Pastor Shaun Nolan's recent posting, Clearing RC Sproul Jr's Name, piqued a great deal of interest in the Confederation Of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) and its alleged authority (if any) to "clear" RC Sproul Jr's name of the very serious charges that resulted in his being defrocked. If in fact the CREC does so, they'll be making a public declaration that they think of themselves as a superior ecclesiastical court to the RPCGA, and every other denomination, and that they think they have the authority to overturn the judgments of the RPCGA, and any other denomination. In point of fact their past history would show that they believe exactly that.

So now people are really starting to wonder about that CREC "not judicial in nature" Commission and where that RC Sproul Jr Name-Clearing Report is. Why hasn't the CREC gotten it out yet? Will we be seeing it soon? After all, RC Sproul Jr does have that Generations Conference on May 5 & 6. Wouldn't it be best to have his name cleared and get him ordained before then?

Only time will tell, but the more time that passes the more that people will speculate about the obvious delay. Perhaps the CREC "not judicial in nature" Commission believes that by withholding the release of the RC Sproul Jr Name-Clearing Report until the last possible minute it'll help to give the impression that the outcome wasn't already predetermined long before they read even one word of the testimony and evidence.

CREC Name-Clearing Commissions have engaged in the very same conduct before, so it's not at all challenging to figure out what they're up to. For example, Doug Wilson and Doug Jones convened a Name-Clearing Commission for defrocked PCA Pastor Burke Shade. Wilson and Jones preapproved Shade for ordination in the CREC even before they had examined any of the Illiana Presbytery (PCA) trial evidence against Shade:

"Doug Wilson reminded the elders that we have already agreed this situation is not a barrier to Burke Shade and his church being accepted into the CRE." (July 13, 2000)

For those not already familiar with the CREC "not judicial in nature" Commission situation, here's a little background information. On March 14, 2006 Randy Booth, the Moderator of the Confederation Of Reformed Evangelical Churches announced the following:

"On Saturday, March 4, 2006, the congregation of St. Peter, Bristol, TN, voted to request that a Commission of five pastors or elders, from separate CREC congregations, be constituted to provide pastoral guidance for the immediate needs of the St. Peter congregation. This Commission is not judicial in nature, but rather pastoral. The CREC respects the judicial bounds of the RPCGA and intends to operate within those boundaries. The RPCGA has released both St. Peter and the former session of St. Peter without censure, and the RPCGA is aware that St. Peter has approached the CREC for pastoral counsel and care.

"The RPCGA has not precluded the possibility that some or all of the St. Peter session might be reinstated to office in the future, provided they go through the normal credentialing process. That is not to say that reinstatement is a forgone conclusion, only that the judgment of the RPCGA does not necessarily call for their permanent exclusion from office. Ultimately, these decisions will be made by the congregation of St. Peter and any ecclesiastical body to which they might join themselves.

"Some of these matters have been treated in an anti-ecclesiastical way via web sites on the worldwide web. There is definitely false and misleading information that is being advanced at some of these sites, including false information pertaining to the nature and make-up of the CREC Commission. Self-appointed arbiters of justice do not contribute to a godly resolution of anything and we hereby call upon them to recuse themselves from such public discourse, to immediately remove any material related to these matters from the web, and to pray for all those affected by these matters. It is the desire of the CREC to work to honor Christ and His Church."

You'd have to be really gullible to believe Doug Wilson's hand-picked CREC Moderator Randy Booth when he says, "This Commission is not judicial in nature, but rather pastoral." In other words,

We know we've got zero credibility with any Presbyterian denomination in the world and that we've earned their distrust. We know we've unjustly bashed good and honorable Presbyteries for exercising church discipline and defrocking their abusive ministers. We know that no knowledgeable Presbyterian considers us to be Presbyterian, regardless of what we claim to be, because we don't act like Presbyterians. We know we've been duplicitous in our methods of requesting the case files from legitimate denominations that have defrocked their ministers, claiming we wouldn't use those case files to exonerate them, but then we turned right around and exonerated and reordained them anyway. We know we've acted under color of law and conducted ourselves as though we were some kind of a legitimate Presbyterian appellate court, or arbitration body, when in point of fact we have no legitimate jurisdiction at all over any denomination's judicial proceedings. We know we've been exposed for our show-trials and kangaroo courts and know that no one can trust Doug Wilson any farther than they can throw his fat butt. But this time we're telling the truth. You can tell that I'm telling the truth this time because I've got it underlined. Really, truly, for sure, this time you can really, REALLY trust us.

Some of Randy Booth's lines are just hysterical, like referring to others as "Self-appointed arbiters of justice." What a hoot! These guys have a major case of beam-in-the-eye syndrome.

Or take this line: "The CREC respects the judicial bounds of the RPCGA and intends to operate within those boundaries." Sure. And we're supposed to think that all those slanderous allegations that Doug Wilson made in his "A Justice Primer" aren't directed at the RPCGA? We especially enjoyed Wilson's fair-minded analysis of the RPCGA when he referred to them as "the judiciary from hell." (Believing A Lie) But of course if anyone asks Wilson if he was referring to the RPCGA when he wrote that he'd deny it. However it doesn't require any particularly keen insight to sort out the unnamed parties in his A Justice Primer series.

Doug Wilson has some history behind him with taking in defrocked Presbyterian Elders, holding show trials and then re-ordaining them (e.g. Burke Shade). As low as CREC ordination standards are (pulse and brainwaves are mandatory, however) Wilson can readily find cause to ordain just about any defrocked Presbyterian minister. However, he seems to be especially desirous of ordaining those who were defrocked for (at least in part) "abusiveness toward their flock." In other words, ruling with an iron fist. Doug Wilson has thumbed his nose specifically at the PCA and OPC, unlawfully imposing his own will on their judicatories and "overturning" their judgments which he had not authority to intervene in. In other words, Doug Wilson is a rogue. Furthermore, Doug Wilson has slandered honorable denominations, such as the PCA and OPC. In an effort to "clear the names" of defrocked men, he just can't seem to resist the temptation of bashing the denominations that defrocked the men that he wants to ordain.

"The RPCGA has not precluded the possibility that some or all of the St. Peter session might be reinstated to office in the future, provided they go through the normal credentialing process." About the only way they could have "precluded the possibility that some or all of the St. Peter session might be reinstated to office" is if they had taken them out and shot them. God has decreed that such is not an option (at least for Presbyterians). The RPCGA did, however, make an unambiguous statement about the Saint Peter Four's lack of qualifications to be Elders:

The consistent pattern of actions taken by these men are duplicitous in nature, and demonstrate that they willingly and knowingly act in an arbitrary fashion in violation of their vows of ordination and in violation of our denomination’s Book of Church Order. Most importantly, their actions manifest that they lack the qualification for the ministry (1Timothy 3:1-7). It would be unwise to allow these men to continue to hold an office for which they are not qualified.

Those lack of Elder qualifications weren't over just a lack of their ability to function within a confessional Reformed Presbyterian denomination, like the RPCGA and their BCO (although that's certainly the case). Rather, their lack of Elder qualifications were also per 1 Timothy 3:1-7.

One of the most laughable aspects of how the RC Sproul Jr Name-Clearing Commission is operating is the fact that Dennis Tuuri is one of the Commission's five members, and it's entirely possible that Tuuri is even heading up the Commission. Patrick Poole noted that Dennis Tuuri

". . .a few years ago had his own ecclesiastical dirty laundry cleaned and bleached by the CREC. Tuuri was recommended for this job by none other than the Great Leader himself. It’s good to see that the CREC has enlisted one of their most experienced scandal-ridden personnel to help Sproul navigate the cover-up process and that the Great Leader has such unshakable faith in Turri to completely cover-up the matter."

Patrick Poole goes on to note:

"For the record, Dennis Tuuri joined the CRE to avoid prosecution in the PCA, charged with 'abuse of the flock'. In fact, CRE records show (Nov. 1998) that the CRE was asked not to admit Dennis Tuuri so that he could be tried. Doug Wilson led the charge to admit Tuuri to the CRE despite over the protests of Tuuri's former congregation."

So what's the holdup with clearing RC Sproul Jr's name? Could it be that Doug Wilson and the CREC are starting to have second thoughts about clearing the names of RC Sproul Jr, Laurence Windham, Wayne Hays, and Jay Barfield? Could it be that they've come to their senses and they're starting to perceive that "clearing" such men and ordaining them is a lot more trouble than it's worth? Could it be that Doug Wilson and the CREC are, uncharacteristic of how they've always operated before, actually beginning to have some regard for their reputations? Could it be that they're suffering from a bout of temporary sanity sufficient in degree to recognize that clearing and ordaining the Saint Peter Four is a no-win proposition for the CREC?

Naw! That would be giving Doug Wilson and his cronies credit for common sense, and that's not something that our own common sense would permit us to do.

Doug Wilson and his CREC cronies have demonstrated that they are rogues masquerading as Presbyterians. Rogues beget rogues, and it's little wonder that a number of CREC ordained men had prior been defrocked, or fled the just discipline of their Presbyteries, to then come and join the roguish ranks of the CREC. Presbyterian Elders can rest easy in the knowledge that should they ever become abusive of their flocks, engage in tax fraud, or any other transgressions that are likely to result in Presbyterial discipline, they've got a safe haven to flee to (just ask RC Sproul Jr how it's done).

To quote what one blog commenter recently said about RC Sproul Jr running off to the CREC for their defrocked-clergy name-clearing services, rather than appealing the Declaratory Judgment to the General Assembly of the RPCGA,
"Dad said I couldn't have the candy, so I'll go ask mom."

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