Part II, Attachment 8, Page 1 of 2

Why was #8 not

addressed? "That
Thomas Chantry
endeaver to seek
full repentance and
the forgiveness of
each of the four
children and their #8. ???
parents who have
bene the sugject of
physical discipline
by him. It is
recommended that
the Elders who
assume oversight
of Thomas
Chantry assist him
in this process."

"No attempt was made to return to the details of the circumstances at MVBC for the purpose of further investigation...I did
not counsel in regards to an identified sin issue or pattern arising from the particular circumstances that took place during
Tom's time in ministry at MVBC." [Counselor's Letter] Why didn't the counselor address the circumstances which led to
Thomas Chantry's departure from Miller Valley Baptist Church?!

The counselor had full access to all those materials submitted in the complete report, yet he never considered "the
possibility that on some level he [Tom] punished children for his own pleasure?" [Level 1 Report, pg. 4, item 5.]
 Part II, Attachment 8, Page 2 of 2

Tom began
preaching in
September even
though his
counceling didn't
begin until
11/29/2001. Why
was he preaching
at all, let alone
BEFORE he
received any
counseling?!

Why didn't the elders of PRBC address any of the things

that the Level 1 Report advised them to address? Such
as:

"...the Elders who assume the oversight of him should

consider the possibility that on some level he punished
children for his own pleasure."

"It is our recommendation that the priority in dealing

with Tom should not be placed on returning him to
ministry..."

"...we do believe that the seriousness of the allegations

against Tom, the inconsistencies between the accounts
of the spankings and the apparent lack of complete
repentance would certainly prohibit any return to the
ministry until these issues are resolved by Tom and his
Elders."
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Part II, Attachment 9, Page 1 of 1
 Page 2
ARBCA Update
Vol. 18, No. 2 Second Quarter 2001
Phone: (717) 249-7473
Fax: (717) 258-0614
E-mail: arbca@reformedbaptist.com
Web site:www.reformedbaptist.com
Editor: Scott Swanson
E-mail: scottmiriam@earthlink.net
Circulation: Circulation requests may be sent to
e-mail address arbca@reformedbaptist.com or
to the address below. Contributions to defray the
costs may be sent to ARBCA Update, P.O. Box
289, Carlisle, PA 17013.
The Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of
America is a nonprofit organization registered in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The purpose of this
association is to advance Christ's kingdom by providing a
fellowship in which churches of common confession may
find mutual encouragement, assistance, edification, and
counsel, and may participate in cooperative efforts such
as home missions, foreign missions, ministerial training
and publications — all of which are often beyond the
scope of one local church.
Administrative Council Officers
Pastor Earl Blackburn, Chairman
Pastor Jamie Howell, Secretary
Bruce Kronheim, Treasurer
ARBCACoordinator: Robert Selph
Member Churches
The Baptist Tabernacle, Jesup, GA
Centinela Baptist Church, Lawndale, CA
Cornerstone Bible Fellowship Church, Mesa, AZ
Edgewood Baptist Church, Anderson, IN
Elm Street Baptist Church, Sweet Home, OR
Evangelical Reformed Baptist Church, Haddon Heights, NJ
Faith Reformed Baptist Church, Media, PA
Faith Reformed Baptist Church, Southold, NY
First Baptist Church, Clinton, LA
First Church of Hixville, North Dartmouth, MA
Founders Baptist Church, Griffin, GA
Grace Baptist Church, Bartlesville, OK
Grace Baptist Church, Carlisle, PA
Grace Baptist Church, Taylors, SC
Grace Bible Church, Catawissa, PA
Grace Covenant Church, Gilbert, AZ
Grace Covenant Fellowship, Olmstead Township, OH
Grace Fellowship Church, Bremen, IN
Grace Fellowship Church, Dover, DE
Grace Fellowship Church, Hazleton, PA
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, East Haven, CT
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Rockford, IL
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Amityville, NY
Heritage Baptist Church, Worcester, MA
Heritage Baptist Church, Owensboro, KY
Heritage Baptist Church, Mansfield, TX
Heritage Church, Fayetteville, GA
Hope Reformed Baptist Church, Farmingville, NY
Kemp Road Baptist Church, Dayton, OH
Miller Valley Baptist Church, Prescott, AZ
Pioneer Valley Baptist Church, Chicopee, MA
Port Cities Reformed Baptist Church, Lewiston, ID
Providence Baptist Church, Chattanooga, TN
Providence Reformed Baptist Church, University Place, WA
Reformed Baptist Church, Lafayette, NJ
Reformed Baptist Church, Virginia Beach, VA
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, Ontario, CA
Sycamore Baptist Church, East Moline, IL
Trinity Reformed Baptist Church, La Mirada, CA
Trinity Reformed Baptist Church, Mercer Island, WA
Must training for ministry be formal?
Must training for a minister of the Gospel be formal? A quick and simple
answer to this question is, “No, training need not be formal.”
There are examples from history of men who with little or no formal train-
ing became very effective ministers of the Gospel. One was a tinker born near
Bedford, England. We remember him for his famous allegories, “Pilgrims
Progress” and “The Holy War.” A second was a 16- year-old Scottish shep-
herd boy who taught himself Greek, walked 48 miles to the city of St.
Andrews to obtain a copy of the New Testament in Greek, then returned the
same distance to shepherd his flock and continue studying on his own.
However, John Bunyan and John Brown of Haddington were clearly
exceptional individuals. They are not at all representative of most men prepar-
ing for the ministry of the Gospel.
C. H. Spurgeon (another exceptional individual, who started preaching in
1851 at the age of 17!) recognized the need for preachers to have structured,
formal, disciplined study of the Scripture, and he first began to plan a pastor’s
college in 1854.
Nearly 300 years earlier John Calvin wrote, “If true religion is to beam
upon us, our principle must be that it is necessary to begin with heavenly
teaching, and that it is impossible for any man to obtain even the minutest por-
tion of right and sound doctrine without being a disciple of Scripture. Hence,
the first step in true knowledge is taken, when we reverently embrace the testi-
mony which God has been pleased therein to give of himself.” (Institutes of
the Christian Religion: Book 1, Chapter 6, Section 2)
Let us ask the question again. Is it necessary to have formal training for
those who present themselves as candidates for the regular ministry of God’s
Word? Ordinarily, yes. Only under very unusual circumstances and in recog-
nition of very unusual gifts should one be exempted from formal training in
theology/apologetics, biblical languages, homiletics, hermeneutics and church
history.
Just how does one best become a “disciple of Scripture?” Certainly, if a
young man expects only to be regularly and formally mentored by his pastor,
the mentor ought to be an exceptional individual with an extraordinary grasp
of Hebrew, Greek, historical theology, church history, systematic theology and
philosophy. Otherwise, there is the risk that the student merely becomes the
disciple of his mentor, when what he needs are the tools which will enable him
to become what Calvin called a “disciple of Scripture.”
Now the question arises as to where and how a church can find such a
training opportunity. Where can it send its young men to prepare for the
Gospel ministry? The churches that make up ARBCA believe they have estab-
lished just the right place.
Clearly, the average congregation lacks the required personnel, academic
resources, leadership capabilities and the financial depth needed to train men
systematically in biblical languages, theology, philosophy, church history, etc.
Therefore, the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies was established to func-
tion as a service to ARBCA churches. It provides excellent instruction in a
formal, structured curriculum of pre-ministerial theological studies. The IRBS
operates on the campus of, and in close cooperation with, Westminster
Theological Seminary in Escondido, Calif.
Theological study, like study in any other field, requires more than mas-
tery of information. Truth is systemic, not merely a set of isolated proposi-
tions, or “brute facts.” Therefore, it is essential that study be accompanied by
ample opportunities for discussion of the material. Discussion enables the stu-
dent to work through the relationship of the parts to the whole and to weed out
his own misconceptions. Interaction with students from differing theological
and cultural backgrounds can be an additional advantage if it forces the student
to examine and sift out of his thinking what he considered to be Biblical, but
what is in fact extra-Biblical.
Involvement in a good local congregation is important for the spiritual
welfare of the student. Being part of a local body of believers is not an option
ARBCA
Don Lindblad, chair of the committee
overseeing the Institute of Reformed Baptist
Studies in Escondido, Calif., and Dr. Jim
Renihan, dean of the institute, reported that
there are five ministerial students in the
institute and the promise of more for the
coming year. Lindblad read a letter from
Robert Godfrey, president of Westminster
Theological Seminary in Escondido, who
expressed appreciation for the association’s
cooperation with Westminster and for
Renihan’s service at the school.
Earl Blackburn, chair of the Publications
Committee, reported that the association is
working to publish two books dealing with
the issue of baptism, including one by two
South African paedobaptist scholars who
have made a very strong case that in the
apostolic church baptism was administered
to believers alone. The other is a theologi-
cal work by Dr. Fred Malone that makes the
case that covenant theology supports believ-
er’s baptism. The third work, edited by Dr.
Jim Renihan, will focus on the difference
between denominations and associations,
and the biblical case for the latter.
Delegates approved a $259,853 budget
for fiscal year 2001. Bob Selph noted the
support that member churches have shown
for the work of the association.
“Four years ago, the budget for RBMS
was $105,000. These same churches are
(now) giving $130,000 more,” he said.
Delegates also voted six new members
into the association, raising the total to 40
— the highest ever. The new members are:
The Baptist Tabernacle of Jesup, Ga.; Elm
Street Baptist Church of Sweet Home, Ore.;
Faith Reformed Baptist Church of Southold,
N.Y., Founders Baptist Church of Griffin,
Ga.; Grace Fellowship Church of Dover,
Del.; and Heritage Baptist Church of
Owensboro, Ken.
The assembly approved
three special projects for
2001, totaling $25,000:
• Pastoral training in
Israel. This is the second of
three years for this project,
which saw Dr. Raymond
Perron of Quebec visit
Israel in January to teach
courses on bibliology and
theology proper (see report
on page 4). The amount
needed for this project is
$10,000. The sponsor for
the project is Grace Baptist
Church of Carlisle, Pa.
• Pastoral training in
Members of the ARBCA Administrative Council are, front row, from left:Mike
Cuba. This proposal, for McKnight, John Giarrizzo, Tedd Tripp, Tom Greene, and Steve Martin. In middle
$5,000, is to send two pairs row, from left, are Dale Smith, Earl Blackburn, Bruce Kronheim, and Bob Selph. In
of men to Cuba to teach
back row, from left, are Don Lindblad, David Dykstra, Tom Lutz, and Jamie Howell.
and preach within the con-
text of the ministry of
Berean Baptist Church and Pastor Daniel countries and an exemption for Canadian
Perez. Each pair will stay for a week and churches who cannot legally make contribu-
teach for four days in the Pastoral Training tions to ARBCA.
Academy there. This project is sponsored Administrative Council Chairman Earl
by Cornerstone Bible Fellowship of Mesa, Blackburn announced that the 2002 con-
Ariz. vention will be held at Grace Fellowship
• Publication of the two titles on baptism Church in Bremen, Ind.
and one on associations. Sponsored by
Trinity Reformed Baptist Church of La
Mirada, Calif., this project will require
ARBCA Tapes
$10,000, with another $20,000 coming from
a $125,000 anonymous gift given to
ARBCA in 2000.
The balance of that gift was applied to
RBMS mission projects ($44,411.64), the
If you couldn’t attend the
IRBS general scholarship fund and contin- ARBCA Convention, you
gency needs ($42,488.36), and to the 2000
don’t have to miss out!
ARBCA operating fund ($18,100).
In other business, the delegates, after Messages are available on
considerable, vigorous but peaceful discus - tapes or CDs.
sion, approved a position paper on the regu-
lative principle of worship produced by the For more information,
Theology Committee. They also adopted a please call (817) 656-3383
policy for support of national pastors or
church-planting missionaries in foreign