Tribute to a Good Man: John Calvin Grier

By Charles Wilson August 27, 2025

Remembering John Calvin Grier It was late Monday morning, July 7, and I had been out to an appointment. When I got home, the phone was ringing. The voice on the phone said, “Chuck, John Calvin is dead; he died this morning from a heart attack.” Shocked, I thought, “We talked yesterday. He turned 65 just two weeks ago! Why couldn’t it have been me? He’s needed more than I am!” When I first met John Calvin Grier (and his…

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The ARP Church — A Church About Nothing

By Charles Wilson May 29, 2025

I was late getting home, and I was hungry. When I walked in the house, in the living room, parked around the television, were my five teenage children, my mother, my wife, and our dog, Rennie. I went into the kitchen and got a bite to eat. Walking back into the living room, the conversations were about some crazy thing Phoebe had done and her horrible singing about a smelly cat. They were watching the new series, Friends. I was…

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Where Have All the Bubbles Gone?

By Charles Wilson January 22, 2025

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…

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Born for Wounds!

By Charles Wilson December 17, 2024

Christmas is a time for music. As I was thumbing through the hymnbook for Sunday’s hymns, I was struck once again that so many of the “great” Christmas hymns are in the minor key. “Joy to the World!” is an exception. Isaac Watts composed it in a major key as a celebration of Jesus’ Kingship and His Second Coming. Notwithstanding, the minor key is the dominating voice of time-honored Christmas music. The minor key is soulful: (1) it calls for…

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Free at Last!

By Charles Wilson October 1, 2024

In the last issue of ARPTalk, I said Chuck Wilson, the Reprobate and Heretic, may his name be cursed by all ARPs, was wrong. Well, yes, he was, but he was also right. Wilson miscalculated the actions of the Executive Board. In refusing to take up and declare the complaint against Second Presbytery by Dan Eller as an emergency matter, Eller was left with mud on his face. At Eller’s request, the moderator called for a meeting to take up…

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Breaking News: Chuck Wilson Was Wrong!

By Charles Wilson September 26, 2024

Chuck Wilson was WRONG! Can you believe it? Chuck Wilson was wrong! And he’s willing to admit it! In the last issue of ARPTalk (Eller’s Complaint Before the Privy Council of the Hierophants), Chuck Wilson, the Reprobate and Heretic, may his name be cursed by all ARPs, reported that an emergency meeting of the Executive Board had been called by the moderator of General Synod, Alan Broyles, for Thursday, September 26, 2024, to consider Dan Eller’s complaint that Second Presbytery…

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Eller’s Complaint Before the Privy Council of the Hierophants

By Charles Wilson September 22, 2024

Click to read the original Complaint as written by Dan Ellers The moderator of the ARPChurch, Alan Broyles (compliant tool of Pope Kyle Sims, His Fatness, blessed be his name forever, and Patrick Malphrus (the pope’s lapdog) has called for an emergency meeting of the Executive Board of General Synod (that is, the Privy Council of Yes-Men and the Kangaroo Court) for this Thursday, September 26, 2024, to take up a complaint by Dan Eller (attorney and elder in the…

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Warning: Dangerous to Read

By Charles Wilson September 19, 2024

PDF of the Worship for Lower Long Cane Presbyterian Church Homecoming 2024   Last Sunday (September 15, 2024) was Homecoming at the Lower Long Cane Presbyterian Church. Organized in 1771 as an Associate congregation, (1) we celebrated the 253rd year of the congregation; (2) constructed in 1849, we celebrated 175 years of worship in the present sanctuary; and (3) we celebrated the 80th birthday of Reverend Eleredge Kelley. The Cedar Springs ARP Church, the Lower Long Cane Presbyterian Church, and…

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What’s Wrong With The ARP Church?

By Charles Wilson September 8, 2024

[Read and view the following before reading ARPTalk (185): “Questions Answered Regarding ARP Seceders” and paying close attention to the video of Andy Putnam speaking at General Synod. ] Click to hear Andy Putnam Lie on the Floor of Synod If you were to ask most ARPs what is wrong with the ARPChurch, they would probably answer, “Nothing!” Their answer reveals the insular, xenophobic, and inward-looking attitudes of most ARPs. To illustrate: at a meeting of the General Synod a…

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Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!!!!

By Charles Wilson September 4, 2024
Lets Get Ready to Rumble ARPChurch Constitutional Crisis Reverend Alex Lott

Well, maybe not! In the goings-on around the ARPChurch, we are too old to rumble. About all most of us can do is wobble. However, if we were a Friday Night SmackDown event, I would introduce the participants in this manner: “Ladies and Gentlemen! Let me have your attention! In the top corner, wearing blue, Alex Lott, an ARP loyalist who holds the ARPChurch authoritative and inviolate. In the bottom corner, wearing red, Seth Yi, one of the founders of…

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Ben Glaser: “You’re Jackasses!!”

By Charles Wilson August 21, 2024

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…

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A Response to 2024 General Synod’s Special Committee Report and Recommendations

By Charles Wilson August 19, 2024

The article below is co-authored by Drs. John Cook and R. J. Gore and was read before the meeting of Second Presbytery by Dr. Cook last Friday (August 16) at the Due West ARP Church, Due West, SC. The article was also placed in the minutes of Second Presbytery and specified for distribution. For you who do not know them, Dr. Cook (retired) was pastor of the Ballston Center ARP Church (NY); the Thomson ARP Church (GA), the Peachtree Corners…

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Constitutional Crisis in the ARPChurch

By Charles Wilson August 14, 2024

The article below first appeared in The Aquilia Report (https://theaquilareport.com/constitutional-crisis-in-the-arp-church-what-is-the-point-of-a-complaint/). As reported by Seth Yi, his article, on the meeting of the Executive Board, reflects the attitude of the ecclesiocrats of the ARPChurch: MACHTPOLITIK. This attitude was clearly expressed by the sentiments of Rev. Jeff Kingswood (as he functioned as Temporary Parliamentarian) at the meeting of General Synod in June; and he made it crystal clear that it didn’t matter what is written in The Form of Government or The…

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Erskine Is in the News Again!

By Charles Wilson August 8, 2024

The article below appeared in The Post and Courier on July 30, 2024. For those who live in the Upstate or who live in other states and are unfamiliar with South Carolina newspapers, The Post and Courier is the Charleston newspaper, and one of the most important newspapers in South Carolina. It’s been a long time since news about Erskine College has been reported on by both The State in Columbia and The Post and Courier. Erskine has made the…

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How a 224-Year-Old ARP Presbytery was Dissolved in a Day

By Charles Wilson July 28, 2024
How a 224-Year-Old ARP Presbytery was Dissolved in a Day by Seth Yi

The article below originally appeared in The Aquila Report. The author is Rev. Seth Yi, pastor of the Newberry ARP Church, Newberry, SC. The article is a bit long; however, it is worth reading. Click to read the whole article on The Aquila Report https://theaquilareport.com/how-a-224-year-old-arppresbytery-was-dissolved-in-a-day How a 224-Year-Old ARP Presbytery was Dissolved in a Day In truth, the title of this article should be How a 224-Year-Old Presbytery was Dissolved in a Year not in a Day, since the unprecedented…

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How to Throw Away a Million Dollars — and Much More!?

By Charles Wilson July 24, 2024

On June 4, 2024 (ARPTalk(173): “How to Throw Away a Million Dollars”), Million Dollars”), via an article in The State Newspaper, the editor of ARPTalk reported (1) that the Erskine board, on August 1, 2021, voted to make an unsecured loan of $1,000,000 to Icelaven Development Group (founded by James Galyean); (2) that, after only one payment of $35,000, Icelaven defaulted on the loan; and (3) that Erskine has filed suit against Icelaven for non-payment of the loan. The action…

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Complaints

By Charles Wilson July 13, 2024

On July 5th and 8th, two COMPLAINTS were filed with the Executive Board regarding actions taken against Second Presbytery at the June meeting of General Synod. With regard to the first COMPLAINT, Rev. Anthony Locke argues two points. ECCLESIASTICALLY: there is a Form of Government (FOG) issue, for the FOG prohibits Synod from influencing the direction or outcome of a presbytery’s process to dissolve. According to the FOG, the role of General Synod is limited to counseling a presbytery on…

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Grandma

By Charles Wilson June 27, 2024

Everybody said my Grandma Katie was different, and they were right. She wasn’t unique; she was sui generis (and I hope you caught what I did!). When a boy, many of my relatives said, “I declare, Charles, you’re just like your Grandma!!” That pleased me! Grandma Katie was my mother’s mother. She is the source of the best memories I have of my childhood. She lived on a 90 acre farm, in the middle of Nowhere, Georgia, past Johnson’s Corner,…

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Synod of Thieves

By Charles Wilson June 19, 2024

The Court of Thieves on Display. Can you find those who are not thieves? Breaking from tradition, I have been told delegates did not sing Psalm 133 (No. 280 in the Bible Songs: “Christian Unity”). Instead, with hearty voices, the delegates gleefully sang, A thieving we will go A thieving we will go Hi-ho, the derry-o A thieving we will go. Actually, they sang the ditty a number of times. To the Ends of the Earth Together – to Thieve!…

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Follow the Money

By Charles Wilson June 7, 2024

Follow the Money At sixteen, I was chosen out of my Civics class to spend a day with a councilman on the Winter Haven, Florida, City Council. I attended a council meeting and was the councilman’s guest for a very nice lunch. I was so excited. I was to watch how democracy worked and report what I saw to my Civics class. I was disappointed in what I saw. I was young and naīve. I expected something grand and wonderful,…

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How To Throw Away A Million Dollars

By Charles Wilson June 4, 2024

In the memorable words of Forrest Gump, “Stupid is as stupid does!” The action by the Erskine Board on August 1, 2021, has to be the Home Run of stupid things done at Erskine. In the name of education and sweet Jesus, the members of the board voted to lend ONE MILLION DOLLARS to a flimflam charter school operation which has no assets (HTTPS://ARPTALK.ORG/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2024/05/PROMISSORY-NOTE-TO-ICELAVEN-DEVELOPMENTGROUP-AUG-1-2021.PDF). The only asset Icelaven has is a piece of paper (HTTPS://ARPTALK.ORG/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2024/05/ICELAVEN-DEVELOPMENT-GROUP-LLCARTICLES-OF-ORGANIZATION.PDF.) Here is a copy of…

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The ARP Church in 2024

By Charles Wilson January 20, 2024

According to the “Statistical Report” (pp. 164-193), in the 2023 Minutes of the General Synod, the health of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPChurch) is in freefall. Warning lights are flashing and storm flags are flying. Does anyone care? It is no stretch to say the leadership of the denomination is unconcerned and focused elsewhere – flittering away as they are Facebooking in a fantasy land of self- importance. Though not an exact depiction, the photograph above is an uncomfortable…

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The Rise of the CARPChurch

By Charles Wilson November 7, 2023

When I was a boy, I fished a lot with Daddy in the lakes of Central Florida. This wasn’t sport fishing. Daddy fished for food: bass, crappie, bluegill, warmouth, sunfish, catfish, and, occasionally, he brought home a soft-shell turtle or a small gator. All these were cleaned and fried for the table – and the eating was good! Early one Saturday morning in the spring of 1959, Daddy got up early to go fishing with Homer Brown at a lake…

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An Open Letter by Bill Marsh to the ARP Church

By Charles Wilson June 7, 2023
An Open Letter by Bill Marsh to the ARPChurch

Dear Chuck, You have been an ARP for more than twice as long as I have, so I write you with you a question. I was struck this afternoon by the apparently-terrifying fear of sunlight shown by the Executive Board in the matter of my complaint. As you recall, I complained in March to the Executive Board that they had no business taking up your complaint as an emergency given the pace at which they handled the matter (at least…

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An Open Letter by Bill Marsh to the ARP Church

By Charles Wilson June 6, 2023
An Open Letter by Bill Marsh to the ARPChurch

Dear Chuck, You have been an ARP for more than twice as long as I have, so I write you with you a question. I was struck this afternoon by the apparently-terrifying fear of sunlight shown by the Executive Board in the matter of my complaint As you recall, I complained in March to the Executive Board that they had no business taking up your complaint as an emergency given the pace at which they handled the matter (at least…

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Is Freedom of Speech to Caricature/Satire Church Leaders Protected Under the First Amendment?

Unwilling to play the unseemly game of ecclesiastical oversight, I withdrew from the political nonsense of the ARPChurch. I did not renounce my faith. I did not renounce the Church of Jesus Christ. I did not renounce the ministry, for…

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Going Down Part One Chuck Wilson ARPTalk ARP Talk

Going Down — Part #2c

Welcome to ARPTalk(168), Part 2c, an analysis of the ARPChurch which was begun with ARPTalk(164), Part 1. We begin with this question: Why is the ARPChurch dying? Consider the following. (1) There is a refusal to admit the ARPChurch is…

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Going Down Part One Chuck Wilson ARPTalk ARP Talk

Going Down — Part #2b

Welcome! ARPTalk(167): Going Down, Part 2b continues my analysis of the new leadership of the ARPChurch. Christian leadership is given – A TRUST! Christian leadership is sacrifice, not privilege! The Christian leader checks his ego and reputation at the door…

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Going Down Part One Chuck Wilson ARPTalk ARP Talk

Going Down — Part #2a

ARPTalk (166): Going Down, Part 2a continues ARPTalk (164) – that is, reasons why the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPChurch) is a stone’s throw from death. And, if not dead, it is now a micro-denomination of about 25 healthy congregations.…

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On Saving My Own Soul Chuck Wilson ARPTalk

On Saving My Own Soul

The most self-condemnatory question ever asked was asked by Pilate when Jesus was brought before him. The questions is, “What is truth?” “What is truth?” The Moderator of General Synod sent out the following email today (May 22, 2023, see…

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Going Down Part One Chuck Wilson ARPTalk ARP Talk

Going Down — Part #1

When I last saw my cardiologist, there was good news and bad news. The good news was he assured me I wasn’t dead, yet. The bad news was he assured me his diagnosis regarding my amyloidosis-wild and congestive heart failure…

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Last Christmas Chuck Wilson ARP Talk

Last Christmas

Last Christmas ______________________________________________________ What would you do if this were your last Christmas? According to my doctor, there is a high probability this is my last Christmas. Last summer a year ago, I noticed I was  having  problems with fatigue.…

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The Great Punt — Analysis of the 2022 Meeting of General Synod

The Great Punt If it were not for seeing old friends again and meeting new ones, the meeting of the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church this summer would have been a total waste of time. As a…

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From Where I’m Sitting and Rocking

I’m old now, and I’m too old to do much but sit in my rocking chair and rock in my living room with my dog beside me, look out our picture window at the world, observe the curious goings-on, scratch…

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‘Twas The Night Before Jesus Came! by the Reverend Tanner Cline Bartow Florida Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church ARPTalk Chuck Wilson

‘Twas The Night Before Jesus Came!

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Christmas poem below, written by the Reverend Tanner Cline, was presented on Christmas Eve to the congregation of the Bartow Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Bartow, Florida. I admire people with poetic creativity. I was blessed and…

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No I tell you but unless you repent you will all likewise perish Seth Yi ARPTalk Chuck Wilson ARP Presbyterian

Repent or Perish

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is by Reverend Seth Yi, the pastor of the Newberry Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Newberry, South Carolina. Some may be offended by Seth’s words; however, pray consider, he may be right. If he is . .…

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From Where I Was Sitting: General Synod Report 2021

From Where I Was Sitting: General Synod Report 2021

I hate the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. I love the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. I am capable of loving and hating the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church at the same time. After 50 years, I have come to this conclusion: one…

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As I See It General Synod ARPTalk Chuck Wilson

As I See It: General Synod

Once again, for the third year, General Synod will not meet at Bonclarken. In 2019, Synod met in Pennsylvania, at Geneva College, in Beaver Falls. Last year, because of the stringent Covid protocols in North Carolina, Synod met in the…

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the ARP Retirement Program 2020

As I See It

A TRIBUTE 2021 began with the announcement of the death of the Reverend Henry Lewis Smith, my friend since 1970. In the summer of 1972, my wife and I became Associate Reformed Presbyterians when we united with the Covenant Presbyterian…

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Joseph Father Of Christmas Gherardo Delle Notti San Giuseppe ARPTalk Reverend Chuck Wilson Synod

Joseph: Father Of Christmas

Other than Jesus, do you have a favorite Christmas character? I do. It’s Joseph, and I call him the father of Christmas. However, before I tell you why, let me begin with a story. I don’t have many childhood memories of Christmas. I was the only child of older parents, who were no-nonsense people. They were in their 30s when they married in 1942, and they waited until after World War Two to have a child. Daddy explained he wasn’t going to chance dying in the war and leaving mama to raise a child alone.

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ARP Church Family 2 ARPTalk Reverend Chuck Wilson Synod

Dysfunctional Family (2) A Two Part Analysis of the Meeting of General Synod

DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY (2) A Two Part Analysis of the Meeting of General Synod In the last issue of ARPTalk, by identifying the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as a dysfunctional family, I am sure I offended some of my more sensitive…

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ARP Church Family ARPTalk Reverend Chuck Wilson Synod

Dysfunctional Family (1) A Two Part Analysis of the Meeting of General Synod

DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY (1) A Two Part Analysis of the Meeting of General Synod The meeting of General Synod last Thursday and Friday (October 22 and 23) sparked my imagination. In the beautiful sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church of Columbia,…

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Questions and Answers by Chuck Wilson ARPTalk Associate reformed Presbyterian Church

Questions and Answers

Recently, a number of friends have asked me about the goings on which are presently so troublesome. I have been encouraged to share my thoughts. So, I said, “Email me your questions, and I will see what I can do.”…

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Floccinaucinihilipilification ARPTalk ARP Church Wilson Returning Payment Protection Program Money

What’s in a Word?

As a lover of long words, a long word describes my thinking in this post. In a time of financial uncertainty, watching the churchmen who run Central Services in Greenville applying for a government loan instead of appealing to God’s…

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The Noble and the Ignoble ARPTalk ARP Church Applies for a Government Loan Executive Board Chuck Wilson

The Noble and the Ignoble

On an episode of Arial America about Hawaii, I heard the story of Father Damien of Molokai. Born in 1840 in Belgium, he became a Catholic priest and was sent as a missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1864.…

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Synod Report: Thank God for Ax-Throwing!

The meeting of General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church this year was at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA. In 2015, at our invitation, the delegates of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America traveled south, to Bonclarken,…

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President Rob Gustafson ARPTalk Chuck Wilson Betrayal

Betrayal

Unless there is great duress, a college board goes in the direction the president desires and sets. With the concurrence of the board’s chairman and input from chief administrators, the president oversees and approves the framing of agendas for board…

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ARPTalk Urbana 18 Celebrates Cultural Marxism Reverend Chuck Wilson

Urbana 18: Cultural Marxism

Since 1946, the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship sponsored Urbana Conference has probably been the leading platform in the evangelical Christian community for challenging young Christian men and women to a life of evangelism as missionaries. Held every three years, the most…

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ARPTalk Erskine Theological Seminary Reverend Chuck Wilson

What I Learned at the Seminar on Poverty

On Wednesday, August 26, I traveled to the Greenville Associate Reformed Presbytery Church were Outreach North American was holding a seminary on poverty with Randy Nabors and Will Broadus. Nabors is pastor-emeritus of New City Fellowship in Chattanooga, Tennessee and…

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ARPTalk Erskine College Sports Reverend Chuck Wilson

More Sports Programs Anticipated at Erskine College

More Sports Programs Anticipated at Erskine College I must begin this issue of ARPTalk by apologizing to our readers. In the last issue of ARPTalk, I announced the following new sports were added at Erskine College: football, acrobatics, E-Sports, lacrosse,…

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