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Public Documents Concerning the Defrocking of R.C. Sproul, Jr. and the Saint Peter Presbyterian Church SessionOn January 26, 2006 RC Sproul Jr, Laurence Windham, Wayne Hays, and Jay Barfield were deposed from their office of Elders by the Westminster Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Assembly by Declaratory Judgement.Declaratory Judgment (Word file) The documentary evidence relied upon by Presbytery in arriving at their judgment and passing of sentence is now considered by the RPCGA to be public information. As of this date there is already a great deal of internet blogging and speculating on the events surrounding RC Sproul Jr's defrocking. These documents are posted here in an effort to help clear up confusion, as well as to ease the burden on the Moderator of Westminster Presbytery from having to field a flurry of inquiries. The documents are presented, for the most part, in chronological order as either Word and/or Adobe Acrobat files. EIN Fraud Documents Related to the Defrocking of RC Sproul Jr and the St. Peter Presbyterian Church SessionA major factor in the defrocking of RC Sproul Jr is that he did knowingly abscond with and use for banking and merchant credit card purposes the Tax Identification Number (EIN) of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church:St. Peter / Highlands Study Center Bank Statement.pdf Legal Brief on EIN Fraud.doc On December 10, 2005 in an unsigned letter of "apology" to the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, which included not a single name of any St. Peter Session member, the Session of St. Peter Presbyterian Church attributes their theft of the ARP's EIN to an "administrative oversight." However, at a Presbytery meeting some two years prior, when a group of Elders were discussing opening a bank account and the issue of obtaining a tax ID number (TIN) came up, RC Sproul Jr was heard by a number of Elders to say, "Just do what we do, use the ARP's number." No one at the time took RC Sproul Jr seriously, but now they know it wasn't just a joke at the time. Clearly, this was no "administrative oversight." The Ecclesiastical Tyrannies Perpetrated by the Saint Peter Presbyterian Church Session Against the John Austin Family:Another significant factor in the deposing of the St. Peter Session is the ecclesiastical tyrannies they perpetrated against several families over several years. Noteworthy among these is the John Austin family because it was the first that had been documented, and the first which had petitioned to Presbytery for redress. On April 17, 2005 John Austin sent a letter to the Elders of Saint Peter Presbyterian Church, informing them that he was withdrawing his membership at St. Peter over doctrinal disagreements, and that he would be seeking out another church in the area more in accord with his Reformed Baptist views. In his letter he stated, "We in no way want to cause problems or divisiveness," and for his desire to be at peace with the brethren: StPeterElders04-17-05.doc On May 14, 2005 the Session of Saint Peter Presbyterian Church voted unanimously to censure John Austin "for contumacy (failure to repent) by breaking his vows of membership." John's punishment included, "The refraining from all contact with your family by the other families in our church." In other words, the congregation of Saint Peter Presbyterian Church was ordered to shun the entire Austin family, including the Austin's five children: AustinCensureLetter.doc On November 25, 2005 St. Peter Presbyterian Church member Peter Kershaw sent letters to the St. Peter Session expressing his objections to the ecclesiastical abuse of the Austin family. His letter was cc'd to the Westminster Presbytery of the RPCGA: Austin11-25-05.doc On December 7, 2005 John Austin received from RC Sproul Jr a letter of repentance: Though RC Sproul Jr's repentance occurred quite quickly after Peter Kershaw mailed his letter of protest to the St. Peter Session, it should be noted that Peter Kershaw had mailed the St. Peter Session a total of three letters, in quick succession, chronicling a litany of serious abuses of their office, including ecclesiastical tyrannies perpetrated against multiple families (including his own), financial improprieties (to put it in the politest of terms) tax ID fraud, and numerous other even more serious allegations which cannot be disclosed at this time. RC Sproul Jr was, in each case, the primary perpetrator, with his Session in each case being complicit with him. As such, it was not "the Austin" letter alone which promptly brought RC Sproul Jr to his repentance. On the same day as John Austin received RC Sproul Jr's letter of repentance, he also received a letter of alleged "repentance" signed by each member of the St. Peter Session, including RC Sproul Jr. The Session's letter of "repentance" proved to be a lesson in how not to apologize: At the same time as John Austin received his letters of "repentance" from RC Sproul Jr and the St. Peter Session, he also received a letter of release of membership in St. Peter Presbyterian Church: Upon hearing of the Austin's release from membership in St. Peter Presbyterian Church, former member Rick Saenz emailed John Austin a note of congratulation and his personal letter of apology. Tragically, Rick Saenz is the only former or current member of St. Peter who has ever offered any genuine apology to the Austins: On December 8, 2005 John Austin responded, point by point, to the St. Peter Session's letter of "repentance": On December 17, 2005 St. Peter member Brent Fontinot sent a letter to the Presbytery informing the Moderator of his personal observations of the tyrannies perpetrated against the Austin family: On December 9, 2005 John Austin sent a letter of thanks to the RPCGA, Westminster Presbytery: RPCGAWestminsterPres.doc There are a plethora of other allegations, along with supporting documents, in the Presbytery's case file. I'm quite familiar with the case since it was I that prepared a great deal of it. At this time those documents are not considered public information, and so I will honor Presbytery's request to maintain the confidentiality of all other case documents. However, should RC Sproul Jr or any of his defrocked Elders attempt to seek reordination in any other denomination (as now already appears to be the case), any such denomination would be wise to contact Dr. Talbot, Moderator of Westminster Presbytery, RPCGA and request to review the case file.
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