to place the document in the minutes and make it available for distribution. See document here.
• A motion by Rob Roy McGregor, Sr., was made for Second Presbytery to withdraw from the ARPChuch. The motion was never voted on. There was pandemonium. The members of the the Greenville mafia walked out in protest. The motion was not voted on.
• When Dan Eller (attorney for the Greenville mafia and Papal Legate of Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever) left in a huff, he handed the clerk a statement that he was filing a complaint regarding the action of Second Presbytery to allow ministers and congregations to withdraw.
• Barron declared the motion for Second Presbytery to withdraw from the ARPChurch “out of order.” Before anything else could be brought to the floor, Barron adjourned the meeting with the Lord’s Prayer. Everyone was exhausted!

Some Miscellaneous Thoughts

1. Why has Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, not brought allegations against all those who voted to overrule the moderator in order that the meeting of Second Presbytery could take place? Whee are Eller’s allegations? What was the purpose of a “rollcall” vote where names are called and the vote is recorded?
2. Where is a copy of the complaint promised by Dan Eller? Does he plan to bring allegations against those who voted to overrule the decision of the moderator to rule his own agenda out of order — that is, the agenda he approved by calling the meeting? No complaint has been read. No complaint has been distributed. No complaint has be approved
3. I suppose the reason allegations were brought against John Cook is because he read a statement defending the actions of the Minister and Work Committee in response to the matters regarding Matt Miller and Charles Wilson. Finally, information was released to the light of day which Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, and others have attempted to suppress. Interestingly, the document was co-authored by John Cook and R. J. Gore. Why has Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, not filed allegations against R. J. Gore? Could it be his courage is much less than his bulk? Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, is a new employee at Erskine Seminary. R. J. Gore is a tenured professor who has taught at Erskine Seminary for 30 years. He served as Dean for about 20 years. His reputation for integrity is spotless. Sims wouldn’t dare bring allegations against Gore! If he does, I will bring a large bag of popcorn to the show.
4. There is a passage in the Bible (Matthew 15.12 & 14) which reads, “Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees were offended. . . ?’ . . . . [Jesus said], ‘Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.’” Another way to say this goes like this: “If you follow a fool, you are a fool!” Thankfully, I am not a leader in the happy band of the ARPChurch.
5. BREAKING NEWS A group of ministers and elders met yesterday (August 19) in Greenwood, SC, to form a new presbytery. The name of the presbytery is Veritas Presbytery. The charter congregations are Newberry Presbyterian Church, Troy Presbyterian Church, and Unity Presbyterian Church. The charter ministers are Anthony Locke, John Paul Marr, Peter Waid, Mark Wright, and Seth Yi. The Moderator is Dr. John Paul Marr. The clerk of Second Presbytery has been informed of the organization of Veritas Presbytery and requested to remove the names of the founding ministers and congregations from the membership roll of Second Presbytery. The summary of his response is this: “You can’t do that! You can’t do that! Do you hear me? You can’t do that! We’ll seek legal action against you!” (See https://veritaspresbytery.com) A year after the formation of the Associate Presbytery in Scotland in 1733, the Erskine brothers and the others who formed the presbytery were charged and excommunicated by the Church of Scotland. ARP ministers say they love the Scottish roots of the ARPChurch, but it seems they have more in common with the Church of Scotland and the PCUSA, don’t you think? So, I predict that within a year the ministers and others who formed the Veritas Presbytery will be excommunicated by the ARPChurch, signifying a lot of self- righteous and fatuous grousing, snorting, and handwringing by the ARP ecclesiocrats. Notwithstanding, their inflated egos will have been throughly greased, and they will be as happy as well-fed hogs in the Georgia sunshine. They will also congratulate themselves, saying, “We have done the Lord’s work!” If you would like to know more about Veritas Presbytery, on Friday, August 23, at 2:00 PM, EST, a Zoom meeting will take place to introduce the presbytery ( https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82110558819?pwd=UqGwIofzgai18lzvnPBqk4GmH0PlCG.1  Meeting ID: 821 1055 8819; Passcode: 120025), and you are invited.
6. Finally, I close with a warning. There is a CURSE on stolen money. Woe to those who seize the $5,500,000 from Second Presbytery!

PS: See Seth Yi’s reflections on the meetings of Second Presbytery and the aftermath posted on The Aquila Report: https://theaquilareport.com/the-arp-church-tightens-its-grip-on-congregations-and-ministers/