06.15.05

From left, Dr. William B. Evans, and Frank Hunt II

Erskine professor installed as ARP Moderator

Dr. William B. Evans, Younts Professor of Bible and Religion at Erskine College, was installed as Moderator at the 201st annual meeting of the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church June 6-9 at Bonclarken Conference Center in Flat Rock, N.C. Evans succeeds outgoing Moderator Frank Hunt II of Lake Wales, Fla., a former chairman of the Erskine Board of Trustees.

Hunt presented Evans with a ram's head cane from Scotland. The cane is to be used as the Moderator's symbol of authority and will be passed down to future moderators.

Evans, an ordained ARP minister who has taught at Erskine since 1993 and is chairman of the Department of Bible, Religion and Philosophy, gave the Moderator's Challenge for the coming year.

Noting that over the last 35 years the ARP Church has grown from seven to 10 presbyteries and from 146 to 262 churches, Evans said the denomination faces challenges in the areas of organizational structure, leadership and theological identity.

"We will respond best to these challenges as we consistently allow God's Word to shape and mold our minds and lives, and as we use the gifts and resources that God has bestowed upon his church," he said.

This year's Pre-Synod Conference, taking as its theme "The Church and the Cultural Challenge," included keynote lectures by Ken Myers, president of Mars Hill Audio in Charlottesville, Va., who spoke on "The Cultural Captivity of the Church" and "The Cultural Liberation of the Church."

Myers is host and producer of the Mars Hill Audio Journal, a bimonthly audio magazine that examines issues in contemporary culture from a framework shaped by Christian conviction. He is a contributing editor for Christianity Today and has edited and contributed to a number of periodicals.

Presentations by David Brisben, associate professor of Christian ministries at John Brown University, the Rev. Robert Glick, associate professor of church music and worship at Erskine Seminary, and Ali Mitchell and Frank van Dalen of World Witness were also part of the Pre-Synod Conference.

Erskine Seminary hosted a barbecue lunch at Synod June 8, with a number of seminary faculty and staff members on hand to greet Synod participants and their families.

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